My £19.56 week meal plan.
Scroll to see replies
If there was a reward for tsr thread of the month, this would win hands down- really got me thinking about budget student meals...
Original post by Mombasa Raha
Intriguing! Lol at mash potato. So I guess your folks are fond of it?
Will you be cooking up meals fit for a poor student or something higher rank?
My plan is to stock up on frozen foods that just need to be put in the oven.
Will you be cooking up meals fit for a poor student or something higher rank?
My plan is to stock up on frozen foods that just need to be put in the oven.
The plan is to make nice dinner by myself (like curry, spaghetti bolognaise) but make enough for the next day's lunch. I'm guessing it's like buying in bulk or something and that makes it cheaper and it should be quicker. Guessing, anyway.
Original post by Elipsis
I was wondering why you wouldn't just spend the extra tenner to get some really nice food. I eat restaurant quality food almost every day, and I don't think mine and my wife's food bill tops £50 a week... That's for things like good cuts of meat, making our own pasta and cakes, and fresh vegetables.
For me its about finding a balance. I wouldn't want to spend an extra 10£ on food when what I've listed is perfectly nutritious and would get me through the week, and I could use that 10£ on a bus pass or printing credit or a train fare etc.Similarly I wouldn't want to live on £10 a week as I don't think it could be nutritious. Hmm... *goes to investigate*
Original post by Rant
Why would you want to live like that?
Live like what? Healthily on a budget?
Original post by insignificant
Live like what? Healthily on a budget?
You'll get bored of those really quite foul meals. And recycling food? Nasty.
Presuming you are on a 40 week term, thats 280 portions of bread and butter pudding. Thats serious commitment.
I also think that you have under-estimated quantitys quite substantially. i.e. if youre planning on reducing two tins of tomatos down for two hours, you will not be able to make enough sauce for three portions of chilli con carne.
Why not just go catered?
I also think that you have under-estimated quantitys quite substantially. i.e. if youre planning on reducing two tins of tomatos down for two hours, you will not be able to make enough sauce for three portions of chilli con carne.
Why not just go catered?
Original post by Rant
You'll get bored of those really quite foul meals. And recycling food? Nasty.
Recycling food? Are you kidding me? It's called making 4/5 portions of food, and then freezing the rest for the week. How is that bad? You don't lose the nutritional value/texture/taste, I don't get what your problem is , other than being stuck up.
Original post by Rant
You'll get bored of those really quite foul meals. And recycling food? Nasty.
I also suggested you make a raffle. That adds a potentially infinite amount of combinations
Original post by josh_v
Presuming you are on a 40 week term, thats 280 portions of bread and butter pudding. Thats serious commitment.
I also think that you have under-estimated quantitys quite substantially. i.e. if youre planning on reducing two tins of tomatos down for two hours, you will not be able to make enough sauce for three portions of chilli con carne.
Why not just go catered?
I also think that you have under-estimated quantitys quite substantially. i.e. if youre planning on reducing two tins of tomatos down for two hours, you will not be able to make enough sauce for three portions of chilli con carne.
Why not just go catered?
It's not intended to be made over and over again for 40 weeks, I should have made that clear in my OP. Also I'm in second year so I'm speaking from experience in regard to the tins of tomatoes, it does bulk out quite a lot with the kidney beans.
Original post by insignificant
For me its about finding a balance. I wouldn't want to spend an extra 10£ on food when what I've listed is perfectly nutritious and would get me through the week, and I could use that 10£ on a bus pass or printing credit or a train fare etc.Similarly I wouldn't want to live on £10 a week as I don't think it could be nutritious. Hmm... *goes to investigate*
Why not mix it up, live on £10 a week some weeks and £30 other weeks? Things would at least be interesting then!
Original post by insignificant
Recycling food? Are you kidding me? It's called making 4/5 portions of food, and then freezing the rest for the week. How is that bad? You don't lose the nutritional value/texture/taste, I don't get what your problem is , other than being stuck up.
Stuck up because I don't want to eat crap? Okay... chillax. You're entitled to make yourself sick if you want to.
Original post by josh_v
Why not just go catered?
Catered food is overpriced in the first place. Plus who wants to stay in university accommodation for 3/4 years? Not most people...
Original post by Elipsis
Why not mix it up, live on £10 a week some weeks and £30 other weeks? Things would at least be interesting then!
