Vegan Recipes To Help You Eat Healthier in College

Despite the assumption of difficulty, vegan meals are a great way to prioritize your health with any lifestyle. With the Covid-19 pandemic still happening, it’s especially important now more than ever to make sure what you’re putting into your body is good for you. 

For college students, it’s notably more difficult to try and eat healthy while on a budget and with fast food places surrounding you. I definitely know what it feels like to be broke as well and only live off of bags of chips, french fries, and iced coffee.

College students will sometimes find that buying fast food is much cheaper and the more easily-accessible option. While that is true, there are also much healthier options that you can put together right at home and they don’t have to be expensive at all! Here are a few easy, delicious vegan recipes for broke college students.

Breakfast – Chocolate Oatmeal

Oatmeal is my absolute favorite breakfast to eat probably every morning! This is why I came up with this simple dish. I like making this because it’s packed with fiber and adding your own little toppings is fun. You will also get your antioxidants and omega 3. This recipe is also great if you have a sweet tooth like me. I like to use dark chocolate because it’s healthier than milk and very nutritious.

Prep and Cook Time: 6 minutes

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of oats (packaged oatmeal from the market works as well)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1/4 cup of granola (optional) 
• 6 oz of soy milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice)
• 1 tablespoon walnuts 
• 1/4 cup of cacao powder
• 1 banana 
• A berry of your choice, as much as you like (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc.)
• Vegan dark chocolate (as much as you like)

Instructions

1. In a bowl, put oats and cacao powder, pour the soy milk on top and mix. Microwave for 1-2 minutes.
2. Slice banana and roughly chop the dark chocolate..
3. Once oatmeal is done, top with banana, walnuts and chosen berries.
4. Feel free to add any sugar or sweetener if you’d like.
5. Add the granola (optional).
6. Sprinkle the chocolate and chia seeds and enjoy!

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Lunch – Spicy Vegan Udon Noodles

This easy lunch idea I got from one of my favorite YouTubers, Cheap Lazy Vegan. She makes videos to help vegan people eat healthy on a budget. So this is definitely perfect for college students and the whole point of this article.

This delicious recipe is more of an Asian dish and contains ingredients like gochujang – a savory, sweet and spicy red chili paste fermented condiment. It also has mirin, a type of rice wine commonly used in Japanese cooking.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 1

Ingredients

• ¼ block extra firm tofu, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1 serving udon noodles
• ½ cup chopped mushrooms
• ¼ of a small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• One stalk green onion chopped (optional garnish)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds (optional garnish)

Sauce Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon gochujang 
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
• ½ tablespoon mirin (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat up a non-stick pan on high heat.
2. Cook udon noodles according to instructions.
3. In the pan, add a small amount of oil and add the tofu pieces. Allow the tofu to cook on one side while you chop the vegetables or kix together the sauce.
4. Mix together sauce ingredients in a small bowl. 
5. Flip over the tofu and cook on the other side.
6. Once tofu is done cooking, remove from the pan and add in the mushrooms and onions. Saute until mushrooms begin to brown and onions soften. 
7. When noodles are cooked, drain and add into the pan. Add the tofu back in along with the sauce and mix well.
8. Turn heat off and stir in sesame oil.
9. Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.
10. Enjoy hot.

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Dinner – Steamed Broccoli & Tofu Steak with Bell Peppers

This recipe is very high in protein and super simple to make. Tofu is a food that is also known as bean curd and prepared with soy milk. The spongy texture it has can also absorb flavors very well. You can season this or marinate it however you like. With the colorful veggies in the dish as well, you will get the right things your body needs.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients

• 2 heads of broccoli
• Extra-firm tofu sliced into 2 medium pieces
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 cup of brown rice

Instructions

1. Cut broccoli in florets; cut red and yellow bell peppers.
2. Once the tofu is dry, cut into medium thin pieces.
3. Steam veggies with extra virgin olive oil.
4. Into a bowl of flour, add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Mix well.
5. Drop the tofu pieces on the mixture.
6. Fry the tofu in an oil pan.
7. Add chili flakes for some spice.
8. Add with steamed veggies and rice.
9. Drop some preserved garlic powder and paprika-infused oil on the veggies, eat, and enjoy!

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Dessert – Vegan Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites

I got this yummy recipe from the book Oh She Glows: Over 100 Vegan Recipes to Glow from the Inside Out by Angela Lidden. I bought this book a while ago and it has so many amazing recipes! This one specifically is perfect if you’re feeling like you want a quick sweet that’s not a candy bar. Who doesn’t love dessert? Healthy and delicious desserts are always an awesome thing especially when you’re a busy college student. Treat yourself to this tasty snack!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Serving: Makes 14 balls

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups gluten-free oats
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter.
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup or another liquid sweetener
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup almond flour or almond meal
• ¼ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• 2 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate 

Instructions

1. In a high-speed blender, blend the oats until a fine flour forms and set aside
2. In a large bowl, combine the oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the almond flour, oat flour, and salt and beat again until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. 
3. Roll the dough into small balls (About 1 tablespoon of dough each). Press the chocolate chips back into the dough if they fall off. Place the finished bites on a plate lined with parchment paper.
4. Freeze the bites for 5-10 minutes, or until firm. Store them in the freezer or freezer bag and enjoy them as quick dessert bites on the go.

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Using Vegan Dishes to Promote A Healthier You

As easy as it may seem to grab a burger or a chicken sandwich on campus, why not try out a few of these quick, healthy delicious recipes?  Even if you want to take one whole day out of the week to try a vegan dish, that’s progress too! It’s very important to take it slow and not be so hard on yourself. It’s okay to make mistakes, just remember to have fun and enjoy the journey.