I’ve just moved away to college and am having a lot of trouble eating well. Can anyone suggest any healthy easy to cook recipes that make one or two servings? its preferable if the meals don’t use too many frozen components because my freezer is tiny and doesn’t work well.

Hi, Joanna!  It’s difficult to cook and eat healthy for one, isn’t it? Then again, it’d be difficult to cook for a family with kids and be healthy too.

I live alone, and find myself making rather simple small meals for myself. I buy a container of salad greens and some veggies to add to it, but if I don’t have salad every day I’m wasting stuff when it goes limp in four days. So I’ve started keeping salad stuff at the office and having it every day. For dinner, I often take about half a bag of winter veggies (the cauliflower and broccoli florets and carrots in the bag at the supermarket) and put them on a small piece of foil and spray water then olive oil on them, sprinkle with seasonings, and roast in the small convection/toaster oven I have until they’re a bit carmelized. You can do a small chicken breast at the same time.

Some nights, dinner is a sliced tomato and some fresh mozzarella on top of a Wasa high fiber cracker, with some seasonings and maybe onion. Eggs, or egg substitute, make a nice easy meal any time.

I take it you’re not living in campus housing. No meal ticket? When I was at Penn State, my junior year I lost a lot of weight, and the nightly salad bar was a godsend.

Hey, Joanna! I have 2 kids and a hubby, so am no help at all. And when I am home alone, it’s always a frozen dinner. When I did live alone, I ate SpaghettiO’s constantly. I was thin, but I doubt that’s the direction you want to go.

Let us know what you end up doing. I’d try to get lots of fresh veggies and some protein of some sort. How often do you go shopping? It may prove handy to invest in one of those little freezers they sell at Wal-Mart.

Bree

I usually steam some vegetables, brocolli and carrots most of the time and then put a piece of chicken in my George Foreman grill.  I put a potato in the microwave for a few minutes, then throw it in the toaster oven to crisp up the skin.  Or sometimes I will cook a pot of rice at the beginning of the week and just warm that up.

When pressed for time, I’ve gotten from the grocery some fish, frozen Green Giant (simply steam) boxed veggies that go in the microwave and also get a rice pilaf from the same company. Quick pan fry, quick microwaves and a dinner!

I tend to stop at the grocery on the way home, it’s better than a restaurant and I really don’t like the processed dinners
at all.
Josie