Not knowing what to make for dinner is daunting, and grocery shopping is borderline terrifying. Meal planning starts at the grocery list, and creating an affordable list that still gives you opportunities to cook multiple fueling meals is a hard skill to learn. I would not call myself a cooking pro just yet, but I have learned some kitchen must-haves that could be helpful for other college students.
When it comes to grocery shopping your list should consist of pantry staples and ingredients for at least one predetermined meal. Having a planned meal keeps hungry minds from buying unnecessary food items. I recommend always picking out the next recipe and putting exactly what you need on your list before you do your routine shopping.
Staples should include cooking basics such as noodles, eggs, milk, bread, cheese and butter. I also usually include at least one pack of vegetables and one pack of fruit, just enough for a week but not enough that it will go bad before my roommate or I can eat it. Besides those items, I always have a few meals in the freezer and some shelf stable soups.
My favorite frozen meals are all found at Trader Joe’s. Clearly, I love that place. In my last Culinary Chaos I listed the best frozen meals from Trader Joe’s. Now that I live in an apartment with an oven, I have been experimenting with Joe’s oven options such as turkey meatballs and mandarin orange chicken. There are a ton more to explore that I’m sure will be good, since I have never gotten anything bad from Trader Joe’s.
Speaking of frozen food, the best advice I can offer is to use your freezer more. You’d be surprised how well a variety of food items keep in the freezer.
My roommate could tell you that our freezer is full, thanks to me. I keep frozen proteins like ground beef, tomatoes and garlic so I always have something to defrost for a quick meal. Knowing I have something in the freezer usually can shorten my shopping list as well.
The other half of my freezer belongs to home-made frozen meals. Soup and burritos keep well in the freezer and are super easy to warm up in a hurry. Thankfully, chefs out in the world have provided many recipes for all types of food that can be portioned and kept frozen to grab and go.
Graphic by Neako Hallisey.