Meal Ideas?

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SomeDoc

SomeDoc

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So I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas for cheap, easy to make meals for those school hours after lectures that will sit well in a backpack for a few hours. Eating at the cafeteria can get expensive after a while, and driving home to grab a bite to eat and then coming back to the library eats off a good bit of time in the day. I'll start off with one of my ideas:

Egg salad sandwiches- very easy to make. Boil one or two eggs, mush em up, add a little mayo, add some salt or seasoning to taste, and spread on bread- makes about two sandwiches which can be fit into one generic brand ziploc bag which will keep you filled for a while.

For drinks, I buy gatorade powder, and reuse an empty gatorade bottle, and reconstitute it- tastes a little different, but rehydrates and gives me energy just as good as the readymade store bought stuff. All adds up to a little less than fifty cents for quite a filling meal.
 
Good thread idea!
I like to make mac n cheese and put it in tupper ware along with a crackers.
I also like to make pasta salads (I buy the krafts boxes for like $1.50)...they take 10 minutes to make.

I like the 100 calorie snacks, peanut butter cracker sandwiches, and pretty much anything instant and quick and easy to carry.

If I have 20 minutes to spare, I'll add some chicken breasts ($2.50/lb) on the George Foreman grill. I'll wrap them in tortillas.

Oh yeah..tuna fish sandwiches/salad...cheap, satisfying and fulling.

I'm a big fan of making lots of something so that I could wrap it up or pack it for luch the next day.

I also like soups in the winter.

Fruits tend to fill the stomach so they make good snacks. I love trail mix for snacking during long days of studying.,,the nuts, raisons, and of course the M&Ms combo keeps me going.

I'm sure there's more stuff I just can't remember.
 
My George Forman is my divine savior. Can throw pretty much anything on it and it's done in under a half hour.

My favorite is chicken breast basted in basalmic vinegar. Almost like a teriyaki.
 
Y'all are impressive. I've been eating frozen pizza for dinner for the last 60 days. Before that it was frozen burritos and that went on for about 120 days. 😱
 
It's pretty funny but, apparently most Americans can no longer cook (like, real dishes I mean), and I guess that goes double for medical students. Of course actually cooking takes forever, but I guess you can try to freeze the extra or something.

But it's really hard to eat healthy if you're just eating frozen dinners all the time, and even egg salads are probably not the healthiest thing in the world.
 
I would make my own wraps the night before. I would use chicken, lettuce and tomato with low fat Italian dressing or salsa. I could substitute roast beef for the chicken. I had a lunch bag complete with cold pack that kept things cold all day. Used this same system for overnight call during residency. Wraps take no time to make and keep quite well with minimal refrigeration.
 
I usually eat two pb&j sandwiches with some baby carrots and a special K bar for lunch. Nothing in that really needs to be kept cool.
 
Cirrus83 said:
It's pretty funny but, apparently most Americans can no longer cook (like, real dishes I mean), and I guess that goes double for medical students. Of course actually cooking takes forever, but I guess you can try to freeze the extra or something.

But it's really hard to eat healthy if you're just eating frozen dinners all the time, and even egg salads are probably not the healthiest thing in the world.
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That why I stay with my boyfriend! 😀:laugh:
 
Turkey, lettuce, and cheese in a croissant. Mmm!
 
Quesadillas. Put a tortilla on the frying pan, cover half with cheese, fold in half, cook until cheese is melted. You can add beans, veggies, cooked meat, whatever, as well.
 
nice link, Jeebus.

For a nice easy variation to the turkey sandwich (and also to make not-so-great tasting turkey better tasting), you can sautee the turkey (or any cold-cut meat for that matter) with balsamic vinegar, olive oil (optional) and maybe a bit of honey (gives a nice flavor, also optional). This can work on a pan, or on a foreman grill, for you dorm people. This also works well with canned tuna or canned salmon. You can throw in some chunks of whatever cheese you like, and make some larger quantities of it to save for later in the week.
 
These are some really good ideas! The wraps and macaroni salad are great ideas. Try scoping out your local dollar store- the one close to me is selling Kraft-brand macaroni salad mixes for a dollar! 🙂
 
I like zone bars, hardboiled eggs, fruit, etc....They are all easy to carry around.
 
