Term two comes as a bit of a shock after well-stocked fridges and overeating home-cooked favourites. Returning to university after such luxury, particularly for those who took a cooking holiday for three weeks, leaves many students reminiscing before week two has ended and questioning whether or not home-cooked food parcels can be sent through Royal Mail. You may instead be struggling with a new diet and entering the beginnings of the post-diet failure of mid-January- an idea enticed by the chimes of Big Ben which whisper to millions that the clichéd and eternal resolution-forced healthy eating must begin (and end, most likely, somewhere in late January).
If you are pining after the image of Christmas dinner or eating gallons of cabbage soup to lose the couple of pounds that said Christmas dinner aided you in gaining over the festive period, or if you are simply looking for a healthier and cheaper start to 2012, all you really need to remember are the golden rules of healthy cooking and living on a budget:
– Buy fresh ingredients that span several meals and look for unprepared food, ignoring pre-bagged lettuce and stir fry mixes in favour of the raw ingredients themselves. Although ready meals are tempting, the basic ingredients in them can be bought cheaply and constitute much healthier meals in general. You can also control exactly what goes into the mix, removing unnecessary additives and preservatives and giving you the control to eat and experiment with the foods that you prefer.
– Make meals that can be refrigerated or frozen to make the most out of the fresh ingredients you have and to save time another day whilst still eating healthy.
– Don’t ignore well-known but under-appreciated products like frozen vegetables, which can be bought for a pound and last for half a term.
– Whole grain pasta, cereals, bread and brown rice are much healthier alternatives to their counterparts but also help to fill you up for longer, saving you money on snacks.
– We can’t ignore that water is good for us and even better; it’s free! Drinking 6-8 glasses a day is said to be best and increasing water intake can also help those with tight budgets to avoid buying bottles of drink…every little helps!
– Substitute expensive pre-made pasta, curry and stir fry sauces for healthier and normally cheaper alternatives that can be homemade by using tins (like chopped tomatoes), seasoning, herbs and spices (supermarket basics are ridiculously cheap) and a little bit of time.
– Experiment with and simplify recipe ingredients; throwing in whatever you have is an artform in student kitchens and saves unnecessary food (and money) wastage. Avoid expensive ingredients that will only be used once, try and substitute them for a cheap and versatile alternative, like 5 spice powder instead of cumin.
If you need a helping hand with some quick, cheap and delicious meal alternatives to try, here are a few short recipes to get you started…
Mild Lentil Curry
1 Onion, sliced
1 Garlic clove, finely chopped
½ tsp mild curry powder/tsp curry paste
2 Potatoes, peeled and chopped
220g Lentils
½ tin Chopped Tomatoes
Vegetable Stock cube
Spices, Salt and Pepper
Price for 2 portions: Approx £2.50-3.00
You’ll never need to order takeaway again after this easy curry! Add 1 pint of hot water, vegetable stock, a pinch of salt and spices into a saucepan and leave to boil before adding lentils (washed until the water runs clear) and chopped potatoes. Stir occasionally until the lentils turn mushy and the potatoes are cooked through. Whilst you wait fry onions and garlic in another pan with the remaining spices (add more if you like spicier food) and chopped tomatoes. Cook for 2-3 minutes before adding to the cooked lentils and potatoes. Cook the curry for another 10-15 minutes, adding more salt and pepper to season and adding extra spices if desired. For a meaty alternative, add cooked chicken to the pan of onion and spices and substitute vegetable stock for chicken stock.
Quick Couscous
120g Couscous
Vegetable stock (in 200ml water)
(Spring) Onion, finely chopped
1 Red Pepper
½ Cucumber
50g Feta Cheese
Pesto (if desired)
Price per 2 portions – Approx £2.00-2.50
A much easier to ‘cook’ alternative to pasta, couscous is filling and cheap– it should be in every student’s cupboard! Measure out roughly 120g of Couscous into a large dish, add vegetable stock in 200ml of hot water to the bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes or until fully absorbed. Chop the onion, red pepper and cucumber into small pieces and mix with the Couscous, adding feta cheese and pesto, if using. It can be eaten hot or cold and although best eaten fresh, it can also be frozen. Alternatively chicken and tuna make interesting but tasty meal combinations…Enjoy!
Salmon and Vegetable Fried Rice
100g (approx) Fillet of Salmon
70g (or ½ a mug) of Basmati Rice
100g Frozen Vegetables
Salt, Pepper and Mixed Herbs for seasoning
Price per 1 portion – Approx. £1.50
Salmon fillets make a tasty and deceptively cheap meal – Morrisons sell fresh fillets at really affordable prices for a student budget. Start by washing the rice until the water runs clear and then place in a pan of hot water for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is expanded and fluffy. Just over halfway through cooking the rice add in frozen vegetables. If using chopped fresh veg then allow extra time in the pan. Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan and season your fillet lightly with herbs, salt and pepper before adding to the pan. Allow to cook on the scaled side and as the top side begins to slightly bubble, flip the fillet over for 1 minute and then flip back again for a further few minutes. Remove from the pan when the fillet flakes – a sign that it is perfectly cooked. Drain the rice and vegetables and fry in the empty salmon pan for 2-3 minutes, stirring almost constantly and adding oil as desired. This balanced and delicious meal is complete, and it takes less than 15 minutes!