What are some college food staples?

Question

I've got a microwave and a tiny fridge to work with, and I'm trying to put together a decently nutritious (and affordable) shopping list...

Answer 1

Here is what I did:
Shelf items:
Peanut butter
good all purpose seasoning blend
salt and pepper
instant low-sugar oatmeal
dry cereal
dried apricots and raisins
pasta (very easy to prepare in microwave
canned soups--quite a few low sodium and low fat versions
favorite canned veggies
granola bars
whole grain bread
Molly McButter
hot sauce
saltine crackers and store brand snack crackers
baked potato chips
ramen noodles--I mixed veggies with these and added hot sauce and soy sauce to make a "stir-fry"
crystal light individual drink packets you can make by the glass. These are sugar-free, and you can sometimes find store brands. I bought store brands when possible.

Fridge items:

quart of skim milk
juice
low-fat cheese
frozen veggie blend (I prefer the stir-fry varieties)
small amount of favorite fresh veggies
bag of salad
small jar of reduced fat mayo, small bottle of mustard (I found
mustard kept well unrefrigerated), salad dressing, soy sauce
sugar-free pudding and gelatin
some frozen low-fat entrees
something to make sandwiches with

I also kept a small stash of treats if just had to have something sweet.
This is hardly a comprehensive list, but maybe it will get you started. I became pretty inventive in coming up with healthy meals. You can too. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Hummus is great!! You can buy chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini and garlic for cheap and smash them all together to make a complete protein that goes wonderfully with salad, veggies, chips or crackers and that keeps for a long time in the fridge. Also, avoid ramen noodles like the plague. They are a nonnutritional filler.
If your fridge has a freezer, try stocking up on Amy's Organic frozen foods. They are yummy and affordable and quite nutritious.
My mom got me a book called the "four ingredient cookbook." It's great. You can find just about anything to make in the microwave with whatever you have on hand. When you're at the grocery store, avoid the middle aisles like the plague. Stick to the produce and fresh foods sections, and you should do fine.

Answer 3

alright, go with simply jif peanut butter and a fruit perserve for sandwiches.
deli meats are good for snacking with wheat crackers and some cheeses.
you can always get a half gallon of skim milk and have special k with red berries i love that stuff.
i always keep apple sauce in the fridge in my dorm, and some bottled water is always good.
apples and peanut butter are great together...good study food.
of course you can buy fruit and make fruit salads as snack. the best thing to munch on while everyone is eating popcorn and ramen try baby carrots and sugar snap peas.

Answer 4

Kraft mac and cheese, not really nutrional but now they have the supermac and cheese which is suppose to have more vitamins in it than the normal kind

Top raman noodles (again not really nutrious but you can add some cooked pieces of meat and some veggies to make it better)

Cold sandwichs ( if you make it with whole wheat bread, coldcuts, lettuce, tomatoes, very little oil/ mayo it isn't that bad.)

Answer 5

Bagels, cheese, pepperoni ,sauce so you can make little pizzas whenever you want.

Cheese and crackers

single serve soups
Chicken nuggets

get a small toaster oven to set on top of the microwave and you can do alot more and it will taste better

Answer 6

Ramen noodles.