Cut pita in half, open pockets, and spread garlic hummus. Stuff with sliced cucumber and bean sprouts (+anything else you want). I like it better cold, but it definitely lasted in a bag for a few hours, tasted fine at room temp, and didn't look disgusting when my books squished it.
 
hotpockets...

also hamburger helper has packets now that you add water too and nuc for 5 minutes and it is a smaller portion of the box version but with meat already added...there not too bad either
 
SomeDoc said:
So I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas for cheap, easy to make meals for those school hours after lectures that will sit well in a backpack for a few hours. Eating at the cafeteria can get expensive after a while, and driving home to grab a bite to eat and then coming back to the library eats off a good bit of time in the day. I'll start off with one of my ideas:

Egg salad sandwiches- very easy to make. Boil one or two eggs, mush em up, add a little mayo, add some salt or seasoning to taste, and spread on bread- makes about two sandwiches which can be fit into one generic brand ziploc bag which will keep you filled for a while.
QUOTE]

The best egg salad you will ever have, if you have an extra 2 minutes is all you need. Add some chopped onion and minced garlic, throw n some paprika, cumin, mustard powder and you have egg salad with a kick. Also works well with chili powder instead of mustard powder.

As for me, I love cooking. I'll probably make some meals on the weekend and freeze them to eat during the week. Soups hold up well, but you can make French onion soup in like 10 mins. Sautee some onions, throw it in some beef broth, bring it to a boil, salt and pepper to taste, put in a bowl with a piece of toasted bread, add some mozzerella nad parmasen on top of the bowl and stick it in the oven for a few minutes.

I also love my grill pan. Not a fan of the George Forman because I find it causes all the juices to come out of the food, leaving behind a really dry piece of meat. But I use my grill pan to make grilled chicken in 6 minutes, grilled shrimp in 5 minutes, its awesome stuff. And marinades are great, stick your chicken or meat in a marinade for a few hours while you go off to class or to study, and then come back and stick it on the grill.

But of course, you want something for the day. Make sure you have protein in your food so you'll stay fuller longer. If you're going to leave your lunch in your car, and it's hot, you may want to stay away from mayo. Might get a little stinky.

And completely OT, but I accidently grilled avocado tonight, and it tasted awesome. I think it's a mistake I'll have to make more often.
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although i like egg salad, i wouldn't want that out of the fridge very long. the combo of mayo and egg is an invitation for some nasty bacteria, our friend staph aureus. ick ick ick!!!

i was planning on doing a lot of cooking on one day a week and putting it all in the freezer....then during the week(s) we can defrost little by little. then, i will still feel like i'm cooking for my husband even without being home very much 🙂
 
musiclink213 said:
And completely OT, but I accidently grilled avocado tonight, and it tasted awesome. I think it's a mistake I'll have to make more often.
Click to expand...

Grilled avocado?? Do tell!
 
Just tried this one:
-grill some chicken cut into chunks and cool it. Mix with a cut up mango, plain yogurt, mayo, curry powder, cumin, a little honey, chopped onions. Put in a wrap or on bread.

My favorite wrap ever.
 
lean pockets, lean cuisine pizzas, high-protein cereal were some of my standbys last year; starvation is also a great option in my book, because who couldn't stand to lose a little weight and save a little time

if you MUST eat, my sister had this great idea for packing her husband's lunches for work:

1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn
1 can diced rotel tomatos
1 - 2 cups rice
1 bag lowfat cheese

she cooks that all up and then packs it in a bunch of little ziplocks. her hubby grabs a bag and a tortilla on his way to work, pops it in the microwave at lunch time, and presto - instant healthy burrito!
 
LifetimeDoc said:
Crock Pot cooking, set it, goto school, come home and eat.
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Seconded. Got a new crock pot and some crcok pot recipe books for my birthday. Did some in undergrad for busy days but plan to do a lot more crock pot cooking in med school.
 
I joined a cooking group with five other members of my class- we each cooked one big meal per week (enough for six)- and brought in the food for the other five- in return I received five other meals - we have several fridges in our locker/R&R area- so I could go grab a meal every day- It worked out great- for one day cooking I got all different types of meals- all year- (except for exam weeks when we all went into hiding)- I highly recommend it!
 
DickyV said:
Grilled avocado?? Do tell!
Click to expand...

