I remember how challenging it is to consume healthy food on a tiny budget living in a dorm room and playing NCAA baseball. There was a Del Taco a stone’s throw from Cal State Fullerton where I began my very short college career. I regularly scarfed their double cheeseburger and an enormous mountain of crinkly fries. That should tell you all you need to know about my naïveté as an18 year old student. Who gets the burger at a Mexican fast food chain?
Peter, Kaplifestyle’s summer intern, is much closer to his collegiate playing days, but way ahead of where I was back then. He’s about to deliver some advice from the perspective of a student very recently mired in a college baseball career. More importantly, he’s a young man trying to find his nutritional way in a world with many of the same challenges you may be facing.
I’m on pins and needles.
Quiero Taco Bell? No Bueno…
It’s that time of year again. Students of all ages are packing up the Jansports with colored pencils, glue sticks, maybe a notepad…you still need that stuff in college, right?
The one thing that gets overlooked is nutrition. Don’t get me wrong, college kids eat, and they eat a lot. Unfortunately, eating healthy on a budget is usually the last thing anyone considers. Athlete or not, you’re busy with homework, midterms, papers, workouts and the occasional fight with your significant other.
Even beyond college, trying to meal plan on a budget is a universal concern. I’m a catcher for my school, and I burn through a lot of calories. I’ve learned, by necessity, to shop intelligently on limited resources. Sorry guys, this may be college, but there’s no booze on this list.
The first thing to consider is where to shop. I frequent several different places, including:
- Costco
- Trader Joe’s
- Sprouts (Just opened…but will probably start going more frequently)
- Safeway
- Whole Foods (Just a little too far for regular trips)
I find the combination of Costco and Trader Joe’s to be ideal, but really, a large outlet and an organic market should be enough to cover your bases.
I shoot for a trip to Costco once a month or so. During those trips, I generally buy:
- Package of chicken (I pick up what’s on sale, generally breasts or thighs.) This will run you around $20
- Ground beef, $20
- Ground turkey, $15
- 5 dozen eggs, $8
- “Family Size” bag of spinach or kale, $5
If I have some extra money left over, I’ll pick up a few optional things:
- Pork fillets, $25
- Steaks – generally New York Strips, $30
- Salmon, $28
I try to walk out of there under $100 while still picking up most of the proteins I’ll eat for the month. I bring them home, ration them out into bags and freeze them.
For produce, however, I need to head to a place like Trader Joe’s. I generally find they have fresher produce, but anywhere you can find a balance between quality and price is a good option. While I’m there, I pick up the following:
- Bananas, $.19
- Apples, $.79
- Avocados, $1.29
- Spinach, $1.99/bag
- Vegetable medley, $2.99
- Sweet potatoes, $3.99/3 lb bag
- Green onions, $.99/bag
- Carrots, $1.49/bag
For fresh produce, I generally need to visit the store once a week or so. However, with my bounty, I have a fantastic week of healthy meals at a reasonable price.
In order to take advantage of how I shop, I devote Sunday evenings to cooking. I prepare a main protein in large quantities, then package it up with different sides. For example, I might roast six chicken breasts in the oven, and then pair them with various vegetables for meals throughout the week. Additionally, knowing I have meals prepared in advance helps me to avoid the temptation of venturing out to eat at restaurants and spending money I don’t have.
These meals are healthy, filling and fuel my entire day. Here’s a sample.
Breakfast:
- 4 egg scramble with spinach, green onions and a protein
- Cup of coffee
- A piece or handful of fresh fruit
Lunch:
- Vegetable medley with ground turkey
- Banana or other fruit
Dinner:
- Chicken breast or steak
- Salad
- Broccoli or steamed veggies
Because I go from class to class, then to the ball field, I snack a lot. When you’re using up energy, you have to replace it with something. I usually stick to snacking on carrots and apples. They’re both refreshing and healthy.
Balancing the college athlete lifestyle is a difficult act. There isn’t a class on meal planning on a budget. I learned from trial and error what has worked for me, and I hope it helps you.
Cheers to my first blog post!
Pistol out.
-Peter
Duane says
Outstanding first post Peter and it looks like you have that routine prettt dialed in. Nice!! Hope to hear more from you in the future. Thanks Kap for another great guest post.
Peter Summerville says
Duane, thank you for the comment! It was sure fun writing something like this for the first time!
Richie Ernst says
Good job Peter! Keep up the hard work! You ever make it to New Jersey, dinner is on me!
Peter Summerville says
Richie, I may have to take you up on that offer if and when I make it out East!
Andrew Summerville says
Nice work Pistol Pete! Great article and great advice.
Peter Summerville says
Thank you, Andrew!
kbeyazdancer says
Fabulous Post Peter! I wish I was this dedicated to nutrition during my first couple of years in college. By the time I was a senior I wised up. 15 years years later, it’s still a trial and error sometimes.
