Grad School Diet

[far_to_go]

One of my super-easy, cheap, fast, healthy dinner staples: lima beans. I always have a few bags of lima beans in my freezer (they cost about $1 each). I just boil them til they're nice and tender and season them with a little butter or olive oil and salt. Very filling, with lots of protein and fiber.

There's a bagel shop right near my building on campus that's really delicious and cheap, so I go there for lunch several times a week. I usually get some sort of bagel sandwich with a combination of veggies/tofu/cheese/egg, whatever I'm in the mood for. The bagel sandwiches tend to run about $3-$4, and they're totally worth it. The place has good soups and salads too.

I usually have cereal or toast in the mornings, and always take a banana/apple/granola bar in my school bag for a quick snack.

[Dal PhDer]

Food is one thing that I try not to skimp on. But I am constantly trying to remind myself not so needlessly spend a few bucks on a coffee or lunch out.

I typically stick to a quick breakfast: toast, poached egg, and a piece of fruit. Lunch is normally a salad, a few nuts, and a banana. And dinner is a mixture of whatever I have!

I find a really easy thing to make (that's not too pricey) and carries well for lunch, is a turkey salad salad.

Ground turkey ($5 per package, and normally makes 3-4 servings), season with chili powder, garlic, hot peppers

2 heads of lettuce

1 can of refried beans

1 bowl of home made salad (dash of lime juice, 2 tomatoes, 1/2 red onion and 1/4 bushel of cilantro)

1 Avocado

I can get 4 servings out of it!

I have to say that the only way I can eat healthy on a budget is to really prepare. I tend to make a big batch of something on the weekend to be my lunches during the week!

I am also a lover of Costco (although, it's a treat to go there, because as someone else has said, it's the "$200 Club"!)

[Hank Scorpio]

I'm with my fellow east-coaster, Dal PhDer. Food is the one thing I try not to skimp on.

One thing I do is roast a whole chicken, and then it's good for supper, and a couple of lunches (a la chicken salad sandwiches). Here's how I roast my butter chicken:

- Preheat oven to 425F.

- Melt a half pound of butter in a pan, add garlic, onion powder, chives, pepper, and a bit of salt.

- Baste chicken using half of the melted butter mix, roast chicken for 30 mins. Take it out and baste it with the rest of the butter mix. Roast it for another 30 mins. Then baste it in its own juices, and roast it for a final 30 mins. Turn the heat up for 450 for the last 10 mins to get a crispier skin.

It's really, really delicious, sets you up for a few meals, and doesn't cost more than $11 or $12.

[MoJingly]

If you have an ALDI where you are, check them out. Beautiful food for significantly cheaper than the main chains. You can get some really great produce there. Pineapples, green peppers, avocado... stuff that is too expensive other places! And they have the best blueberries I've ever consumed. Canned goods there are super cheap. Mandarin oranges for $0.20, for example. There are rarely name brand things, but that doesn't matter at all.

Also, we are getting into the season for farmers markets!!

And utilize that slow cooker as often as possible. There's nothing like coming home to a prepared meal. The only negative thing is prepping it in the morning.

Edited April 18, 2012 by MoJingly

[OregonGal]

I've been essentially living on a grad school budget the last year as an Americorps member. With my long office hours I've found that batch meals cooking makes a huge difference. I cook 2-3 times a week and reheat the rest of the time. I tend to buy big batches of boneless skinless chicken breast on sale ($1-2/lb, 5 lb package) and freeze most of the breasts for future use--I'm currently trying out putting the breasts in foldover sandwich bags first to make sure they don't freeze to one another. For breakfasts I usually have cereal, OJ and coffee--lunches are reheated brown bag (I rarely eat takeout, too expensive) and dinner is either the last of the leftovers or the next batch. My basic budgeting is for $2/meal.

Casseroles are a great time-saver; throw them together, and either bake and portion out for lunches or freeze for later eating. Slow cookers are also a great investment for cooking--you can even prep the night before and stash the bakeware in the fridge, then pop into the cooker in the morning.

