That's actually a really decent breakdown to hit. I would be eating the 3 servings of 4 ozs of chicken, or 100 grams to be even more specific (I recommend a Digital food Scale (this is the one I have). 100 grams of chicken breast contains 43 grams of protein, so 3-100 gram servings is an aggressive amount even.

Once at this level, focus on getting to the right amount of calories, and fat content. Eggs are a great way in a low-fat diet to be eating good fats, in each egg there are about 5 grams of fat, so 2-3 in the morning is a great way to start the day. Milk is also a great way to get good fats, and it's cheap, and both of the above items have enough protein to put you well over your protein goals.

What I would do is go to the grocery store and dollar general, and start writing down some prices and nutrition facts, it'll be a lot of work at first, but an excel file on your computer, or a google doc on your phone is a great tool for eating healthy and cheap. Stay away from the highly processed foods, even granola bars have tons of preservatives, and a list of ingredients that rival the constitution. Make your own if you want, it's super easy to do with some brown sugar and butter together in a pan and pouring over a sheet pan of almonds, pumpkin seeds (SUPER CHEAP), oats, dried cranberries or raisins, puffed millet (like rice crispies). Mix it together, and bake at 350 until it all hardens together, let cool and cut. It's super easy to make your own granola bars, and they won't have all the crud in them. The nuts will help you to reach your fat goals, some protein, and then the sugar and oats will help with carbs. (Can also use honey, agave, or just sugar and water together. The oats will release starch if using sugar and water which will help to bind it in the oven, but still don't use a lot of water, more sugar, just enough to make a light syrup)

Use the document you create to either meal prep, or organize your meals for the day/week or even month.

TBH I don't even monitor my protein intake anymore, because I definitely eat more than enough with the amount of chicken, my protein shakes, my homemade protein bars (1/2 cup protein powder [unflavored or flavored], 1/2 cup ground/blended oats, 1/4 cup milk, chocolate for coating it. Combine all the dry ingredients and then add the milk, it will be a thick texture, but don't add more milk, it needs to have a consistency to mold into bars, and I coat in a think coating of chocolate so that it all holds together. This makes about 4 bars and costs about 2.50 depending on how much the protein powder costs, and how much chocolate you coat it in) the nuts, eggs, broccoli, spinach, lentils or quinoa, peas, all of these things have significant amounts of protein. I only monitor my calorie intake, and then my fat intake, if those are on, I am typically over my protein goal slightly, and under in carbs, but I also have studied nutrition a lot, so eating cheap is both easier and harder because I want what I can't afford when I'm in the grocery store. Have the discipline, put in the work, and stick to your budget, and this'll be no problem for you. I hope some of these suggestions are helpful, I'll say eating on this budget doesn't mean a lot of variety, but just keep in mind the health benefits. You'll get really good at cooking chicken!

1. An Instant Pot above everything else. Because it cooks food super fast even for fall off the bone tenderness. And is really easy to clean and operate.
   
   
2. Buy microwavable steamer bags. You want to cook potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, or just about any veggie? Cut it into chunks, shove it into a steamer bag with a sprinkle of water, seal it, and microwave it for 3-4 minutes, and you have perfectly cooked veggies. No mess to clean up, and you can't get faster than this. Even if you want to sautee or stir fry veggies, it is often a good idea to parboil or part-cook the veggies in a steamer bag, and then just get your pan ripping hot, add oil, and toss the half cooked veggies for a minute, with spices and herbs.
   
   
3. Meal prep on weekends. The biggest pain of cooking is actually in the prepping and the cleaning up after. Prepping or "mise en place" can also be done on the weekends where you can chop all your veggies and put them in airtight containers. Cooking then becomes super easy because everything is chopped up and ready to go. I chop my onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cilantro, bell peppers, carrots other veggies like cauliflower or broccoli on Sundays. Buy a bunch of mid-sized airtight storage containers and store your mise en place in that.
   
   
4. For the weekend meal prepping, the chopping gets tedious. I've been experimenting with various labor saving devices. A mandoline works really well for large scale chopping. You can slice everything in a mandoline and then fine dice the slices into really small dice. Or keep them as slices. But this onion chopper is super useful too. It will dice an onion in seconds. I also use it to dice bell peppers and tomatoes.
   
   
5. Buy a box of peeled garlic and freeze it. When you need garlic, just take out a few cloves of the peeled frozen garlic and chop it directly. Bonus is that frozen garlic doesn't stick to the knife like fresh garlic. And frozen garlic tastes exactly like fresh garlic so there's no loss of flavor either.
   
   
6. Buy a handheld stick blender. It comes in super handy to make sauces and soups. Buy one that has a reasonably powerful motor. i have a 500W overkill one but 200W should also be fine.
   
   
7. Buy an tabletop toaster oven, not a toaster. A toaster oven is super super versatile. It takes only a few minutes to preheat to 350F or 400F if you need to use it as an oven. It also works great to reheat pizza and fried chicken. And of course, it will toast.
   
   
8. People tend to get overly fussy and pendantic over knives. I say this as someone who has close to 10 knives. Look, you can go the whole shebang and get a honing rod and whetstones and expensive knives and all that. But the truth is that you need a chef knife (240mm ideally), a smaller utility knife (180mm), a paring knife, and a good peeler. And you need to keep the knives fairly sharp at all times. And you can do this buy buying a popular recommended value for money knife like Victorinox Fibrox or any other. My favorite is a Richmond Artifex gyuto made with AEBL steel from ChefKnivesToGo. But you can buy any knife that you find comfortable in your hands. And if you're not going to geek out on knives but use it as a tool, just get a $5 knife sharpener like this one and ignore the honing steel and sharpening stone recommendations. It does the job fairly fine and takes seconds to keep the knife reasonably sharp.

