Food can drain your budget, especially if you're trying to eat healthy. And eating unhealthy foods, like Ramen, can be detrimental to anyone, especially students who need something nutritious to help them to study well and focus, keep them running.

Most students find themselves having to buy prepared foods because they either don't know how to cook or don't have the time to do it. But with the limited budget that students have this usually means they're not going to eat healthy.

Most fast food is unhealthy and healthy options can be too expensive for students to afford, forcing them to by food that's high in carbs and low in nutrition. So what is the solution?

Well, buying the food and cooking it yourself is much cheaper and you will have healthy options that are affordable. The only problem is the time it takes to cook and prepare, and many students don't know how to cook.

Let's take care of the last part of the problem first.

There is a wealth of information online to help with cooking. From tons of healthy recipes to YouTube videos demonstrating how it's done. So not knowing how to cook is no longer an excuse for not cooking. Besides that this is a step toward maturity, part of "adulting".

Now for the complicated part.

I know all too well how little free time one can have with a full course schedule, so most of us would say we don't have time to cook. But there's a method that can make it possible, despite your busy life. The trick is to buy a larger amount of food and cook several meals at one time. Not only will this save time, but it would also save even more money when you buy things in bulk. It can also save on gas with fewer trips to the store.

Here's how it goes.

Designate one day of the week where you have a block of a few hours free and use that to cook for the week. You'll need to have reviewed various recipes and came up with something you like. Keep it simple. You could buy one or two base items and make out of them several simple meals. Don't forget to grab some tupperware and freezer bags, Dollar Tree is your friend. When you're done let the stuff cool and refrigerate or freeze the portions you are saving, using the tupperware/freezer bags you got. And voilà you have your week's food ready to heat and eat!

This method not only saves time and money, but gives you peace of mind -- knowing that you don't have to worry about where the next meal is coming from. It's also something you can be proud of yourself for achieving!