Student Shopping List?

I'm sitting here eating a Pot Noodle and all I've eaten all week is beans on toast, jacket potatoes with beans & cheese (and tuna sweetcorn), and frozen pizzas.

I try and get to Tesco once a week, it's a 15-20 min walk and I'm limited with what I can carry back. There's also a Lidl next to it.

Anyway, I find myself always lacking ideas when I go there. I'll end up buying ingredients for the same meals each week (potatoes, beans, cheddar...). I'm looking to improve my diet and choice of meals.

Suggestions?

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Reply 1

ILoveCalpol

Big bags of rice and pasta.

Then things like -

Stir fry vegetables
Ingredients for Tuna/Chicken/Egg Salads
Eggs - Scrambled/Boiled/Fried/Omelettes
Tinned fish in general
Fruit for snacking

Just some suggestions, I'm no nutritionist but they're better than your current diet. They are all cheap and easy to make too.

Reply 2

*River

Get together with other people and do a giant online Tesco shop to get heavy basics (tins, rice, pasta etc), and then during the term you can top up with fresh stuff or anything you run out of.

Spag bol is always a good start (make a huge batch and freeze it), and if you put lots of vegetables and things like kidney beans in a little meat goes a long way.

Reply 3

username156343

- Pot Noodles
- Toilet Roll
- Crate of Beer
- Condoms

Sorted.

Reply 4

artorscience?

Take a look at the TSR recipe book Wiki article and/or get a student cook book for plenty of inspiration. And if you don't want to cook all the time make huge batches of stuff and freeze it.

For something quick you can always buy different things for sandwich fillings and see what you like - and sandwiches always taste better warm so grill them, get a cheap sandwich grill/toaster, or Lakeland ltd. sell toaster bags to make toasted sandwiches really easily in a normal toaster.

Reply 5

TOSCS

I need to start using Tesco online, the only trouble is they don't accept my Visa card and my other card (Laser) is my Ulster Bank one which I don't use.

I normally buy:
Carrots
Potatoes
Cabbage
Block of cheddar
Sausages
Pasta
Pesto sauce
Rice
Tinned curry (Lidl do a class Tika)
Birdseye chillies (to spice up said curry)
5 or 6 of those 10p noodles
Loaf of bread (hovis best of both)
Choc spread or peanut butter
Something from the frozens - either meat&veg pies or some kinda breaded fish or meat
Tuna
Sweetcorn
Baked beans
Drinks (couple cartons of juice, concentrate, bottle of coke/irn bru)

It's a bit of a ****** cause I have to carry that 25 mins home (it's the liquids that are heavy), also it means I end up eating the same bloody stuff all the time (beans on toast, jacket potatoes, pasta) and I always end up having to go to the bloody expensive Centra shop around the corner during the week. Also being a poverty stricken scummy student I can't really buy in bulk because I'm on a weekly budget, so even if I'd be saving money in the long run that means less money for the here and now.

Anyone got any suggestions for stuff to buy so I can eat different meals? I've got no problem with cooking I just lack the motivation/imagination to bother >_>

Reply 6

Invictor_M

I think we should try and create the perfect (and cheapest) student shopping list here. I'm having some problems overspending and probably almost always eating foods which aren't wonderfully good for me, but it seems healthy food is so expensive - how are we meant to fit it into a weekly shopping budget?

When I started uni 2 years ago I could do a weekly shop for about £25-ish. Then in my second year it went up a bit to say £30, and since I bought a car its been at least £38-40 every week, and I can't see where the money is going! I buy as many Tesco own brand and in some cases Tesco value products as I can, but even so my shopping bill is still insane for a week for a student isn't it?

I don't mind getting ingrediants and making stuff, but most things you see in recipe books are to serve 3 or 4 people, and sometimes it just isnt very practical to try and make it for one with the ingredients they sell in shops...

Reply 7

Thud

Invictor_M

I don't mind getting ingrediants and making stuff, but most things you see in recipe books are to serve 3 or 4 people, and sometimes it just isnt very practical to try and make it for one with the ingredients they sell in shops...

So make it for 4 people then put the remaining 3 portions into 3 freezer bags and freeze for later. :smile:

You can get student cookbooks which have recipes for one or 2 people which are quite good.

£40 a week for one person? :eek:

that's a lot.

Reply 8

rach [shikari]

I spent £"0 in lidl this week and inckuded the following:

6 lamb steaks
4 cod in bags
1 bag of steak mince (gives me 4 portion total)
tin of tuna
24 pack crisps (walkers)
dishwasher tabs
lettuce
spring onions
carrots
parsnips
2x corn on cob
iron bru
carton of orange juice
bread
wedges
peas
apples
kiwis
yoghurt

was a few more things but i cant remember.
Is this a good mix you think? Bearing in mind i have rice/pasta here already

Reply 9

Jake22

Invictor_M

but it seems healthy food is so expensive - how are we meant to fit it into a weekly shopping budget?

I disagree. Check out a greengrocers for fruit and veg and a butchers for meat. They are often cheaper than supermarkets. Buying frozen fish and meat can often be a cheaper choice too.

Reply 10

Meltdown30

For doing heavy shopping, what about going with some friends and sharing a taxi back? You could even do that once a month and buy loads of pasta and tinned stuff.

Reply 11

FireDeuce

Meltdown30

For doing heavy shopping, what about going with some friends and sharing a taxi back? You could even do that once a month and buy loads of pasta and tinned stuff.

Better than that.. shop online!

Reply 12

Pisswinkles

Seriously, just do online shopping. It's amazing. You can usually get free delivery by searching for voucher codes online (not that I am condoning this at all...).

