There are quite a few vegetables that need to be chopped, but we will discuss proper cutting techniques and tricks in the recipe description that will help you cut each ingredient quickly.

Making Cowboy Caviar is a super fun and easy process. Once you figure out different knife cuts and the proper way to hold your knife, it is really quite relaxing. Getting to spend a little bit of time just cutting veggies can be fun! The quick and easy preparation process makes this recipe a perfect choose for those times you are in a rush or need a quick healthy side dish to bring to a party. It is also very budget friendly if you are looking to save money. You just need to buy a few vegetables and in addition to few other ingredients that you probably already have at home. This recipe can be very versatile. The vegetables in this recipe can be switched if you don’t like them or if you have other vegetables at home you are wanting to use up.

This dish is very delicious, nutritious, budget friendly, and simple to make. It tastes very fresh and would be great to use for your next home barbecue. It is best served chilled with tortilla chips.

Cost Breakdown

Tips for Making this Budget-Friendly

• The Student Nutrition Access Center food pantry on the USU campus typically has canned beans and corn.
• Buy generic products such as Great Value or Kroger to reduce ingredient cost even more.

Making Cowboy Caviar and Knife Skill Tips

Tip before cutting vegetables: Hold the knife between your thumb and pointer finger on the bolster. Then wrap the rest of your fingers around the handle.

Step 1: Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl and set aside.

Step 2: Gather the vegetables and other ingredients that will be put into the dressing.

Step 3: Rinse and drain the beans and corn.

Step 4: To cut the bell pepper, gently cut around the top. You do not want to cut all the way through the pepper. Turn it upside down so the stem is facing downward. Cut along each of the sections of the pepper (there will be three or four, depending on the pepper). Gently pull each section away from the pepper. Slice each section into four thin strips. Then dice. See the video for a more detailed visual.

Step 5: Cut the top of the onion off, leaving the bottom intact. Cut the onion in half. Beginning at one side, make cuts all the way across the onion. Then turn the onion and make perpendicular cuts. You should have small, diced onions. See the video for a more detailed visual.

Step 6: Slice the jalapeno in half and remove the seeds (you can leave some in if you like more of a kick). Cut the jalapeno into thin circles and proceed to mince the jalapeno until you are left with very small pieces. See the video for a more detailed visual.

Step 7: Chop the cilantro. See the video for a more detailed visual.

Step 8: Cut the avocado in half, throwing away the seed. Peel the skin gently off. Flip the avocado so the rounded side is facing up. Make thin slices lengthwise all the way across the avocado. Then turn it 90 degrees and slice all the way across the avocado. This should create little cubes of avocado. See the video for a more detailed visual.

Step 9: Add all the ingredients into the bowl with the dressing and mix well.

Eat with your favorite bag of chips, as a side for a hamburger, or just straight out of the bowl!

Cost Breakdown

Our Thoughts

You’ll find that this recipe is easy to follow and that cooking under gluten and dairy restrictions can be much simpler than it is sometimes made out to be. This crustless garden veggie quiche is an inexpensive, simple, and incredibly tasty meal option for breakfast, lunch or dinner that everyone can enjoy.

The process of making this meal went very smoothly. We never felt too overwhelmed and were able to enjoy our time in the kitchen. The baking time is a little long but is one hundred percent worth the wait. Preparing your ingredients by chopping vegetables and pre-measuring before starting to sauté the vegetables will be a huge help later on. Whenever you have multiple pans on the stove it is always a good idea to have your ingredients ready to go to avoid leaving anything on the heat for too long. We fell in love with this recipe and will definitely be making it again.

How can I start eating healthy when I’m in college?

I sent out a survey to some college aged individuals who attend various universities (primarily Utah State University and Texas A&M students) to figure out what most people struggle with to make a balanced diet. Most of the responses showed a high intake of meat and refined grains (think white rice, normal flour, white bread, etc.) and a low intake of vegetables and whole grains. Vegetables are jam-packed with nutrients our body needs. Whole grains are important to provide us with healthy carbs and fiber; certain grains are also a great source of protein and other nutrients. Young adults should be getting about 3-4 servings of vegetables a day. Young adults should also be getting about 8 servings of grains at least half of which should be whole grains. How can I start eating healthy when I’m in college?