Best of luck to you love!
Thanks for sharing Kap
Peter Summerville says
Thank you for the compliment! Trust me, it is a long process developing a routine and it is still a work in progress.
kbeyazdancer says
You’ve already got a great head start and that’s something to be proud of. It will benefit you so much in the long run. So I applaud you on your early wisdom love. I am recommending this post to my students.
-Kelebek
Kyle says
Pete,
Awesome post man. As a current collegiate athlete myself, maintaining a healthy diet on a low budget is something I am struggling with. I’m thinking about meal prepping for 4-6 days at a time (Tupperware style) for convenience. Gabe/ Pete, any thoughts or experience with this? I appreciate all the helpful posts and hard work going into this site.
Thanks,
Kyle
Peter Summerville says
Kyle, great question… Personally, I have found that Costco sells a cheap Tupperware package for around $20 and has all different sizes. Easy to use and refrigerate as well! Hope that helps.
Bryan says
I applaud you, Peter. When I was in college a few years ago, my roommate and I had the idea of starting a site geared to the everyday college student about proper nutrition and meal budgeting. Like many ambitions during those years, it fell to the wayside. With the proper effort, motivation, and knowledge-base, the site may someday come to fruition. Keep up the good work on promoting optimal nutrition for the student-athlete. The new NCAA rules should help greatly. For example: http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/11320722/oklahoma-sooners-add-food-truck-athletes
It can only make the good become great and the great become legendary. Imagine the production a team of well-oiled machines could make.
Peter Summerville says
Bryan,
Great article…it is an issue that just needs to be brought to attention and it seems as though it is finally gaining traction. Thanks for stopping by!
-Peter
Mindy Levy says
Way to go…..a true inspiration for young athletes, and other college age peeps!
Peter Summerville says
Mindy,
Thank you for your comment, look forward to more great posts!
-Peter
Kevin says
Peter,
Nice post, as a busy mailman and husband/father I can relate to eating on a budget and meal planning. What I need help with is ideas on what I can pack and eat on the fly in my mail truck in under 15 minutes . as a rural carrier i can finish my day and be done and go home usually by 1 or 2pm but it means I`m in mad scramble mode to get done as quickly as possible and I`m not taking time to eat. When I make chicken or steak ahead of time ,it doesn`t usually taste too well and keep “right” more than two days or so and its kind of hard to eat this cold in the truck? Any ideas will surely be appreciated.
Kevin
Peter Summerville says
Kevin,
Thank you for stopping by. I can relate to your exact issue. My roommate and I went to the army surplus store in the fall and bought cheap (roughly $10) coolers…which actually came with an ice pack. I have found this being very successful for me when we were on bus trips for baseball throughout California. I hope that helps!
-Peter
Karen Summerville says
Peter,
I am delighted to see that all of those years of planning
and preparing healthy meals for you when you were growing up have paid off.
So proud of you!
Love, Mom
Kyle G. says
I also play baseball in college and it truly is a battle between eating enough and eating healthy. Some solid ideas for me as I head into the apartments in two weeks. Thanks for the post Pete.
Peter Summerville says
Glad I could help, Kyle!
Stu says
Excellent post Pete. You are way ahead of the curve compared to the majority of College Athletes. The path of least resistance for any college athlete are the buffet’s, fast food joints, etc. With the amount of work you put into your body it would be a shame not to nourish it the right way. Unfortunately, during my college baseball career I was not as well informed on nutrition as you are. I certainly put on size, got stronger, became a better player…but could a much improved diet helped even more? Absolutely. Keep up the great work.
Peter Summerville says
Great insight, Stu. You are absolutely right!
-Peter
Mike S says
Great stuff, Peter! I’m also a college student and found this list very similar to my shopping list/weekly meal prep. I was curious if you eat any grains at all?
Thanks,
Mike
Zack Berry says
I know Kap is usually opposed to any type of powdered substance but two of my good college friends have started a company in the last year or so that manufactures a product called Soylent (www.soylent.me) that aims to solve a similar problem addressed in this post: A healthy source of nutrition that’s affordable and convenient to make and consume.
Not sure if you guys have heard of it yet but it’s been getting a lot of press over the past few months and I actually enjoy it. I usually only use it for 30 percent of my diet but it helps a lot when I’m in a pinch for time and want to get a bountiful of nutrients quickly. Let me know what you think of the concept!
Jordan says
Great article. As a former college catcher I can relate with everything you wrote. It was routine to stop at fast food joints and I had to always try to find something decent to eat. I will use these tips as I hear back to school!
Aaron says
Peter,
What do you suggest for a packed lunch for a high school pitcher?