I was making California Club sandwiches last night, and I was grilling them on my grill pan, like using the grill pan as a panini press. Well, when it came to flip it, my sandwich fell apart, and the avocados hit the grill. I figured i'll deal with them later, I didn't want the other sandwiches to burn. Well, once the others were flipped, I went back to my fallen sandwich. It wasn't burned, so I figured it was still edible. I tried one of the avocados, and woah mama! It had a bit of the dressing on it ( a mix of ranch dressing nad dijon mustard) and some salt. Yummy.
 
snumie said:
I joined a cooking group with five other members of my class- we each cooked one big meal per week (enough for six)- and brought in the food for the other five- in return I received five other meals - we have several fridges in our locker/R&R area- so I could go grab a meal every day- It worked out great- for one day cooking I got all different types of meals- all year- (except for exam weeks when we all went into hiding)- I highly recommend it!
Click to expand...

Cool idea.
 
1-Foil packaged Indian food (from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's) with 5 min. rice
2-Tomato, basil, mozzarella panini on foccacia bread on your George Forman or panini maker ($20 at Target)
3-Cheese quesadillas w/tomatoes, onions, hot sauce, and salsa/sour cream/home made guac on top (guac is super easy to make)
4-Tomato, basil, mozzarella risotto (just cook the rice and stir in the rest)
5-Cheese enchiladas (fry corn tortillas for 10 s each, insert anything, top with sauce from can and more cheese and onions, bake 30 min)
6-Flax seed toaster waffles (like eggos but better) w/natural peanut butter and jelly
7-Have a meal of snacks if you're really pressed for time--yogurt, protein or fruit bar, melons w/cottage cheese, microwavable fake bacon
8-Find Morningstar Farms fake meats--they are lower in fat/calories/cholesterol (although high in soy so eat in moderation) and are good when microwaved
9-rice and beans--rinse all the salt off of the canned beans, warm and add desired spices vegetables, serve w/5 min rice

Whoever said you have to actually toil over a stove to be healthy is totally wrong. It does however make cooking/being healthy easier when you're a vegetarian.
 
Nauss99 said:
Bittman's the bomb! 👍
Click to expand...

Have you looked at those meals? Prosciutto, shrimp, LOBSTER, 2 cups of fresh basil leaves...sure it's cheaper to cook at home than to eat at the cafeteria, but not if you cook stuff like that!
 
Whenever we make big dinners at home we make extra and freeze portions of it in tupperwares . . . then you bring the frozen tupperware with you which keeps it fresh because it only defrosts as you sit in class all morning and then microwave it in the cafeteria . . . I love doing stir fries over rice or asian noodles, or fried rice, or pastas with chicken and veggies, or rice and beans. If you buy frozen veggies that are pre-prepped or the pre-prepped stir fry veggies in the produce section it makes things go a ton faster too. I also bring a can of soup sometimes for the days when I don't make dinner and therefor don't have leftovers.
 
This one is easy and I just cooked it (my mom showed me) and it took 20 minutes.

Ingredients:
half-cup of ground meat
can of baked beans
rice
your gavorite spices


Take some ground beef and cook it in a lightly oiled pan, brown the meat and add some spices. Then add a can of baked beans to the meat and let them cook together.

Serve the beans/meat on top of a bowl of rice.

Eat away. It's great for winters...quite hearty.
 
DReject said:
This one is easy and I just cooked it (my mom showed me) and it took 20 minutes.

Ingredients:
half-cup of ground meat
can of baked beans
rice
your gavorite spices


Take some ground beef and cook it in a lightly oiled pan, brown the meat and add some spices. Then add a can of baked beans to the meat and let them cook together.

Serve the beans/meat on top of a bowl of rice.

