Cheap Meal Ideas while in School

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TheMonkeyKing

TheMonkeyKing

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I’m entering dental school this fall and was wondering what are some cheap meals I could make. Currently, all I got is:
-rice and beans
-chicken, broccoli, and rice
-pasta and canned tuna mixed (it’s pretty good don’t judge)

You guys got any other ideas of what I could make that’s pretty cheap? I’m gonna be meal prepping, and I’m gonna be practicing throughout the summer. Cheap snack ideas are also appreciated.
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This is my son's favorite. I plan to buy a lot of these bowls of noodle for him when he attends college this Fall.
SmartSelect_20220507-122404_Opera.jpg
 
My roommate had a deal... He was a talented trumpet player. He and a few other musicians would play in a "Supper Club" 3 nights a week for much of the year. Their pay was OK, but the deal, was that they could order anything off the menu to eat during their break. He ate like a king 3 nights a week.


--SO-- He literally played for his supper.
 
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Go buy a large boneless pork loin, take it to the butcher counter and have them slice it for you into 3/4” chops. A 15 lb loin (~ $20) will yield around 20 chops, and it’s cheaper than buying them precut and pre wrapped. Buy a big container of salad greens and a large bag of potatoes. That’s 20 meals for $30-$35.

You can also do this with chicken thighs or breasts, to change up the protein or if you don’t eat pork.

Change up the way you cook the potatoes so you don’t get bored, or swap out for rice. If you do this every other day and do vegetarian meals on the other days that will stretch your budget even farther.
 
Soups are another good one. Lots of recipes out there that are fairly well balanced, don't have any expensive ingredients, and you can make a bunch at once and leftovers are often even better than when freshly made. Find yourself a blender or immersion blender at a thrift store to do blended red lentil style soups (pumpkin red lentil is my favorite). Also worth perusing through here: COOKING ON A BOOTSTRAP
 
Back in the old days (when amalgam was king and implants experimental) I worked as a Resident Assistant in the dorms. It wasn't a bad position,
single room and meals included for being in my room and available 3 nights a week and one weekend a month. I even had the upside of being Dan Marino's R.A.
 
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Daurang said:
If you live near a Costco, go sample and resample all their free food until full. If still hungry, go for their $1.50 hot dog+Pepsi.
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Honestly, I'd invest in a Costco membership. The $4.99 rotisserie chickens are well worth the money. If you pair the chicken with rice/noodles, a sauce, and vegetables, you can eat fairly cheap each week
 
HowToTeeth101 said:
Honestly, I'd invest in a Costco membership. The $4.99 rotisserie chickens are well worth the money. If you pair the chicken with rice/noodles, a sauce, and vegetables, you can eat fairly cheap each week
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costco canadian whiskey is the best value of any store. I Always have a handle ready for the weekly post-exam emotional breakdown.
 
TheMonkeyKing said:
I’m entering dental school this fall and was wondering what are some cheap meals I could make. Currently, all I got is:
-rice and beans
-chicken, broccoli, and rice
-pasta and canned tuna mixed (it’s pretty good don’t judge)

You guys got any other ideas of what I could make that’s pretty cheap? I’m gonna be meal prepping, and I’m gonna be practicing throughout the summer. Cheap snack ideas are also appreciated.
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Do you have an air fryer? If not i'd highly suggest getting one. You can throw in a cheap steak, microwave some costco rice, and everything's ready in less than 7 minutes.

$7 for costco microwavable rice, $5 costco spagetti noodles, $18 for 5lbs of costco chicken tendies (goes with the pasta), costco prego pasta sauce, frozen veggies, microwavable quinoa/brown rice, spam (expensive but lasts forever), rotisserie chicken + tortilla can all be found at costco. just go for the microwavable/frozen foods and stay away from the perishables.
 
HowToTeeth101 said:
Honestly, I'd invest in a Costco membership. The $4.99 rotisserie chickens are well worth the money. If you pair the chicken with rice/noodles, a sauce, and vegetables, you can eat fairly cheap each week
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If you really want to save $$ get Costco gift cards. You won’t need a membership and it will limit the amount of money you can spend so you won’t end up buying useless crap
 
Dr.CinnamonRoll said:
costco canadian whiskey is the best value of any store. I Always have a handle ready for the weekly post-exam emotional breakdown.
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Some warehouses aren't allowed to sell alcohol due to state laws. Sadly, the warehouses in my state happen to be impacted.
 
While in DS, one of my classmates frequents the Mission House where they serve free meals to the homeless. During that time, he was the most financially ambitious flipping homes to pay for school and for living expenses so nothing was beneath him. I agree with Costco food especially the rotisserie chicken. Just make sure you don't blow out your kidneys with all the sodium from the cheap foods.
 
Molar Whisperer said:
While in DS, one of my classmates frequents the Mission House where they serve free meals to the homeless. During that time, he was the most financially ambitious flipping homes to pay for school and for living expenses so nothing was beneath him. I agree with Costco food especially the rotisserie chicken. Just make sure you don't blow out your kidneys with all the sodium from the cheap foods.
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This feels so gross to me. Same with med or dent students using food stamps. Like if you’re going to be making 350k plus, feels wrong to be using resources meant for those who need them most
 
voxveritatisetlucis said:
This feels so gross to me. Same with med or dent students using food stamps. Like if you’re going to be making 350k plus, feels wrong to be using resources meant for those who need them most
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I understand where you are coming from but I had a classmate with 3 kids under 5 and you just don’t have enough money on loans at that time. He wouldn’t have survived without government benefits.

But for an average single person without dependents it’s different. You will also pay into the system for benefits with taxes for the rest of your career
 
voxveritatisetlucis said:
This feels so gross to me. Same with med or dent students using food stamps. Like if you’re going to be making 350k plus, feels wrong to be using resources meant for those who need them most
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Good point on the resources meant for those who need them the most. On the flip side, the unconsumed meals would be discarded anyways.

voxveritatisetlucis said:
Pnut butter

Is there another food on the planet that has more calories/$?
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Very intriguing and necessary to ponder due to "living as a poor student" and peanut butter is a good source of calories. Be careful not to consume too much sodium (mention prev) and cheap processed carbs. You also need to invest in yourself.

If one is an avid fisherman or hunter or can be friends with some, maybe one can score some free protein.

This may not apply to everyone but if you have access to your parents' cooking and mooching off of them is not beneath you, then hopefully that is a cheap calorie source.
 
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voxveritatisetlucis said:
This feels so gross to me. Same with med or dent students using food stamps. Like if you’re going to be making 350k plus, feels wrong to be using resources meant for those who need them most
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I know a guy who is on section 8 housing completely free as a grad student
 
TheMonkeyKing said:
I’m entering dental school this fall and was wondering what are some cheap meals I could make. Currently, all I got is:
-rice and beans
-chicken, broccoli, and rice
-pasta and canned tuna mixed (it’s pretty good don’t judge)

You guys got any other ideas of what I could make that’s pretty cheap? I’m gonna be meal prepping, and I’m gonna be practicing throughout the summer. Cheap snack ideas are also appreciated.
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I meal prep every week. I do a lot of oatmeal for breakfast and salads. I’m a vegetarian, but I usually try to change things up every week. I like roasted veggies over rice with tahini and hummus, frozen veggies with Buffalo sauce or hummus is cheap, make your own breakfast sandwiches that you can freeze are great, sweet potato tacos, and tuna noodle casserole (canned tuna, frozen peas, cream of mushroom, garlic, and noodles).

I’ll be in the same boat!
 
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