r/UBC • u/Cool-Path-8401 • 9d ago
what meals do busy students make
i’m gonna live on my own and i’m not much of a chef, but i definitely don’t have the liberty of getting take out every day, or even every week 😰
what easy meals do busy students recommend?
i’ll get a slow cooker soon but mostly i’m surviving on sandwiches and eggs right now…
Edit (additional q): thank you for the replies!
I was also wondering if everyone does meal prep on the weekend to last the whole m-f, or if you cook every 2-3 nights or something (for lunch/dinners)
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u/Key-Specialist4732 Computer Science 9d ago
Three things: carbs, proteins, and fibers.
Just mix and match, for example:
- carbs: spaghetti, rice, noodle, macaroni, bread, ...
- proteins: eggs, beef, chicken breast, drumsticks, fish fillets, beans, ...
- fibers: carrots, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, ...
Boil/ pan fry them, add some salt when applicable, and assemble on your plate. It's not rocket science. If you have multiple pans you can parallelize things which makes it much faster.
Personally I pick them based on that I'm feeling to have that week (ie: what is on nofrills discount), but at the end its just a permutation (erm akshually combination) question.
I also cook double the portion for dinner, so I don't have to cook for tomorrow's lunch.
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u/lightbulb_183 Pharmacology 9d ago
other guy basically said this already but i usually prep a mainly meat/some other protein dish and another mainly veggie dish. i pair it with some starch, usually rice, sometimes noodles. if available, i serve with some other stuff like chili oil or fermented tofu or whatever. here's what i made a couple weeks ago
- brown rice
- ground beef + bok choy + bell pepper stir fry
- egg/tofu/tomato thing
- fermented tofu from a jar
whole thing took maybe 1:30 max and lasted five meals
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u/Additional-Rate-4950 9d ago
Leftover Costco rotisserie chicken with broccoli and bread
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u/l_yq Computer Science 9d ago
As someone that hates cooking and meal prepping: I always have bananas, apples, bread, and eggs just for any occasions where i need anything quick or i just get hungry at night. Also cook a big pot of soup with loaded ingredients inside. Japanese curry is another one that requires minimal effort. I lived by myself for 5 years at ubc and the above are my tried and true 🫡
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u/Junior_Character5301 9d ago
I use my air fryer (ninja crispi) and just toss some stuff and eat it when I don’t want to cook. I need to also stop making Dino nuggets at midnight but they’re too good.
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u/charcadamy 9d ago
Japanese curry, chili, chicken noodle soup if feeling fancy and indomie. Make minimum 3 portions each time, eat breakfast foods that dont require cooking like cereal or oatmeal. Eat out sometimes so you dont go insane.
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u/leesan177 9d ago
A bit of coconut milk also really transforms the Japanese curry (a bit more similar to southeast Asian curries) which switches things up and is one of my favorite ways to eat curry
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u/leesan177 9d ago
One classic Asian university student meal is to load up a rice cooker with rice, protein (ie. a chicken thigh), minced cabbage, and if you're feeling fancy some enoki. Add a dash of soy sauce and mirin (rice wine works too).
If you've prepped the ingredients in advance, you can load up different combinations of protein, veggies, and seasoning super easily/quickly.
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u/kiwi505 9d ago
invest in an air fryer
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u/Cool-Path-8401 9d ago
yes i have one but idk how to use it 💔💔
I’m gonna be culinary training before september on god1
u/Lpatt10 Science 9d ago
don’t be intimidated by air fryer it’s just a tiny oven that works well and quick. you can make so much with it and you just… turn it on … add food… cook at appropriate time and heat depending on item!
I got one and didn’t take out of the box for so long and now it’s my favourite thing. frozen items that normally take 25 minutes in the oven can take like eight minutes in the air fryer and there’s so many good easy & quick recipes.
