Recipes For University/College Students as seen on Toronto’s Breakfast Television.

If you (or your offspring) are making the leap from residence (with a meal plan) to living on your own this school year – you’ll want to screenshot the following recipes for when hunger kicks in and your budget is tight.

The following recipes are Delicious & Doable, economical, nutrient dense and require little cooking skill = perfect for post secondary students venturing off on their own for the first time. 

Get Up and Go Morning Muesli

~ approx .90 cents per ½ cup (125 mL) serving

Fuel up with a simple, delicious and nutritious ‘no-cooking’ required breakfast. Simply stir together all the ingredients and voila! Bonus: only one bowl and a spoon to clean-up.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 mL) large flake oats 
• ½ cup (125 mL) dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) each of green pumpkin seeds and shelled sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) each of ground flaxseed, chia seeds and hemp seeds 
• 1 cup (250 mL) plain Greek style yogurt
• finely grated zest of one orange 
• ¾ cup (175 mL) orange juice
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) Canadian maple syrup *or to taste
• 2 tsp (10 mL) pure vanilla extract 
• ½ tsp (2 mL) ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) each of ground ginger and salt
• 2 small Ontario apples; well washed, cored and finely diced *leave skin on for added fibre

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.  
2. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. 
3. Makes 4 cups (1 L).  

Delicious & Doable Tips:

• Use raisins, sliced dried apricots, or dried cherries instead of dried cranberries.
• Don’t have maple syrup? Use honey or brown sugar instead.

Char’s Tex-Mex Pasta Salad

~ approx $1.50 per 1 cup (250 mL) serving

This pasta salad is loaded with plant protein, plenty of veg, and explodes with fresh flavour. While pasta is boiling, prep remaining ingredients = nutritious pack-and-go lunch (or dinner)  in approx 20 minutes!! Click here for more tasty pasta recipes.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (500 mL) Italpasta Artisan penne (or fusilli) click here for more info.
• 1 can (540 mL) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 ripe avocados, diced
• 2 cups (500 mL) halved grape tomatoes
• ½ cup (125 mL) frozen corn, thawed
• ½ cup (125 mL) each of chopped fresh cilantro and chopped green onions
• ¼ cup (60 mL) chopped fresh mint
• 2 tbsp (30mL) olive oil
• Finely grated zest and juice of 2 limes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp (5 mL) each of ground cumin, ground coriander and chili powder
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) chili flakes

Delicious & Doable Tips: 

• Add leftover chopped grilled chicken or a can of drained tuna to salad for extra protein.
• Add ½ cup (125 mL) chopped pickled jalapenos for an extra kick of heat.

Curried Pumpkin Slow Cooker Stew

 ~ approx $1.60 per 1 cup (250 mL) serving

Simplest (and super nutrient dense) comfort food ever. Let the slow cooker do the work while you attend class. Nothing like a hearty home cooked stew after a long day of learning.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 sweet potato, chopped in cubes (well washed, leave skin on) 
• 1 cup (250 mL) pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 (540 mL) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
• 1 (400 mL) can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) curry powder
• 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
• ½ tsp (2 mL) each of ground cinnamon, ground ginger and chili flakes
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) ground nutmeg 
• 1 apple, cored and chopped (leave skin on)
• 4 cups (1 L) lightly packed baby spinach leaves

Garnish

• ½ cup (125 mL) each of chopped green onions and roughly chopped fresh mint
• ¼ cup (60 mL) roughly chopped peanuts 

Instructions

• Place chopped onion, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, chickpeas, coconut milk and spices in a slow cooker. Stir until combined. Cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours. 
• Stir in apple and spinach and cook, covered, for an additional 15 minutes.
• Garnish each portion evenly with green onions, fresh mint and peanuts. Makes about 8 cups (2 L).  

Delicious & Doable Tips:

• Freeze leftover canned pumpkin and use for your next batch of stew.
• Use canned lentils instead of chickpeas.

Click here to purchase your copy of ‘Delicious & Doable’ or find at one of the below retailers:

• Type Books ~ 883 Queen Street West, Toronto 
• Lemonberry ~ 2 Orchard Heights Blvd #10, Aurora
• Casual Gourmet ~ 1027 King Street West, Hamilton
• Chef’s Paradise ~ 1314 Bank Street, Ottawa 
• Gift It Grey ~ 19492 Opeongo Line, Barry’s Bay
• Creative Cook ~ 35 Manitoba St, Bracebridge
• The Farm Store ~ 101 Entrance Dr, Bracebridge
• Red Bean Interior ~ 99 Maple St, Port Carling
• Stephen’s Butcher Shop ~ 8 Harris St, Port Carling
• Farmer’s Daughter ~ 118 ON-60, Huntsville