I'm not saying $12 isn't generous, but when you have a $5/day ice cream habit (fueled by all-you-can-eat ice cream in the dining halls), it brings your budget down to $7/day. Since I'm trying to also make up for the two or three days where we didn't receive per diem, my daily budget is really down to about $5/day.
If I had to buy everything from scratch, I almost certainly would fail to meet this budget, but I already had a lot of food stockpiled from the year. Here's an example of what I've been eating. Italics are things that I already had stocked in my pantry or acquired from kitchens or departing students.
----- ----- -----
Breakfast:
Instant oatmeal + nuts + seeds + cinnamon, strawberries, banana + peanut butter
Snack
apple + peanut butter, chocolate chips
Lunch
leftover gnocchi with kale and pesto
bread with cream cheese
bread with hummus or cheddar
banana
chocolate chips
Snack
Banana
Triscuits
Carrots and hummus
During Practice
Gatorade
Dinner
Rice with veggies
Dessert
Free ice cream with chocolate-hazelnut fudge sauce
Snack
Strawberries
----- ----- -----
Perhaps now you understand just how much I eat. This is a pretty light food day for me (other than the quantity of free ice cream consumed). I also eat a lot of fresh (and frozen!) fruits and veggies, which gets expensive.
Generally, I eat very plain and simple foods that are carefully selected and well prepared, but don't make any restrictions beyond that. (Bring on the ice cream! As long as it's made with cream and sugar.) This is especially true now that I'm making everything myself--simplicity is wonderful.
How would you describe your eating habits? Plain and simple? Lots of lowfat/nonfat foods? Full of spices? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.
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Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college. Show all posts
6.09.2011
6.08.2011
Everyday Veggies: 20 Minute Dinner
Our meal contracts ended at the end of the semester (almost three weeks ago). Because we're on campus training, we are given per diem to pay for our food.
Our budget for this week is $12/day. I know this seems like a lot, but with no cooking equipment, and very few resources (like olive oil, or spices) this is a pretty limited budget. It feels even smaller when you need to eat between 3000 and 4000 calories a day just to maintain weight.
So I've been all about cheap, easy, fast meals. (When it's 95 and you finished practice at 7PM, easy and fast are key ingredients.)
----- ----- -----
20-Minute Dinner: Rice and Veggies
serves 2 (generously)
Equipment
stove
big pot
frying pan
knife
Ingredients
1c white rice ($0.50)
a large bunch of kale ($2)
0.5 small head of purple cabbage ($0.50)
pre-chopped mushrooms (or you can chop your own) ($2)
0.25 medium onion (optional) ($0.08)
olive oil (as much as you can pilfer from the public kitchen)
chili flakes, or whatever other spices you find in the kitchen
Directions
1. Put the rice and 2c of water into a big pot. (Use more rice to stretch this meal even further.) Turn it to high.
2. Remove the stems from the kale. Keeping them separate, chop the cabbage and the onion.
3. When the rice boils, turn it to low and add the kale to the pot. Put the lid on.
4. Heat olive oil in a frying pan. When it's hot, add the spices and onions. Cook 2-3 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cabbage. Continue cooking until the mushrooms and cabbage are softening, about 5 minutes. (If you like well-cooked mushrooms, add these before the cabbage.)
5. Add the mushrooms/cabbage to the big pot. (The rice should be finished cooking at this point.) Mix everything together and enjoy.
----- ----- -----
This would also be good with some romano grated over the top, or with frozen spinach instead of kale. The spinach would be a lot cheaper.
Still, $5 for two very generous servings was a great deal. (More rice would have made it an even cheaper meal, albeit less nutritious, by stretching it to three servings. Unfortunately, it was the last of my rice.)
The meal was capped off with raspberry sorbet from the The Bent Spoon and chocolate-hazelnut fudge sauce, courtesy of the public refrigerator. (Everybody has left for the summer--these were clearly abandoned by their previous owners.) Free dessert! YAY!
Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.
Like what you read? Share it on Facebook, Twitter or GoogleBuzz using the buttons below!
Our budget for this week is $12/day. I know this seems like a lot, but with no cooking equipment, and very few resources (like olive oil, or spices) this is a pretty limited budget. It feels even smaller when you need to eat between 3000 and 4000 calories a day just to maintain weight.
So I've been all about cheap, easy, fast meals. (When it's 95 and you finished practice at 7PM, easy and fast are key ingredients.)
