Instant Noodles and Leftover Pizza; the Michelin Star Experience of Student Cooking
By Rachel Scott
Uni students…we’re pretty infamous for our knack at finding the latest and most highly processed foods. Cholesterol clogging convenience with preservatives so strong you could be eating a wrapped flapjack dating back to the prehistoric period. We aren’t looking at labels as much as we should, and to be honest, most of the ingredients on that exhaustive list, we won’t even understand.
We’ve all heard the expression ‘you are what you eat’ or the idea of ‘brain food’, yet we continue eating convenience food with little to no nutritional value. Being at uni is a hard adjustment, when all of a sudden, you’re entirely responsible for your own diet. Below is a list of my go to quick meals, which stick to a student budget while keeping that list of preservatives, sweeteners and straight up chemicals at bay.
- Chicken fajitas:
This is without a doubt the ultimate comfort food.. it takes 20 minutes to prepare, it tasty AND you can cram it with all kinds of vegetables you’ve got sitting around.
Sainsbury’s frozen chicken breast strips, £2.50 (do keep in mind this can easily be divided in half and used twice)
Sticking with the Sainsbury’s theme.. you’ve got your onion pre chopped and ready to cook for 60p.
59p for a pepper, if we go with two, that’s £1.18
Lastly, the chicken fajita kit, skipping the brand, you can get the Sainsbury’s own brand fajita kit for £1.90. So, your fajitas, salsa and spices, good deal.
All in all that’s just over £6, for 8 fajitas. No excuses for a £1.40 pot noodle now!
- Chickpea vegetarian curry
You’re veggie and need to up your protein game? There’s about 15 grams of protein in a 180g serving of chickpeas, maybe not ideal if you’re on your way to a powerlifting competition but for most of us, this is a perfect dinner protein intake.
Looking at Tesco this time for some variety..
49p for our chickpeas, 400g
60p for Tesco’s Long Grain microwavable rice, 250g
95p gets you a sachet of curry sauce
£1.50 for assorted casserole vegetables
You’ve got a vegetarian curry for just over £3.50!
- A classic, spaghetti and meatballs
Sticking with Tesco…
1 kg of spaghetti, £1.29
A tin of chopped tomatoes, 39p, you can just use this as a sauce and save yourself the hassle and money of a jar.
Tesco meatballs in tomato sauce- 90p, OR you could save both and get a tin with your meatballs already In a sauce
The 84p for 2 garlic baguettes tops this option off in my opinion,
Oil, salt and herbs to taste of course
We have a winner of just over £3.00 (excluding the chopped tomatoes if we’re using the tin with the meatballs in the sauce.)
Long Term Success
Now, cooking meals like one of the recipes above, while being easy, cheap and healthy, can be a hard habit to keep up. Whether you’re returning from the McClay after a night of slaving over your latest essay, or getting ready for a night on the town, your main concern is most likely not what you’re having for dinner. To ensure that having a healthy,balanced meal is not a weekly ritual, I advise you make it fun! Cooking does not have to be a drawn out boring affair. Put on your favourite playlist, or your new Netflix addiction and cook away! I find that having something in the background can encourage me to cook healthier meals. Add some flavouring; spices like paprika, cumin and oregano are available in your local shop, and are a worthy addition to your plain chicken breasts. It also makes you more excited for the end goal!
There you have it, 3 examples of a healthy and effortless meal, and some tips to keep up making them!
