This post is really directed to anyone studying full-time or living on their own and working so much that the mere thought of making healthy meals tires you out.  Grad students’ situations just exemplify the worst of it.

The great thing about being single is being able to cook all of your own food (to put a positive spin on it).  As we all know, cooking, eating and cleaning up the kitchen take enormous amounts of time that you’d rather be spending doing all the other things on your list (if you’re not working on your exams, dissertation, interviews, conference papers, term papers, incompletes, or other side projects you didn’t realize were part of the grad school package).

Since you’re in grad school, I’m guessing that you want to live a bit better than you did as an undergrad – you’re not running out for take out each night or ordering in pizza each time you need to do pull a late night working on a paper.  (I’d advise against it, anyway – the pounds really pack on easier with the added stress and moving up into your late 20’s).

Here are a few ideas on eating cheaply, quickly, and healthily.  While I target graduate students, obviously, these are great ideas for everyone who wants to simplify their cooking and eat for pennies.

Save Money By Eating the Minimal Amount Necessary

How To Eat Cheaply While in Grad School

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Two words: fruits and vegetables. Seriously, have you paid attention to how little produce actually costs compared to packaged and prepared goods?

You can buy a bag of spinach for $1.50 – which can last for 2-3 meals, depending on how you cook it.  A box of cherry tomatoes?  Only $2-2.50.  The most expensive produce item I encounter is boxed, washed lettuce for about $3.49 maximum.  Green and red peppers come as cheap as 40 cents each.  Even a bunch of organic bananas can be had for $1.50.  And these all last for several days/meals.  Compare that with your $6 single serving pizza that lasts only one evening.

The key is to get a routine going and have a lineup of about 4-6 dinners you really love that you can make on a consistent basis.  Since I’m a vegetarian and really discourage the use of animals’ lives for food, these will be vegetarian dinner ideas.  I trust that meat lovers can easily find a way to drop in their favorite chunks of flesh to finish off the meal.

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Salads

If you’re hardcore you can buy loose-leaf lettuce and cut and wash it yourself, but I’ve found that buying it pre-cut and washed in boxes saves a lot of time and is worth the extra bit of money.  Use your favorite veggies – buy carrots pre-cut and washed in bags (again, to save time), peppers, grape tomatoes.  Try adding some onion to the salad for kick (raw onion is great for your health too) and choose a low-fat dressing not covered in sugar.  Add some nuts or seeds to top the salad off.  You can rotate your salad by alternating dressings, veggies, using cranberries instead of nuts or by adding different spices.  A bit of pepper and cayenne work well sometimes.

One large salad for lunch = approx. $2.00
Small salad as side with dinner = $1.00?

Rice Dish

Pasta is a nice treat and has become a staple with all the variations you can do on Kraft dinner, but face it – pastas pack on the pounds.  They are just made of wheat and gluten and break down into starches and sugars fairly quickly.  It’s better to eat brown and wild rices instead.  Pick your favorite rice and experiment with alternating different sides to go with it.  Try warmed spinach, feta cheese, walnuts, sweet potatoes, and other steamed veggies.

One dinner = $1.00-$2.00

Quinoa Dish

Quinoa is another power food.  It packs a lot of protein, too.  And it’s super cheap.  Just use it wherever you would use pasta before.  Make a quinoa stir-fry and add your favorite vegetables.  Add in some beans and you’ve got a real power meal.

One dinner = $2.00-$2.50

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Pizza

Who can live without pizza?  The problem is that like pasta, regular pizza crust is starchy and without much nutrition.  If you really want the treat, try a gluten-free pizza crust and make your own pizzas.   Or buy the fresh dough if there’s a place nearby you can get it.  The best thing about pizza is that it’s easy to dump all the veggies on it – it’s easy to prepare, like salad, that way.  It’s not as cheap as the above dishes, however, but you can make a large pizza and have leftovers.  Also, try skipping the cheese for once. You’d be surprised how good the pizza can still taste.  If that’s too extreme, try just putting about half your usual amount of cheese on.  Face it – cheese is basically all fat, straight to your gut and thighs.

Small storebought pizza = $5.00-6.oo
Make your own large pizza = $7.00-$8.00 (good for two meals)

Think Hard: Your Brain Burns Calories, Too

Save Money – Don’t Drink Calories

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Another sort-of-secret: stop drinking your calories.  A pint of beer packs on anywhere from 200-450 calories.  And if you have two of those?  That’s almost half your recommended daily caloric intake! Is the beer going to keep you from going hungry?  You can save A LOT of money if you limit your fluid intake to water and plain coffee and teas.

You may not count calories, but trust me, the calories are counting you.  And they cost you extra money when you drink them.

Buy water cheap by the gallon.

As much as the idea is nice, tap water simply isn’t high quality across the board.  Gunk from your water heater can end up in the pipes along with other stuff – and Brita doesn’t always catch everything, although it can help.  Sometimes you just have to buy some drinking water, too.  But don’t buy the small bottles – get it by the gallon at the grocery store or order the large kegs from a water delivery service if it’s cheaper.  You can refill your water bottle at home from this supply.

Gallon of water = $1.40 (approx.)

Drink coffee plain, not with milk, soy, sugar, cream and caramel.

All the add-ons cost extra, especially when you get into the larger sizes.  Wean yourself off the latte by ordering a misto instead, then gradually transition to just adding a bit of milk and finally – if you can – just drink your coffee black.  It saves you calories, too.

Medium drip take-out coffee = $1.30-$2.00 (approx.)

Herbal Teas for Health

Many herbal teas are caffeine-free and perfect for when you need a hot drink late at night.  They also provide numerous health benefits and if you don’t add milk or sugar or honey, you won’t be ingesting many calories, either.

Cup of herbal tea = $0.30 (made at home)

All of the above food tips apply to college students too, obviously – but due to the intense demands that grad school places on your time, it can be even more important to make sure you’re staying healthy and saving money at the same time until you’re done.

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