Living off campus can be great great - you have your own room, a full kitchen, a more private bathroom, and even more freedom than living on campus. Besides having further to walk or commute to class, one of the major differences is that you have to cook your own meals. Gone are the days where you could just walk into your campus dining hall and pick from a wide array of meals - pizza, burgers, and fries are no longer at your fingertips. Sure, you could live off of ramen and microwave meals, but you’re slightly more of an adult now and should learn the basics of shopping for ingredients and making a meal for yourself.

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One of the first things you should do is make sure you have the tools to actually create a meal. You really only need a few tools to successfully cook multiple things (unless you are trying to get fancy). A pot and skillet for stovetop cooking, a casserole-type dish and baking sheet for oven cooking, a crock pot for soups and big meals, and a spoon and spatula to use while cooking. Cutting boards, knives, and mixing bowls can be useful tools to have in your cupboard as well.

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Next, and arguably the hardest part, is grocery shopping. You’ll want to buy some stable ingredients that you use for almost every meal. These include eggs, olive oil, butter, salt and pepper, and any other seasonings you like. When it comes to the actual food you’re cooking, focus on things that have a long shelf life like pastas, rice, and cans of beans and vegetables. Not only do these foods keep well, but they are also pretty versatile when it comes to making a full meal. When buying fresher ingredients like fruits, vegetables, and meat be more cautious – you don’t want to overbuy and have a bunch of food that went bad because you didn’t eat it in time.

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The two easiest methods of cooking are stir-frying and using a crock pot. Both require minimal amounts of time and energy on your part to make great meals. Stir-frying is using a pan with hot oil to cook vegetables, meats, and then combining grains to create a completed dish. To make this even easier you can use frozen meats and veggies if you’re in a time crunch. However, I highly recommend buying some fresh vegetables and making the cutting and slicing process fun by recruiting roommates to help. A crock pot is nice because you can dump all the ingredients into it and let it cook all day while you’re at classes. Crock pots also usually make way more than one meal, so you could have a cooking day on Sunday and be set for the whole week.

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If you are not super creative or have literally never cooked before and you don’t know where to start, that is what YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest are for. There are endless recipes on each of those platforms ranging from healthy to indulging. YouTube and Instagram can be really helpful because they provide a video aid along with the instructions instead of just a picture. With a little practice and help from social media you can be making well-rounded, healthy, or just yummy, meals. Just think about how impressed your mom will be when you go home for Christmas break and cook a nice dinner for her!