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20170401 131216
20170401 131216
Recipes

A Commuter’s Lunchbox: Healthier Recipes to bring on Campus

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at Rutgers chapter.

Commuting can be tough between the traffic and parking alone. Combined that with the need to find something to eat on campus that’s relatively good for you and inexpensive and it can get extremely difficult. One can only eat Sbarro and Dunkin’ so many times a week before you start to feel sick and, let’s face it, pizza and breakfast sandwiches aren’t the best source of energy for college students. After buying a shiny new lunchbox, I was motivated to make a few things in a week to fill it with. Here are a few easy recipes to whip up before you head out to class.

Commuter Lunch
Randi Hardy

Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time: 7 minutesTotal time: 22 minutesServings:3 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Randi Hardy

    Boil pasta until al-dente and then drain. While the pasta is boiling, chop the veggies and place into a bowl.

  2. Randi Hardy

    Let the pasta cool and then pour into the bowl with the veggies. Mix with the Italian dressing and then refrigerate for about an hour or make the night before so you can throw it in your lunchbox and head out.

Make it your own by adding your favorite veggies and trying out different variations.

Sweet Potato Spinach Salad

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 40 minutesTotal time: 45 minutesServings:1 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Wallis Linker

    Peel, cube, and roast the sweet potato in the oven at 425° for forty minutes with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.

  2. Kristine Mahan

    Put the spinach in your favorite take out container and set aside. Chop the veggies and toss with the spinach. Add the cubed sweet potato and mix with your favorite dressing, I prefer a honey balsamic with this salad. Add protein or other toppings to make it your own.

Peanut Butter Apple Sandwiches

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 2 minutesCook time: 3 minutesTotal time: 5 minutesServings:1 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Randi Hardy

    Slice the apple horizontally.

  2. Randi Hardy

    Slather the PB on a slice, or both, and make a sandwich.

Pita Pocket Caesar Salad

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 5 minutesCook time: 1 minuteTotal time: 6 minutesServings:1 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Tess Tarantino

    Toss romaine in a large bowl with the Caesar dressing and Parmesan cheese. Chop the salad and then scoop into both sides of the pita.

This is great if you’re constantly on the move between classes since you won’t have to worry about utensils or sitting down. Add some chicken for protein.

Randi Hardy

Rutgers '18

I'm from the beach, I love food and nutrition and am currently a dietetics major. I play the violin and love to cook !