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i cut up veggies ahead of time into plastic baggies & just grab an assortment along with a single serving pack of t. marzetti's ranch veggie dip. yogurt is great too. so are cheese, crackers, nuts and apples.

I'd carry around musubi that I've made, as well as bought. These survived the heat in Hawaii really well, and were sold on the counter, not under refrigeration anyway. Then again, it doesn't get as hot in Hawaii as it does in Cleveland, and several other cities where I've spent summers.

My favorite "fillings" were:
- salmon furikake -- smoked salmon cooked in sake and light shoyu, dried, and flaked (really easy to do) with roasted sesame seeds
- umeboshi -- Japanese pickled plum, esp. when I had exams since ume is known for its digestive properties
- Japanese greens -- zenmai (fiddlehead) and other mountain veggies that were simmered in very light shoyu

As well as the not so healthy musubi:
- Spam
- grilled, marinated chicken (Korean style)

The sky's the limit for the filling...

These days, I've seen brown rice musubi sold. It's a lot healthier but not my thing at all. :P

I used tote around hiyashi somen (Japanese cold noodles). It's made with bleached extremely fine wheat noodles, but you can always use the bulkier buckwheat noodles. Toppings I'd make would range from blanched veggies like spinach, fried Spam in very thin sticks, crepe sliced thin, thin cucumber sticks, menma (marinated bamboo shoots), roasted sesame seeds, ajitsuke nori (nori flavored with shoyu then toasted), etc. The noodles are eaten dipped in a sauce, but you can always toss the ingredients at home n the sauce if there is some danger of spillage. Sauce can be bought (somen tsuyu) or made.

If you're in you're second quarter, I'm guessing you're in a dorm room, in which case your best bets may be to always have fruit, cheese, and nuts/seeds around for snacking. Get some sandwich baggies, buy nuts/seeds you like in bulk, and portion out some snacks for yourself. Works well with cheese too if you're not fond of string cheese (plus string cheese isn't always super cheap). Basic sandwiches should work well too with dorm stuff (turkey/horseradish cheddar/baby greens/whole wheat bread is in my work fridge as I type).

Bananas are usually pretty cheap, not all fruit is. I also agree with the comment about staying away from packaged "healthy" food. It usually isn't as healthy as it seems and you can usually make it cheaper yourself. Like hummus. It is SO much cheaper to make it yourself, and it's really easy and delicious. Eat with pita, carrots, whatever. Get some of those 'disposable' plastic containers (ziploc, gladware, etc) and you're set.

Breakfast: when I'm in a rush, I put granola/ceral into a med. sized ziploc/tupperwarer, then milk, plain yogurt, and some fruit into a ziploc baggie and put that in the container. Grab a spoon. Go to class/work. Assemble before the session begins.

If you have a kitchen at your disposal, I highly suggest making your own granola. And buying a crock pot. Both involve a little bit of cash up front (for granola, to stock up your pantry), but are well worth it.

Veggies and fruits my man all you need to eat. Just make sure they are organic.

When I was in school I used to make various types of smoothies or do the layer effect- in a plastic cup put some yogurt (any flavor ) then some granola then some for yogurt and then granola. For lunch I would would make a wrap either with spring rolls or wrap rolls, schmear on cream cheese mixed with cranberry sauce, a little turkey, some shredded lettuce and carrots, cucs, roll up tight and slice and wrap each piece in foil so wen I was ready to eat it I just peel down the foil was I eat. A MUST was to always have some sort of soup. I would make a big pot and have it through out the week. Have to have soup once a day (still do) if I don't have soup I get the DT's. Also I would get sushi sometimes.