Are you a college student looking to meal prep? Get some tips that might help you with meal prepping while you live the college life.
If you’re looking for some simple tips for college students to meal prep, you’ve arrived at the right place. Not only are these tips going to help college students eat better and more healthy but they’re also going to teach them how to be more prepared as well. Who knew that being able to meal prep could be so easy for a wide range of people?!
Living the college life doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room to do much else. Between going to classes, balancing parties, trying to have a social life, maintaining grades and “adulting” for the first time ever, every day can produce some kind of setback that can throw everything into quite the spiral. This is why meal prep can actually be a total time and sanity saver for college kids!
How can college kids eat healthier?
This is the million-dollar question. While it doesn’t mean that just because someone is in college that they’re going to not eat well, the likelihood of just grabbing something that is quick and easy seems to be much higher for college kids. If they’re looking for a way to eat healthier, meal prepping can help to accomplish just that.
What are good meal prep ideas?
Keep in mind that being in college might mean that you’re low on funds or possibly even space. Don’t let these be deterrents in setting up good meal prep ideas.
Some simple ideas for college meal prep can be:
- Pancakes
- Wraps
- Salads
- Make-Ahead Breakfast Bowls
- Burritos
The key to finding success with meal prep is that you need to find foods that you can create quickly and easily and possibly freeze or store for later consumption.
Tips For College Students To Meal Prep
Here are meal prep tips that every college student can use!
- If you live in a dorm, utilize your dorm fridge to the full capacity
Just because the fridge is small doesn’t mean that it can’t hold a lot of food! In fact, if you meal prep properly and buy proper containers that can easily stack, you can fit in a week’s worth of meals and snacks without an issue. Just make certain to not take up space with foods that are going to limit your meal prepping and healthy eating path! If you have the space, see if you can fit two mini fridges in your dorm, one under your bed, one on your room, one in the closet, etc.
- Meal prep in-between classes
It’s no secret that the life of a college student is busy, but if there is a day that is less busy than others, that is great for meal prepping. Sundays are always a day for resting and recovery for most people so it just makes sense to use that day to get a jumpstart on the next week as well. However, some college students prefer to use Sunday as a day to study or hang out with friends. If there is down time between your college classes, see if you can fit in some meal preparation time.
If you play your cards right, you can probably grocery shop and prep all your meals within a very short amount of time and still have plenty of time left over to relax.
- Meal prep for a shorter amount of time
Since you are limited on space, try meal prepping for only 2-3 days vs 3-4 days. Things can come up last minute so a traditional meal prep schedule might not work for some students. A modified meal prep schedule might help you be more successful in your goals. For example, prepare your meals for Monday and Tuesday, Meal prep on Wednesday and eat out (make healthy choices!), then on Thursday and Friday, eat your meal prep meals. Or you can skip eating out entirely and just prepare your meals every two days.
- Combine meal prep foods with purchased items on campus
Since you may be limited on refrigerator space, try combining meal prep items with purchased items on campus. For example, if you buy a wrap from the sandwich ship, split it in two. Eat one half now and save the other for another day. Combine it with a fruit or veggies from your stash to make it a meal.
- Incorporate foods that don’t have to be kept hot or cold
This is where you can really save some space in your fridge or other others. Buying veggies or fruits that don’t have to take up space in a fridge is a great way to get even more meal prep ideas easily and be able to use them. That way, those foods can set out on your table or counter and are there as well when you need to grab a snack or have a healthy option as you’re walking out the door. Cans of soup and tuna don’t have to be refrigerated and they will keep for a while.
- Multi Function Kitchen Appliances
If you have limited space for some kitchen appliances, you’ll need some multi function kitchen gadgets. For example, an Instant Pot like this can sauté, pressure cook, and cook rice. A toaster oven like this can bake, toast, broil, and roast. A high-powered blender like this can make smoothies or soups.
- Pre-made salad mixes
If your refrigerator is lacking in space, you can buy those pre-made salad mixes. They have a variety of veggies and toppings as well as the dressing you need. That way you can save space on having to buy and store each of those veggies and toppings separately.
- Share the cost with your roommate
If you have a roommate that likes the idea of meal prepping as well, why not do it together and share in the costs? It can be a fun way to bond together even more and you’ll get to spend a lot more quality time with them as you both are prepping and planning the meals. Two heads are better than one always!
- Try a service
If you’re new to cooking, try a meal prep service (if you have the funds, of course). If you have a kitchen, you can use services that just send you the ingredients with detailed instructions. If you don’t have a kitchen, try your local meal prep service. This service can be pricy (especially for those on a budget), but you can at least get an idea or a taste of the meal prep life. Ask for student discounts or look for any specials they are running.
- Always save the leftovers
If you are eating out, try to make it a habit to only eat half and save the rest for tomorrow’s meal. Stick to healthy food that will keep until the next day. Proteins like meat and chicken usually heat up well. Most cooked veggies can be eaten the next day as well. To help you with self-control, ask for a box as soon as you get your meal and set half aside before you even start eating.
See how simple these meal prep tips for college students are? All you need is a little creativity and drive and you can easily have your weeks ready to go in no time at all. Quit stressing over the small things like food and focus on the other aspects that matter.
Do you have any tips for college students to meal prep?
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