The following post is from one of our campus brand ambassadors, Maria. She's sharing her tips on cooking healthy, quick meals that are also budget-friendly.

I’ll be the first to admit I was excited to start out on my own in college. However, with the independence that came from moving out, also came one very quick realization: Nothing can replace the joy of mom’s home cooking. In the middle of the variety of options from the dining hall and the various fast-food places around, what I really craved was a good home-cooked meal.

Learning to cook is one of those skills that will serve you long beyond your college years. Quick packed lunches and hearty dinners can be easy to learn to make, and you’ll love to go back to them when you’ve moved into the working world. Here are a few of my favorite tips to cook up a healthy meal fast:

1. Use the Internet. It offers the biggest cookbook ever, from blogs, to Pinterest and Facebook, to recipe sites like FoodNetwork.com and AllRecipes.com. There are even sites that will recommend what to make based on what is already in your cupboards and fridge.
2. Leftover veggies are perfect for stir fry, omelets, or fried rice. Finding ways to repurpose your leftovers is a great way to get a variety of meals out of the same ingredients.
3. Learn a basic casserole, soup, or chili recipe. Have some for dinner, then portion out the extra and freeze. You'll then have smaller portions on hand for a quick grab-and-go lunch.
4. One small addition can take a meal from plain to gourmet. For example, I love adding guacamole to my sandwiches or throwing some pecans and mandarin oranges into my salads.
5. Prep your meal the night before. This keeps you from resorting to eating out because you didn’t have time to pack a lunch in the morning. (That also means you don’t have to worry about getting something together before your first cup of coffee kicks in!) To do something similar with breakfast, throw fruit and yogurt in a container at night and just add granola in the morning.
6. Host a dinner party. If the default event for your friends is to head out for dinner, offer up an alternative. Make a big pasta dish or fajitas, and have everyone bring a side dish or dessert to share.
7. Make a big batch of meat at once, and freeze it into smaller portions. Grilled chicken or ground beef  can be used in multiple recipes. When a meal calls for it, just defrost and add in.
8. Semi-homemade is always OK. A great place to start when cooking is to only cook half your meal. You don’t have to make your tomato sauce from scratch; store-bought is fine. There are many taco recipes that call for special spice mixes, but that pre-made packet will taste just as good. Or, maybe you will make your main dish, but use a frozen steamer pack of veggies.

Cooking for yourself doesn’t mean you have to start making fancy meals seven days a week. Starting off with just a few of these tips can help save you money and time and get you on the road to delicious home-cooked meals.

The Reynolds brand ambassador program consists of former interns who enjoyed their time with the company and now want to help promote Reynolds on their college campus.  They plan events with our recruiters to help increase awareness of Reynolds at their college or university, and, in the process, continue to develop their professional skills.