Eat away. It's great for winters...quite hearty.
Click to expand...

sounds good.

if you buy one of those ready-made baked chickens, pita bread, tomatoes, lettuce, green peppers and pretty any other veggies and spices you want. put it all in a pita and eat. it usually takes like 5 mins to make...the longest part is microwaving the chicken.
 
sprinkibrio said:
1-Foil packaged Indian food (from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's) with 5 min. rice
2-Tomato, basil, mozzarella panini on foccacia bread on your George Forman or panini maker ($20 at Target)
3-Cheese quesadillas w/tomatoes, onions, hot sauce, and salsa/sour cream/home made guac on top (guac is super easy to make)
4-Tomato, basil, mozzarella risotto (just cook the rice and stir in the rest)
5-Cheese quesadillas (fry corn tortillas for 10 s each, insert anything, top with sauce from can and more cheese and onions, bake 30 min)
6-Flax seed toaster waffles (like eggos but better) w/natural peanut butter and jelly
7-Have a meal of snacks if you're really pressed for time--yogurt, protein or fruit bar, melons w/cottage cheese, microwavable fake bacon
8-Find Morningstar Farms fake meats--they are lower in fat/calories/cholesterol (although high in soy so eat in moderation) and are good when microwaved
9-rice and beans--rinse all the salt off of the canned beans, warm and add desired spices vegetables, serve w/5 min rice

Whoever said you have to actually toil over a stove to be healthy is totally wrong. It does however make cooking/being healthy easier when you're a vegetarian.
Click to expand...

That's the kind of stuff I need...its hard finding fast, easy vegetarian recipes for med students.
 
Chilli is a good idea in the winter months. Pack it frozen / semi-frozen in a microwavable tupperware container and heat it up in the microwave. Couple of crackers... mmmm....
 
tulane06 said:
Ramen Noodles. You can even cook them in a coffee maker if you are really desperate.
Click to expand...

Nooooooo!! Not... the ... ramen... noodles...! 🙂

I have to admit that's pretty ingenious using a coffee maker.
 
1 jar prego
1 lb ground turkey (I get turkey, not just the breast, it's cheaper and I don't care about fat)
1 lb pasta (I like rotini, easier to eat on the go)

If you want to be fancy, add some chopped veggies, I like yellow squash and zuccini, a little fresh basil and parmesean cheese.

Brown turkey (with or without veggies), add prego, stir. Done.

I put some pasta in gladware, add some of the meatsauce.
The recipe is enough for us to eat for dinner and then I have a couple of days' worth of lunches.

Get yourselves some ice packs for kripe's sake!

A GOOD rice cooker is your best friend. A crappy one is yard sale junk.

Other easy stuff:

If you live near asian groceries, they have (good) noodle soup packs in the refrig/freezer sections, and then there are these buns filled with meat, or bean paste, or seafood, that microwave spectacularly in a minute.

Buy cool bottled sauce. It makes eating chicken and rice 3 days straight good instead of bad.

Healthy Snacks:
Avocados, cucumbers, or Mango whole with a pocketknife in my lunchbag
Boiled eggs. Even better, pickled eggs.
Blue corn chips w/ chunks of cheddar cheese and hot sauce.
Shrimp cocktail (takes what, 3 minutes?)

I use the teeny gladware containers to transport salad dressing so my salad/sandwich doesn't get mushy.

I also totally cheat regularly because my hubby is a chef, and he can bring me stuff from work already packaged and ready to go. So, um, marry a chef. Or at least live with one.
 
I have become proficient at cooking noodles (like Pasta Roni and Lipton Pasta sides, etc) in the microwave. I honestly don't cook them as long as some of the packages say, merely enough water to cover the noodles for 3 minutes or so (depending on the microwave and chosen pasta dish). If you don't like all the sodium in some of these, just leave out the packet of seasoning and season yourself with parmesan cheese, olive oil, spices, etc as desired.
 
montessori2md said:
...my hubby is a chef, and he can bring me stuff from work already packaged and ready to go. So, um, marry a chef. Or at least live with one.
Click to expand...

...lucky!!! (Napoleon Dynamite style)

Great ideas montess. Yeah, I agree- having a good rice cooker is great. I have one of those small ones- they're so easy to use, and the rice comes out perfect every time.
 
i take a can of black beans, a can of No Salt Added diced tomotoes and a can of No Salt Added whole corn and mix them together. then i dump in a bunch of chili powder to make it spicy. if i have fresh veggies, i will chop up onions and green peppers and mix in there too.

i eat this on/with everything. with scrambled eggs in a corn tortilla, on top of grilled chicken or fish, mixed with brown rice, with chips and guacamole. and honestly, sometimes i just eat it out of the container with a spoon 🙂

its really tasty, low in sodium, and a good source of protein and fiber. oh and its cheap too!
 
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