Bolognese and Shepherds pie are both pretty cheap and tasty if done right. Not as easy as noodles but still pretty easy.

Eating out of the bins behind restaurants.

potatoes, potatoes, potatoes. There are so many things you can do with them. Oven fries, baked, mashed, pan fried, etc. etc. And potatoes in and of themselves are fairly nutritious, at least, more so than ramen. Apples are another cheap food that is quite good for you and filling.

Buy shit in bulk.

I'll tell you how I make spaghetti. It's incredibly cheap, and so fucking good.
Sauce - 1 large onion, 2 cloves garlic, "italian" seasoning, 1 small can tomato paste, 1 large can tomato puree or crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, a spoonful of sugar, and the *secret* ingredient, 1 can of anchovies.
Saute the onion and garlic in some oil or butter until golden, but not brown. Drain and chop the anchovies fine. (Please don't be squeamish about the anchovies, they don't taste fishy at all once they are cooked, you won't even know they are in there, but they add nutrition and a really great richness to the sauce.) Add anchovies and saute for a while until they sort of dissolve. Add italian seasoning to taste, then add tomato paste and stir for a bit and let cook a minute. Then add crushed tomatoes or tomato puree, and about 1/2 cup of water. Stir well and let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add a spoonful of sugar and some salt and pepper to taste. (The sugar and salt help bring out the flavor of the tomatoes.) Let simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes more. Meanwhile cook your spaghetti, and when the noodles are done, just pour some sauce on that and eat! Seriously, it's better than any jarred sauce you could buy and healthy and nutritious for you.

Protip: always look for specials and buy in bulk if possible. Also buy your basic herbs, spices, condiments, baking goods etc. when you have money (like at the start of the year) so you don't have to pay that bit extra when you want to make something.

Also eggs and oats are cheap sources of protein.

beans and rice

You should problably get alot of Pasta, Potatoes, Rice and Bread.

OP here, so I guess grains in general are gonna be my best bet.

chickent breast
rice
veggies

>>1780653
Beans and bread is a more complete source of protein.

Anything mentioned here, plus fruits and veggies are relatively cheap in comparison to a lot of processed foods. 1 apple = 50 cents versus $1 for small fries.

Official /ck/ Cookbook


Chapter 1: Trying the Double Down
Chapter 2: Learn Which Mountain Dew Is Best
Chapter 3: How to Fix Ramen.
Chapter 4: Hobo Wine Recipes
Chapter 5: Hypno Cake
Chapter 6: Egg in a Basket (includes the famous, "Egg in a Basket Grilled Cheese Sandwich" recipe)
Chapter 7: Coffee Mug Brownies
Chapter 8: What Knife to Buy
Chapter 9: How to a Whole Sriracha
Chapter 10: Cooking Well-Done Steak w/ketchup
Chapter 11: Semen
Chapter 12: Cooking with Rainwater
Chapter 13: Eating Butter with Bacon
Chapter 14: Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes
Chapter 15: Learn Which Fast Food is Best
Chapter 16: Time to Die (Movie Quotes and Moonspeak)
Chapter 17: What to Put on Pizza.
Chapter 18: Cooking with Salt and MSG
Chapter 19: Turducken
Chapter 20: How to Weave a Bacon Mat
Chapter 21: How to Dumpster Dive
Chapter 22: Food Tips for College Students (BONUS: 9001 instant ramen recipes)

Vegetable (+ beans, optional) curries. Add rice.

ie: potato+carrot+onion+tomatoes (tinned or fresh)+any other cheap veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, anything).

SHITLOADS OF FOOD AND LOTS OF FARTING.

OP, I dont understand how you can't just eat normal food...

I'm a college student, and although say 50% of my budget goes to pay rent, 45% of the rest of my budget goes towards eating normal food.

My theory is that if you spend money on food, it's not wasted money.

Money on alcohol / shit you dont need, that is wasted.

>>1780966
>45% of the rest of my budget goes towards eating normal food

oops, that says that 22.5% of my budget goes towards food, I meant to say:

>95% of the rest of my budget goes towards eating normal food

>>1780931
Sorry what? 50 cents per apple? It's 50 cents a pound where I am. Just recently I bought 40 pounds of pears for 18 dollars. Maybe don't shop in whole foods anymore.

Pretty much the way you want to go is to shop for high calories per dollar foods at the grocery store. Don't get stuff you can't cook - but really, all you need to be able to cook a bunch of things is a pan, a pot, and a plug-in electric stovetop thingy.

One of my go-to's for college was instant oatmeal. Pasta and rice are good too - you might want to get a rice cooker if you are making a lot of rice, though. You'll want to get protein in your diet - lunch meat + cheese sandwiches aren't that expensive, are tasty, and will help round out your diet.

Chicken is really great for getting protein in your diet. Buy some frozen boneless/skinless chicken breasts. Cook them by thawing them in cold water, then trimming the fat and dicing them into bite-sized cubes. Cook them in a pan over vegetable oil until they are done (the difference is pretty obvious), then remove the chicken and mix in a bowl with BBQ sauce.

Also, its good to invest time and effort into a recipe that'll impress members of the sex you are sexually interested in. Here's my go-to:

Dice one large onion, and mince some garlic. Sauté in extra virgin olive oil along with basil, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper, until onion turns translucent. Add chicken stock, the liquid from two cans of clams, and dry white wine. Simmer for five minutes or so. Meanwhile, cook some noodles or something - fettuccine or linguine are good choices. After the sauce has simmered, add the clams to it. Drain the pasta right before it is done. Then put sauce and pasta in the pot you cooked the pasta in, and let the pasta finish.

#10 can mashed potato flakes. will last a semester.
oatz, lentils. fix lentils with curry, but also sprout some for salad, rinse daily, eat after a week.
if you arent up for dumpster diving, volunteer one shift a week at the food bank, they'll probably let you take home a sack. rice. cabbage. campuses are big on dinners with visiting scholars, or wine and cheese receptions. christfags and hippies have potluck dinners, college republicans have pizza nights. these events might/might not be worth your time.
base diet around cheap grains, with veggies and fruits,
then smaller amounts of meats and luxury items for variety.

>>1781020
good post. i think i'll have pasta for lunch with that jar of clam sauce i've had for awhile. us solipcists hafta stick together.