Student Meals Top Tips
What are your top tips on making affordable student meals?
As a student living away from home for the first time, having to constantly think about what to cook can be a real struggle!
Here are a few of my favourite go to recipes for the coming autumn and winter months. 🥶
Just Bake it!
When all I have is some leftover vegetables and meat in the fridge, baking or roasting is one of the best ways to cook up a last minute meal. My personal favourite is to roast some chicken and veg with a marinate of lemon, herbs, salt and yoghurt. You can also try fish in a bag, where you wrap frozen fish with any preferred vegetables in baking paper or foil to keep it moist and tender. 😏
One Pot Soups
For the coming colder months of the year, I also like to make some hearty and well spiced soups with vegetables like onions, sweet potato, carrot, leeks or pumpkin! Just boil your preferred vegetables in a pot of water with some milk/ cream and stock. Once soft, you can blend it for a smoother texture and can even add some beans, rice, tortellini or dumplings to make the meal more filling. 🥰
I tend to make a big portion and freeze the rest, this way it helps me save time for the week ahead.
I hope this helps a little in giving you some ideas on some simple meals you can prepare for the week ahead! 😙
What is your go-to preferred recipes?
Know of any other great student friendly meals?
Please feel free to share and drop them down in the comments below!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
As a student living away from home for the first time, having to constantly think about what to cook can be a real struggle!
Here are a few of my favourite go to recipes for the coming autumn and winter months. 🥶
Just Bake it!
When all I have is some leftover vegetables and meat in the fridge, baking or roasting is one of the best ways to cook up a last minute meal. My personal favourite is to roast some chicken and veg with a marinate of lemon, herbs, salt and yoghurt. You can also try fish in a bag, where you wrap frozen fish with any preferred vegetables in baking paper or foil to keep it moist and tender. 😏
One Pot Soups
For the coming colder months of the year, I also like to make some hearty and well spiced soups with vegetables like onions, sweet potato, carrot, leeks or pumpkin! Just boil your preferred vegetables in a pot of water with some milk/ cream and stock. Once soft, you can blend it for a smoother texture and can even add some beans, rice, tortellini or dumplings to make the meal more filling. 🥰
I tend to make a big portion and freeze the rest, this way it helps me save time for the week ahead.
I hope this helps a little in giving you some ideas on some simple meals you can prepare for the week ahead! 😙
What is your go-to preferred recipes?
Know of any other great student friendly meals?
Please feel free to share and drop them down in the comments below!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Reply 1
Original post
by Kingston Zhi EnWhat are your top tips on making affordable student meals?
As a student living away from home for the first time, having to constantly think about what to cook can be a real struggle!
Here are a few of my favourite go to recipes for the coming autumn and winter months. 🥶
Just Bake it!
When all I have is some leftover vegetables and meat in the fridge, baking or roasting is one of the best ways to cook up a last minute meal. My personal favourite is to roast some chicken and veg with a marinate of lemon, herbs, salt and yoghurt. You can also try fish in a bag, where you wrap frozen fish with any preferred vegetables in baking paper or foil to keep it moist and tender. 😏
One Pot Soups
For the coming colder months of the year, I also like to make some hearty and well spiced soups with vegetables like onions, sweet potato, carrot, leeks or pumpkin! Just boil your preferred vegetables in a pot of water with some milk/ cream and stock. Once soft, you can blend it for a smoother texture and can even add some beans, rice, tortellini or dumplings to make the meal more filling. 🥰
I tend to make a big portion and freeze the rest, this way it helps me save time for the week ahead.
I hope this helps a little in giving you some ideas on some simple meals you can prepare for the week ahead! 😙
What is your go-to preferred recipes?
Know of any other great student friendly meals?
Please feel free to share and drop them down in the comments below!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
As a student living away from home for the first time, having to constantly think about what to cook can be a real struggle!
Here are a few of my favourite go to recipes for the coming autumn and winter months. 🥶
Just Bake it!
When all I have is some leftover vegetables and meat in the fridge, baking or roasting is one of the best ways to cook up a last minute meal. My personal favourite is to roast some chicken and veg with a marinate of lemon, herbs, salt and yoghurt. You can also try fish in a bag, where you wrap frozen fish with any preferred vegetables in baking paper or foil to keep it moist and tender. 😏
One Pot Soups
For the coming colder months of the year, I also like to make some hearty and well spiced soups with vegetables like onions, sweet potato, carrot, leeks or pumpkin! Just boil your preferred vegetables in a pot of water with some milk/ cream and stock. Once soft, you can blend it for a smoother texture and can even add some beans, rice, tortellini or dumplings to make the meal more filling. 🥰
I tend to make a big portion and freeze the rest, this way it helps me save time for the week ahead.