So how does a college kid, or anyone low in time and on a budget, start to replace their high intake of meat and refined grains with vegetables and whole grains? One easy way to start is by changing the grains you buy. Many grains are in a similar price range as white rice but are much better for your diet. This recipe uses the grain quinoa but other grains like couscous, farro, amaranth or even brown rice can be used. They also take about the same amount of time to cook as white rice (sometimes even less time)

Vegetables can be a bit trickier because they can be expensive if you don’t plan them outright. The first step in figuring out how to incorporate vegetables is knowing what is in season. Along with buying in-season, vegetables (and fruits) can be bought out of season for a cheaper price if they are bought frozen or canned (if you buy canned make sure to look for a low sodium/sugar added option). You can also try buying vegetables that can be used for multiple recipes or snacks that week so none of them go to waste.

What is sustainable eating?

Sustainable eating is a practice that helps support sustainability in our food systems. Having sustainable food systems is important for the continued production of foods we have now, the cost of growing and producing food products, the environment/ global warming, our future generation’s ability to produce food, and more. Though sustainable eating is important, it does not mean you have to go completely vegan, eat organic foods, and never go to chick-fil-a again. There are many other ways to help with sustainability without completely changing your life or spending a ton of money.

Plant-based diets and meals are a growing popularity to help with sustainability. There are some amazing recipes online on how to make plant-based meals. Meals that are planted based tend to naturally be more nutrient-dense and include more fiber/vegetables/whole grains. An easy way to start implementing this is participating in meatless Monday or reducing your animal product intake to only 1or 2 meals a day.

Another way to save some money and help with sustainability is by buying local products. If you are living in Cache Valley a great example of doing this is buying dairy and dairy products that are produced/manufactured in the valley. This also goes for produce, meat, poultry, eggs, and pretty much anything that would have to be transported a long distance. Reducing the need for transportation helps with sustainability in multiple ways. Buying vegetables in season also helps with sustainability in part because of transportation but also because additional resources are needed to grow out of season produce.

Cost Breakdown

Ingredient	Amount	Ap Unit Cost	Recipe Ingredient Cost
Chickpea	1 Tbsp	0.72/ 16 oz can	0.72
Olive Oil	1 Tbsp	2.52/ 16.9 oz (~33 Tbsp)	0.08
Garlic Powder	1 tsp	0.318/ 1 oz (1 oz~6 tsp)	0.06
Italian Seasoning	1/2 tsp	0.286/ 1 oz (1 oz~6 tsp)	0.02
Salt and Pepper	To taste	–	–
Total Recipe Cost	–	–	0.88
Cost Per Serving (1)	–	–	0.88

Ingredient	Amount	AP Unit Cost	Recipe Ingredient Cost
Quinoa	2 cups uncooked	2.59/ 1lb (0.41 lb~ 1 cup)	2.12
Vegetable 1 (cherry tomatoes)	16 oz (48 tomatoes)	1.48/ 10 oz (~30 tomatoes)	2.40
Vegetable 2 (large cucumber)	2	0.87/ cucumber	1.74
Hummus	3/4	2.98/ 14 oz container (~28 Tbsp)	1.32
Lemon juice	6 tsp	.98/4.5 oz (~27 tsp)	0.24
Salt and pepper	To taste	–	–
Feta Cheese (optional)	6 oz (~12 Tbsp)	5.88/12 oz (~24 Tbsp)	2.94
Roasted Chickpeas (optional)	1 serving (1.5 cups)	0.85/ 1 serving	0.88
Total Recipe Cost	–	–	7.82
Cost per serving (6)	–	–	1.30
Total Recipe cost (with optional ingredients)	–	–	11.64
Cost per serving (with optional ingredients) (6)	–	–	1.95

Cost of Eating Healthy/Sustainably

There are so many different ways to save money on food out there so for now I’m going to focus on ways to save for this recipe. Buy vegetables in-season really is a change saver. For this recipe, the two vegetables used are cucumbers and tomatoes. Both tend to be in season July-November. But this recipe can be used year-round with other vegetables. For example, broccoli and carrots are both in season when cucumbers and tomatoes are not and could be used for the two vegetables. Another way to save money is buying things in bulk and not buying name-brand products. For this recipe, the quinoa could be bought at a store like Winco which has a huge bulk foods section where you can get the exact amount of what you are looking for. You can also buy in bulk for the seasonings, salt, and pepper. When trying to reduce the cost of lemon juice and feta cheese the best option is to buy the cheapest brand. If you are making the option roasted chickpeas an easy way to reduce the price is to buy dry chickpeas in bulk instead of canned but this does require extra time and knowledge on how to cook dry chickpeas.

