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Even if you only have a microwave at your disposal, there’s no need to rely on food from the dining hall on campus. There are plenty of meals you can make quickly and easily at home with only basic equipment and ingredients. Many of them are healthier than campus food and they’ll definitely save you money. Here are a few simple recipes to try.

1. Microwave Pasta

You can cook your favourite pasta in mere minutes in the microwave. Create a sauce to make it more interesting. For a particularly simple sauce, just mix salsa and hummus — it’s creamy and delicious.

2. Mexican Street Corn

Recreate Mexican street food by preparing elote in the microwave. Just heat up some corn and butter in the microwave and then add lime juice, chili powder, and some tangy cheese like cotija.

3. Grain Bowl

Heat some pre-cooked grains and add them to your choice of raw vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, or chickpeas. For extra flavour, blend up an avocado with a clove of garlic, a handful of parsley, and half a cup of coconut milk to make a dressing.

4. Eggs in a Mug

If you want a hot breakfast, scramble eggs in a mug and add some seasoning. Buying a seasoning packet is a great way to make sure your eggs taste great. You can also add some salsa or cheese if you want a little extra.

5. French Toast in a Mug

Another hot breakfast in a mug is French toast. To prepare this, start by melting some butter in your mug. Then, add an egg, some cinnamon, a few drops of vanilla essence, and two slices of bread cut into small pieces. Soak the bread in the mixture before microwaving it for about 1:30 minutes. To complete your breakfast, top with some fruit, powdered sugar, and maple syrup.

6. Tortilla Wrap

An ideal lunch when you’re rushing from one class to another is a wrap. You can put virtually anything inside the tortilla, including deli meat, cheese, and vegetables like red peppers, spinach, cabbage, and carrot. Mix things up to have a different lunch every day and to use up whatever you have in your kitchen.

7. Chocolate Pretzels

If you’re having a movie night with friends, you need some comfort food, or it’s your turn to provide snacks for your study group, try preparing chocolate-covered pretzels. All you need to do is melt chocolate in a mug and use it as a dip for the pretzels. Let the chocolate harden before eating.

8. Rice Noodle Soup

An alternative to ramen that’s almost as easy to prepare is rice noodle soup. In a bowl of water, add rice noodles, tofu, spinach, mushrooms, and seasoning made from stock powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili oil. It takes five minutes to cook the soup in the microwave.

You can do much better than just microwave-friendly meals if you move into student rentals. Barrie has the perfect housing at Arcadian Students. All our apartments come with a full kitchen, complete with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. You can store plenty of groceries in the fridge and cook using the stove and oven as well as the microwave. You’ll even have a dishwasher to reduce the effort of cleaning up. Book a tour to see everything for yourself.