----- ----- -----
20-Minute Dinner: Rice and Veggies
serves 2 (generously)
Equipment
stove
big pot
frying pan
knife
Ingredients
1c white rice ($0.50)
a large bunch of kale ($2)
0.5 small head of purple cabbage ($0.50)
pre-chopped mushrooms (or you can chop your own) ($2)
0.25 medium onion (optional) ($0.08)
olive oil (as much as you can pilfer from the public kitchen)
chili flakes, or whatever other spices you find in the kitchen
Directions
1. Put the rice and 2c of water into a big pot. (Use more rice to stretch this meal even further.) Turn it to high.
2. Remove the stems from the kale. Keeping them separate, chop the cabbage and the onion.
3. When the rice boils, turn it to low and add the kale to the pot. Put the lid on.
4. Heat olive oil in a frying pan. When it's hot, add the spices and onions. Cook 2-3 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cabbage. Continue cooking until the mushrooms and cabbage are softening, about 5 minutes. (If you like well-cooked mushrooms, add these before the cabbage.)
5. Add the mushrooms/cabbage to the big pot. (The rice should be finished cooking at this point.) Mix everything together and enjoy.
----- ----- -----
This would also be good with some romano grated over the top, or with frozen spinach instead of kale. The spinach would be a lot cheaper.
Still, $5 for two very generous servings was a great deal. (More rice would have made it an even cheaper meal, albeit less nutritious, by stretching it to three servings. Unfortunately, it was the last of my rice.)
The meal was capped off with raspberry sorbet from the The Bent Spoon and chocolate-hazelnut fudge sauce, courtesy of the public refrigerator. (Everybody has left for the summer--these were clearly abandoned by their previous owners.) Free dessert! YAY!
Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.
Like what you read? Share it on Facebook, Twitter or GoogleBuzz using the buttons below!
4.16.2011
Why I love College
6:00AM Wake-up. Eat homemade chocolate-ginger banana bread for breakfast. Read blogs while waking up.
6:45AM Drag my sleepy butt down to the boathouse and warm up for practice.
7:30AM Launch boats.
8:15AM Complete good race piece with great teammates.
9:00AM Eat more homemade banana bread. Shower. Return to dorm.
10:00AM Check updates from the men's and open women's morning races.
10:30AM Nap.
11:30AM Wake up. Eat leftovers for lunch.
12:11PM Catch free bus to grocery store, right on time.
12:30PM Arrive at grocery store, right on time. Frolic amongst the vegetables.
2:30PM Catch free bus home, right on time.
4:00PM Phone"interview" for casual summer job doing what I love to do.
5:30PM Dinner with good friends.
7:00PM Get emergency email requesting aluminum foil. End up baking cheesecake for 3 hours.
10:45PM Practice roasting marshmallows for upcoming s'mores study break. (Yes, it requires practice.)
11:45PM Go buy more marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers and PEEPS (!) for upcoming s'mores study break.
12:00AM Catch up on blogs.
1:30AM Crawl into bed.
Long. Busy. Delicious. Tiring. Perfect.
What's your ideal day? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.
Like what you read? Share it on Facebook, Twitter or GoogleBuzz using the buttons below!
6:45AM Drag my sleepy butt down to the boathouse and warm up for practice.
7:30AM Launch boats.
8:15AM Complete good race piece with great teammates.
9:00AM Eat more homemade banana bread. Shower. Return to dorm.
10:00AM Check updates from the men's and open women's morning races.
10:30AM Nap.
11:30AM Wake up. Eat leftovers for lunch.
12:11PM Catch free bus to grocery store, right on time.
12:30PM Arrive at grocery store, right on time. Frolic amongst the vegetables.
2:30PM Catch free bus home, right on time.
4:00PM Phone"interview" for casual summer job doing what I love to do.
5:30PM Dinner with good friends.
7:00PM Get emergency email requesting aluminum foil. End up baking cheesecake for 3 hours.
10:45PM Practice roasting marshmallows for upcoming s'mores study break. (Yes, it requires practice.)
11:45PM Go buy more marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers and PEEPS (!) for upcoming s'mores study break.
12:00AM Catch up on blogs.
1:30AM Crawl into bed.
Long. Busy. Delicious. Tiring. Perfect.
 |
| Cheesecake bars with fresh raspberries and blueberries. So good even I liked them. |
What's your ideal day? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.
Like what you read? Share it on Facebook, Twitter or GoogleBuzz using the buttons below!
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