Guest Post: 5 Low Fat Recipes For Students Living Alone

Posted by Matt on July 20th, 2010 at 10:10am

This post has been contributed by Nick from Building body muscles. Nick likes to write about gaining muscle and maintaining a healthy weight. He also writes about latest home gym equipments.

For anyone who has gone to college, moving away from home and living on campus on your own can be one of the most exciting experiences of your life.  It can also be one of the most fattening times.  With busy schedule and the heavy loads of classes, homework, studying and sometime work study, many students that live alone eat on the go.  This often means college cafeteria food which is very high in sodium, fat and calories or fast food which is worse.  Let’s take a look at some low fat, tasty recipes that a student can easily put together and eat while on the go.

Breakfast

1.  Low Fat Yogurt-Granola Parfait

Prep Time = 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cups of low fat vanilla yogurt
• ½ cup of blueberries
• 1 sliced banana
• 1/2 cup of low fat granola

Take everything and mix it together in a bowl and you have a quick breakfast on a go that is light, low in fat and it will give you energy all morning long to get you through those early classes.

2. Vanilla-Cinnamon Protein Oatmeal

Prep Time = 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of quick oats
• 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp. of cinnamon
• 4oz. of vanilla soy milk

Put the quick oats, cinnamon powder and vanilla protein powder in a microwavable bowl.  Mix everything up well.  Add the soymilk and heat the quick oat-protein-cinnamon mixture in the microwave for a minute or two.  Take it out of the microwave and stir and let cool.  This breakfast is great, especially for student athletes because it has good carbs and it is a great source of protein.  It is also very low in fat.

Lunch

1.  Black Bean Soup

Prep Time = 10 minutes

Cook Time = 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 15-oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup of salsa
• 1 cup of fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth
• 2 tbsp of fat-free of low fat sour cream
• ½ cup of fat-free cottage cheese
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 2 tbsp of fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp of chili powder

Take the cumin, chili powder, salsa, cottage cheese, chicken broth and one can of the black beans and lightly puree it in a blender.  Take the pureed bean mixture and add in the remaining can of black beans and heat it in a medium sauce pan.  The bean soup can be topped with the sour cream and freshly chopped cilantro.  This lunch is quick and easy to make for a single student living alone and easy to pack in a thermos or lunch box for reheating on the go.  It is packed with nutrition and protein as well.

2. Quick Low-Fat Tuna Salad Wrap

Prep Time = 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 can of tuna packed in water drained
• ¾ cup of cottage cheese
• 1 large pickle chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp curry
• Pinch of salt
• 4 low-fat high-fiber wheat tortillas

Take the tuna, curry, salt, pepper, pickles, and cottage cheese and mix them thoroughly in a mixing bowl.  Lay a tortilla flat and spoon about ½ cup of the mixture into the tortilla and roll it up.  This should make up to 4 wraps and they make a quick and easily portable lunch for any student on the go.  They are also high in protein and good carbs, so your appetite is sure to stay satisfied all afternoon.

Dinner

1.  Low Fat Chicken Spaghetti

Prep Time = 15 minutes

Cook Time = 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of lowfat Italian salad dressing
• 2 bell peppers cut into strips
• A handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
• Cooked spaghetti

Sauté the bell pepper strips and chicken until the chicken is done and the bell peppers are slightly crunchy.  Add the salad dressing, cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and heat them for two minutes.  Add the chicken, bell peppers and tomatoes to the spaghetti and enjoy.  This will create 4 servings, so any college student can have extra left over for lunch or dinner on another night.  This is also easy to freeze and take with you on and heat in a microwave while on the go.

2.  Salmon With Lemon, Garlic, and Rosemary

Prep Time = 15 minutes

Cook Time = 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 salmon fillets
• ¼ tsp of salt
• ¼ tsp of black peppers
• ¼ cup of extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 lemons sliced
• ¼ cup of lemon juice (need 1 lemon)
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 tbsp of minced rosemary leaves
• 4 tsp of minced garlic
• 4 pieces of aluminum foil to wrap and seal salmon

Brush olive oil on top of the salmon fillets and season the fillets with the salt, pepper and rosemary.  Top the fillets with garlic and place each fillet onto a piece of foil.  Add two lemon slices to the top of each fillet.  Wrap and seal the salmon fillets in the foil.

Either place the foil packets on a pan over medium-high heat or bake in the oven at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes.  If the salmon is thicker than 1 inch, then you might cook the salmon for 15 minutes.  Serve with you favorite vegetable such as cooked broccoli or asparagus spears.  This meal is low in fat, high in protein and supply the much needed energy and concentration for any student has to burn the midnight oil studying.

Tags: Diet Advice, diet tips, Fitness, food, Health, healthy eating, healthy foods, healthy meals, Healthy Recipes, home cooking, low-sodium, meal planner, nutrition, recipes, weight loss, weight loss tips, what to eat

Under healthy eating Tags: Diet Advice, diet tips, Fitness, food, Health, healthy eating, healthy foods, healthy meals, Healthy Recipes, home cooking, low-sodium, meal planner, nutrition, recipes, weight loss, weight loss tips, what to eat