When we studied for our GCSEs and A-levels, we relied on Mum to buy our food, cook our meals and manage our diets. But now, as we move away from home, there is an increased requirement for self-discipline and know-how in the kitchen, the luxury of Mum has disappeared. Suddenly, we have to think independently about how we get from the supermarket to the dinner table; a daunting task for many first-years, or anyone who has never cooked on a daily basis.
For this reason, York Vision has conducted a survey which examines the eating habits of 105 students at the university, spread across all three years of undergraduate study. Despite the small sample, it yields some interesting results on how much time on how much time and money we spend on our food and cooking, where and what we tend to eat and, most crucially, how healthy we believe our diets to be.
So let’s begin with the area of spending. To save needless spending you must be careful how much you spend on food. Around half of all students surveyed spend between £20 and £40 every week – a sensible amount. If you are well acquainted with your flatmates, you might want to buy for a group every now and again, with everyone helping out with the cooking. Rotate this on a weekly basis, saving time and money and most importantly spending valuable bonding time with your flatmates.
Now, you may say Costcutter is the best place to buy your food; it is on your doorstep after all. But while Costcutter can be extremely handy for the odd thing, it is arguably not the best location for an all-out food shop as the inflated prices can be a massive drain on your budget. You may be surprised to hear that only 13% of respondents chose Costcutter as the place they typically shopped for this reason. For more financially viable alternatives, think about the budget supermarkets such as Morrisons or Co-op which have a greater range of products; indeed, these are the most popular shopping destinations. OK, you may have to walk a bit further, but you’re ultimately saving money.
The next question concerned where we eat our food. Around 40% of students eat out at a restaurant between two and four times per term which is an ideal level, as many restaurants in York can be expensive and not conducive to enhancing your cookery skills. Some 16% admitted to eating out more than six times, which is fine if you are already an expert in the kitchen and have plenty of money in the bank, but most students won’t fall into this category.
Of course, pizzas and takeaways tend to be less expensive, but their tempting nature means if you indulge too often, it can be bad for your bank balance and for your health. Just take a look at the prices in Efes down the road. For this reason, 43% of those surveyed abstained completely from eating any pizzas or takeaways, but those that do tend to have an absolute maximum of three such meals.
Now onto the final area of investigation – how healthy students perceive their diets to be. Slightly worrying is the fact that around 60% of respondents admitted not to getting their five a day and over 70% said they snacked on sugary foods up to twice per day. A simple solution, therefore, would be to use fruit as a replacement snack, make a quick smoothie or have carrots with hummus or even avocado on toast. It helps if you have a number of recipes in your armoury and over 60% say they cooked up to six meals each week. Nevertheless, a third admit to cooking only three different meals per week, which does suggest a need for greater experimentation.
All in all, most students rate the healthiness of their diet at 7 out of 10, and the same proportion believe their diet compares slightly better than their housemates or flatmates. In terms of time spent to cook, a span of 15-30 minutes wasn the most popular response, and although at first it may take longer to cook meals and become accustomed to your new independence, you will find most healthy meals can be churned out in this time.
So we can safely conclude that York students are generally well prepared for the realities of university life when it comes to buying the right food and cooking. The main thing is not to panic when faced with the vast array of recipes out there, and just start simple to begin with. Choose where you buy with care, try to create a varied routine and stick to it. Then it just becomes easy!