The Complete Guide to Easy and Cheap Nutrition Habits for College and University Students

What words, phrases or feelings come to mind when you hear the word “nutrition”? Perhaps some of the ideas that pop into your mind include dieting, worry, expensive health foods, challenge, and insufficient time. Rest assured, good nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive or restrictive!

Good nutrition simply means eating in a balanced and sustainable way, with a foundation of a variety of whole foods to meet our nutrient needs. At least this is my definition of good nutrition, as a Certified Holistic Nutritionist with a gentle, sustainable and safe approach to diet.

Within my approach, there are three components of lifelong nutrition habits. These include sustainability, accessibility, and balance. Let me break these down further:

1. Sustainability

Within the component of sustainability, there are three pillars, enjoyment, safety and ease:

Enjoyment

My motto is that food is meant to fuel both our cells and our souls. Of course nutrients are important, but any way of eating that removes enjoyment is simply not sustainable.

A great way to incorporate more enjoyment into all kinds of foods is to go for the flavour factor! A common misconception is that a healthy diet is a bland diet. This is just not the case.

Easy ways to add more flavour (without dousing your food in salt):

• Adding a squeeze of fresh citrus juice or zest.
• Adding a few dashes of hot sauce.
• Cooking with herbs and spices.
• Including fats like olive oil and avocado, since fats help to enhance flavour.

Another way to make cooking and eating nutritious foods more enjoyable is to make the cooking process fun:

• Plan ahead to eliminate the stress around what and when to eat.
• Pick some of your favourite foods and build a meal from there.
• Select recipes that fit your cooking skills to avoid added difficulty.
• Play your favourite music and DANCE!
• Invite a friend or roommate to join you in the kitchen.

Safety

A sustainable diet is a safe diet. As a Nutritionist, I never recommend extremely restrictive diets that may be low in calories or certain macronutrients (protein, carbs and fat), or cut out many types of foods or entire food groups.

These types of diets not only makes eating way less fun, but they can be very dangerous, especially without the supervision of a professional such as a Nutritionist, Dietician, or medical practitioner.

As a general rule, avoid trendy diet fads including keto, low carb, paleo, etc. unless medically prescribed for your specific needs. If your gut is telling you a diet sounds too challenging or restrictive, it’s best to listen or if unsure, to consult a professional.

Remember that you’re still growing…

• Up to 90% of peak bone mass is acquired by age 18 in girls and age 20 in boys.¹
• Adequate healthy fat intakes are required for the production of important hormones.
• Sufficient calories are required to meet vitamin and mineral needs, and to build bones.

You may be wondering how many calories you need. Adolescents aged 13+ need an average of 2,000 calories per day.² However, tracking calories isn’t required. In fact, I don’t like to recommend calorie counting due to its potentially harmful effect on mental health and body image.

Instead, you can practice paying attention to your body’s internal cues:

Hunger may feel like a growling stomach, low energy, shakiness, headaches and problems focusing. A healthy hunger sensation is typically a growling stomach and sometimes feeling a little low energy. If you often experience the other more intense symptoms, you may be waiting too long to eat or are not eating enough throughout the day.

Fullness feels like a comfortable and satisfied sensation in the body, and not uncomfortably stuffed or in pain, having difficulty breathing, or feeling lethargic.

Ease

As I mentioned, nutrition does not have to be complicated. As humans we tend to complicate things, because we think something so important couldn’t possibly be easy!

So I’ll break down the fundamentals of balanced eating for you. If most days you’re having these, there’s no need to stress:

• Leafy greens, other veggies, and fruit.
• Complex carbs (beans, whole grains, sweet potatoes, etc.).
• Lean protein (chicken, fish, tofu, etc.).
• Healthy fats (avocados, olive oil, nuts, seeds, etc.).
• Enough water to stay hydrated.

2. Accessibility

The second component of good nutrition is accessibility. Within this are three pillars, availability, cost and effort:

Availability

Naturally, as far as fresh foods go we all have to work with what’s available at local stores, farmers markets, or in our own gardens if we have one.