I have a rice cooker that cost ~$30 that's like this one. I love it! I've never used it to sear stuff but allegedly it does that too.


Rice

Remember that there are all sorts of different types of rice. Yeah, there's the typical fluffy white rice. But there's so many different types and flavors and textures so don't limit yourself!

It cooks rice really great! There are different settings for brown and white rice. I too have some weird inability -- maybe it's all mental at this point? -- to cook rice in a pot reliably well. Plus using the rice cooker allows you to measure it and walk away without worrying about the stove being on or needing to set a timer or anything.

Cooking rice in the rice cooker is simple. You just pour the rice and the water and whatever seasonings you want into the bowl and you push the appropriate buttons. On rare occasions it'll say it's done but it isn't; just add more water and turn it on again.

Beans

I'm sorry to hear about your aversion to beans! They're really cheap, filling, nutritious, store well, easy to cook, and (IMO) taste good. The procedure for cooking them is essentially the same as rice: water + ingredients + time = done. There are a few differences, they're all good ideas but optional:

• Soaking beans makes them less gassy and quicker to cook.
  
• The soak time depends on the beans but they're forgiving.
  
• Adding salt during cooking allegedly makes the beans tougher.
  
• Sort and pick out any tiny rocks before you cook.
  
  You can also cook rice and beans together! You just have to time it reasonably well so they get done at the same time.
  
  Steaming
  
  You can steam anything. I've done everything from carrots to potatoes to kale -- steamed kale isn't the best... -- to asparagus to chicken thighs to fish to whatever. Combining them can be really great too.
  
  You can use the steam function or you can just use the steamer basket while cooking rice or beans or whatever.
  
  Pot roast / misc
  
  You can use it like a crockpot to cook a big hunk of meat over the course of several hours. It doesn't do the job as well as a real crockpot, but it does a decent job.
  
  I've been told that cooking pasta is possible in a rice cooker. I haven't done it successfully.
  
  Quinoa and lentils are both cheap/filling/nutritious and work well in a rice cooker.
  
  I haven't heard of frying beans, but I suppose that there's a lot I haven't heard of.
  
  A rice cooker is incredibly versatile. It's never going to be as precise as the right pots and pans and a gas stove and an oven and constant attention. Like, it just won't. But it is incredibly convenient, easy to use, easy to clean, and it can produce amazing results too.
  
  Finally, check out /r/RiceCookerRecipes.

Starting resource: Bittman's How to Cook Everything: The Basics

Other tips:
Almost anything is great sautéed in olive oil with salt & pepper. You can get fancier from there, but once chopping & sautéing becomes no big deal, cooking gets a lot easier. You just have to level up!

If you are not yet readily chopping veggies into bits, there are lots of pre-packaged bags of salad greens & veggies. I have found veggie trays (carrot & celery sticks w/ ranch) are a quick & easy fix, and more fun to eat as it seems like you're at a party. Other quick finger foods like grapes, nuts, berries, turkey pepperoni or string cheese are handy to have around for a blood sugar boost for meal-making energy.

You can never go wrong with PB & J, grilled cheese, or scrambled eggs.

A slow cooker/rice cooker is your friend. Chili is easy to make and will keep a while. Delicious over brown rice, add cheese.

Good luck!

My own two cents:

I own a zojirushi rice cooker ( http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-NS-ZCC10-Uncooked-Premium-1-0-Liter/dp/B00007J5U7/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1407830834&sr=1-1 )

I purchased it on craigslist for $30 and I'm not sure how used it was at that point, but having had it for over 6 years now, it still works flawlessly. If you plan on cooking rice at least 3-4 times a week or other things in it, I'd recommend buying one. Yes they are expensive, but they also last a LONG time. It will pretty much cook anything and will keep it warm/good for several hours on end. I've had rice left in the pot on warm mode for over a day and it was mostly still fine.

Just a minor note, make sure all your components are made in Japan. (Sent an e-mail to the company if you're wondering this too). I've heard, but never experienced myself, that the ones made in China are not nearly as good in quality.

A lot of people tell me "What?! $150-200 bucks for a rice cooker? That's insane!" Yeah but you're buying quality and eating food you've made yourself (which is healthier in the long run too) and honestly $150-200 bucks is less than most people spend on other things in a week, at least this will last you a decade most likely. Most people who I've known who don't think its worth it don't eat rice often, like once a month. I'm Viet and I cook oriental dishes 5 days a week, so rice makes up about 15-20 meals a week for me. I've cooked both Jasmine and Japanese short grain rice, both come out excellent. The rice cooker is good at making various kinds of rice and keeping it warm/edible for at least a day (after that I'd recommend using it for fried rice).

One tip, make sure you keep it plugged in. There's a battery in the machine for the clock, but the machine uses power from a socket if it can. The battery is a pain to replace and most likely not worth it, so best keep it plugged in.

Last, but not least, the most important thing you're buying is consistency. Using a Zojirushi means getting the same perfection every time you use it. You don't have to worry about if it'll come out dry, burnt, or soggy. The machine does almost all the work for you as long as you know how to measure. Rice and everything else you'll cook in it will taste the same on day 1 or day 2000.

Canned vegetables and meat are cheap. Chicken and tuna particularly.

Frozen vegetables are better than canned and comparably priced, but obviously not as shelf stable

Chicken thighs - learn to love them. I get a dozen of the skin-on bone-in thighs for like $4. Season liberally with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Bake at 350 for like an hour skin side up. Skin will be nicely crisp, and the thigh is delicious. If you don't have a meat thermometer, get one. Pull the chicken when it temps out at 165F right next to the bone and in the big pad of meat.

