Ramen No More: 10 Delicious Cookbooks For Budgeting Bookworms

Do you hear that from a distance? No? It is the faint sound of your wallet and your bank account collectively screaming.

If you pay close attention, you’ll find that the screeching sound gets louder with every check addressed to either college or rent.

At one point, one just wonders, “Alright, I have 26 cents in my bank account and I owe three payments. C’mon, do I really need to eat? I mean, is it that necessary? Camels can live for like six to seven months without food. Maybe I can be a camel. Or join one of those Tibetan temples and learn how to give up worldly desires like food. Who am I kidding. I need money to even get to the friggin’ Tibet.”

Worry no longer, my broke, broke bookworm friend – you don’t need to be a camel. Here are 10 cookbooks that are bound to help you make tasty, healthy, and above all, cheap meals.

 

1. A Man, A Can, A Plan: 50 Great Guy Meals Even You Can Make! by The Editors of Men’s Health and David Joachim 

Just like the title implies, this is a brilliant read for the person interested in making a more-than-decent meal using canned food.

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2. A Man, A Can, A Plan, A Second Helping: 50 Fast Meals to Satisfy Your Healthy Appetite by The Editors of Men’s Health and David Joachim

It has a sequel! If the first few recipes really suited your fancy, here is are 50 more just for you and your cans.

Wait, that sounded weird. Ahem. Moving on.

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3. The 50 Most Delicious Canned Tuna Recipes by Julie Hatfield

While we are on the topic of canned food, one of the most inexpensive items is canned tuna.

While some aren’t too fan of the fish often referred to as the chicken of the sea, one must admit that desperate times call for desperate measures.

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4. Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day by Leanne Brown

Oftentimes, one assumes cheap meals do not have much of a nutritional value. This little book is one of the many exceptions to that statement.

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5. 101 Things to Do with Ramen Noodles by Toni Patrick

Ramen! The typical college student dish. So many varieties, so many options– 101 of them, to be precise.

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6. The 5-Ingredient College Cookbook: Easy, Healthy Recipes for the Next Four Years & Beyond by Pamela Ellgen

Speaking of college snacks, this is more aimed at students who are barely scraping enough money to attend post-secondary schooling through scholarships, some duct tape, and a prayer.

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7. Healthy Five Ingredient Recipes: Delicious Recipes in 5 Ingredients or Less by Hannie P. Scott

Now you may be wondering, “What if I am no good at cooking?”

Maybe narrowing down the list of ingredients could help a bit. Instead of worrying about remembering what to do with twenty items that you are supposed to cook together, you will be more than fine with only five of them.

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8. Microwave Mug Recipes: 50 Delicious, Quick and Easy Mug Meals by Julie Hatfield

Ah, microwaves. As it turns out, you don’t even need a stove to make a worthwhile dish that will not make you have a severe case of food poisoning at the end of the day.

Just rely on your trustworthy microwave to do the job.

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9. Mug Meals Cookbook – 25 of the Best Mug Recipes made in the Microwave: Mug Cookbook for Everyday Life by Martha Stephenson

If 50 recipes was not enough for you, or if the concept of using a microwave for most of your meals is particularly appealing, here is another fantastic option.

Mugs and microwaves will surprise you in their efficiency!

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10. The Absolute Best Mug Cakes Cookbook: 100 Family-Friendly Microwave Cakes by Rockridge Press

Now, we have talked about meals for this entire article, but what about desserts? What about the broke bookworms with a sweet tooth? Worry not, I have not forgotten about you.

Because you have every right to eat cake in any day you please (other than your birthday), here are 100 different microwave cakes you can prepare any day of the year in a matter of minutes.

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There you have it! 10 cookbooks for the broke bookworm that still intends to eat like a regular person without feeling self-hatred for spending an extra dollar when there are several payments to take care of.

What are some of the strangest dishes you’ve prepared with ingredients that lodged at the very dark edges of your pantry?

YouTube Channel: FlavCity with Bob Parrish

 

Featured image via Pixabay