How will my food life be once at uni?
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Watch youtube videos 
I've been cooking since I was 12 but I still look online for tips, especially when I'm making foreign meals.
And meal prep!! I like to cook for at least 3 days to a weeks worth of food so you won't have to worry about what to cook each day, plus it's cost effective when you buy ingredients .
I've been cooking since I was 12 but I still look online for tips, especially when I'm making foreign meals. And meal prep!! I like to cook for at least 3 days to a weeks worth of food so you won't have to worry about what to cook each day, plus it's cost effective when you buy ingredients .
Original post by Hitashami
£15 a week for food is what I'm on at the minute, once I went through a really poor phase and was on £10 a week for food. Cook vegetarian - vegetables and fruit are waaay cheaper than meat and you get protein through nuts and eggs. You could get two or three meals a week with meat like chicken on a £15/week diet no more really. Also, paying £15 a week for food basically means you have to prepare every evening meal - no frozen foods you just bung in the microwave!
Risottos and, as people have pastas and rice are good because if you're savvy, you'll find a supermarket selling a 500g pack of risotto rice / rice / pasta for £1 and there are about four or five portions in there. Then you can't just have that obviously! Get cheap pasta sauce / curry sauce / stock for risotto which will be again £1 a jar if you get basic/essential or sale items. Then get whatever vegetables and fruit are on sale - mushrooms, courgettes, peppers, olives, kale, all are good cheap, delicious things to put in a risotto/ pasta sauce thing. So that's your evening meals for less than £1 a meal, tasty and nutritious (but requiring some effort) and we've racked up about maybe £6 so far? depends on what you buy. Then buy things like cereal, bananas, yoghurt for breakfast, about £4 assuming roughly, £2 for cereal, £1 each for six bananas and six yoghurt pots. For lunch you'll want a sandwich or baked beans/ soup - loaves of bread are 80-90p (again, the cheap ones) then baked beans about 50-70p a can (or if you're really cheap 25-30p but those aren't that nice), cheese £2 for 500g, should get you through two weeks, ham the same. So that's another £4 or 5 you've spent on lunch - get some milk for £1 for 4 pints(sainsburys) and tea/ coffee - this price I can't calculate weekly seeing as £2 will get you through weeks on end.
Don't take that as bible, that's just an example! As you said, there's a massive variety of recipes out there for you to try and love, I just happen to love mushroom risottos and soups and stuff :P
Students know how much stuff cost! And we'd rather, or I'd rather, spend half an hour at the stove to make my evening meal than spend loads on prepared meals that aren't even that nice and have no money to spend on socialising
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by EloiseStar
I spend £15-20 a week on food. Depends what I'm buying. In general I find I've ate a lot healthier being at uni, bought fruit as snacks rather than chocolate bars - cheaper and more filling!
Sometimes we cook together but people like different foods so it becomes difficult if somebody doesn't like what you're making. Some of my friends can be picky
I don't normally follow a recipe, I just normally see/hear what people are eating and do that same - marinaded teryaki chicken stir fry is a new fave!
Sometimes we cook together but people like different foods so it becomes difficult if somebody doesn't like what you're making. Some of my friends can be picky
I don't normally follow a recipe, I just normally see/hear what people are eating and do that same - marinaded teryaki chicken stir fry is a new fave!
what 15-20 quid really? does that include breakfast lunch and dinner meals? how often do you buy food from shops, for example get lunch on campus in a cafe or something?
Original post by MechanicalGambit
what 15-20 quid really? does that include breakfast lunch and dinner meals? how often do you buy food from shops, for example get lunch on campus in a cafe or something?
Sometimes less. Yes including all. I go to Morrisons or Tesco once or twice a week and get only what I need. I never get food in a cafe. I occasionally go to Starbucks and that isn't included in my 15-20 spend. I'd say max £3.80 at Starbucks a week.
Have the naturally obtained food and avoid junk food
If possible use natural absolutes......
Original post by charles1641
If possible use natural absolutes......
what are natural absolutes?
don't think i've seen them in tesco in a buy one get one free offer
Original post by MechanicalGambit
what 15-20 quid really? does that include breakfast lunch and dinner meals? how often do you buy food from shops, for example get lunch on campus in a cafe or something?
I spend 20 quid on 2 people per week. I shop once a week. That's for lunch and dinner, neither of us really like breakfast. But we have 2 hot meals a day which is nice
Only works if you make your own lunch though rather than buying out.
my uni food life is going to be horrendous
i can't be bothered to cook anything , i don't know how to cook , i won't eat if the food doesn't make me happy (i don't enjoy it) , i don't like ready meals because they're just horrid...
sigh
i can't be bothered to cook anything , i don't know how to cook , i won't eat if the food doesn't make me happy (i don't enjoy it) , i don't like ready meals because they're just horrid...
sigh
Have dry fruits every day in the morning after the brush and maintain 30 mints for gap for breakfast... it will benefit you for sure...
You and food's relationship I am afraid will deminish to a point where you will realise you will not miss food.
I was just like you when I started uni this year (September 2013) and couldn't even scramble eggs. -.-
Now, while I am not a major chef, I found my cooking skills have improved (in short, uni's cooking = if you don't learn to swim, you drown).
Seriously though, cooking isn't hard. It just takes a little time to experiment and then repeat your successes and not repeat your mistakes.
Although, I do remember 2 weeks into my first time at uni, I think I gave myself food poisoning...
I made some noodles and forgot I left them out of the fridge overnight. I thought "Meh, it'll be fine" and ate them for breakfast, was I wrong... I looked and felt crap throughout the whole day.
I was just like you when I started uni this year (September 2013) and couldn't even scramble eggs. -.-
Now, while I am not a major chef, I found my cooking skills have improved (in short, uni's cooking = if you don't learn to swim, you drown).