Cabbage is cheap, nutritionally dense, and very good when treated properly. Get two smoked sausages (the kind in packages are fine), and slice them in half-inch slices. Chop a head of cabbage into bite-sized pieces (note: they shred it here, just chop your pieces bigger, maybe a square inch or so). Get two large cans of diced tomatoes, and some blackened cajun spice. Dice an onion and 3-4 cloves of garlic. Put some bacon grease at the bottom of a large (8qt) sauce pan and get it hot. Add your garlic, onion, and sausage. Saute that until the sausage has some crispness to it and the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes with the juice from the can, and stir to deglaze your pan. Add 4tbsp of the cajun spice, 2tsp salt, 2tsp black pepper, stir well. Add your cabbage in handfuls, stirring every time to ensure even mixing. Stick a lid on it, and cook on medium heat stirring every 10 minutes or so until the cabbage is tender. The cabbage will release a lot of liquid, it'll turn kinda soupy. That's ok, the broth is very good. This recipe freezes very well portioned, too.

Edit: Your first place on your own will have a small kitchen most likely. Read some Alton Brown stuff to make sure you don't buy useless kitchen gadgets. One gadget I do suggest getting, however, is an Instant Pot. They don't take up much room and are remarkably versatile. Learn to use it at /r/instantpot

Hey man, I'm really sorry for your loss.

Not that this should be a daily meal, but if you like ramen...
Find Shin Black at a store/online
Cook as instructed but add:

• Kraft single slice stirred into the broth
  
• Cracked egg into hot broth at end (or soft boiled egg)
  
• Sliced green onions on top (buy 1 bunch and keep in a glass with some water by a window...they will last/grow forever if you change water every so often)
  
• Bacon / sliced & fried spam / pulled pork / leftover meat on top
  
  For cheap meat, pork butt (shoulder) can be really cheap. Buy a hunk and either:
  
  
• cook it in a slow cooker, look up kahlua pork. Shred & use in tacos, quesadillas, pulled pork sandwiches w/bbq sauce and pickled red onions (also cheap & easy to make & delicious), soup...can freeze extra
  
• pork adobo
  
• chop into portions & put what you don't need in a ziplock, try to squeeze out air, and freeze for another day
  
  Grab veggies on sale, chop up, toss with oil, roast in your oven - simple and often delicious
  
  Don't be afraid to freeze food (raw or cooked) for another day! Just google if you aren't sure with a certain food.
  
  By the way - it's totally possible to eat well without spending a lot, and if you have the time/energy to embrace cooking, do it. It can be hard to do when alone, but it also can be a truly enjoyable hobby. For example, you can try perfecting an omelette every morning for breakfast, or make a lot of interesting Chinese/Indian/etc recipes with cheap ingredients but a ton of flavor. As other commenters mentioned, it might take a bit to build up your pantry, but spices and many ingredients will last you ages. Good luck to you!
  

Kimchi is a good option, if you like strong flavors, fermented foods, and spiciness. I can't get enough of the stuff. It's delicious on its own, a great addition to stirfries, soups, and main dishes (especially pork), and is really good for you as a probiotic.

Health benefits of kimchi, from PubMed.gov.

As a general rule of thumb, when making Asian dishes, I ease up on the oil--since only a little is required for stirfrying--and boost flavors with chili and soy sauce, mirin, miso, rice vinegar, ginger, or honey, depending on the recipe. If you live near an Asian market (lucky you!), you can get all of these pretty inexpensively. Spring for some gochujang, Korean chili paste, if you can....it's wonderfully addictive and goes well with nearly anything.

Try to get in the habit of preparing food, instead of grabbing fast food while you're out. It will be tempting to just buy food while you're out, but it will kill your budget, and it's harder to make healthy choices when you're in a hurry. So try to pick out some easy meals to make ahead and store in the fridge, or things that can be thrown together and taken in a box or bag for lunch on the go. Establish food prep as part of your routine, so you don't feel like you have to find extra time to do it.

I'm sure you're on a budget as far as kitchen tools go. But if you can save up, or finagle a family member to buy you some supplies, it will help you tremendously to have some equipment. If nothing else, put them on your Christmas list and make do until then...

Food Processor - This little guy doesn't have a million and one functions, but it will pulverize rolled oats so you can have easy smoothies, and easy oat flour for muffins. You can also use it to make salsa, guacamole, hummus, bean dip. Shred veggies to make shredded salads. Mix dough for scones and biscuits. Heck, you can even make your own nut butters.

Hand Blender - Make smoothies the easy way. Blend soup bases. Puree fruits to make popsicles.

Slow Cooker - Roast veggies & meats. Make soups & chili. Bake things. Cook beans overnight. Slow cookers are awesome. You can chuck your stuff in there in the morning, and when you're done with class, you have food!

I've radically altered my diet (and exercise) in the last year, and one of the main keys was that I bought a rice steamer. It's freakin' amazing (and not expensive).

https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-Digital-Food-Steamer/dp/B00MA34AB0

At this point I hardly even use it for rice, because I've been dropping the calories, but I can get bags of frozen mixed veggies from the grocery store, toss them in one of the trays, steam them for 20 minutes, throw them in a bowl, and since I've dropped pasta from my diet, I treat the veggies (or veggies w rice) essentially like I would have done pasta... sauces plus cheeses and some ranch....

Cleanup is SUPER easy. Before I eat I just take the components right to the sink and spray it down and set it to dry (with a more careful cleaning every few days).

In all, it's less than 10 minutes total for prep and cleanup, and 20 minutes to steam.

It's been a game-changer for me.

