4 Easy, Cheap and Healthy Hostel Meals

Throughout my time abroad, I am always traveling. We all know that traveling is expensive, but there are many ways to save money, especially when it comes to food. A lot of people believe that staying in hostels is “sketchy” or “cheap”, but now days, there are many hostels that are nicer than many hotels. One of the best amenities when it comes to staying in a hostel is the guest kitchen. This means you can cook your own meals saving you a ton of money rather than eating out for every meal, which can really add up. Sometimes, thinking of something easy as well as healthy to make can be difficult. Especially when you are traveling, you don’t know what you are going to be able to find at the supermarket. With that being found, I have found a few recipes to make while staying in a hostel. All of them are made with easy to find ingredients that are healthy and are simple to make!

  1. GRILLED CHEESE, HAM, AND TOMATO SANDWICH: Sometimes hostels serve breakfast so if yours does, try and take some bread, ham, and cheese back to your fridge so you don’t have to go out and buy it yourself. If this is the case, all you would need to buy is some veggies like tomato. You can even take out the ham to make it vegetarian.

Kitchen tools needed: Frying pan and oil, sharp knife, spatula (or get creative with what you’ve got)
Ingredients:2 slices of bread, Ham and cheese slices,Tomato, sliced

HOW TO MAKE IT:

 -Make a sammie with all of the ingredients and throw it on the frying pan.
– Turn over once. Welcome to some gooey goodness, with a bit of protein and veggies.

2. PERSONAL PIZZAS: If you are with a group of people, have everyone contribute by buying one ingredient/topping for the pizza. Cooking the pizza could also be fun when cooking with a big group! Even if you are not with a group, see if other people in the hostel want to join!

Kitchen tools needed: Oven, toaster oven, grill, or if you have to, a frying pan and oil
Ingredients:Pitas, pre-made pizza crust, or bread slices from breakfast, Tomato sauce, Any cheese or other toppings you like on your pizza

HOW TO MAKE IT: 

-Lay out your “pizza crust” and spread with tomato sauce.
– Cook your crust in your kitchen tool of choice for 2-3 minutes. Watch to make sure it doesn’t burn!
-Take the crusts out and top them with whatever ingredients you want.

3. PENUT BUTTER BANANA SNADWICH: Perfect for quick and easy breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even a snack! Instead of a basic peanut butter sandwich, add the banana for some protein and extra flavor.

Kitchen tools needed: Knife
Ingredients: Bread (from breakfast), Peanut Butter, Bananas, sliced (you can also use strawberries or blueberries)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

– Spread peanut butter on bread.
-Slice banana and put on top of the peanut butter.
-Assemble your sandwich.

4: VEGETABLE STIR FRY: Although this one may be a bit tricky to find the ingredients depending on where you are staying, it is defiantly the healthiest option of the recipes. You can also add chicken or beef for some added protein.

Kitchen tools needed: Frying pan and oil, Sharp knife if cutting your own vegetables, Stovetop burner or hot plate, pot to cook rice, Spatula or spoon to stir vegetables
Ingredients: Frozen bag of assorted vegetables (you can find this at most supermarkets around the world, but you can always pick the veggies yourself), Brown Rice, Teriyaki or Soy sauce

HOW TO MAKE IT:

-Cook rice according to directions on package.
-While the rice is cooking, add oil to frying pan and bring to medium high heat. Add veggies and cook according to package. If you’re using fresh vegetables, slice them and cook on frying pan for 6-7 minutes or until slightly brown, stirring frequently.
-Add vegetables and cooked rice together, and top with sauce.

Heres a video I found on quick & easy hostel meals

Hopefully with these recipes you can save money while traveling, as well as eat a yummy healthy meal!

De Greco Barcelona

Over the past few months living in Barcelona, I have tried many different restaurants of all different types of cuisine. And out of them all I still return back to my favorite restaurant De Greco. It has some of the best Italian food I have ever experienced and is super affordable. Even when I had friends visiting from Florence, they commented on how good the pasta was! Not only does De Greco have amazing food, they have such a unique concept when it comes to eating there.

an overview of the atmosphere at De Greco

First off, they let you bring your own bottle of wine if you are a student. On top of that, whichever pasta plate you order, a separate plate of your meal is brought out to share with the table. That way you are able to try all the different pastas that everyone you are with orders! De Greco doesn’t just have pasta, they have a lot of other options including things like steak, burgers, salads, as well as yummy desserts. but in my opinion, you can’t go wrong with any of the pasta dishes. Some of my favorite dishes that I would recommend is the gnocchi, the white truffle ravioli, and the tortellini.

Gnocchi

Related imagewhite truffle ravioli

Image result for tortellinitortellini

In my opinion I think that De Greco’s concept of having an extra plate for sharing is what makes it unique and different, setting it apart from other restaurants that I have tried while in Barcelona. The atmosphere is fancy, but as I mentioned the price is very affordable so you may look like you are eating an expensive place when really you can get a meal for around 12 euro. Whenever I have someone visiting in town, or someone asks me for a good place to go out to eat, I always recommend De Greco because I have never had a bad experience when dining there. I love trying new restaurants, but This is the one place that I will make an exception for, I have already been 4 times!