Up It’s 4:05 PM. Class ran a bit long, and you’re finally back at your apartment, but you have a meeting across campus at 6:30. You’re starving, as you often are after a long day of studies. You could pick up something quick from the nearest burger spot, but your stomach (and your wallet) beg to differ.
What on earth will you do?
We’ve all been there – struggling to balance time, diet, and money when finding something to eat. Eating out is convenient, but it gets old fast, and the prices add up. In this post, I’ll give you some examples of simple culinary delights that even the novice will be able to prepare and enjoy, which will let you stay well-fed and ball on a budget.
1. Big Boy Omelettes
There’s no better way to start off the morning than with a four-egg omelette and a nice cup of coffee. I usually opt for a nice balance of meats and veggies, throwing in some tomato, turkey, bacon, onion, and cheese – but you should take the opportunity to experiment, and toss in anything and everything you want! All you do is whisk up the eggs, chop up your add-ons, toss the eggs in the pan with a dash of oil and, after a minute or two of cooking, dump everything else on in to the mix. They seem more complicated to make than they actually are, so you’ll be feeling all fancy as you’re enjoying your nice breakfast delight.
Starting the day off right
2. Chicken Pasta Salad
Canned food gets a bad reputation, but it can be put to good use. It holds well, so it’s a good idea to keep on hand for those days when you just don’t have time to go grocery shopping. Chop up some vegetables, add your favorite seasoning to taste, and mix them all together with the chicken, and you’ve got yourself dinner for one day, and lunch for the next.
3. Street Tacos
I almost put Tacozone out of business with these little guys (why do you think they relocated?). Just ground beef, seasoning, and a medley or carrots, corn, and peas.
4. Everything Sandwich
This one is a great way to get rid of whatever you have left over in the fridge. You’re oftentimes left with a random assortment of bread and miscellaneous vegetables, so the everything sandwich is a great way to fill up your stomach, and empty out your pantry.
If you can easily close the sandwich and fit it in your mouth, you’re not doing it right. Set the sandwich down, open it up, and add some more.
5. Bacon Clam Chowder
This last one is the masterpiece. My culinary crown jewel. My pièce de résistance. The legendary bacon clam chowder. Use half and half over milk, carrots and onion to supplement the potato, and – most importantly – don’t forget the bacon. Brew it over the stove and before you know it, you and all your friends are sitting around the table, enjoying your concoction with a side of some nice sourdough.
All those chem labs prepared me well.
That’s all from me; this is just a brief sample, but rest assured there are plenty of ways for you to engineer your meals to stay well-fed as an engineer!
[/cs_text][/cs_column][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/5″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h5″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”false” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 95%, 18%);”]About the Author[/x_custom_headline][x_image type=”circle” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Jacob-Toney-CHE-2021-e1530162561484.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/jacob/” title=”” target=”blank” info=”popover” info_place=”bottom” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”Jacob Chemical Engineering ’21”][cs_text class=”cs-ta-center”]Jacob is a junior studying Chemical Engineering. He enjoys music, movies, and mass balances. Click above to find out more![/cs_text][cs_icon_list][cs_icon_list_item title=”@j.w.toney” type=”instagram” link_enabled=”true” link_url=”https://www.instagram.com/j.w.toney/” link_title=”@j.w.toney” link_new_tab=”true” _label=”@j.w.toney” style=”font-size:18px;”]@j.w.toney[/cs_icon_list_item][/cs_icon_list][x_gap size=”50px”][x_custom_headline level=”h5″ looks_like=”h5″ accent=”true” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 95%, 18%);”]Check it Out[/x_custom_headline][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/che.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/study/chemical-engineering/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/study/chemical-engineering/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]Chemical Engineering[/x_button][x_gap size=”30px”][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/los-angeles_1.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/free-time/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/free-time/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]LA Life[/x_button][x_gap size=”30px”][x_image type=”thumbnail” src=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/USC-campus-Hahn-plaza.jpg” alt=”” link=”true” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/orgs/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][x_button size=”mini” block=”true” circle=”false” icon_only=”false” href=”https://viterbivoices.usc.edu/orgs/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””]USC Campus Faves[/x_button][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”false” marginless_columns=”false” _label=”New Item 3″ class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column bg_color=”hsla(0, 27%, 74%, 0.03)” fade=”true” fade_animation=”in-from-bottom” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true” class=”cs-ta-center” style=”color: hsl(0, 96%, 23%);”]More From Viterbi Students[/x_custom_headline][/cs_column][/cs_row][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” _label=”New Item 2″ style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”” category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”2″ category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][x_recent_posts type=”post” count=”2″ offset=”4″ category=”” orientation=”horizontal” no_sticky=”true” no_image=”false” fade=”true”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]
