| You have made it through freshers week at university | | | | bread, potatoes, onions, tinned tomatoes, tinned beans, |
| or college relatively unscathed. So what's the next | | | | tinned spaghetti, tinned soup, tinned tuna, tinned |
| hurdle in student life? Well trying to feed your self on a | | | | anchovies and tinned meat. |
| budget can be a daunting prospective never mind | | | | Fresh stuff: Carrots, cabbages, mushrooms, tomatoes, |
| actually cooking. The main advice is eating is essential! | | | | lettuce and courgettes. |
| You may think that you can survive on booze and | | | | Fridge stuff: Cheese, margarine, Philadelphia, orange |
| coffee but eventually you'll be ill. | | | | juice, beer, wine, vodka |
| Food for many of you will be something that you have | | | | Freezer stuff: Pizza, pies, chicken and frozen veg. |
| just taken for granted. You come home from school | | | | Cooking |
| college/work and there is a dinner waiting for you, you | | | | Buy a good cookbook! Jamie Oliver's "Happy days" |
| get up in the morning and there is cereal in the | | | | book is full of simple, comforting and quick dishes that |
| cupboard and milk in the fridge. So feeding yourself | | | | are ideal for students, But unless you are Jamie Oliver |
| may come as a bit of a shock when you first arrive at | | | | or Delia Smith, start off with simple dishes and |
| University or College. You may think you can get by | | | | gradually learn what works and what doesn't. |
| with biscuits and take-away but, depending on how | | | | Some flavours naturally go with some meats, chicken |
| flush you are, you will eventually run out of money and | | | | and lemon for instance but some combinations really |
| have to cook. But, fear not, because the following | | | | don't work beef and lemon is a good example of a |
| pages contain some fantastic advice on how to eat | | | | revolting combo! |
| on a budget. | | | | Pasta is a freshers and students staple and goes with |
| Shopping | | | | almost anything and is cheap and quick, but you will |
| Students pride themselves on knowing where to buy | | | | end up Over dosing on it! |
| the cheapest beans, bread and margarine. You may | | | | If it doesn't go with pasta then it will go with rice! |
| think students eating beans on toast is a bit of a | | | | Meat is expensive, so use lots of veg, which is also |
| cliché but this is just about the cheapest way | | | | good for you, to bulk out your meals. |
| to fill yourself up. | | | | Soups can make very good pasta sauces or bases |
| Look for "value", "smart price" or "no frills" ranges they | | | | for stews. |
| don't taste quite as good as the leading brand but they | | | | Salads are very easy, very quick and very healthy. |
| don't cost anywhere near the same. | | | | Also if you're a fresher with culinary or artistic flair they |
| Find out when your local supermarket closes! Because | | | | can look like you've been slaving over them for hours. |
| just before it closes they will be selling off stock that | | | | Roasting meat is a very good way of cooking food. It |
| expires that day on the cheap. Also get to know | | | | allows you to put your dinner in the oven and then |
| where the "specials" are in your local and buy these as | | | | retire to a comfy chair with a bottle of whatever but |
| often as you can. | | | | be careful not to get too drunk and forget the food is |
| It pays not to be too fussy when it come to food. | | | | in the oven! |
| Don't go shopping with a set idea of what you want to | | | | If any meals are included in the price of your |
| eat, make a list of the basics you need and then be | | | | accommodation try to get to them. If the food is bad |
| flexible with the rest buy what is cheap! That way | | | | then get it changed if they only serve breakfast till 8 |
| your diet is varied. | | | | o'clock then get the times changed. You are paying for |
| Utensils | | | | a service so make sure the service works for you! |
| Jamie Oliver may have a kitchen full of pans, knives, | | | | Finally, whatever your approach to cooking and eating |
| funky crockery, whisks, spatulas, mandolins and | | | | at University, try new things. There will be people from |
| blowtorches but students don't & you don't need | | | | all different backgrounds, regions and countries and |
| them! | | | | they will be eating all manner of different things. Try |
| You can get by with a heavy frying pan, a saucepan, | | | | them! University and college is a learning experience |
| a stirring spoon, a spatula, a chopping board, a sharp | | | | and not just in the academic sense. |
| knife, a bread knife, 2 big plates, 2 sets of cutlery, 2 | | | | And finally students have come across, as you will, |
| large mug (large enough for serious cups of coffee or | | | | some incredibly bizarre eating habits at University and |
| for a whole can of soup), 2 large wine glasses, 2 pint | | | | college. Here are some of the strangest. |
| glasses, a salt grinder and a pepper grinder. This | | | | A student who ate this everyday and nothing else! 1 |
| shouldn't cost much, well within your student budget | | | | bowl of corn-flakes, semi-skimmed milk, a roast |
| Basics: Having these things in you cupboard all the time | | | | chicken, salad, hallumi cheese and diet coke he ate this |
| will mean you can always make a meal in a hurry! | | | | for 3 years without change! |
| Flavourings: Sugar, salt (preferably sea-salt), pepper (as | | | | One girl fresher who ate only apples, biscuits and |
| in peppercorns), garlic, chilli powder, coriander, mixed | | | | crisps for an entire first year |
| herbs and stock cubes (selection). | | | | The student who lived on cuppa soup and lived. |
| Consumables: Rice, pasta (shapes and spaghetti), | | | | |