This meal is a healthy and sustainable option that is filling and not too expensive. Shown above is a cost breakdown of the main recipe and the optional addition of roasted chickpeas. The grain bowl costs only $1.95 per serving and might be less depending on what/when ingredients are bought.

References and Resources
Here is a link with some additional things that can be done to help sustainable
food systems. https://www.greenamerica.org/good-food-gone-local/9-ways-
support-sustainable-food None of these has to be done to 100% to be helpful if
you can only implement some of these things occasionally it is better than
nothing.

This link talks about sustainability and plant-based eating.
https://www.sustain.ucla.edu/food-systems/the-case-for-plant-based/ and
this link give some recipes for those living a college lifestyle to start plant-based
eating. https://theveganatlas.com/16-easy-vegan-meals-to-make-in-your-
college-dorm-kitchen/

This website has a chart to see what common vegetables are in season.
https://www.cooksmarts.com/articles/vegetables-month-infographic-
eatmoreveggies/

Here is a great resource for replacing rice with other grains.
https://longevitylive.com/anti-aging/grain-alternative/

This website has a resource where you can figure out your specific
recommendations for different food groups and has general tips for adding food
groups into your diet. https://www.myplate.gov/

https://www.preparedfoods.com/articles/123403-consumer-sustainable-
eating-considerations-continue-to-rise
https://www.eatsamazing.co.uk/family-friendly-recipes/snack-ideas-
recipes/easy-garlic-herb-roasted-chickpeas-recipe

One of the main issues for college students is not having enough time to eat healthily on
a budget. With this in mind we decided to make a recipe full of vegetables that tastes good, helps students get the nutrients they need, and doesn’t take much time or money. This Budget-Bytes vegetable fried rice recipe is something simple that many students will go out of their way to buy at a restaurant. However, fast food options cost more per serving (ours is only $1.13) and take more time than you would realize, due to driving there and waiting in line.

On the flip side, we were able to get this done in about 30 minutes, even faster than a
takeout delivery! Like we mention in the video linked below, this recipe really isn’t too hard to make. The recipe instructions are straightforward and all it takes is washing and cutting the vegetables, cracking/whisking eggs, heating oil, and sauteeing it all together with rice! We’ll give you more details below

This recipe can be done even quicker with various strategies like prepping vegetables
beforehand or using pre-minced garlic and ginger paste (or the powdered forms). Another thing that helps is to make the rice ahead of time (the day before) and refrigerate it overnight. Something interesting to note is that leftover/day-old rice is actually better for this recipe than fresh rice because it’s less sticky.

Cost Breakdown

Take a look at the cost breakdown for this meal:

Preparation Techniques

All the preparation and cooking techniques for this recipe are super simple- great for
college students just getting into cooking. All you’ll need is a knife, cutting board, stovetop or induction burner, a few bowls or plates, and one pan (or wok, if you have one). Once the
vegetables are cut up, the process is pretty quick moving! So go ahead and get in the zone to chop those veggies and get cooking! If you wanted to dirty one less bowl, the rice could be pushed to one side of the pan after toasting with the garlic and ginger and you can scramble the egg on the other side of the pan.

Take it to Another Level

In our kitchen, cooking sustainably and keeping it budget-friendly is important to us!
So here are a handful of possible options to lift some weight o your wallet while still enjoying what you eat:

• Sustainability: Use whatever vegetables you have that may go bad in your fridge! Broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, onions, cabbage, and zucchini would all make a great addition to this simple veggie-lled recipe! You could also add in some leftover chicken, ham, or even lunch meat for some extra protein.
• Easier additions: A frozen stir-fry mix could replace whole, fresh ingredients to make prep easier and cut down the cost even more! If grating ginger is too much of a hassle, feel free to replace the fresh ginger with the powdered form or ginger paste (although it can be quite expensive), the same thing with garlic (possibly a jar of minced garlic).
• Budget-friendly options: As mentioned above, a frozen stir-fry mix would be cheaper than buying individual, fresh vegetables. The SNAC pantry on campus has lots of groceries available to students for free! Rice is a staple in the SNAC pantry and could cut down the cost even more. SNAC also carries a variety of produce, meat, and canned goods that you could substitute to make things even cheaper.
• Tips and tricks: use long grain white rice to avoid clumpy, sticky, fried rice. If you prefer spicy fried rice- feel free to add sriracha, chili powder, or red pepper akes when cooking your vegetables! If you want a lower sodium meal, make sure to use a low sodium soy sauce as well as watch how much salt you add in. The seasonings we used were super flexible, so feel free to measure with your heart, and add in what you like!

