COLUMN: Nutritious and delicious recipes for college students

One of the many luxuries of being on your own in college is managing your own food habits. You don’t need to ask for your parents’ permission to order takeout, and the food world is your oyster. This sounds amazing until you notice the damage done to your bank account. Eating out in college can become a financial burden as it limits how much you can spend elsewhere.  

Healthy food fuels our bodies, giving us the proper sources of energy needed to proceed through our every day. You will notice improvements in both your sleep quality and overall mood from maintaining a healthy diet. If you’re interested in learning more about  the benefits of eating healthily in college, visit the College Nutritionist’s website. Try to give your wallet a break and test out some of the recipes below. 

Breakfast 

Protein smoothie: 

When I’m behind schedule in the morning I resort to a protein smoothie for breakfast. This recipe only takes about 5 minutes to make and just a minute to clean up.  

Ingredients: 

• ½ cup frozen bananas 

• ½ cup frozen strawberries sliced 

• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder 

• 1 cup of milk (I use oat or skim milk)  

• ¾ tablespoon creamy peanut butter 

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon 

Directions:  

1. Add your bananas and strawberries into a blender. Grab the vanilla protein powder (I use Orgain) and dump a scoop full into the blender. Pour the milk in and add the peanut butter. Top it off with cinnamon and mix. 
2. Press mix or blend on your blender and wait until the smoothie is perfectly smooth. Pour it into any cup or travel mug and start sipping.  

Lunch 

Wraps: 

This is a classic lunch of mine, and I never get sick of a good wrap. I like adding turkey as my protein, but other lunch meat also works well. 

Ingredients: 

• Flour tortillas (I buy the Mission Foods brand)  

• 3 slices of lunchmeat  

• Feta cheese crumbles  

• Small handful of lettuce  

• 2 sliced tomatoes  

• 4 sliced cucumbers  

• Honey mustard or balsamic vinaigrette 

Directions: 

1. Evenly lay out the lunchmeat on top of the tortilla. Add the lettuce on top followed by the tomatoes and cucumbers. Sprinkle the feta crumbles and finish with a drizzle of the desired sauce or dressing.  
2. I like to make two wraps because it fills me up perfectly. Once your wrap is ready then it’s time to eat. 

Harvest salad with protein: 

This is one of my favorite salads to make in the winter. It’s the perfect portion size that will keep you content until dinner.  

Ingredients: 

• ¾ cup red grapes, cut in halves 

• ¾ cup sliced apples  

• Goat cheese  

• 1 package spring mix lettuce  

• Crushed almonds (I buy packaged pre-crushed almonds at the store) 

• 6 strips of frozen grilled chicken (I get the Tyson or Aldi brand) 

• Balsamic vinaigrette dressing  

Directions:  

1. Cook the chicken in a pan for about 7 minutes over medium-high heat. Once it’s done, let it cool for a couple minutes.  
2. Cut your grapes into halves and slice your apples before setting aside. While the chicken is cooling, add two big handfuls of lettuce and drop them into a salad bowl. Once the chicken is cool, add it to the salad mix. Combine the grapes and apples followed by the almonds. 
3. Sprinkle a small handful of goat cheese and top it off with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.   

Dinner 

Chicken Tzatziki bowl: 

Whenever I have this meal in the gloomy wintertime, the colorful veggies make me excited for spring to come. I like to make a bigger serving of this meal so I can enjoy the leftovers throughout the week.  

Ingredients: 

• ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt   

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 

• 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cubed 

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped 

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice 

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika 

• 1 tablespoon chopped oregano 

• Kosher salt and black pepper 

• 1 cucumber diced 

• 1 Roma tomato diced  

• 1 cup Tzatziki sauce  

• 1 package of microwaved jasmine rice  

• 3 ounces crumbled feta cheese 

Directions 

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. While waiting, take a medium mixing bowl and combine the yogurt, olive oil, cubed chicken, garlic, paprika, chili flakes and oregano with a few dashes of salt and pepper. Let the mixture marinate for 12-15 minutes.
2. Distribute the chicken evenly on a greased or non-stick baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes and flip, then bake for another 8 minutes.   
3. While the chicken is cooking, combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon, salt and pepper.  
4. Grab a bowl and add the lettuce, rice and chicken. Top with the remaining toppings and drizzle over with the Tzatziki sauce. Once it’s ready, it’s time to enjoy your meal! 

Turkey chili: 

As the temperature has dropped, I’ve been making my favorite turkey chili recipe quite often. I suggest making this recipe on a day when you have lots of downtime. Chili takes a while to cook so you’ll have time to watch a movie or catch up on some reading while you wait. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound ground turkey  

• ⅓ cup sliced carrots 

• ⅓ cup diced tomatoes 

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste 

• 1 ½ - 2 cups chicken broth (depending on how soupy you want the chili) 

• ¼ cup diced onion 

• 1 bell pepper chopped 

• 1 tablespoon chili powder 

• 1 tablespoon ground mustard  

• 1 tablespoon paprika  

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder  

• Salt and pepper 

• 1 tablespoon olive oil  

• 2 cans kidney beans  

Directions: 

1. Heat up a pot with the olive oil and add the ground turkey. Let cook for up to 7 minutes until it’s browned. Then add in the tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots and onions and stir. 
2. Combine kidney beans, tomato paste and all seasonings along with the garlic. Increase the heat to medium-high for a couple minutes then bring to a simmer for about an hour. Make sure the lid is on while it simmers and stir occasionally.  
3. Once it’s been an hour you are free to enjoy your chili! Maybe even add some sour cream or shredded cheese to go with it.