Mmm... but then I suppose my health would vary greatly week to week..
Original post by insignificant
It's not intended to be made over and over again for 40 weeks, I should have made that clear in my OP. Also I'm in second year so I'm speaking from experience in regard to the tins of tomatoes, it does bulk out quite a lot with the kidney beans.
Possibily, although im not sure i agree!
Think of it this way.
Presuming you get full tuition fee and maintenance loan, youre going to have around £20000 debt.
If you decided to spend an extra £10 or £15 a week on food, its only going to cost you an extra £400, not a great deal when you have already accumulated £20000 worth of debt!
Also, you could shop much cheaper than this and have a more varied menu if you wanted to.
Original post by Mombasa Raha
Original post by Mombasa Raha
Overdraft huh? that's something I'm hoping to avoid! I can make a decent omelette, but I think that's about it. What sort of foods do you eat?
Overdraft huh? that's something I'm hoping to avoid! I can make a decent omelette, but I think that's about it. What sort of foods do you eat?Well i had a dominos just now
I usually mix and match, it used to be mostly frozen pizzas/lasagne, pasta and sauce, potatoes, eggs and toast for breakfast which would be about £30 a week, including basics fruit juices (i don't like water...trying to drink squash these days but still not satisfying tbh). I'm a vegetarian so find it harder to find recipes to follow, but recently i've been making really basic stuff like chilli or curry which has slightly cheaper, also, when i buy pasta sauce now i usually add vegetables and quorn to it too. The chilli costs a few quid to make and lasts 3 days (had it with rice, bought the rice bags from tesco but there's too much in there so i'll learn to cook my own next time) and the curry slightly more because it contains nice fresh vegetables.
I've found if you google some stuff you can learn to cook it. It's often offputting when you work out how much it costs but some of that is one off costs like spices, or curry paste which will make a fair few curries.
My next try will be dahl. A TSR user made that video actually, it looks wonderfully straightforward and dahl tastes good with rice. She said 6 portions so that's 6 meals, and the ingredients look like they'll only cost a few quid too!
Original post by insignificant
Mmm... but then I suppose my health would vary greatly week to week..
I have friends who have lived off of just porridge for months at a time, and other friends who just ate ten pence noodles out of a mug. £10 a week is enough for a diet that isn't going to land you in the hospital if you ate like that for 30 years, let alone if you have £30 weeks where your nutrient levels would spike. Maybe it's just me, but I have to eat terribly for a long time to start feeling any negative health effects from it, and I have crohn's disease as well! I was no good at planning my food at all in my early student days, so my diet would start off really good at the start of the term and gradually decline to the point that I would only have one meal a day lol.
Original post by josh_v
Also, you could shop much cheaper than this and have a more varied menu if you wanted to.
Also, you could shop much cheaper than this and have a more varied menu if you wanted to.
Entertain me
Original post by i.am.lost
OP, you well and truly put me to shame.
I somehow spend £120 on food a week when I'm at uni
I somehow spend £120 on food a week when I'm at uni
That's enough to a takeaway pretty much every night, or buy half a pig. How is that even possible?
There are websites that sell food past its best before date as far as im aware, although i dont use them so wouldnt be able to reccommend one.
I shop on a daily basis, normally buying enough food for one or two meals at a time (very expensive way of doing it) but every time i go into asda, there is loads of food in the reduced to clear section. Yes it may not last very long, but if you plan on eating it that day then theres no problem.
I shop on a daily basis, normally buying enough food for one or two meals at a time (very expensive way of doing it) but every time i go into asda, there is loads of food in the reduced to clear section. Yes it may not last very long, but if you plan on eating it that day then theres no problem.
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- Make it More Breakfast-ey !!
- Meal plan
- Self-catered with option for catered on certain days
- Cheat days
- Online v F2F
- How much money do you need for a year for food?
- I'm seriously struggling with food at uni
- Food
- Will this money last me till September ?
- University of Reading - Clever Cuisine
- Should I choose to stay on campus or off campus as an international student?
- Lack of motivation first year
- london living cost
- How to handle your money at university
- Am I spoilt? £140
- American VSP that's super confused
- Student accomodation Chichester
- should i cut fruits to lose weight
- My fiancé isn’t happy
- Tips for being healthier
