With the beginning of a new school year, students get overwhelmed with things to do and assignments to complete. Social life walks in as well, with its promises of unforgettable fun that should not be missed under no circumstances. All this results in busy schedules and juggling of too many things at once. That often happens at cost of your sleep and healthy food.
While sleep is something that should be invariably in place, food is negotiable. You can always choose between quick snacks and takeaways, home-made meals and supermarket junk. Often, something that you can cook at home wins over fast food both in price and health benefits. You can easily prepare something at home in almost no time at all while spending little money, so that you can have a nice lunch during the day.
Salads can be fun and easy to make. You can experiment with the ingredients to diversify your meals. For example, it may take some 30 minutes to make a bowlful of BLT salad. You only need to cook a chicken breast and chop vegetables in advance. You can do the latter while your piece of chicken meat is boiling. The ingredients are not expensive; all you need is a few cherry tomatoes, some lettuce, red cabbage, and rocket, an onion, a cucumber, some bacon, sweetcorn, grated cheese, and salad dressing. You slice or chop the vegetables, chicken, and bacon, put the ingredients in a jar on the top of some cheese and dressing — and you are good to go. Right before lunch, shake the jar, and you’ve got your salad ready.
Jacket potatoes with filling can be just as fun. They are incredibly nutritious and can keep you going for a while without feeling hungry. It takes some time to bake them — often about an hour — but it is worth the fuss. It is important to choose the right potatoes first, and then make sure they don’t explode in your oven. Sprinkle the outer layer of potatoes with olive oil and salt and put them on the shelf in the oven for about one hour. You will surely find what to do while they are cooking. After they are cooked, stuff them with a filling of your choice — cream cheese, tuna and mayonnaise, beans, turkey mince, or steamed vegetables.
For those who cannot imagine their lives without meat, meatloaf can become the best lunchtime meal. With a pound of ground beef at less than $3, one can make 4 big servings of meatloaf. As a side dish, you can prepare buttered baby carrots (which will take up to 15 minutes) — simmer them in a saucepan, then cover with melted butter while adding salt and pepper.
If you have a sweet tooth, then baked apples will serve you as a cheap and ridiculously simple dessert. For this, you will need apples, some water, raisins, cinnamon, brown or cane sugar, and butter. You can use honey and any spices you prefer, which is optional. They are cooked either in a microwave or in an oven; the latter is a healthier alternative. The hardest part will be to cut out the core of every apple and replace it with raisins.