Addition: Brown rice takes an hour total to steam, but it turns out great, and is much healthier than white rice.

My honest opinion: If you can read, you can cook. Literally. Basic cooking is simply reading instructions and following them. Once your comfortable with how things taste together, timing, and what spices taste like, then you can move on to more advanced dishes.

I think a fun part of learning to cook is gearing up. Since most people here will give you a grocery list, I'll give you a list of helpful items that I use daily.

• 1 large, sharp kitchen knife and basic sharpener
  
  The knife if a bit on the pricey side, but trust me when I tell you it's worth it. You only need 1 and as long as you hand wash and dry regularly, it can last forever. Sharp knives won't cut you as often as a dull knife that sometimes slips.
  
  
• crock pot. This is good because it doesn't require any sort of culinary skills. Mostly just mix and wait.
  
  
• Liquid Measuring cup
  
  
• Dry measuring cups
  
  
• Flat spatula
  
  
• Other spatula (for stirring and wiping out sauces/batter/etc.)
  
  
• Tongs
  
  
• Very basic non-stick pots and pans I have a cheap set I bought from Costco that has lasted me 8 years and counting. Be sure to ALWAYS use wood or plastic utensils with non-stick or you risk scratching the non-stick surface and fucking it all up.
  
  
• Wooden Utensils These are nice because you can leave them in a pot of sauce and not worry about them expelling chemicals or melting.
  
  
• Also a holder for your kitchen items
  
  I assume you have basic dishware and silverware, so I've only included common cooking items.
  
  Hope this helps! I'll update if I can think of anything else you'll need.

Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything the Basics is really good for beginner stuff. Thug Kitchen's new book is also a great starting place for learning how to cook cheap and healthy.

My all time favorite cookbook is Mastering the Art of French Cooking which is a great intro to French techniques. The recipes themselves are not always cheap and healthy, but the skills you learn are super super useful for any type of cooking. It is by far the cookbook I have learned the most from.

What works for me:

I have this rice cooker.

It has a timer which is really helpful. Every morning I wake up to freshly cooked oatmeal, which is a dope way to wake up. I usually throw in some cinnamon and honey. If I have nuts, berries or seeds around, I'll add those too.

At meals I'll have a portion of whole grains-- barley, brown rice, quinoa, pretty much whatever your heart desires. I personally like these more than white rice because they have more texture and make me more full (not to mention the nutritional benefits).

I enjoy stir frying vegetables and some chicken or eggs and adding it to the grains. When I'm getting bored I'll buy some sauces or make some sauces and use those. Generally when I'm stir frying vegetables I like to vary the colors and textures/juiciness of the vegetables I use. Some that work for me: carrots, broccoli, broccoli, kale, sprouts, mushrooms, tomatos, zucchini, corn, and avacados. Avacados are the shit.

If you get a rice cooker you can also cook all types of legumes, and beans in there. With these you can make soups, stews, and many kinds of dishes.

I don't think I really used to like this simple of foods; now I really enjoy what nature has to offer though. I found myself in a similar position as you and walked in to the produce section and thought to myself, "wow, I can eat any of this...and, it's relatively cheap."

> hydro flask quality products

HydroFlasks are of extremely bad quality. For food (like stews, soups etc.). I love the Thermos Stainless King for food https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008JC76XA/. If you fill in a hot soup ~80°C in there it will be still mouth burning hot a good 10 hours later. TIP: when making a stew you can actually have it be slightly undercooked (not talking raw meet, but let's say a bit chewy still), as it will keep on cooking in the thermos. similarly I had some incredible stews, because after transferring them from the hot sauce pan straight into the thermos it kept stewing for another 8 hours, and the meat was basically falling apart. had those on a great amount of hikes and treks.

stanley is also great, but most are made for drinks - the bottle neck is narrower so might be better for blended soups or hot chocolate :) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FZX93K/

I like to replace a lot of the sugar-filled desserts that I love with no-added-sugar "healthy" versions. Some examples:

• Plain Greek yogurt mixed with peanut butter powder (I use PB&Me No Sugar Added)
  
• Cacao powder and/or peanut butter powder mixed with canned pumpkin, either microwaved or eaten cold
  
• Sugar free, fat free jello pudding. I like using almond milk to save calories then amping up the flavour by adding peanut butter powder or cacao powder (use less milk to make it thicken)
  
• Oatmeal replaces a lot of desserts for me. I'll do mix ins like chopped apples with cinnamon, sliced bananas with almond butter, blueberries with maple syrup or canned pumpkin with almond butter or peanut butter
  
• Sugar free gelatin. I make my own with beef gelatin and then flavoured/sweetened water enhancers like these Kool Aid ones or tea

Haha no shame, buddy. I definitely don't spend an hour or two on cooking every day (it would be difficult for me to stay motivated and have time for that!). Instead, I will make something that yields several servings so that I have lots of leftovers. For instance, last week I spent 2 hours making potato soup and it yielded over a dozen servings. I took it for lunch to work most days last week and put the rest in the freezer for another time when I don't want to cook. Last night, I made pan chicken (https://www.bhg.com/recipe/chicken/chicken-with-pan-sauce/ with tomato/parmesan sauce - it was utterly amazing) and have leftovers for several days' dinner this week. I had it with sauteed green beans and a pear, and it was glorious.

Typically, I will consult my cookbook, my grandma, or will Google "recipes with potatoes, onion, broccoli" (whatever food I need to use up) or something to get meal ideas. I email the online recipes to myself and put them in a "Recipes" folder in my inbox so that I have them conveniently in one place. Since I'm very much a beginner cook, I look for recipes with relatively few ingredients that are easy and cheap to get. I got this cookbook a few months ago and haven't made a bad recipe yet (https://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-Cook-Cooking/dp/1328498859). Every recipe has pictures, clear instructions, serving amounts, and nutritional information. Big fan. I wish you the best of luck!