Another note for farmers markets--the ones near me can take WIC/SNAP (food stamps) payments. You get the wooden tokens (can't get change from vendors), and the one closest to me even gives you bonus money to help you stretch your benefits even further ($5 in "fresh produce" coupons for every $20 you buy of tokens using the EBT card).

[Dal PhDer]

I'm with my fellow east-coaster, Dal PhDer. Food is the one thing I try not to skimp on.

One thing I do is roast a whole chicken, and then it's good for supper, and a couple of lunches (a la chicken salad sandwiches). Here's how I roast my butter chicken:

- Preheat oven to 425F.

- Melt a half pound of butter in a pan, add garlic, onion powder, chives, pepper, and a bit of salt.

- Baste chicken using half of the melted butter mix, roast chicken for 30 mins. Take it out and baste it with the rest of the butter mix. Roast it for another 30 mins. Then baste it in its own juices, and roast it for a final 30 mins. Turn the heat up for 450 for the last 10 mins to get a crispier skin.

It's really, really delicious, sets you up for a few meals, and doesn't cost more than $11 or $12.

Love roasted chicken! Good for sammies, pizza, and snacking, but I love making soup out of the bones!

I just can't skimp on food! I would rather go without some other luxury!

[Hank Scorpio]

Love roasted chicken! Good for sammies, pizza, and snacking, but I love making soup out of the bones!

I just can't skimp on food! I would rather go without some other luxury!

Yup yup! I typically go grocery shopping first thing, get enough food to be good to go, and then deal with the financial consequences later.

Also, cooking from scratch is usually cheaper than boxed/pre-made food in the long run.

[CarlieE]

I have to say... I am actually looking forward to my grad school budget for food. I'm finishing up my UG now, but when I start my PhD in the Fall I will have a stipend that's 3+ times the stipend I get now. My stipend now doesn't even cover rent so I subsist on awful food now. ...Isn't that rather sad that a grad stipend is actually going to be a financial promotion for me? *Sigh* I thought I'd be ruling the world by now...

[go3187]

Thought it would be interesting to see what kind of foods fellow grad students are preparing/eating. Maybe a place to swap budget-friendly recipes for those who want to keep up healthy eating habits.

What do you typically eat in during a work day? The ramen noodle diet is totally a stereotype, right? Do you indulge occasionally?

Never had ramen noodles... they aren't very popular in Europe, I think.

I eat low(ish)-carb paleo. Breakfast is usually scrambled/fried eggs and vegetables. Lunch and dinner are salad, or meat and cooked veggies. I mostly drink water and (way too much!) coffee. Occasionally I eat nuts, mostly when I travel to conferences, and berries.

I cook about three times a week, and use my slow cooker and steamer a lot. My monthly food expenses are around $150-200. Normally I buy whatever meat and veggies are cheap/on sale, which typically means eggs, whole chicken, chicken leg quarters, chicken livers, fresh ham or pork shoulder arm picnic, pork steaks, ground meat, and veggies that are in season. But staying within my food budget, I can also afford more expensive meals (e.g., salmon) a few times per week.

[Sparrowing]

I'm with my fellow east-coaster, Dal PhDer. Food is the one thing I try not to skimp on.

One thing I do is roast a whole chicken, and then it's good for supper, and a couple of lunches (a la chicken salad sandwiches). Here's how I roast my butter chicken:

- Preheat oven to 425F.

- Melt a half pound of butter in a pan, add garlic, onion powder, chives, pepper, and a bit of salt.

- Baste chicken using half of the melted butter mix, roast chicken for 30 mins. Take it out and baste it with the rest of the butter mix. Roast it for another 30 mins. Then baste it in its own juices, and roast it for a final 30 mins. Turn the heat up for 450 for the last 10 mins to get a crispier skin.

It's really, really delicious, sets you up for a few meals, and doesn't cost more than $11 or $12.