Reply 13

h82think

*River

Spag bol is always a good start (make a huge batch and freeze it), and if you put lots of vegetables and things like kidney beans in a little meat goes a long way.

Please can I have the recipe :smile:

Reply 14

Dalimyr

h82think

Please can I have the recipe :smile:

For spaghetti bolognese? Here is a basic recipe for it, albeit with minimal timings. Here is another one.
Spag bol is a really versatile dish, as the ingredients in the sauce can be so varied. It's traditionally used with mince of some kind (usually beef mince, I think, though I use pork) but I've seen a recipe that replaces the mince with tuna, a "Spaghethai" recipe which replaced tomato purée with red curry paste and used other ingredients commonly used in Thai cooking that would be added to the sauce...and even a vegetarian spaghetti that replaced the mince with red lentils :biggrin:

And as *River said, the sauce can be frozen, so can be made LONG in advance :smile:

Reply 15

h82think

Dalimyr

And as *River said, the sauce can be frozen, so can be made LONG in advance :smile:

Thanks

Reply 16

Floob

Hopefully this week my shopping bill will stay at £5.90. Have been buying more expensive stuff and have managed to stock up on quite a collection of basics. I try to always have
pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, onions, garlic, some kind of vegetable, oil, fresh fruit, bread and butter. Means I can whip up a basic tomato sauce that does me 2 meals in no time and cook up some pasta. Those are my lazy days.

Last week I made
risotto (about 8 portions)
pasta and tomato sauce with basil
pasta with creamy salmon sauce and peas
spaghetti carbonara with peas
creamy tomato sauce with mozarella(about 3-4 portions)

can you tell that last weeks reduced buys were salmon, double cream and mozarella?

This week I'll be eating more risotto, but with salmon this time
rice with creamy sauce
probably a tomato y sauce with pasta
omellete (with mushrooms and tomato)
might try a thai curry as one of my flatmates has green curry paste that needs using up!!!
also whatever I feel like making, Im incredibly lucky to have a tesco about 10mins walk away (though still take a backpack so I can carry more stuff back) so can easily nip back if ive forgotten anything and can go just before closing time. Go 10p bread, 3p cucumbers and 3 danish pastries for 8p

I do realise that for a student i have a rather strange diet, its actually very similar to what I'd have at home lots of pasta/rice and veggies not a lot of meat and bread.
Still I don't think mine works out that expensively - prob spend a maximum of £20 a week (except the first week which included all my pots and pans etc.)

Reply 17

Dalimyr

£5.90??? Jesus...that's impressive. A food budget of £20 a week is reasonable, though :smile:

I'm actually quite fond of cooking. I find it to be rather therapeutic; it calms me down (especially baking) and I love it. I'm living with my parents and don't cook much at the minute, but here's a typical menu for me in a week if I were still in uni.

Monday: Chicken breast covered in a breadcrumb coating, with Maris Piper chips (all fresh ingredients)
Tuesday: Burgers filled with cheese and fresh chilli (homemade)
Wednesday: Chicken dippers/nuggets with spicy potato wedges (all homemade)
Thursday: Spaghetti bolognese (shop-bought pasta and sauce)
Friday: Fish and chips (possibly bought ready-battered, possibly fresh)
Saturday: Pizza (homemade)
Sunday: Breadcrumbed chicken with chips again

2 chicken breasts can be very quickly turned into 4+ servings simply by cutting the breasts in half/thirds/whatever lengthways, and although chicken breast is relatively expensive it was a staple of my diet as a student.
Homemade pizza was something I loved to make, though it requires a considerable length of time to create so was more of a rare treat rather than something . Flour was something I had in great quantities because I also baked my own bread (which is where the breadcrumbs for the chicken come from :wink:

).
Burgers with cheese is something of a family favourite that I picked up by watching James Martin - burgers made with mince, but with a small block of cheese in the middle that will melt and ooze out when you bite into the burger :love:

Nice variation on traditional cheeseburgers, and so cheap and simple to make.

As an estimate, the ingredients I'd need for that menu would cost around £10-12. I could probably go even cheaper, but I personally refuse to buy the cheap and nasty stuff that you'd associate with things like Tesco Value or Asda Smartprice...and I'd certainly have leftovers (half a chicken breast, chillies, cheese, flour, eggs, potatoes, lots of spaghetti) which could be used the following week (chicken would likely have to be frozen or binned), making the following week's menu cost a little bit less :smile:

Reply 18

Tucking Fypo

All I need in life are Pop Tarts and chicken. I can live without anything else.

Reply 19

Annabella99

Well, I'm a vegetarian so I don't have to buy meat which is cheaper! But then if I ever fancy tofu I'm screwed....

Here is my weekly list (minus alcohol, which constitutes half my weekly budget lol):

Drinks
- soya milk
- orange juice

Vegetables
- Broccoli (iron)
- Mushrooms (vitamin B12)
- Onion
- RED PEPPER!!!
- something different every week ie courgette, parsnips

Fruit (snacks)
- Bannanas
- Apples

Random
- Oatcakes
- houmous or cottage cheese - good with oatcakes and dipping in vegetables that need using
- natural yoghurt

Non-perishables and tins
(These are bought at the beginning of each term)
- Pasta
- Rice
- Pasta sauces (varieties) / pesto
- soy sauce
- SWEETCORN - great to eat straight out of the tin: filling and healthy!
- porridge
- museli

Out of all the above, there are so many combinations....
you can stirfry vegetables and put them with rice and soy sauce, or pop them into pasta dishes, whilst natural yoghurt on museli is a brilliant (and cheap! 90p for a tub) for breakfast.

ALSO....don't ever underestimate COUSCOUS!!!!! Literally add hotwater and you have a healthy, filling meal!!!

Hope this helps :smile:

xxx