During my four years in college, I have watched many friends put on their freshman-15 and never lose it. The most frequent excuse is the price of healthy food and not having time to cook. Well, I have debunked such theories and have provided a brief guide for everyone interested in maintaining a healthy diet in college and saving money at the same time.
Have you ever heard of meal prepping? Well, if you haven't, it is simply preparing your food once a week and packaging it in microwavable containers so you can grab it and take it with you wherever you need to go. The purpose of this is to control portions you eat for each meal. In doing so, it is much easier to remain disciplined and stick to a diet, while also saving you an abundance of time. The first week of meal prepping took my girlfriend and I four hours, but we have been able to get our entire routine, from cheat day bagels, to food shopping, to cooking in less than two and a half hours. This consumes significantly less time than going to the cafeteria for every meal, every day.
Meal prepping also helps limit the amount of food you waste because you have a plan for every ounce of food you purchase. This is where saving money comes into play. Remember, a meal can be as simple as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread with a yogurt and fruit. After a few weeks of practicing, my girlfriend and I have gone to the grocery store and gotten our bill down to an average of $80 a week. For two active adults to eat three meals a day as well as two to three snacks, it costs $60-$100 (depending on what you bought in the previous week(s) that has rolled over.) This may sound crazy, but it's not, it simply reveals how much food we eat and buy that we don't need. If you only plan on eating two apples this week, you only purchase two apples. The only things you need to buy weekly are fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs and bread. When purchasing meats and fish you can buy them in bulk, freeze them and spread them out over the course of a month or so.
By picking a few hours of one day a week completely dedicated to food shopping and cooking, you can conveniently bring your food with you anywhere you have access to a microwave and enjoy a home cooked meal with no time constraint. The final key to accomplishing this goal is to find someone who will join you on this journey. Having my girlfriend doing it all with me helps me buy food in larger portions and therefore cheaper prices, but it also makes the experience of cooking and food shopping an entertaining and bonding experience more than a hassle. It makes being disciplined so much easier. This person can be a friend or a significant other. But if you are in a relationship, I highly suggest trying to implement this into your weekly routine. My girlfriend and I save so much money that we get to enjoy going out to a different restaurant every week for cheat day and still save money we wouldn't have if we paid for a meal plan at school. We have bonded so much over going to the gym together, cooking together, shopping together and our weekly date nights we only can afford as a result of all the money we save.