Love roast chicken. I'll have to try this butter baste next time! Alternatively, you could use lemon, garlic, and fresh thyme. Also, I usually add potatoes and maybe carrots or root veggies to the roasting pan for the last 30-40 mins (after parboiling), so that they get crisp and coated in the lovely flavours of the chicken fat.

I don't skimp on quality food. I'd rather turn down an invitation to the pub once in a while than limit my food budget.

I have a few very simple, delicious pasta recipes that are my staples. One is a tagliatelle that involves lemon, pine nuts, Parmesan, and Taleggio cheese, one is a fusili with crushed Italian sausage, lemon, white wine, fennel seeds, and parmesan, and another is a spaghetti with crushed basil, almonds, tomatoes, good olive oil, and cheese. There are other ingredients that go into these, too, so PM me if you want the full recipes. Each takes around 20-25 minutes if you time everything right, and I always have enough leftovers for the next day.

Fish and seafood are also wonderful things. Fish cooks up very quickly and doesn't need elaborate accompaniments, so if you're lucky enough to live on one of the coasts, it's a fantastic option. Granted, fresh seafood can be a bit pricey....last time I wanted to buy fresh dungeoness crab it was $40/lb! I've always wanted to try hitting up the docks myself.

I'm also a big fan of a well-made sandwich. Very very simple combinations I like are cucumber, cream cheese, lemon juice, avocado, emmental; ham, cream cheese, dijon, emmental, greens; or olive oil, goat's cheese, black pepper, and fresh thyme on an open-face crusty bread under the broiler. And leftover roast chicken

[Hank Scorpio]

Going to U of T, eh, Sparrowing? Maybe I'll see you around TO without knowing it's you!

[TeaGirl]

Lots of good tips here. I don't think I had ramen once during grad school honestly. I ate out only about once or max twice per week with friends. Learning to cook is the best money saver there is.

For breakfast I did eggs with some fruit (bananas were pretty cheap) and a little plain yogurt.

I did a LOT of stir-fry (bought family sized frozen veggies) with some type of protein.

I also bought dried lentils, beans, spices and other items like EVOO from middle eastern stores which were so much cheaper. I made big pots of chili and lentil soup which would last a 2-3 days. Lots of soups where I lightly sautee whatever meat and veggies I had, add water (or broth which I had frozen), seasonings and leave to slow cook for a while.

Canned tuna or salmon for those days when I didn't feel like cooking. I'd buy a loaf of whole wheat sourdough from a bakery, ate a slice per day, and stored it in the fridge.

Lot's of stick it in the oven dishes: put some chicken or fish (straight from the freezer), frozen veggies. Season, salt and bake.

Big salads. I bought the cheap whole heads of lettuce and greens, roma tomatoes, with whatever cheese, boiled egg, or meat leftovers I had around.

Oatmeal, soaked in some water and a tbs of yogurt overnight, drain a little, add milk and cook on the stove (or microwave), and add a little honey, fruit, and lots of butter .

[ANDS!]

If folks are having to sacrifice good eating habits, I'd say its worth it to take on a bit more student debt through gubment loans. I wasn't going to accept any UnSub's, but thought twice about it and am taking the full amount for my first semester.

[LOLBRBY2K]

Although I have been a vegetarian for over ten years, I have found that vegetarian options are usually always cheaper when eating out and buying food.

My staple cheapie recipe was cooking up a can of chickpeas in some water, chopping up a tomato and green pepper (or whatever veggies I had leftover), and then adding in some strong indian spices (or whatever I had laying around) to give it a blast of flavour. Of course if you have no understanding of basic nutrition and are already a picky eater, if you try to go veg 'cold turkey' (hehe) you will probably hate your life. My suggestion to you would be to try eating two out of three vegetarian meals a day, or to just go veg mon-thurs or something.

[lydibird]

I have to say... I am actually looking forward to my grad school budget for food. Isn't that rather sad that a grad stipend is actually going to be a financial promotion for me? *Sigh* I thought I'd be ruling the world by now...

Pretty much my situation. When I heard the amount of my stipend I felt like I was going to be rich! I've lived off 1/4 as much quite happily.