Tired of heating up pre-cooked food from Trader Joe’s? Don’t have a meal plan? Dining out every night breaking the budget? Staying in to cook is a cheaper and simpler alternative. Here are some cheap, simple and delicious meals any Fordham student can put together in no time at all. 

MINI HAM AND EGG BREAKFAST TACOS 

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: 1

Estimated total cost: $1.27

Nutritional Info: 470 calories, 29 grams of protein and 28 grams of fat.

Ingredients:

• 4 mini tortillas 
• ¼ onion or any vegetable of your choosing
• 2 eggs
• 2 ham or turkey slices
• ½ tablespoon of butter

Steps:

1. Heat a pan over medium heat.
2. Whisk two eggs in a bowl and add in vegetables of your choice. Melt butter on the pan and then add in the egg mixture.
3. Stir the eggs until no longer runny. 
4. Turn on another burner to max heat. Put your hand six inches above the pan and when you can feel the heat, put the tortillas on the pan. Keep an eye on them and remove once they have gotten as toasted as you would like. Line the inside of the tortillas with ham and add the eggs.

Note: This meal can be customized in many ways to make it more or less healthy. For example, you can add bacon, chicken, cheese or more vegetables. 

HOT DOGS  

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 1

Total Cost: $0.84

Nutritional Info: 426 calories, 16 grams of protein and 22 grams of fat

Ingredients:

• 2 hot dog buns
• 2 turkey hot dogs
• ¼ onion
• Condiment of choice 
• ½ tablespoon butter

Steps:

1. Place a pan on the stove top and turn the heat to medium.
2. When the butter has melted, add the hot dogs to the stove top. I also add the buns because I like to give them a nice char. 
3. Keep rotating the hot dogs and cook to your liking. If you’re unable to cook them on a stove, you can also toss them in the microwave for a minute.
4. While the hot dogs are cooking, chop up the onion.
5. After you are content with the char on the hot dogs and toast on the buns, take them off the stove and plate them. While they cool, add the onions to the pan and let them sizzle over medium heat until translucent. 
6. Garnish the hot dogs with the sauteed onions. 

SALMON WITH RICE AND GREEN BEANS

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves: 1

Total Cost: $4.62

Nutritional Info: 523 calories, 18 grams of protein and 11 grams of fat

Ingredients:

• ½ cup uncooked rice (this will make 1.5 cups cooked rice)
• ½ onion
• 1 cup green string beans (19-20 raw beans)
• 2 ounces salmon 
• 1 tablespoon butter

Steps:

1. Measure out ½ cup uncooked rice and thoroughly rinse it. Using a rice cooker or pot, add the rice and one cup of water. Start the cooker or set the heat on the stove to high and bring the rice and water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the rice sit for 15-20 minutes (times will vary based on the type of rice). 
2. Heat a pan to medium and melt 1 tablespoon butter.
3. Season fish, place it on the heated pan and wait until it changes from orange to pink. I also like to brown the edges because it adds a crunch to the soft salmon cuts. 
4. Take the salmon off the pan and use the leftover butter to cook the green beans. Leave the green beans on the pan for about five minutes. In the meantime, dice the onions. 
5. After taking both the salmon and green beans off the pan, lower the heat of the stove top and add the onions. Cook until translucent.
6. Once the onions are finished, plate the rice, salmon and beans and add the onions to the top of the rice.

The recommended national daily caloric intake is 2,000 calories. These recipes will bring you to 1,400 calories, so snacking on healthy foods between meals is also recommended.