What I Eat in a Day as a Busy Student (Budget-Friendly)
- Suraj Potha
- Apr 4
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 4
No one discusses the difficulty of eating well when one has a student budget. You have approximately $50-60 a week for groceries, a small dorm kitchen in case you are lucky, and not even one second to prepare a fancy recipe that you saw on Pinterest. Here I will demonstrate to you what really works.
This is not the ideal diet. It is a practical one, the one that keeps your energy level unchanged, does not cause your finances to ruin and makes you work all Sunday on your cooking stove.
The importance of nutrition to students in particular.
Glucose is what your brain is powered by. When you are skipping meals or living on processed food stuffs, your concentration becomes low, your mood becomes bad and you cannot remember things better. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (2023), regular protein consumption throughout the day helps to maintain energy levels in the brain throughout the day , which is important to every student during a heavy academic week.
My Actual Day of Eating.
Breakfast - Oats and Peanut Butter (Approx. $0.80)
An apple , rolled oats, one tablespoon of peanut butter, and drizzled with honey. Heat it for 5 minutes in the microwave. Fiber, protein, complex carbs which are high in fiber, protein, and complex carbs, you are not hungry anymore until lunch, you do not feel as energy depleted as you feel after a cereal or toast.
Lunch — Rice and Canned Chickpea and Veggies (~$1.50)
This is my go to food. Brown rice, a can of chickpeas, the vegetables that were available in the shop, olive oil, and spices. Protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, and you can prepare two meals at a time. By prepping this ahead, I save time on decision-making during the busiest parts of my day.
Snacks — Greek Yogurt and Fruit (~$1.00)
Greek yogurt is richer in protein when compared to practically anything in the grocery store. Make it with whatever is the cheapest fruit in the week; in most cases, it is bananas or apples.
Dinner — Eggs , Sweet Potato and Greens (~$2.00)
Two or three eggs, a roasted sweet potato, and a small bunch of spinach which has been sauteed in olive oil. This is time consuming (around 20 minutes) and hardly expensive. The most underestimated student meal is the egg - it is inexpensive, multi-purpose, and it is rich in protein and good fats.
The Grocer List of the Week that Makes It.
Bananas, eggs, canned lentils, canned chickpea, olive oil, spices, rolled oats and peanut butter, and brown rice. It is about 45-55 to spend on a complete week in your local grocery store.
What to Avoid
Energy drinks - They make the cortisol shoot up and your concentration come down in a matter of hours. Eating fast food on campus daily works out to be costly, and it is not healthy either. Also, avoid missing breakfast as your cognitive skills in the mornings are based on it.
The Takeaway
Being a student does not mean not eating well. It is the part of having some simple and repeatable meals keeping your energy on the same level. Begin with only breakfast and one meal preparation session on Sunday, and that in itself will alter your mood in the rest of the week.
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One thing I would like to add that took me a while to figure out as grocery shopping with a list and never when you're hungry makes a massive difference. Impulse buying when you are starving is how a $50 grocery budget turns into $80 of stuff you don't actually need. Plan your meals for the week on Sunday, write your list based on those meals, and stick to it. It sounds basic but this single habit probably saves me $15-20 a week which as a student adds up to real money over a semester.
References
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2023). The nutrition source: Protein. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/protein/
Drewnowski, A., & Specter, S. E. (2004). Poverty and obesity: The role of energy density and energy costs. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 79(1), 6–16. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/79.1.6
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