Every college girl knows the struggle of coming home starving after a long day of class, but being too tired and lazy to actually make something…let alone anything remotely good. Usually, we’ll settle for a bowl of cereal or a horrendous mix and match of whatever leftovers haven’t gone bad in the fridge. At the time, this seems like a great idea, but not so much when you wake up at 4 am to your stomach eating itself. Here are 5 handy cooking hacks for all you lazy college kids out there:
1. Avocado Toast
If you haven’t jumped on the avocado bandwagon yet, you certainly need to. Avocados are high in nutrients and healthy fats, as well as being pretty damn delicious. You can go with a more traditional avocado toast by using slices of avocado sprinkled with a little salt and cracked black pepper, with a squirt of lemon juice, or you can crank it up and top it with a fried egg. Personally, I like to mix in a little garlic powder and top it with tomatoes and cheese. This is quick, filling, and super easy. Half of a mashed avocado is enough to spread on two pieces of whole-grain toast!
2. Souped-up Ramen
Get it, ’cause it’s soup?
Sorry, pardon my terrible puns. Everyone knows that ramen is the quintessential college food staple because it’s fast, easy, and pretty tasty. But you know what’s just as simple? Taking that plain old ramen and bumping up the level of deliciousness. Whether you ditch the flavor packet and add butter and cheese a la cacio e pepe, or you sauté it with soy sauce and scramble in an egg for lo mein, you really can’t go wrong.
3. English Muffin and Bagel Pizzas
Super simple, super delicious. It combines the beauty of a bagel or an english muffin with all the mouth-watering glory of pizza. Making pizzas with either english muffins or bagel is way cheaper than ordering a pie from your local pizza joint, and is a lot less time-consuming! All you really need for this treat is either a bagel or an english muffin, some marinara sauce, mozzarella, and whatever other pizza toppings you like! just pile them on and pop it under the broiler for a minute or two, and you’re good to go.
4. Anything you can make in a mug
Mug recipes have become a huge trend lately, especially with college students. The idea of mixing a few ingredients together and microwaving it in a cup for a minute or two appeals to many lazy college girls. These recipes can vary widely, and all meals are spoken for. For breakfast, you can whip up an egg or two with some milk, throw in your favorite omelet topics, and stick it in the microwave for a fast and tasty breakfast. For lunch or dinner, simply boil pasta for a few minutes in the mug, then drain and mix in cheese and milk to make gooey mac and cheese in a flash. Then for dessert, you can stir together simple baking ingredients and throw in some colorful sprinkles to bake a moist sugar cookie in a way that’s perfectly designed to hold a scoop of ice cream.
5. Overnight Oats
One of the worst parts about mornings, besides having to tear yourself from your bed, is being hungry but either having no motivation or time to make breakfast. Overnight oats, however, eliminate these two problems, as you make them the night before in a mason jar. All you need is a jar, rolled oats, and the milk of your choosing, but of course you can add a plethora of ingredients to make yours tastier. You simply mix the ingredients together, stick them in the fridge, and voila, you have a foolproof, delicious breakfast waiting for you!
Whether you’re feeling lazy or you just want something that you can make in a flash, these cooking hacks will definitely help you out. You can find hundreds of different versions of these recipes online, especially if you scour Pinterest! Happy cooking!
Featured image via Mikhail Nilov on Pexels