I was just like you. Literally the only thing I knew how to cook was a fried egg. I felt hopeless and always ate fast food and bought junk at the grocery store.

Does your college have a health center? My university offered free (aka included in our tuition) health visits to students and they had a registered dietician that was there too. I saw her and she totally changed my life. She gave me an abundance of ideas of healthy meals to eat.

I really recommend going on YouTube and searching "how to cook _" and put whatever you want to cook there. I always looked for the easiest and most simple recipe. I also googled a lot and asked my mom a lot of questions when I needed help.

Another thing I recommend is getting a digital steamer. Literally a life changer for me. You just fill the water to a certain line, press a button for amount of minutes to cook, and press start. I have this one: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00MA34AB0/ref=sr_ph_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481314935&sr=sr-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=digital+steamer steams veggies, meats like chicken, cooks rice and quinoa, hardboils eggs, etc. I use mine almost every night.

I also recommend looking into slow cooking. For many recipes you just dump all the ingredients in a crockpot and press start, no cooking required. You can go about your day and have a delicious meal ready when you're done. I get recipes from Pinterest and /r/slowcooking.

I went from feeling hopeless in the kitchen to making homemade meals for myself every single day. Making your own meals saves so much money and can be so much healthier too

There are definitely plenty of vegetarian meals out there for slowcookers. You can get a basic one pretty cheaply, and if you wait for Black Friday (or Cyber Monday) you can usually get a really nice one for under $20 too.

I use this one, and have been really happy with it. We've only got 2 adults and one toddler in my family, but this cooker does a good job with smaller meals and still gives me the flexibility to cook massive meals with lots of leftovers or feed 8-10 people when we have company.

As someone else has mentioned, you don't even need a slowcooker for most slowcooker recipes. Just about any of them can be modified for the stove or the oven. You can't really beat the convenience of tossing a few things into the pot in the morning and coming home to a ready meal, though. :)

a slow cooker may be too slow. i would get a rice cooker which doubles as a slow cooker but can also cook and steam much faster. for around $30 you can get a http://www.amazon.com/Aroma-ARC-914SBD-Uncooked-Digital-Steamer/dp/B007WQ9YNO don't get the larger one if you are only cooking for 1-2 people. an ever faster slow/rice cooker is an electric pressure cooker, but they start at more than double this price range, so i would not bother on a student budget.

once you have a cooker, familiarize yourself with the wide variety of affordable starches, hard veg and proteins that cook best in it. locate the indian and asian grocery in your area where you often find the best deals on a wide variety of rice, pasta and dry beans for your cooker. when buying hard and root veg, don't be afraid to buy 1-2 of each veg at a time - often buying big bags of them to save money does not work out, as you may not have the space, and they may spoil before you get to cook them. if you have the freezer space, you can stock up on your proteins if once home you make portion size ziploc baggies and freeze them properly. no need to defrost them before use as the rice cooker will take care of that.

I am going to echo sentiments here and advice you to get a small rice cooker. It makes life really easy. Also; Roger Ebert wrote a book of Rice cooker recipes:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Pot-How-Use-It/dp/0740791427

The main thing to remember about Rice Cookers is to use the cup that comes with it. If you lose it the equivalent is 6 oz. NOT 8 oz. This is why a lot of people screw up by using the regular 8oz. measure in the Rice Cooker.

The last advice I have is to use different kinds of broth instead of water to make the rice. I personally use the Better then Bouillon brand Mushroom broth as my base and the rice is really umami tasty errytime. Also, Miso paste is a good base for making dashi to cook the rice.

Experiment. Rice is a really good carbohydrate that absorbs a great variety of flavors.

But the main thing is to get yourselves a Rice Cooker. It will make your life really easy.

I got this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FLYWNYQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It occasionally will drop to $70 (prime day) but usually sits around $80. You can look up the price history on camelcamelcamel.

8 quarts is pretty big if it's just for one person, but not necessarily so much if you meal prep multiple meals. You can also prep stuff, freeze it, and then cook from frozen.

In my opinion they're somewhat overhyped if you're already an experienced cook and enjoy cooking, but work well for quick and easy meals.

We only prep protein at this point bc we just didn't have the freezer space. We typically do steam packs for veggies and salads for lunch and dinner twice a week.

this is the second one we bought. It works well on the cheaper bags, but something to be careful about this one doesn't seal as completely on the "regular" setting if there's pretty much any fat the gets sucked up. The "moist" setting does seal better. We didn't realize this was what was happening at first. When we first got it, we'd have intermittent bags that looked sealed but then when we took it out of the freezer it was re-inflated slightly and freezer burned (no bueno)

FoodSaver FM2435-ECR Vacuum Sealing System with Bonus Handheld Sealer and Starter Kit, Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C464ZCQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XI6ezbBHFQ7J3

This is the first one we bought but it overheats if you move & seal too many bags in quick succession. When this happens, it stops sucking air out (but still will seal the bag). It seals wet / fatty foods better, though. It's has a bit more wastage with the plastic then the FoodSaver, but the hopper for the bags is slightly larger:

Nesco VS-02 Food Vacuum Sealing System with Bag Starter Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IUAK39A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Jw7ezb9ESJYWS

These are the bags we've used the last few times:
Two 8"X50' Rolls of FoodVacBags 4 mil Commercial Grade Vacuum Sealer Bags - Make Your Own Size Bag! - for Foodsaver, Seal-A-Meal, plus other machines https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPS32MI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yy7ezb2ZQEJ6S

Go to www.camelcamelcamel.com and paste the addresses in to see how the prices trend out. The FoodSaver we got on sale for just shy of $100.

