What are some healthy recipes that don't involve an oven/stove?

Get thee to the nearest _______Mart and invest $25 on an electric skillet. Seriously. Add a crock pot, too.

There are entire websites devoted to $5 one-skillet meals. I love them, myself. It’s so easy to stir-fry some fresh veggies and some chicken breast, and all you have to do is rinse out the skillet afterward!

you going to struggle with no oven or stove….unless you can stand eating salads for three years? otherwise your looking at microwave meals…which are predominantly unhealthy!

Kashi Go lean cereal with milk and berries.

@Seek_Kolinahr I’m not allowed to have anything like that in the dorm. Only a microwave.

@lewispratt I forgot to mention, this is just in addition to my meal plan. I’m worried that the dorm food will be unhealthy and I’d like to be able to make myself a healthy meal every now and then.

My dad is diabetic and needs to eat healthy… he has been crock pot crazy this past year :) You can cook tons of delicious meals in one of those (the chicken he made was moist, and smelling a sauce slow-cooking throughout the day is agonizing because I just want to yank the lid off and eat it with a ladle.)

Yogurt and fruit are the best snacks ever (an apple in the morning will wake you up better!) I’m also a fan of granola bars if I need to dash to campus and don’t have time to prepare a meal (always check the labels though because some won’t give you enough nutrients to stay off hunger.)

ahh right, in the UK we don’t get dorm meals, we have to make every bit of food ourselves! then yea, like @muppetish said, cereals and fruits are the best way to add some more variety and goodness to your diet, I’d even suggest buying a blender to make fruit smoothies!

Couscous salad. All you need is a kettle. Pour boiling water on the couscous until it’s all absorbed (just follow packet instructions), chop up tomatoes and avo and mix in. Yum yum! Oh, and remember to add some salt before adding the water.

Buy a crockpot and make home made soups!

I am a soup guru, healthy soups loaded with veggies, good bread, cheese…what more is there? lol

There are lots of noodle dishes you can make with a microwave oven. Look in the ethnic lane at Pricechopper. Just watch the sodium.

@Adirondackwannabe ‘ethnic lane.’ right

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I drew a complete blank when I tried to think of what it’s called. Sue me.

@Adirondackwannabe How about a lane where pan-asian foods are displayed?

@Simone_De_Beauvoir Price Chopper has a term they use, I just can’t remember it.

Carrots.

Kashi is down the street from me.

@Adirondackwannabe and @Simone_De_Beauvoir : International aisle?

Hummus is good for you!

Definitely crock pot! Also, a lot of things taste better toasted in a toaster oven.

You might be surprised about how well you can eat on campus. As a freshman, I watched fellow classmates put on the weight while I gradually lost it. It came from choosing healthier foods than my friends did and staying away from desserts and copious amounts of soda at every meal. I also went to the cafeteria for all 3 meals. I sometimes ate breakfast alone, but it’s a great way to start the day.

popcorn

I lost weight in college too. Lots of walking to get from one class to another. I was stingy with portions to save $$. Definitely no desserts or sodas.

Sandwiches can be really healthy and delicious.

It’s also really easy to steam veggies in the microwave. Keep couscous around to eat with the veggies. yum!

Couscous and ramen need hot water, which you can make using a coffee pot.

I cook nearly all my family meals in a microwave. There is absolutely nothing you can’t cook in a microwave, and despite what another user might say, there is nothing unhealthy about using a microwave.

Simply go to the microwave cookbook or any other of the thousands of microwave sites available.

@YARNLADY has your answer.

Become the microwave chef in your crowd. It’s not the same as a stove or oven, but it’s just another tool for cooking. You will amaze your family and friends. For example, this article tells how vegetables can be better in the microwave.

You Use It Every Day. But Can You Make It Cook? – NY TImes – April 2, 2008

When I was in college dorms, we couldn’t even have hot plates because of fire codes. The only resources were the fridge, microwave, and desk space (food prep space).

Here’s stuff I made often:

Breakfast wrap:
whole wheat tortilla, peanut butter or almond butter, granola, honey, and sliced strawberries or bananas. It has lots of protein but won’t make you feel gross like most breakfast sandwiches. You can add nutella and turn it into a dessert.

Or just eat some plain yogurt with fresh fruit, honey, or granola stirred in. Those pre-sliced fruit cups they sell at the store are awesome, I always eat them with yogurt.

Muesli:
Keep a bunch of dry oats or oatmeal on hand, like in your closet. When you want to eat muesli for breakfast, soak the oatmeal in orange juice, milk, and/ or yogurt overnight until it is soft. In the morning, add walnuts, chopped apples, chopped berries, or whatever fresh fruit you want.

Spicy wrap:
This is made with all stuff you can keep in your fridge.
Whole wheat tortilla, sliced avocado or premade guacamole from the grocery store, chipotle mayonaise, pepperjack cheese, bean sprouts, lettuce, roasted red pepper (it comes in jars, near the olives.) All of the ingredients are optional except for the chipotle mayo. But if you put them together, the combination of flavors is dynamite. I had this for dinner tonight, but with sauteed portobellos- the one thing you can’t make in a dorm. :(

Veggie sandwich:
Bread (preferably something awesome like a french baguette), hummus, lettuce, tomato, green bell pepper, pepperjack cheese. On paper it sounds like an ordinary sandwich, but the hummus is savory, the bell peppers are zesty, and the pepperjack is creamy and spicy- hummus and bell peppers make an awesome combination of flavors! And making sandwiches is something any college student is capable of.

Or just get the greatest snack ever, a tub of hummus and some carrot and celery sticks. I usually get already sliced carrot/ celery sticks from the grocery store because I am just that lazy; it’s about $3.

On my campus, they had a quiznos where you could use the school meal plan to get a combo. A combo was a large sandwich, kettle chips, a cookie, and a soda. My friends and I ate there all the time the first semester and I gained like 20 lbs before figuring out how to fend for myself a little. Hopefully you will do better!