Are you tired of spending an exorbitant amount of money to eat that delicious (not) but healthy kale or the same old stir-fry from Fusion every week? With the prices of produce and healthy foods continually rising, it is hard to prepare nutritious and enjoyable meals while staying on a college-friendly budget. At less than $2 per serving, these healthy meals are both wallet and waistline-friendly. Also, unlike some healthy foods, these recipes don’t taste like cardboard or feature an ingredient that sounds like it’s probably meant to stay in the woods––always a plus. Migas, essentially Mexican frittatas, are a huge hit in my circle of friends. They are full of flavor and super easy to make. This recipe is healthy and vegetarian friendly. The cost per serving is only $0.78.
Recipe for Migas
6 eggs 1/4 cup of fat-free or low fat milk A pinch of salt 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 6-inch corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch strips 1/4 green bell pepper, diced 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 medium tomato, diced 3 ounces grated pepper jack cheese
Directions: Whisk together eggs, milk and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortilla strips and cook, stirring occasionally, until strips begin to crisp. Once crisp, add pepper and onion and cook until softened. This should take about three minutes. Add whole garlic and clove and cook for about one minute longer. Add egg mixture, tomato and cheese to the skillet. Using a spatula, cook mixture for about three minutes, scraping up cooked eggs and allowing liquid to flow to bottom of pan. Once eggs are completely set, garnish the dish with some grated cheese and serve immediately.
Homemade Mexican pizza is not only delicious but approximately $0.97 per serving. Also, it only takes about 30 minutes to make which is a great time-saver for college students who would obviously rather be studying or learning how to solve all of the world’s problems.
Recipe for Homemade Mexican Pizza
Dough: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast 1 teaspoon olive oil 2 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup warm water
Toppings: 1 cup black beans 1 large red or green bell pepper, diced 1 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes 1/2 pound ground turkey 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 tablespoon hot sauce 1 cup shredded Mexican style cheese
Directions: For the dough: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together all dry ingredients. Combine warm water, sugar and yeast and let sit until foamy. When yeast mixture is ready, add to flour mixture with oil and knead until elastic-type consistency is formed. Then cover and let sit while preparing pizza toppings. Once toppings are prepared, roll out to fit a 14-inch pizza pan.
For the toppings: In a large pan, sauté ground turkey in vegetable oil until just about halfway cooked. Add cumin, chili powder, hot sauce and diced tomatoes. Continue cooking until half of the liquid in the pan has been reduced. To assemble the pizza, spoon tomato/turkey mixture onto the base of the pizza. Top with black beans, cheese and diced bell peppers. Once assembled, bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes.