A student diet

[danbo]

I am starting university (or college for the USA guys) soon and i want to start eating good food as i am going to be making all my own meals. Can anyone suggest a good diet for someone who lifts weights. Here are a few things i need to be considered:

• I don't have much money

• I don't know how to cook anything, but i am willing to learn

• I am going to buy a George Foreman Grill

• The meals need to be prepared quite quickly (no more than 30-45 minutes really)

• I want a diet with high protein, low fat, decent amount of carbs and no crap in it.

• The amount of calories that are in the diet doesn't really matter as i will burn whatever i eat (i have a very high metabolism)

• I take Creatine Monohydrate (5g) and Advanced Whey Protein (32g) twice a day, i also take multi one vitamin-tablet daily

 

[xshepx]

My mid-day "meal" (lunch) consists of:

Sandwich:
3 slices Land O' Frost Oven Roasted Lean Cured Chicken Breast
3 slices Land O Frost Oven Roasted Lean Cured Turkey Breast
1 slice Land O' Lakes Swiss Cheese
2 slices Nature's Own 100% Whole rain Wheat Bread

It adds up to:
220 Calories
11.5g Fat
24.5g Carbs
17.5g Protein

I also take 28 Whole Natural Almonds (not cooked, unsalted, just cleaned) with me to either eat as a snack or with my lunch.
Calories: 160
Fat: 14g
Carbs: 6g
Protein: 6g

It is hard to maintain the numbers of calories and fat grams I want with the almonds but I feel the overwhelming need to have something crunchyish at some point in the day and I figured almonds were the best way to go.

For breakfast I typically have a small bowl of Wheaties or Oatmeal depending on my mood. I am not a huge number cruncher like some of the other people on these boards though.

Good "student foods": Tuna, green beans, brown rice, spinach, all natural peanut butter (the kind that you have to mix because the oil separates), Apples, Bananas. I am in the "I want to cook as little as possible" boat.

One thing you can do also is cook your meat like chicken breast or any beef you plan on having on Sunday. Then you can bag it into servings and fridge it. During the week you can cook up some green beans (2 minutes in the microwave, and you most likely wont eat a whole can at a time), or some brown rice relatively quickly and add it to the chicken (you probably want to microwave the chicken a little first to loosen it up a bit and get the small bits of frost out that may be in it, otherwise it wont taste right later). Then you can take it with you wherever in the day and only have to spend time in the morning on the vegetable or rice you want to go with it instead of trying to beat the clock every day.

Remember though that I am not a number cruncher. I am not trying to meet a time deadline on cutting or anything like that so my suggestions may not work for you. I think most of the food I listed fits pretty well into nearly any diet though. I concentrate more on eating healthy and exercising in general. I don't have any qualms about eating another 28 almonds if I just really want a snack. I do have my limits though!

PS: George Foreman's Rock

and... I just took a loot at a can of my green beans -
Del Monte French Cut Green Beans
Servings per can: about 3.5
Ammount per serving:
Calories: 20
Fat: 0g
Carbs: 4g
Protein: 1g

They are like a dollar thirty something a can but like I said above, you can easily divide a can between 3 different meals.

 

[Beachbum1546]

I'm in the exact same situation. In a dorm, cook my own meal, have a GF grill, and not a lot of money. Well, this is what I do.

(what's in my dorm right now)
30 pack tuna
9lb box of plain oatmeal
6lb tub of whey
granola bars (35 pack)
2lb frozen mixed vegtables
5 t-bone steaks
4 1/4lb hamburger patties
Wheat bread
All natural peanut butter
Rasberry jam

Ok, that's it. Here is exactly what I ate today.

Breakfast:
Can of tuna 150 cal, 29g prot, 0 carbs
1/2 cup of Oatmeal 150 cals, 5 protein, 27 carbs

Snack:
Granola Bar 180 cals, 4 prot, 29 carbs

Pre-workout:
Protein shake (1 serving) 110 cals, 22 prot, 2 carb
1/2 cup Oatmeal 150 cals, 5 prot, 27 carb

Post-wrokout:
Protein Shake (2 serving) 220 cals, 44 protein, 4 carb
T-bone Steak 860 cals, 116 protein, 0 carbs
3/4 cup vegatables 60 cals, 2 pro, 11 carbs

Snack:
2 slices wheat break 180 cals, 8 prot, 34 carbs
peanut butter 100 cals, 8 prot, 6 carbs
Rasberry jam 50 cals, 0 prot, 13 carbs
Protein Shake (1serving) 110 cals, 22 prot, 2 carb
candy bar (different granola bar but this is how I distinguish the two) 120 cals, 1 prot, 20 carbs.


Total:
Calories: 2,550
Protein: 288 grams
Carbs: 177 grams
Fat: I don't count.

All was made with the GF grill and a microwave.