Cheap and Easy to Make Meals for the Single Guy (or Gal)

1) Steamed rice and vegetables: one of the best purchases I made in the last year was a rice steamer with a compartment on top for steaming vegetables. I bought a nice $15 unit at the local Walgreens and I've basically been living on steamed rice and vegetables ever since. It's rad... all you do is pour a cup and a half of water into the steamer, add one half cup rice, then in the vegetable compartment add some nice broccoli, carrots or cauliflower (whatever veggies you prefer)... turn the unit on and fifteen minutes later when it's ready the unit shuts itself off and viola -- you've got a meal. I like to put some melted butter on the veggies and rice, and occasionally add some tuna fish or a can of processed chicken meat to the steamed rice for a little variety, and that, sir, is a delicious and nutritious CHEAP meal.

2) A nice crisp salad: let's face it, you need to eat your greens! When done right a nice crisp salad can be a meal in itself. The easiest way to make a salad is to buy one of those bags of ready-to-eat salad mixes (they sell them for a buck a bag at my local Grocery Outlet store) which contain pre-chopped lettuce, carrots, and what appears to be turnips. Just dump half a bag of the salad into a large bowl, pour on your favorite salad dressing (Ranch dressing is my number one), crush some Saltine crackers and sprinkle them on top, and you're ready to eat. You can add some extras to this basic salad to make it even more delicious -- cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumbers, diced hard boiled eggs, or even a can of processed chicken, shrimp, or crab meat. Yum yum... now that's good eatin'!

3) Tuna fish sandwich: That's right, a good old fashioned tuna fish sandwich, just like mom used to make. All you need is a loaf of bread, a can of tuna fish, and some mayonnaise. Dump the contents of the can of tuna onto one slice of bread, spread some mayo on a second slice, put both slices together... and eat! If you want to get fancy you can add some chopped pickles to the mix. A tuna fish sandwich makes for a nutritious and delicious, and CHEAP lunch... or dinner, or snack, or whatever.

4) A can of corn: Yes, I am serious about this. Sometimes when I have the hunger for something salty yet nutritious I take one can of corn, dump the contents into a plastic bowl, microwave it for three minutes, drain the water from the bowl, add some melted butter, salt and pepper, and viola... the next best thing to eating fresh corn on the cob! And you cannot deny that corn is a nutritious vegetable, it's good for you. It's what the astronauts eat. Super easy to make and a can of corn costs about 59 cents at my local Grocery Outlet. Try it!

5) Baked Potato: I've been eating a lot of these lately. Baked potatoes are super cheap (about $1.99 for a five pound bag), nutritious, and super easy to make. You don't even have to have an oven to make a baked potato, you can nuke it in your microwave oven (most microwaves have "potato" settings) for about six minutes, and it's baked, dude! Once it comes out of the microwave, open it up with a fork, mash it a little bit, put on your favorite potato topping (butter, sour cream, or even salsa), and eat up! Potatoes are indeed nutritious -- no matter what the naysayers say -- as long as you eat the skin, which has most of the nutrients. The skin of a baked potato is actually my favorite part, yum yum!

6) Ultra Slimfast: Seriously, Ultra Slimfast is NOT just for dieters anymore. A nice glass of Ultra Slimfast mixed with milk is a nutritious and delicious meal in itself, as it is fortified with vitamins and plenty of fiber. This is a great "meal" in the morning especially when you're in a hurry to get off to the job and your stomach is growling. I myself prefer the vanilla flavor, and it tastes GREAT, the next best thing to a vanilla shake. The recipe is super easy -- take one 12 ounce glass of milk, add one scoop of Ultra Slimfast, stir, and drink. I love it... One word of warning: if you drink too much Ultra Slimfast you may find yourself running to the toilet when you arrive at work since it is loaded with fiber, and you know what fiber is good for. This is what the astronauts drink.

There you have it... five easy to make, nutritious and delicious meals that will go easy on your wallet and require no actual cooking skills and very few dishes to wash. Now that's good eatin'!