I hope this helps a little in giving you some ideas on some simple meals you can prepare for the week ahead! 😙
What is your go-to preferred recipes?
Know of any other great student friendly meals?
Please feel free to share and drop them down in the comments below!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Love these tips, thanks for sharing! 🙌 I completely agree that roasting is a lifesaver I often throw whatever veg I have left into the oven with some spices and it always turns out good.
One of my go-to student meals is a simple stir fry just noodles or rice with frozen veggies, soy sauce, garlic, and maybe an egg or some leftover chicken. Super quick, cheap, and filling.
Another favourite is chilli or curry in bulk I make a big pot with beans/lentils, tomato, onion, and whatever veg is around, then freeze portions for later. It saves so much time on busy weeks!
I’d love to hear if anyone else has budget-friendly comfort meals, especially for colder evenings. 🍲
Reply 2
Original post
by Kingston Zhi EnWhat are your top tips on making affordable student meals?
As a student living away from home for the first time, having to constantly think about what to cook can be a real struggle!
Here are a few of my favourite go to recipes for the coming autumn and winter months. 🥶
Just Bake it!
When all I have is some leftover vegetables and meat in the fridge, baking or roasting is one of the best ways to cook up a last minute meal. My personal favourite is to roast some chicken and veg with a marinate of lemon, herbs, salt and yoghurt. You can also try fish in a bag, where you wrap frozen fish with any preferred vegetables in baking paper or foil to keep it moist and tender. 😏
One Pot Soups
For the coming colder months of the year, I also like to make some hearty and well spiced soups with vegetables like onions, sweet potato, carrot, leeks or pumpkin! Just boil your preferred vegetables in a pot of water with some milk/ cream and stock. Once soft, you can blend it for a smoother texture and can even add some beans, rice, tortellini or dumplings to make the meal more filling. 🥰
I tend to make a big portion and freeze the rest, this way it helps me save time for the week ahead.
I hope this helps a little in giving you some ideas on some simple meals you can prepare for the week ahead! 😙
What is your go-to preferred recipes?
Know of any other great student friendly meals?
Please feel free to share and drop them down in the comments below!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
As a student living away from home for the first time, having to constantly think about what to cook can be a real struggle!
Here are a few of my favourite go to recipes for the coming autumn and winter months. 🥶
Just Bake it!
When all I have is some leftover vegetables and meat in the fridge, baking or roasting is one of the best ways to cook up a last minute meal. My personal favourite is to roast some chicken and veg with a marinate of lemon, herbs, salt and yoghurt. You can also try fish in a bag, where you wrap frozen fish with any preferred vegetables in baking paper or foil to keep it moist and tender. 😏
One Pot Soups
For the coming colder months of the year, I also like to make some hearty and well spiced soups with vegetables like onions, sweet potato, carrot, leeks or pumpkin! Just boil your preferred vegetables in a pot of water with some milk/ cream and stock. Once soft, you can blend it for a smoother texture and can even add some beans, rice, tortellini or dumplings to make the meal more filling. 🥰
I tend to make a big portion and freeze the rest, this way it helps me save time for the week ahead.
I hope this helps a little in giving you some ideas on some simple meals you can prepare for the week ahead! 😙
What is your go-to preferred recipes?
Know of any other great student friendly meals?
Please feel free to share and drop them down in the comments below!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Hi there,
These are some really great tips - I just wanted to add a few more of my own tips:
Balancing lectures, revision and your social life can often make cooking a nice meal seem impossible. With the right kitchen staples, however, cooking can be a lot easier, quicker, and affordable. This blog will detail some food staples that every student kitchen needs!
Pasta
Pasta is one of the most affordable and long-lasting student staples that is great for making quick, tasty meals. From spaghetti bolognaise, to creamy garlic parmesan pasta, to a pasta salad, pasta works well with a range of ingredients and is great to have with ingredients that you need to use up!
Rice
Rice is another affordable and long-life student staple that can be used as the base for numerous dishes. From chicken curry, to egg fried rice, to burritos, it’s the perfect staple for a tasty, filling dish.