There are benefits of trying to eat produce that’s in season—such as supporting local farmers, and having produce with greater nutrient content than products that have shipped from somewhere else—but it isn’t a requirement to being healthy.

If you have some storage space, stocking up on essentials and basics such as dried herbs and spices, dried or canned beans, legumes and pastas, and other boxed or canned foods with a long shelf life such as tomato sauce and tomato paste and coconut milk, is a great way to be able to make healthy meals even in a pinch.

Tip: Use apps like Pinterest or Mealime for recipe ideas. Have a random assortment of ingredients and not sure what you can make with them? Try out recipe generators such as myfridgefood.com and supercook.com.

Cost

Budget is a huge pain point for students when it comes to eating healthy. I know because I used to be a post-secondary student with a truckload of debt myself!

Here are my hacks for eating healthy on a budget. Start with one or two at a time to see what works for you and build on them:

• Buy in bulk when you can.
• Search specifically for low-budget recipes.
• Go plant-based a few days per week, as meat-based meals tend to cost more.
• Avoid shopping while hungry, since we tend to make more impulse buys when our blood sugar is low.
• Get into a meal planning routine. This will help reduce your weekly grocery and takeout spending. Read my post “5 Key Reasons You Should Start a Weekly Meal Planning and Prep Routine” to learn more.
• Organize a weekly meal prep and swap day with friends or roommates. Prep large batches of a designated number of recipes and swap half with each other. This way you have greater variety without the added effort! Speaking of which…

Effort

When healthy habits feel too challenging, we inevitably can’t keep up with them. There are a few simple things you can do to set yourself up for success long-term:

• As mentioned above, designate a meal planning and prep day. Consistency is key when it comes to healthy habits. When we get into the habit of meal planning on the same day each week (when possible), we come to expect it and rely on it. Having that time set aside helps to remove the stress around meals for the rest of the week.
• Prep large batches for leftovers. As long as you have freezer space, if you’re spending the time preparing a dish, you might as well double it and freeze the extras for later. You can even store it in individual portions so you can quickly pop them out and heat them. This comes in really handy during exam time when there’s simply no time to cook!
• Search specifically for minimal ingredient and time recipes. There are thousands upon thousands of digital recipes for every need out there. Take advantage by searching for exactly what suits you. For example, you can search for “cheap vegan meals in 30 minutes or less,” or “5 ingredient dinner recipes in 20 minutes,” and I guarantee there will be plenty of results.
• Leverage the power of “bowls” for easy meals. More on this below!

3. Balance

Within the component of balance, there are three pillars, moderation, consistency and sufficiency:

Moderation

You should know by now that my approach to good nutrition is never about restriction. Restricting foods backfires as it only leaves us wanting those foods more.

Rather than fearing foods, use the rule of moderation! When we constantly deny ourselves the foods we really want, they tend to consume our thoughts. Instead, indulge your cravings in small amounts, and then move on.

When you practice this, remember:

• You can have the foods that you crave again in the future. When we tell ourselves “I’m never going to eat ice cream again!” we might retaliate and go overboard, eating an entire tub of ice cream rather than a regular portion. By reminding yourself that those previously “off limits” foods will be available to you and acceptable for you to eat in the future, over time they start to lose the power they held over you.
• No meal or day of eating will make or break your health. Not every day is going to be a perfect day of eating, and that’s okay. There is no perfect diet—and this is coming from a certified Nutritionist! At the end of the day, we’re all human beings and food is meant to be a pleasurable experience just as much as it’s meant to fuel us. Have kindness and compassion toward yourself.

Consistency

Diet culture may have taught you to follow a strict and rigid eating pattern on weekdays, and to completely let loose and have your weekend be “cheat days.”

There are many problems with this approach. It can:

• Make you dread weekdays even more than you might already due to the responsibility that comes with school and work.
• Take all the fun and enjoyment out of the eating experience most of the week.
• Deny your body the energy and nutrients it needs to get through your classes, assignments, and so on.
• Throw your body out of balance due to the lack of consistency and the rollercoaster ride of going between restriction and overindulgence.