In addition to Soy/Teriyaki I like to add Chili/hot pepper flavors to my dishes. Walmart should carry this stuff, which has a bit of a bite to it but the chili flavor is great.

You won't be able to find this stuff at walmart, but it's good too and is available at Amazon.

I don't have a favorite brand, but don't forget Hoisin sauce!

Seconding the shin black ramyun package. I ate a 10 pack in like week because I love it so much lol. For those without an Asian market nearby, amazon sells it as well. I got a 25 pack of the normal red package and I have bought the black package at least 5 times when I couldn’t find a market. Delicious.

Since your lanlord doesn't allow ovens get yourself an instant-pot and enjoy delicious meals that are ready in 5-10 minutes! Much much better than a slow-cooker.

https://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-Multi-Use-Programmable-Pressure/dp/B00FLYWNYQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1502884496&sr=8-3&keywords=instant-pot

I can't believe nobody has said this but Tasty Bite has a bunch of different Indian/Thai pouches that are pretty low calorie and very filling. The lentils one is my go-to but they are all pretty good of the ones I've had. I usually get a big pack at Costco. Also if you want to make it a full meal you can add rice.

https://www.amazon.com/Tasty-Bite-Indian-Lentils-Microwaveable/dp/B0007R9L4M

There are rice cookers that you can steam fish, chicken and vegetables while cooking the rice, or make a little soup/stew it's an entire meal quick, easy and cheap. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B007WQ9YNO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Rice is really cheap, if there is an Aldi near you that would be gold otherwise walmart is a good cheap option. Get salt and pepper in the grinders, it is stronger so you don't need to use as much.
Defiantly toilet paper, paper towels, rice, black beans, flour, beef and chicken broth cubes (there are a million little soups you can make with these, they don't require refrigeration), hard candies, carrots and broccoli (these don't need refrigeration and can be steamed or eaten raw), drink flavor squirts or the packets to put in water bottles (you're not always going to want plain water), hot tea bags and/or coffee, peanut butter and jelly, dried fruit, cereal bars, oatmeal, olive oil or cooking pan spray, quinoa and/or couscous (again if you are near Aldi, these are very cheap and easy to make).

I have these two:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0017IFSIS/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1505573992&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=thermos&dpPl=1&dpID=41h%2BHt2ibXL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008JC76XA/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1505573992&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=thermos&dpPl=1&dpID=41lZMt1gboL&ref=plSrch

I'd guess I use the bigger one a bit more often because I like the extra room. The smaller one is best for soups, stews, chilis, etc.

I hope this helps!

Instant pot is great for large portions. For 1-2 servings I'd recommend getting a smaller rice cooker. I've had this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007WQ9YNO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_tBie2VjX5I8MT for 4 years and used it 5ish times a week. Perfect everytime. Other cheap ones I've tried burn rice.

I have 2 thermos brand thermos's, and 2 mini crock pots. Here are links

https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Stainless-Folding-Spoon-Midnight/dp/B0017IFSIS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1481801668&sr=8-4&keywords=thermos

https://www.amazon.com/Crock-Pot-32041-C-16-Ounce-Little-Dipper/dp/B0000CCY14/ref=sr_1_6?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1481801694&sr=1-6&keywords=mini+crock+pot

So I will just start up a soup or whatever at like 10pm, comes out perfect by 6 or 7. Just throw it in a thermos, grab some bread or crackers or whatever and its perfect in there until about 2pm.

http://www.amazon.ca/Bentgo-Stackable-Solution-Sleek-Containers-Silverware/dp/B00B78WO3U/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1405734871&sr=8-4&keywords=bento+lunch

+

http://www.amazon.ca/Thermos-SK3000MBTRI4-Stainless-King-Midnight/dp/B0017IFSIS/ref=pd_bxgy_k_img_c

Seems to work the best for me. I mix and match depending on what I have to pack, and I can really make anything without too much trouble. I love that they have cutlery built in. Most of the time I use the thermos for yogurt or soup and it's still hot or cold when I need it. I also have a larger food jar from the same brand, and I use it when I'm working a longer shift or When I want to pack chilli or pasta as my main course. I really can't recommend the thermos's enough. They never leak.

https://youtu.be/nfxpwbWBNuU

Just kidding..... I recommended ordering the cook book below, it covers a ton of the basics and has some awesome recipes. Pair that with Binging with Babish and some of the others that people have recommended and you are set!


Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, 17th Edition (Better Homes and Gardens Cooking) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1328498859/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_v4KSDbZ9CQ6H5

Here is the one I have:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001AO2PXK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1374773312&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY190
It's kind of expensive but you could get a cheaper version without a timer and meat probe.
I like it because it has a timer that will cut the pot over to "warm" after however many hours you set it for. I am at work or commuting 11 hours a day so I need that, but you may not if you're not gone longer than 5-6 hours.
I also like that it has a meat probe. Sometimes I cook a whole chicken in it and set it to cut to "warm" once the chicken is at 165 degrees. Hope that helps!

Almost any ricer cooker is better (imo) than no rice cooker. They're super easy and idiot proof.

In my experience the cheaper ones make more of a mess.

I've owned this one and it wasn't very expensive, it's easy to clean, and it makes a limited mess on the counter (unless it's super full). We follow the measurement directions and the rice is great every time.

I currently own this one and it makes almost no mess ever. It's pricey, and I'm not sure it's worth the cost difference if you don't use it a lot, but not having to clean up the counter is super.