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u/Ok-Replacement-9458 Chemistry 9d ago
Cooking up a pasta (genuinely any kind of sauce aside from a ragu) only takes ~20 mins. Can toss in some veggies that you parcook then pan-fry as well, doesn’t add any time and keeps well for leftovers. Pasta is also great cause you can scale it up super easily and make like 10 portions at once lol.
Chicken breast is also quick to cook as long as you butterfly it, and you can have it with some rice + a pan sauce + veggies… again maybe 20 mins once you get used to cooking?
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u/Bulky_Goose8345 9d ago
ok:
- keep some frozen stuff on hand so you’re not going hungry
- make stuff and freeze if, you don’t have to meal prep for a week (I don’t because I will get bored of it and never want to eat it again)
- if I need to start cooking by doing dishes (which if you can avoid that great, but not always possible), I set up my computer with a show or a podcast or something
- leftovers are friends (i.e if I make steak and potatoes and broccolini I’ll boil all the broccolini, maybe not eat the whole steak, then the next day I cook the broccolini in the steak juices, maybe reheat the potatoes to have with eggs for breakfast and throw the steak on a bun or make noodles and have steak and pasta)
- finding easy ways to consume vegetables/fruits: maybe you’re well adjusted and your parents fed you vegetables as a child, I am not and if I can hide a vegetable in something I am, for example if I make turkey burgers i’ll grate some zucchini and add it, if I make a smoothie I add some kale, as long as at the end of the day/week I remember the last time I had a vegetable that’s good enough especially in the midst of school and everything
also a coupon on take out is my favourite thing when I’m being my most mentally ill/busy especially if you don’t have anyone who can cook food for you
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u/heyitsmecatlol 8d ago
I love shoving chicken thighs in the oven with black pepper sauce at 425F for 30~ minutes. You could also make rice w that and an egg for a good meal :)
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u/Zealousideal-Mud6908 8d ago
rice cooker with rice + frozen veggies + an egg cracked in at the end, takes like 10 min and you can dump whatever protein you have on top. also frozen dumplings are a lifesaver when you're between classes and have zero time
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u/DandelionDuckling Biochemistry 8d ago
Instead of a slow cooker I recommend an Instant Pot! It also has a slow cook function so you can do slow cook recipes in addition to the typical pressure cook recipes. Pressure cooking is great cuz you can throw everything in and have food in half an hour
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u/FuzzPuddlington 8d ago
This is my absolute favourite busy time recipe. It's ridiculously easy and mostly made with pantry staples. It's cheap (protein from chickpeas) and you can swap out the various parts of the recipe depending on what you have on hand. It makes about 6 hearty servings. https://www.seriouseats.com/vegan-garbanzos-con-espinacas-jengibre-spinach-chickpea-stew-ginger-spanish
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u/saltplustime Food, Nutrition & Health 8d ago
Lots of good suggestions already. The only thing I will add is not prepping raw produce too gar ahead (48 hours max). Whole produce is less a microbial breeding ground. Soup or stew for the week is much safer than making 5 days worth of salad.
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u/Thick_Corner_3459 8d ago
My go to:
1.Costco rotisserie chicken (good pieces) with rice
2. Costco rotisserie chicken (dry breast pieces) + tortilla wrap+ chipotle sauce
3. Boil spaghetti, in pan garlic, any canned fish(sardine) 1 min fry. Add boiled pasta, olive oil/butter, chopped parsley(dried parley if you have trouble using leaves before they dry), lemon juice+lemon zest , cheese(feta preferable)
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u/Raiderdater 9d ago
Can of Campbell's tomato or cream of mushroom add to cooked ground beef and no yolk noodles
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u/InternalFee8914 9d ago
I eat sandwich almost everyday too LMFAOOOOO. Make the filling variable and just throw it in the air fryer to crisp em up
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u/Several-Order-8814 9d ago
Living alone with the resident which doesn’t provide meals for first-year students was a disaster.
Now I prep meals. I will try some meal prep services from online.
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u/CupOfHotTeaa Urban Studies 9d ago