Seriously though, cooking isn't hard. It just takes a little time to experiment and then repeat your successes and not repeat your mistakes.
Although, I do remember 2 weeks into my first time at uni, I think I gave myself food poisoning...
I made some noodles and forgot I left them out of the fridge overnight. I thought "Meh, it'll be fine" and ate them for breakfast, was I wrong... I looked and felt crap throughout the whole day.
Although, to be honest. I think my friend gave both of us a mild case of headache and stomach ache today or as he put how he feels "Headache and vomity today"...
We were revising and we went over to his place yesterdat and he threw something together in 10 minutes (pasta, brocolli, cauliflower and some vegetarian meat balls) and now, while my stomach can handle a lot, I can tell it is telling me something isn't right and he isn't feeling too good either...
Don't really want to tell him I'm unwell otherwise it does kinda points to his cooking.
We were revising and we went over to his place yesterdat and he threw something together in 10 minutes (pasta, brocolli, cauliflower and some vegetarian meat balls) and now, while my stomach can handle a lot, I can tell it is telling me something isn't right and he isn't feeling too good either...
Don't really want to tell him I'm unwell otherwise it does kinda points to his cooking.
(edited 9 years ago)
Also, you'll be surprised how cheap you can actually live off food (so, 2,000 is either a lot of takeaways/beer or a lot of M&S food, lol). =l
Every few weeks (3-4), I set myself a challange to live off around £10 a week and I actually managed to feed myself on £40 for a whole month at one stage. =D
Yes, this did include healthy meals but be prepared to buy frozen stuff and if you can, buy in bulk. Still got some stuff in the freezer from December, lol.
Healthiest and cheapest things to buy and stick in the freezer(or stick under the sink) to forget about:
Brocolli
Cauliflower
Potatos
Onions
Noodles
Pasta
Peas
Some kind of meat or meat substitute.
Hash browns (A must have)
Beans
Sweetcorn
Onion Rings
Carrots
Rice
Tinned Pineapple
You can buy all this stuff CHEAP and it will sit in your freezer forever (be careful of house mates stealing food though), I spent this year living by myself and am living with 2 (potentially 3) of my mates next year in a house and so, we don't really have any trust issues there. =D
EDIT:
How could I forget chips...
Oh yeah and Aldi/Lidl is a student's best friend, trust me. =P
Every few weeks (3-4), I set myself a challange to live off around £10 a week and I actually managed to feed myself on £40 for a whole month at one stage. =D
Yes, this did include healthy meals but be prepared to buy frozen stuff and if you can, buy in bulk. Still got some stuff in the freezer from December, lol.
Healthiest and cheapest things to buy and stick in the freezer(or stick under the sink) to forget about:
Brocolli
Cauliflower
Potatos
Onions
Noodles
Pasta
Peas
Some kind of meat or meat substitute.
Hash browns (A must have)
Beans
Sweetcorn
Onion Rings
Carrots
Rice
Tinned Pineapple
You can buy all this stuff CHEAP and it will sit in your freezer forever (be careful of house mates stealing food though), I spent this year living by myself and am living with 2 (potentially 3) of my mates next year in a house and so, we don't really have any trust issues there. =D
EDIT:
How could I forget chips...
Oh yeah and Aldi/Lidl is a student's best friend, trust me. =P
(edited 9 years ago)
Ok good. Got a lot of info.
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Original post by redferry
You'll pick up cooking pretty quickly once you get to Uni I had 3 male housemates who couldn't cook in 1st year, 2 are pretty good now. The other still sucks.
I had 3 male housemates who couldn't cook in 1st year, 2 are pretty good now. The other still sucks.Haha, yeah, some people are always doomed to do stuff like burn pasta.
I have been cooking since I was pretty young so I know what flavours are good together, cooking times etc. Makes a difference! Sadly my brother can't cook so when he goes to uni I might make him a recipe book.
I spent 15-20 a week on food and ate very well. I'd say that would be harder if you can't cook though because then it's more difficult to buy ingredients and make things from scratch.
One thing I would definitely recommend is learning how to make a simple pasta sauce from scratch because the stuff in jars can be pricey and not always that great. You just need to fry a bit of onion and garlic in a pan, chuck in a tin of chopped tomatoes and some fresh or dried herbs (basil or oregano) and cook it until it isn't so watery. Easy, cheap and tasty!
I can cook but due to laziness my food life is still pretty miserable at uni tbh.
I essentially live of cheese, bread and pasta with the occasional mixup when I can be arsed to do a full shop (not often).
But, I don't spend a lot on food so...
(And OP even when I do do a proper shop it usually only comes to in the region of £15)
I essentially live of cheese, bread and pasta with the occasional mixup when I can be arsed to do a full shop (not often).
But, I don't spend a lot on food so...
(And OP even when I do do a proper shop it usually only comes to in the region of £15)
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Hitashami
I'm a guy and I don't know how to cook. But I can make tea and fry stuff like frozen foods
Currently (liked most teens) my mom makes stuff and I eat it; breakfast, lunch and dinner.
One of my friends who's at uni says it's no big deal. They buy the ingredients and cook something together after looking up a recipe.
And how much will eating cost me over the course of the 10 odd months is be at uni? My assumption is ~2,000 pounds.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Currently (liked most teens) my mom makes stuff and I eat it; breakfast, lunch and dinner.
One of my friends who's at uni says it's no big deal. They buy the ingredients and cook something together after looking up a recipe.
And how much will eating cost me over the course of the 10 odd months is be at uni? My assumption is ~2,000 pounds.
Posted from TSR Mobile
Learn to cook, its easy. take food out of fridge, slice it if required, heat it up through which ever seems most appropriate of of the 4 basic methods (oven, grill, fry, boil), when its cooked, eat it.
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