College Cook Wannabes: Stage 1 (or why you need a plan)

Frugal Son wrote some (to me, his doting mama, and I hope to you, his objective reader) spot-on and amusing scenarios for the College Cook wannabe. Stage 1: going out to eat.

Needless to say, this can get expensive! Many of you have been on-campus for a while now. The thrill of return is wearing off; the work is building up; and, no doubt, you overspent in the first few weeks.

Here is the Restaurant option for the College Cook.


While few fall wholly into this category, many college students are overly reliant on restaurants, be they fast food joints or four-star establishments, for their nourishment.

Typical Scenario

After finishing class at six, you grab some pasta from the Italian restaurant just across the street from campus. A few breadsticks, some pasta, tax and tip later, you’re satisfied but you’ve been there for an hour and a half and you’ve spent $15 . . . and the next time you’re hungry again you’re back to square one. $15 is about two hours of after-tax income from a minimum wage job so your total “time” spent on this meal is 3.5 hours.

So: you need a plan. We will be posting more recipes here, of course. For the complete plan--20 basic ingredients, plus some condiments, will yield two weeks of meals, no stove or chopping required--check out our ebook in the upper-right.

OR, if you have a Kindle, check out the Amazon version.