References: https://www.budgetbytes.com/vegetable-not-fried-rice/

Cost Breakdown

About the Recipe

I was excited to try this recipe, as I have cooked tofu before for soups, but never thought to incorporate it into a salad. About half the ingredients are fresh produce, which were very easy to find in a grocery store, and all the other ingredients were fairly easy to find as well. The original recipe called for optional sriracha in the dressing, but I decided to omit it for the sake of cost and preference. I had vegetable oil on hand, so I substituted that for canola oil in the recipe for personal ease. Some ways to make this recipe more budget friendly include buying generic brands when possible, buying produce in season, and if desired, omitting certain ingredients to cater to personal preference. One of the best parts of this recipe is that it is using tofu in place of meat, which is more sustainable versus consuming meat. Another way to make this recipe more sustainable includes composting the vegetable scraps.

This meal was fairly simple to make. Chopping all the vegetables did take some time, but it wasn’t unmanageable. For the sake of this assignment, I prepared a mise en place for a picture, but when I make this recipe again, I would start pan frying the tofu first and then chop all of the vegetables so that they aren’t sitting out as long. Other than that small detail, I didn’t have any issues preparing this meal. Once the tofu was done and I blended the ingredients to make the sauce, I was able to easily throw everything together into one big salad bowl.

Overall, I really enjoyed this recipe. To serve, I used a bowl and put about two large handfuls of spinach in, then added the vegetables and tofu on top. To eat, I mixed everything together. I prepared this meal alone, so for the other three servings this recipe made I put the rest of the meal in another bowl for me to save as leftovers. In the future, I may omit the sesame seeds in the salad itself, but would keep them in the dressing. I recommend anyone wanting to try incorporating tofu and more vegetables into their meals to give this recipe a try.

Cost Calculator

This recipe makes one serving, so the total cost is the same as an individual serving cost. This recipe is easy to double if cooking for more people, but does not make very good leftovers. There are a few ways to make this recipe more budget friendly. The thing that will have the largest impact is the type of ramen you buy. There is a wide variety of instant ramen to buy, and the generic maruchan or top ramen brands are generally the cheapest. Sapporo or other brands, while they taste better, cost more. Buying a pack of 24 ramen packages will lead to a lower unit price as well, as opposed to buying singular packages. Another way to reduce cost is to use frozen broccoli instead of fresh broccoli, and steaming it in the microwave. This recipe only uses a small portion of a head of broccoli and a package of spinach. Don’t just use them for this recipe! Plan to make other recipes that use broccoli or spinach to reduce food waste. None of these items were listed as ingredients that the SNAC pantry was offering.

I make this recipe often and use different variations. One thing I do sometimes that allows the egg to cook faster is to crack it into the pot and cook it more like a poached egg and then add the ramen noodles to the same pot once it begins to boil and reduce the heat. An issue I run into with this is some pots are ridiculously hard to clean after cooking an egg this way which defeats the purpose of a quick meal. Another issue is different amounts of broccoli cook for different amounts of time, so it is important to check it every now and then to ensure it doesn’t burn.

This recipe is very versatile, and the cost can vary a lot depending on what ingredients are used. Buying ramen in packages of 12 or 24 significantly reduces the cost. There are also many different types of ramen noodles. Lotus Foods sells a kind of ramen made from millet and brown rice that is significantly more nutrient dense and sustainable, but also more expensive than the typical Maruchan or Top Ramen. Another way to mix it up is to use other vegetables in place of the broccoli! A fun way to prepare the egg is by frying it in a separate pan. If you break the yolk it cooks very quickly.

General information:

• Time management during preparation went pretty well. The way the recipe works tends to help all the ingredients be ready at the right time.
• It was very easy to find the ingredients needed for this recipe! All of the ingredients are pretty standard ingredients and grocery stores.
• I did not make any alterations to lower the cost, but I did make sure to try to buy the cheapest type of each ingredient.
• The cooking techniques for this recipe are pretty simple, just make sure not to forget about the broccoli in the oven

I love this recipe! One thing to note about it is that this recipe does not keep very well. Refrigerating and reheating ramen noodles gives them a weird texture and the liquid gets too absorbed into the noodles. This is best served hot, right when it is off of the stove. I like putting some spinach on the bottom of the bowl before the noodles and then some on top of the noodles with the broccoli and egg, and then pouring the broth over it all. It is an easy recipe to adjust for different numbers of servings. Some fun ideas to change it up would be to experiment with other vegetables and greens! Happy cooking!