You likely heard of the freshmen 15 when starting university. Students put on about 15 pounds as they adjust to their new lifestyle of cramming for exams, hanging out with friends, and finding time to sleep. Now you have to cook a healthy meal? Who has time for that?
It’s possible to have a healthy meal that won’t make you go broke, and won’t take hours to make. You just have to find the right recipes first.
Because I know how busy you are (or should be), I did part of the work for you. Below are six delicious recipes that are good for your stomach, delightful for your taste buds, easy on the wallet, and will allow you to keep going with your busy day.
Maple Cinnamon Crockpot Steel Cut Oats
Okay, so maybe the name sounds complicated, but it uses a crockpot. That means you can put everything in the pot, set your timer and forget about it for several hours. Plus oatmeal is highly nutritious. It’s full of antioxidants, fibre, can lower bad cholesterol, and it fills you up.
What you need:
Total Time: 4 hours and five minutes (but you can carry on with your day)
Chicken and Vegetable Quinoa Bowl
Quinoa is something you need to add to your diet if you haven’t already. You’re getting fibre, lots of protein, essential amino acids, and if you have a gluten intolerance, it’s an excellent substitute. This recipe is an excellent supper or post-workout meal.
Although this recipe has a fair amount of ingredients, many of them you can get small packets of that will last a long time. The broccoli you can get frozen, which is cheaper than fresh and still just as good.
What you need:
Total Time: 40 minutes
Who doesn’t love a good plate of nachos? Especially when you have friends over for the night, nachos are the perfect snack to eat in a casual setting. How do you make nachos healthy though? By taking a Greek salad and turning it into nachos, that’s how.
By using whole grain options, you’re getting all the benefits from them that you don’t get from standard nacho chips. There are tons of vegetables thrown on this dish to ramp up the healthiness.
What you need:
Total Time: 30 minutes
Everyone deserves a snack, and this one’s for all of you chocolate lovers out there. Yes, you can have a chocolate dish that is not too bad for you. It’s still not something you want to enjoy every day for every meal. However, for those odd snacks you crave, there’s nothing wrong with eating a brownie out of a mug.
What you need:
Total Time: 20 minutes
Curried Chickpeas with Spinach
Here’s a hearty vegan meal that even carnivores will love, and it only takes 25 minutes to make. Adding curry seasoning to the dish really kicks it up a notch for a more flavourful supper. You have the added benefits of spinach, or you could add in any vegetable you like. Pair it with whole grain rice to stay in line with healthier options.
Chickpeas are high in protein, which makes them an excellent meat supplement for vegetarians and vegans. Even if you are not a vegan, you can still enjoy the benefits from chickpeas.
What you need:
Total Time: 25 minutes
A stir fry supper is one of the easiest meals you can make in a short amount of time. Plus, what makes them so great is that you can add whatever you want to the mix. This beef and cabbage stir fry is quick and simple, and you can substitute the beef for leaner options like chicken or turkey, or add quinoa for vegetarians.
To make this meal even easier, instead of buying the different vegetables, a bag of coleslaw mix would do the trick.
What you need:
Total Time: 30 minutes
Another reason why these recipes are so awesome is that they use ingredients that you either have in your kitchen already, or will eventually use up anyways. Try out these recipes for your next meal and let us know what you think.
Kailey graduated with a degree in Journalism and Religious Studies from the University of Regina, Saskatchewan. Now she lives a double life in Manitoba – writer by day and dance teacher by night. When she’s not at her computer, you’ll find her curled up with a glass of red wine and knitting, or obsessively taking photos of her puppy.🐶🐾
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