Frozen vegetables
Instead of buying fresh vegetables that quickly become out of date – especially if you are only cooking meals for one, buy some frozen vegetables that are equally as nutritious. Not only are they more long-lasting, but they can often work out cheaper (especially if you buy a bag of mixed veg!) and also come ready to use without chopping or peeling, making them easy and quick to cook. Frozen vegetables are perfect for quick stir-fries, pasta sauces, or as a side dish. You could also switch from fresh fruit to frozen fruit, perfect for yoghurt bowls and smoothies to take with you on the go!
Eggs
Eggs are another fantastic student staple – cheap, easy to cook, and a great source of protein and healthy fats. You can scramble them for breakfast, boil them to make a sandwich for lunch, or add them to some fried rice or a stir fry for dinner! If you want to go one step further, you can also add them to a pancake mix for dessert – there’s plenty of great recipes on TikTok!
Tins
Adding tins to your cupboard such as tomatoes is a great idea as they are often affordable and have a long shelf life, making it a cheap and easy way to create flavourful dishes with minimal effort. You could also buy tinned fish such as tuna, salmon, and/or sardines for a quick, high-protein sandwich, salad, or pasta dish.
Bread
Bread, baps, bagels – these are all key student staples! They can be the base for many meals: toast in the morning, a sandwich to eat on campus at lunch, and a burger for dinner! With many meal possibilities and the opportunity to freeze to avoid spoilage, you can’t go wrong!
Potatoes
Last but certainly not least, potatoes! Potatoes are a budget-friendly and filling ingredient that can be added to almost every meal. They are great for baking, boiling, frying, or mashing, and they are long-lasting. From tasty jacket potatoes to paprika-spiced fries to potato wedges or mashed potatoes, the possibilities with potatoes are endless!
The staples discussed above can help you prepare quick, affordable, and nutritious meals to keep you energised and focused during your time at university. With a bit of creativity and planning, these simple ingredients can form the basis of delicious meals all week long.
What are your top tips?
I hope this helps,
Matt
Wrexham Uni Reps
Reply 3
Hi there,
There is so much you can make on a budget - particularly like Zhi En's ideas in the first post! Here were my Fresher-proof meals I always turned to as a first year - all are healthy, vegetarian, easy and can be made with cheap ingredients:
🥦 Pesto and pea pasta
🍠 Jacket sweet potato and cottage cheese
🍳 Egg fried rice
🌯 Kidney bean burrito
🥘 Noodle stir fry
Save the Student have even more fun, easy ideas if you wanted to check out their page!
University of Bath
There is so much you can make on a budget - particularly like Zhi En's ideas in the first post! Here were my Fresher-proof meals I always turned to as a first year - all are healthy, vegetarian, easy and can be made with cheap ingredients:
🥦 Pesto and pea pasta
•
Wholewheat pasta, Tesco's pesto, frozen peas, broccoli and onion
•
Exactly what it says in the title plus kale for the side (you can buy this frozen or fresh)
•
Egg, brown rice, soy sauce, Chinese five spice, plus any veg you have left over
•
Wholewheat wraps, kidney beans cooked in tomato puree with peppers and onion, and any spices you like, plus fresh yogurt and parsley for a dip
•
Wholewheat or standard noodles, soy sauce, garlic powder and any veg you like/have left over
Save the Student have even more fun, easy ideas if you wanted to check out their page!
University of Bath
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 4
This is a great thread!
Before, I go into specific meals, Id' like to add that an easy way to save money as a student is by simply writing a shopping list. Once you've planned your meals for the week, you'll know exactly what you need to buy at the supermarket. This reduces impulse buys and food waste. Batch cooking is another great way to cut down on time and money spent on weekly grocery shopping. Not only is it great if you’re short on time during the week, but it also allows you to use up several ingredients all at once.
For me, having essentials stocked up was really helpful. Tins and dry ingredients like pasta lost long, are considerably cheap and very versatile. Tuna pasta is always a great and easy meal, which can be then made into a pasta bake too. There are many meals you can create with pasta alone by just adding a sauce, some veg or meat for the protein. Tinned potatoes became handy at university too. Simple chicken, veg and rice meals like risotto also are affordable, nutrition and simple to make. Many great suggestions already but for me experimenting, using random left overs to create meals was a fun part to the experience. Hope this helps 🙂
Best wishes, ^Zac
Before, I go into specific meals, Id' like to add that an easy way to save money as a student is by simply writing a shopping list. Once you've planned your meals for the week, you'll know exactly what you need to buy at the supermarket. This reduces impulse buys and food waste. Batch cooking is another great way to cut down on time and money spent on weekly grocery shopping. Not only is it great if you’re short on time during the week, but it also allows you to use up several ingredients all at once.