I recently got the digital stainless steel 8-cup Aroma Rice Cooker & Steamer from Walmart
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Aroma-8-Cup-Digital-Rice-Cooker-and-Food-Steamer/19756393

Which is also available on Amazon: https://amzn.com/B007WQ9YNO
The white version is also slightly cheaper ($1): https://amzn.com/B007WQ9YNE

I find it perfect for personal uses and great for steaming other vegetables.

If you want a rice cooker, get any <$40 rice cooker.

If you want a really cool and great rice cooker, get a Zojirushi that is made in Japan, like this one. Be careful, lots of the Zojirushi ones are made in China

This recipe and this one here are my two current favorites. For the first one, Halloumi cheese can be pricey, so I usually sprinkle feta on top instead! And the Korean-style is insanely fast/easy/inexpensive. I mixed a little bit of gochujang with the vinaigrette while it was boiling, and it really took the flavor to the next level, but you can use sriracha if you want, or just leave chili paste out of it. It tastes fantastic either way!

In addition to a slow cooker/crock pot get an electric skillet. Since it sounds like your lacking basic kitchen stuff get this gadget kit while your at it.

Those are all free shipping with orders over $35, the total order would be $44 ish. You'll thank your self for spending a little more when your not subsisting on junk food.

Get this: the Insta Pot way better than the crock pot.

I have been crock cooking my whole life, but this is the best darn kitchen utensil you can buy.

If you would like to track all of your food to reach a goal, a food scale is a helpful tool. here is a link to the one that I bought, does both grams and ounces

Ozeri ZK14-S Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale, Elegant Black, 8.25 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004164SRA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pWGXDbXJ1E5QG

A decent thermos

That's the latest one I bought. I'm pretty happy with it. Sometimes I can't eat all of what I put in there but I like being able to fill it up when I want the extra.

Mark Bittman is a perennial favorite, great for beginners

A terrific option is a wide mouth thermos. You'd put hot food in it and it stays hot for up to 9 hours (it also says 12 hours to keep cold stuff cold).

That gives you tons of options for all kinds of things. I googled good recipe ideas for thermos and found a bunch of ideas.

And now my stomach is growling. :p Hope this helps!!

I would strongly recommend picking up a kitchen scale and learning these things first hand.

Mark Bittman's cookbook "How to Cook Everything" is really great to learn the basics, and has tons of easy-to-follow pictures in it. Just making all the recipes in this book taught me how to cook very well.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Basics-Food/dp/0470528060

go to your library and check out how to cook everything: the basics. this will give you a very good, easy start!

http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-The-Basics/dp/0470528060/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1408970714&sr=8-1

Gonna quote some excerpts from one of the top reviews:

>How to Cook Everything: The Basics is a "cookbook" designed to teach new cooks the fundamentals to ingredients, cookware, and food preparation.

>Although it is filled with recipes, The Basics is not really a cookbook. It is presented in a very straightforward way that is designed to not only give you starter recipes, but to provide recipes that teach the fundamentals of cooking. For a "basics" cookbook, one thing I look for is whether it truly is targeted to teaching the basics. When I was first learning to cook, I would be thoroughly confused every time a recipe called for "onion," and went to the story only to discover four different types of onions. And what does "salt to taste" mean? Fortunately, Bittman's book takes these things into account and is very good at not making assumptions on the cooking level of the reader.

If you've got $25, check it out.

Here is a much cheaper option. I've use this one almost every day for over a year now and it's worked perfectly, still on the original batteries.

I've been thinking about getting one as well, and I've seen this one mentioned quite a bit. I have it on my wishlist. It has a timer, good size, not very expensive, and it seems to have a lot of good reviews.

Hamilton Beach Set 'n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker

I actually tried this with my crockpot with just water on high for 4 hours, and I tested the temperature and it was only 165. So I would
be extremely careful with this. This was a $25 crock pot branded crockpot as well.

If you want a good slow cooker that has absolutely no issue boiling water, I'd recommend the Aroma 5 in 1 from Amazon. Just set your beans on steam for 30 minutes, and then slow cook. It will boil water for 30 minutes that way. Works great, but it does take 6 hours or so to cook beans.

That sounds really yummy!

This may be a dumb question, but how do you know when it's near the end of the cooking cycle? I have a Zojirushi 10 cup rice cooker I got many many years ago that has held up great. It does a countdown when it's close to done, but I usually miss that and just hear it's music when it stops. Maybe I'm just not familiar enough with using it to know (possible - I tend to do the 'set it and forget it' method or time it to be done at a certain time).

The Tasty Bites meals are good, you can reheat them on a stove without adding water. My favorite is the Madras Lentils.

http://www.amazon.com/Tasty-Bite-Madras-Lentils-10-Ounce/dp/B0007R9L4M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453392134&sr=8-1&keywords=tasty+bite

Is it a space thing? They're ubiquitous in thrift stores/garage sales, or $12 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Crock-Pot-SCR200-B-Manual-Cooker-Quart/dp/B004P2LEE0/

I got mine for $5 on black friday, probably my best ROI in history.

Buy an instapot pressure cooker and get some dried beans of all varieties. Pair the beans with rice and you have a complete protein! I am in romantic love with my pressure cooker. I'd recommend making chili in it right off the bat. (You'll need diced tomatoes, beans, onion, chipotle peppers and chili or taco seasoning. Split pea soup is also stupid easy and very affordable.


You can also get a seed sprouter and the seeds for it for some produce in your diet. I also like sprouting mungbeans. And it's getting a little late in the season to plant I think but consider starting a tomato plant.

