Meal Planning without a Kitchen
Living in dorms over break can be rough when the dining hall closes.
I’ve compiled several tips and tricks to meal planning without a kitchen to help all the souls out there in need of help maintaining a healthy diet.
A good thing to think about is maintaining a balanced diet. You want fruits or vegetables, proteins, some carbs and water/beverages. With a microwave it seems difficult but stocking up on lentils, beans, rice, and canned foods can ease some of that stress of searching for a perfect meal. These things are easy to spice up and pair with a large variety of other foods.
Rice can be pared with countless things and thanks to the 1950s there is no shortage of cheap, convenient and fairly descent microwavable meals. Get things like:
Instant curry
fried rice flavoring packets
basic seasonings like garlic powder or onion powder, salt and pepper
chicken stock or beef stock
Here’s a link to a microwave rice recipe that you can add anything listed above to- https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/perfect-microwave-rice-recipe-2013357
Lentils and beans are a great source of protein (can also be eaten with rice) that can be found in the food pantry on campus! So get the most out of your tuition and get them! Here are some links to recipes that make fairly descent meals:
Rice and lentil recipe- http://fastfamilyfeasts.blogspot.com/2012/08/microwave-miracle-lentils-rice.html#.XAGs2ZNKjRY
To microwave beans, get some canned beans, drain them, put them in a microwave safe bowl and then heat them up for about 2 minutes (or until warm)
Canned Foods can be anything from beans to condensed soup to vegetables to pasta sauce. These last a long time and if you’re just making a meal for just you 1/2 a can would be one meal for yourself.
Carbs are in a lot of foods and the most popular ones are potatoes, eggs, apples, corn dairy products and rice. Things like eggs and potatoes are easy to microwave. Make yourself a baked potato with melted cheese or poach some eggs in some top ramen!
Here I copy and pasted the microwave vegetable guide from the the website linked below! If you aren’t fond of canned vegetables you can get fresh ones from the store and microwave them!
Vegetable guide By Cassie from BestRecipes.com
Here are a few tips to help you steam particular types of vegetables.
Asparagus - The easiest way to cook asparagus is by adding the spears to a snap-lock bag with a teaspoon of water. Seal up the bag and cook for 1 ½ minutes.
Broccoli and Cauliflower- Cut into individual florets, then place in a single layer in a microwave-safe dish with the thickest part of the florets facing the outside of the dish. Cover and cook for 2 ½ minutes.
Green beans- Place the beans in a dish where they can sit 2-3 deep. Sprinkle over two tablespoons of water, cover and cook for 2 ½ minutes.
Spinach- Rinse the leaves in a colander and add the still-wet leaves to a snap-lock bag. Seal up the bag and cook for 1 ½ minutes.https://www.bestrecipes.com.au/article/how-to-cook-vegetables-in-the-microwave-a610.html
By: Adrianna D’Agostino