For me, having essentials stocked up was really helpful. Tins and dry ingredients like pasta lost long, are considerably cheap and very versatile. Tuna pasta is always a great and easy meal, which can be then made into a pasta bake too. There are many meals you can create with pasta alone by just adding a sauce, some veg or meat for the protein. Tinned potatoes became handy at university too. Simple chicken, veg and rice meals like risotto also are affordable, nutrition and simple to make. Many great suggestions already but for me experimenting, using random left overs to create meals was a fun part to the experience. Hope this helps 🙂
Best wishes, ^Zac
Reply 5
Original post
by Kingston Zhi EnWhat are your top tips on making affordable student meals?
As a student living away from home for the first time, having to constantly think about what to cook can be a real struggle!
Here are a few of my favourite go to recipes for the coming autumn and winter months. 🥶
Just Bake it!
When all I have is some leftover vegetables and meat in the fridge, baking or roasting is one of the best ways to cook up a last minute meal. My personal favourite is to roast some chicken and veg with a marinate of lemon, herbs, salt and yoghurt. You can also try fish in a bag, where you wrap frozen fish with any preferred vegetables in baking paper or foil to keep it moist and tender. 😏
One Pot Soups
For the coming colder months of the year, I also like to make some hearty and well spiced soups with vegetables like onions, sweet potato, carrot, leeks or pumpkin! Just boil your preferred vegetables in a pot of water with some milk/ cream and stock. Once soft, you can blend it for a smoother texture and can even add some beans, rice, tortellini or dumplings to make the meal more filling. 🥰
I tend to make a big portion and freeze the rest, this way it helps me save time for the week ahead.
I hope this helps a little in giving you some ideas on some simple meals you can prepare for the week ahead! 😙
What is your go-to preferred recipes?
Know of any other great student friendly meals?
Please feel free to share and drop them down in the comments below!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
As a student living away from home for the first time, having to constantly think about what to cook can be a real struggle!
Here are a few of my favourite go to recipes for the coming autumn and winter months. 🥶
Just Bake it!
When all I have is some leftover vegetables and meat in the fridge, baking or roasting is one of the best ways to cook up a last minute meal. My personal favourite is to roast some chicken and veg with a marinate of lemon, herbs, salt and yoghurt. You can also try fish in a bag, where you wrap frozen fish with any preferred vegetables in baking paper or foil to keep it moist and tender. 😏
One Pot Soups
For the coming colder months of the year, I also like to make some hearty and well spiced soups with vegetables like onions, sweet potato, carrot, leeks or pumpkin! Just boil your preferred vegetables in a pot of water with some milk/ cream and stock. Once soft, you can blend it for a smoother texture and can even add some beans, rice, tortellini or dumplings to make the meal more filling. 🥰
I tend to make a big portion and freeze the rest, this way it helps me save time for the week ahead.
I hope this helps a little in giving you some ideas on some simple meals you can prepare for the week ahead! 😙
What is your go-to preferred recipes?
Know of any other great student friendly meals?
Please feel free to share and drop them down in the comments below!
Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)
Hi!
This is a great idea 🙂
Here are some of my top tips for cooking at uni and also some meals that I like to make:
Top tips:
•
Try and batch cook where you can. It can be so hard to cook for one person so try and make leftovers when you can and then these can be eaten throughout the week or frozen. It also often works out cheaper too as you can buy in bulk a bit more.
•
Try and freeze food as much as you can! Don't let things go to waste which you can just freeze - so I like to freeze bread, chicken, meals etc.
•
Have a few easy meals you can quickly make after a long day of uni or just when you can't be bothered, otherwise you will end up just ordering a takeaway (which is completely fine sometimes but it can get expensive!)
•
See if any of your housemates want to cook with you as this can save money and time and is also a lot more fun doing it together!
•
Try and use up random ingredients that may go off by using apps such as 'super cook' where you can input the food you have left over and it comes up with recipes based on these!
Some of my favourite meals:
•
Pesto pasta
•
Lasagne
•
Spag bol
•
Jacket potatoes
•
Sausage and mash
•
Fajitas
•
Stir fry
•
Chilli
•
Risotto
•
Salmon and rice bowls
•
Pie and mash
I hope some of these help!
Lucy -SHU student ambassador.
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