Cheap, nonperishable, healthy snack recipes?
Hello everyone. I've been trying to get recipes for food items that I can carry and keep easily while I spend those long hours in between college classes and away from a refrigerator. I'm hoping to be able to keep food costs low and not put just junk in my body. So far, I've found a decent granola bar and protein bar recipe, but I'm having trouble coming up with or finding anything else. Anyone have any good recipes out there? If anyone else could offer good tips in general on keeping snacks on oneself, that would be great too. Thanks in advance!
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11 Comments:
Nuts, raisins and other dried fruits, non-bruisable fruits, single-serve peanut butter and other nut butters (or put 1-2 tablespoons in a small tupperware container) with crackers and celery sticks, peanut butter and jelly or honey or any one of its zillion variations, dry cereal in a bowl or grab and go containers of cereal with single-serve milks in cardboard containers, prepackaged hummus in a small tin with crackers, single-serve cheeses that don't need to be refrigerated or can go unrefrigerated like the ones in the little circular containers of plastic, cut-up veggies and single-servings of dips, oatmeal raisin cookies or pb cookies in a treat, and if you have access to hot water (or can mooch a cup off of the campus coffee shop) oatmeal and pre-packaged soups
HeartofGlass at 7:00PM on 08/24/08
Rice cakes. They have many different flavors to choose from. Eat them plain or smear peanut butter on them or what ever you want.
pjracz10 at 9:22PM on 08/24/08
shelled pistachios, dried cranberries and if i'm feeling really flush,
some good quality chocolate chips..... kind of like a gourmet trail mix....
another: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and dried apricots...
all available at health food stores or in bulk.....
pooch at 9:47PM on 08/24/08
Mot perishables are just fine out of the fridge for a day. Or use one of those blue cold packs if it creeps you out to eat room temp yogourt, milk etc... I actually like room temp yogourt, maybe from all my years in school. I bake muffins and freeeze individually in zip top baggies. Hard cooked eggs are easy to pack and tasty, especially if you steal some of those single serve sachets of salt and pepper. Buy some very small plastic containers to bring dips, spreads, cheeses etc... Small glass jars (like those from hotel breakfast jams) are best for salad dressings, which tend to leak!
PeanutButter at 10:01PM on 08/24/08
these are far from cheap, but i adore freeze dried fruits from this company:
http://www.justtomatoes.com/
especially their mango and apricot.
i try to keep some nuts and dried fruit with me so that i'm not tempted to eat pizza or bagels when i'm out. i keep them in my backpack in a ziploc and store it in little cosmetic case.
cybercita at 11:36PM on 08/24/08
I'm out for about 15 hrs. a day, and hardly spend any money for food. Schools usually have microwaves, so you should bring a meal or 2 with you, and you'll need less snacks. On the weekends, I try to think ahead of time of what the weeks menu will be. I just made a whole batch of sundried tomato hummus that I'll eat with carrots and crackers. I make soups and stews and freeze them in individual containers. I take a tub of plain yogurt and add fruit and honey to it - much better than the fruit on the bottom kind. I make pita chips and different kinds of breads. Rice and beans is a favorite of mine. I carry around a lot of fruit. I just buy whatever fruits are on sale, and enjoy it. I just bought a honeydrew and cut it up and put it in individual containers. I'm about cheap and healthy, so I try to make most of what I eat instead of getting the prepackaged stuff. It also saves money.
terabithia at 2:02PM on 08/25/08
Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, terabithia, the area of the university I frequent actually does not allow use of the microwave or refrigerator because of rat issues the building has had from students not being careful with their foodstuffs.
Probably in the end, I'll experiment with baked goods, even using veggies, in hopes of creating good finger food stuffs. I can't say I want to necessarily bring a lunch box or utensils around (or contribute to the trashcan with extra plastic stuffs).
Jikuu at 2:15PM on 08/25/08
Try reynolds handivac: a cheap alternative to a vacuum sealer and the bags are re-usuable at least a few times. You should be able to take cut up fruits/veggies/salads without browning and at least half a day of not refrigerating. A little jar of dressing (vinaigrettes should hold up) and you are good to go.
(The handivac is not nearly as good as the real thing, but a viable alternative to keep air out and reuse the bags.
Cary at 5:45PM on 08/25/08
i make these awesome Brown Rice Krispies treats... I also make a Granola, but you already have a recipe for that.
When I snack, I try to buy stuff that's better for me - so I buy the natural potato chips and the Terra chips and stuff like that and I snack on hummus I make and guacamole or some left-over dip from a party. I sort-of have become the dip queen amongst my friends. My veggie dip and red bell pepper dip keep pretty well in the fridge for latenight snacking.
And the Sun-dried tomato Jam is versatile and also keeps veeeeery well. I made a batch too big for one person and had to find creative ways to use them. One of them being these breadsticks. These go limp after a while, but reheat extremely well for a late night snack too.
Madelyn
KarmaFreeCooking
MadelynRodriguez at 8:02PM on 08/25/08
The site Yummy Diet Food has my favorite low calorie, healthy snack list. My personal favorites (that aren't perishable) are: trail mix, snikiddy grilled cheese puffs, pistachios, fiberful bars, and clif z bars.
amandalovesfood at 7:29PM on 02/01/09
Make rice balls! They're super easy. A basic recipe with pics, etc. lives here">.
You don't even need to add the nori, just line a teacup with plastic wrap, put the rice in there and squeeze everything tightly shut. They are (a) delicious, (b) dirt cheap, and (c) endlessly changeable. You can absolutely use short grained brown rice if you don't want white. The only proviso for these little nuggets of wonderfulness is that you cannot refrigerate them. It makes the rice hard and gross. After years of not refrigerating them, I thoughtlessly tossed them into the fridge at work last week and was reminded of what a bad idea that was. I usually just stuff mine with pickled plums when I'm feeling lazy (I can get pretty elaborate with these because they are often my food for the day), and I'd imagine that if they're going to be out for hours and hours you'd probably want to stay away from perishable products, but olives work well, as do pretty much any salty and/or spicy veg product. Chopped kimchi is GREAT, but that might make you a little garlicky for your fellow classmates.
chisai at 8:38PM on 02/01/09