The human body loves routine and consistency. It doesn’t mean it has to be perfect, but if you strive for a balance across the week, you’ll feel much better. Student schedules can vary day-to-day, but do your best to eat regular meals at the same times each day.

Also, avoid restricting to “save calories for later.” Sometimes people do this when they know they’re going out with friends later and will be having some drinks and richer foods than usual.

Instead of restricting in an effort to balance things out, have nourishing meals at your regular mealtimes. If you aren’t overly hungry, these meals don’t have to be super heavy, but when you nourish your body with healthy, balanced meals before a social night out, you’ll help it to bounce back better the next day.

Sufficiency

I’ll say this one loud for the people in the back: DON’T FEAR CARBS OR FAT! When it comes to our macronutrients (carbs, protein and fat), as long as we’re striving for balance, it’s about quality over quantity. There’s no need to track how much of each we’re having.

Don’t underestimate protein. Having sufficient protein in our meals helps keep us full longer and keep our blood sugar more stable. Aim to incorporate 1–2 palms of protein in your meals.

To help balance blood sugar even more, try to eat your veggies and protein before your carbs. This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule to stress over, but a blood sugar hack that you can experiment with to see how you feel immediately after and even several hours after your meal.

Blood sugar crashes make paying attention during class extra difficult. Have healthy, filling snacks handy that you can bring with you to class if you know you aren’t going to have a chance to eat a meal for many hours. Aim for a balance of protein, carbs and fat to keep you feeling full and your energy stable. Some examples are yogurt and berries, a hard boiled egg and fruit, apple and nut butter, trail mix with dried fruit, veggies and hummus, and carrot sticks with cheese and turkey slices.

I’m also a big fan of Love Good Fats bars — use this link and the code WELLANDFREE at checkout for 20% off (affiliate).

Tip: Remember to listen to your hunger and fullness cues!

Student Life Meal Hack: Power Bowls

Why power bowls?

• You can use just about any combination of ingredients that you have on hand.
• They’re a fun and simple way to experiment with different textures and flavours in one meal.
• They’re easy to take on the go, prepare quickly or make in batches.
• They work for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Tip: Start with a theme, cuisine or flavour profile to build your bowl. For example, sesame, ginger and soy make for a great Asian-inspired flavour base, or lime, cheddar and cilantro make for a tasty Southwestern flavour combo.

How to build the perfect bowl

The amounts for each category will vary slightly based on the individual and their physical activity level. You can play around with the amounts to see what feels good in your body and keeps you feeling full over the course of 3–5 hours until your next meal or snack. Use your own hand to measure out or approximate the amounts (it doesn’t have to be perfect!).

• Fruits & veggies: 2 fists
• Healthy fats, such as avocado, olive oil, cheese: 1 thumb
• Protein, such as chicken, tofu, tempeh, fish: 1–2 palms
• Complex carbs, such as beans, legumes, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, quinoa: 1–2 handfuls
• Flavour boosters, such as herbs, spices, citrus, hot sauce: As desired

Here are some power bowl ideas to get you started:

• Sweet potato hash with quinoa, bell peppers, spinach, avocado, egg and sauerkraut.
• Rice vermicelli noodles with carrot, cucumber, chicken, a Thai-inspired sauce, and chopped peanuts.
• Brown rice, kale, carrot, edamame, tofu, peanut sauce, and lime.

There you have it.

This may have been a lot of information to take in. My advice is to start with a few of the tips in this guide and once they’ve become routine, start to work on a few more. You’ve got this!

Feeling lost and overwhelmed when it comes to nutrition and meal planning? I offer completely custom meal plans and nutrition counselling for individuals and families. We’ll take into account your health history and current health status, dietary needs and preferences, time constraints and budget to build a protocol that works for you. Learn more here.

Sources:

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2848259/#:~:text=It%20is%20important%20for%20adolescents,maximum%20bone%20strength%20and%20density

(2) https://www.mentalhelp.net/adolescent-development/caloric-requirements/#:~:text=When%20teen%20ladies%20are%20moderately,for%20the%20rest%20of%20adolescence