I forgot about the rice cooker option. Another thing is--hunt around on Google for rice cooker recipes. Roger Ebert even wrote a whole book on the subject, and with a little creativity, you can use it for far more than just rice. Between owning a slow cooker and a rice cooker, trust me, meal-making will be set.

I'm pretty sure my sister lived on peanut butter pretzel crackers and Chipotle while in studio (undergrad and masters). But, I'd suggest a bag of apples, Tasty Bites with minute rice, and peanut butter/banana tortilla roll ups.

I have this and its been great! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007WQ9YNO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got this little thing and I'm amazed at how well it works

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001CQTLJM?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_yo_pop_mb_pd_t2

I make yogurt at home using an Instant Pot, but I've seen people do it in a crock pot, and supposedly you can also do it if you have a large glass bowl and a thermometer. All you need to make it is milk and some yogurt you like (and a thermometer if you want to be precise). I usually use plain greek yogurt to make mine, and then I flavor it when I go to eat it. If you want berry flavoring without chunks, use a berry jam or jelly and mix it in to the plain yogurt.

https://www.amazon.com/Pot-How-Use-Mystery-Romance/dp/0740791427

Great book on using a rice cooker creatively. No need to get a slow cooker, unless time is a huge problem.

You might check out some rice cooker cookbooks:

The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker (by Roger Ebert)

The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker - Roger Ebert, Sept. 2010
https://www.amazon.com/Pot-How-Use-Mystery-Romance/dp/0740791427

Thanks for the advice on Instant Pot! I started looking into Instant pot instead with this steamer tray:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FLYWNYQ/ref=twister_B01DZM2UQ6?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y4MCKFM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A2BYU15NLIVJEN&psc=1

How about something like Ikea's veggie balls?

I picked up a few bags back in early December, emptied two of them into a gallon freezer bag, and toss a few into my rice cooker's steamer tray whenever I cook rice. I'm sure there are recipes to make them at home too.

Edit: My rice cooker that can rice and steam at the same time.

Most crockpot recipes can be converted for the pressure cooker pretty easily. If you're on the fence, I'd advocate for the pressure cooker instead, since it can do multiple things (slow cooker, pressure cooker, yogurt maker, sauté function, etc.) whereas the slow cooker can only slow cook.

There are subreddits you can reference for both these pieces of equipment: /r/slowcooking and /r/pressurecooking

One quick and easy thing you can make in the PC (I'd recommend this one: http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-IP-DUO60-Programmable-Stainless/dp/B00FLYWNYQ) is salsa chicken. Put frozen chicken in the PC, about 2 breast pieces, add a half jar of salsa, 2 T of taco seasoning, seal and pressure cook for 15 minutes. Shred, mix, stuff into tortillas and add your extras. Boom, shredded chicken tacos.

I bought one of these, use it once or twice a week and we love it. $35

https://www.amazon.com/Aroma-Housewares-ARC-914SBD-Cool-Touch-Stainless/dp/B007WQ9YNO

There are larger capacity ones as well, and others with more features, I wanted something multipurpose, but yet basic enough.

If you're flying solo usually this 2qt one is less than $9 with prime

I mean, you have literally the cheapest, most basic rice cooker made. I have this Aroma one for $35 that cooks perfect rice every time, brown or white. The keep warm function does dry out the rice, but only after an hour or so. And it's never burned it. Plus you can steam things in it.

Maybe consider using a thermos -- something like this. Crockpot stuff. Beef Stew.

This is the one I have, I've had it for a few years with no issues. Any food scale with decent online reviews should be just fine though. They make calorie tracking WAY easier.

Rice cooker, electric skillet/hot plate, and slow cooker are all great answers so far.

However, an Instant Pot does all three and several other things.

Unfortunately this doesn't really get you over the dish washing hurdle, so you might just have to be that guy and scrape off as much as you can into the trash and wash your dishes in the common area, leaving as little mess as possible.

If that makes you feel any better, it won't be the weirdest thing that people see in a military dorm, I guarantee some dumb stuff will go on there.

The 7-in-1 Instant Pot is a good buy - it's a middling pressure cooker, but solid for the other uses (rice cooker, slow cooker, etc.)

It's also on sale right now for $60 instead of $100.

Here's a link.

I can't speak for all rice cookers, but on mine, I set the timer on the rice cooker for how long each food needs to cook. My rice cooker came with a booklet that includes recommended times for different vegetables and meats. For instance, broccoli is 15 minutes, cauliflower is 25 minutes, etc. I own this Aroma rice cooker.

Instant Pot is the brand

Eta A link to amazon product page for Instant Pot

Sez you. :P

Heated leftovers.

Thermos Stainless King 16 Ounce Food Jar with Folding Spoon, Midnight Blue

https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Stainless-Ounce-Folding-Midnight/dp/B0017IFSIS/ref=pd_sim_79_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0017IFSIS&pd_rd_r=25f94e3a-e924-11e8-ac6d-e5cddbbd9c33&pd_rd_w=y2yBN&pd_rd_wg=xBp28&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=FQK0YC9ZM6PAZWPB8PKP&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=FQK0YC9ZM6PAZWPB8PKP

works for hot and cold: https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Stainless-Folding-Spoon-Midnight/dp/B0017IFSIS

Here's the one I have. It's cheap and I use it for everything. Takes about 5 minutes to weigh and log everything.

why not both?

With my pressure cooker I can throw in a bunch of ingredients, hit the button for whichever function I'm doing, go about my business for about 20 minutes or so and bang, I've got meals for a week! Also cooks a whole chicken in about 25 minutes too.

This is the one I've got, it's the swiss army knife of cooking applicances!

http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-IP-DUO60-Programmable-Generation/dp/B00FLYWNYQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1405182548&sr=8-2&keywords=one+pot