Cheap food for a college student's income.

I'm an college student currently residing in Baltimore, MD and majoring in Fine Art, so you can imagine how much money I do(n't) have for food. As someone who cannot afford the college's meal plan, I rely on cooking on my own, either before my class, or during my meal breaks. Everything in my fridge is from a cheap, low-income super market (Save-a-lot) and RiteAid (a regional pharmacy and connivence store) which mostly stocks pre-packaged food, individual packaged cheese slices, and little to no produce section. This is just a compliation of various recipes that are delicious, packed with nutrition, easy to make, and all cost under five dollars to make.

[college-eating]

How to make even sour or water fruit taste good. As summer comes around, more and more berries are in season. However, getting them from cheap super markets often means that the quality is quite low. My mother used to do this thing with sour cherries and tart strawberries: she would put it in a large bowl and cover them with a generous amount of sugar and leave it over night (or longer). What happens: after one night, the sugar crystalises. After a few more days, a syrup begins to form, which is a fantastic sweetener for hot or iced tea, and the fruit is sweetened and delicious with a cup of bitter coffee or as a nice, cool desert.

[college-eating]

Warm tomato and basil pasta salad Sorry I've been away. I've been so caught up with moving and finding a job that I kind of forgot about this, haha. I'm now at my mom's which is nice because I have someone who cooks for me about forty percent of the time. The other sixty, I still have to make things on my own. This super simple pasta can be eaten warm for instant satisfaction, or chilled. Ingredients: Pasta - either shells, bow ties, or swirls. I find that these look the prettiest in salad form Grape tomatoes Basil Olive oil (canola or vegetable works, too, considering the trusty Save-a-lot tends to not carry olive oil a lot of the time) Parm Cook the pasta until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, heat a small amount of oil in a pan, and add the tomatoes, halved and quartered as necessary. Fry until the skin just starts peeling back. Remove from heat, and add your basil. I lay each leaf on top of each other, and then roll it up. Using a pair of (clean) scissors, I cut down the tub to make basil shreds. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to your tomatoes and basil. Mix together and transfer into a bowl. Top with a generous amount of parm. If you want this salad to be chilled rather than warm, cook the pasta ahead of time, drain, add a little bit of oil and salt, and refrigerate until you're ready to eat. Cut up the tomatoes and basil and mix with the pasta, sans frying.

[college-eating]

There is nothing I love more than fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt, but it always seems like the fruit at the bottoms of the cups were alway over cooked and gross. So, I always make my own. I buy my yogurt in bulk because it's a lot cheaper than buying individual cups. Just add fruit preserves or jam into plain or vanilla yogurt and stir! And, the great part is, you can adjust how sweet or creamy you want your yogurt to be. If I'm ever on the go, I just plop it in a jar. A lot of people have started using old jars as coffee or tea tumblers, but I just see it as a great way to transport yogurt. And they're completely reusable!

[college-eating]

Toad in a hole So after having my simple breakfast this morning, I decided to quit moaning about how I had no food in my fridge, and go shopping. Of course, a few hours of painting later, I was starving again. Since I finally had bread, I decided to have second breakfast: toad in a hole! I never had this until my roommate from CT made it for me once during finals last semester. I instantly fell in love, although I'm sure I'm the only twenty year old who had ever heard of it until then. Per toad in a hole, you will need: One egg One piece of bread A tab of butter A slice of cheese (this completely optional, but I think it makes it extra tasty!) A small, round glass. Place a tab of butter in a pan and allow it to being melting. While the butter is melting, take your glass, and cookie-cut a hole in the middle of your bread. Do not throw this piece out! Once the butter is melting, place the bread (and your hole!) in the pan and coat both side with butter. Crack the egg into the hole. Allow the egg to fry, checking the underside of the toast to keep from burning. Once you feel the toast move easily around the pan without your egg breaking, flip your toast. I usually tilt my pan and shake a spatula under the toast to work it all the way under. Be careful not to shake too much, or else the yoke may break. Continue frying until the other side is fried up golden brown. (Don't forget to flip your hole, too!) If you decide to use cheese, you can either place a slice as soon as you flip the toast for a melty toad in a hole. Or, you can just place it once you transfer it to a plate. Once you break into you toad in the hole, use your hole to mop up all the runny yoke.

[college-eating]

I woke up this morning and realised I had no orange juice or toast to have for breakfast. Instead, a soft boiled egg (peeled only quarter-half way so I wouldn't have to lament about not being able to soak up delicious, runny yoke), cottage cheese (which as of last night I realised I loved. And it's packed with protein!), and some French pressed coffee (a morning tradition I cannot go without.)

[college-eating]

Macaroni with kale in cream sauce. This simple recipe has a homemade cream sauce that I whipped up using four ingredients. I used kale in this with is full of fiber and vitamins. It's similar to spinach, however it is a much heartier leaf, and doesn't become slimly when cooked, and it's cheap and readily available. Ingridients: Macaroni of your choice A few handfuls of kale A tab of butter Milk Cream cheese Individually packaged white American cheese slices Salt, pepper (I used garlic pepper) and Italian seasoning Firstly, boil as much pasta as you would like. I tend to make extra so I have leftovers for when I have a meal break and have no time to prepare something. Once cooked, drain and place in a large container. In the same pot, add more water, allow to boil, and add the kale. Boil until the leaves are dark green and tender. Once drained, rip them into small pieces, and add to the pasta. Melt the tab of butter, and as it melts, slowly start adding milk until you have the amount of sauce you would like. Begin added small spoonfuls of cream cheese and allowing them to melt, stirring as to not burn the sauce. I added what seemed to be about two or treee table spoons of cream cheese. While the cream cheese is melting, begin ripping up the American cheese slice, about two slices at a time. Add them to the sauce and continue stirring. Continue stirring until you get the consistency you desire. Add the sauce to the pasta and kale mixture, and mix to coat. If the sauce seems too thin (pooling at the botton of your container), tear up another cheese slice and mix it in until melted. Add sauce, pepper, and seasoning to taste.