Balanced diet on a budget

[jlamontagne]

Being a student, chance are you will be drinking a fair bit. If you want to ease off the drinking but still want a social life, pre-drink with stuff you don't really like - you tend not to down it so much then. Gin and tonic with no lemon/lime is healthier than most drinks and isn't something downable. (With lemon and lime it is awesome, but a bit middle class so be careful if you have an socialist types in your flat). I also find the tonic water helps it go to the head quicker, which keep things cheap and makes a bottle last longer - hangovers don't seem so bad either.

Thanks a lot for your recipe ideas, I'm looking forward to making lemon chicken because lemons are my favourite fruit and chicken is my favourite meat so that can only go well I don't drink a lot to be honest, I go out as much as your typical student to the pub and odd nightclub now and again but I don't need to be drunk to have a good time, to the disbelief of many

 

[carolonabike]

As others have said, ready meals might seem cheap but in reality are an expensive way to eat. When Mr Carol on a bike and I were poor students we ate a lot of pulses and lentils which are really cheap and versatile. You can substitute these for meat in a lot of recipes, a small quantity go a long way. Chilli, for instance made with kidney amd other beans tastes just as good and you won't notice the absence of meat. A lot of Indian dishes use lentils and of course loads of veg. Sweet potatoes and butternut squash are lovely too.

I have an easy recipe for a lovely roast garlic and sweet potato soup. Drizzle on a bit of oil over a garlic bulb then wrap in foil. Bake in the oven for about 25 mins until soft. While that's in the oven peel a couple of sweet potatos and cut into chunks and saute in a pan with a chopped onion until the onion is soft but not brown (about 10 minutes) Once the garlic is done scrape the cloves out of the skins and add to the pan with half a pint of stock and half a pint of milk and cook for about 30 mins until the potato is soft. Blend until smooth and season with salt and pepper. You may need to add a bit more liquid depending upon how thick you want the soup to be. I like to add some chilli flakes to give it a bit of a kick. Its smooth and creamy and spicy all at the same time. Don't worry about the amount of garlic, once it's roasted it tastes very different to raw. This will make about 4 or 5 servings and is great for a filling lunch or supper. It freezes well too.

 

[montage]

Thanks a lot for your recipe ideas, I'm looking forward to making lemon chicken because lemons are my favourite fruit and chicken is my favourite meat so that can only go well I don't drink a lot to be honest, I go out as much as your typical student to the pub and odd nightclub now and again but I don't need to be drunk to have a good time, to the disbelief of many

The lemon chicken is so easy as well.... just whack it in the oven and keep an eye on the timer, no need to constantly keep stirring in a frying pan etc

 

[jlamontagne]

I have an easy recipe for a lovely roast garlic and sweet potato soup. Drizzle on a bit of oil over a garlic bulb then wrap in foil. Bake in the oven for about 25 mins until soft. While that's in the oven peel a couple of sweet potatos and cut into chunks and saute in a pan with a chopped onion until the onion is soft but not brown (about 10 minutes) Once the garlic is done scrape the cloves out of the skins and add to the pan with half a pint of stock and half a pint of milk and cook for about 30 mins until the potato is soft. Blend until smooth and season with salt and pepper. You may need to add a bit more liquid depending upon how thick you want the soup to be. I like to add some chilli flakes to give it a bit of a kick. Its smooth and creamy and spicy all at the same time. Don't worry about the amount of garlic, once it's roasted it tastes very different to raw. This will make about 4 or 5 servings and is great for a filling lunch or supper. It freezes well too.

I'll be sure to try this out, would be nice to cook up and enjoy with a group of friends

 

[mcshroom]

If you have any veg that is starting to go off, then chop the remaining good stuff up into small bits, boil up some red lentils in water for ten minutes and then chuck the veg in, add a stock cube (veg or chicken work well but I'm sure others would too) and cook for 30 mins. This makes a nice filling soup with food that often gets thrown away. If you have a small blender (I use a little hand-held one which was a fiver from Tesco a couple years ago) then even better.

Also works with frozen veg as well.

I'll add another voice for herbs and spices. Morrisons do a very cheap (35p ish) tub of mixed herbs which is quite good (mainly basil, oregano I think). Also places like B&M and Lidl/Aldi do cheap herbs. Also I find a pepper grinder with black peppercorns seems to last for years.

Using a basic sauce made with tinned tomatoes, chopped onion, a small amount of veg-oil, a couple pinches of dried basil and a stock cube of any flavour can make for a decent base for adding any cheap protein you can find, or is nice on it's own (well with pasta/bread/rice).

Also using left over meat pieces chopped up into a tin of mushroom soup and mixed with some onions and a handful of mixed veg (fresh, frozen or tinned) makes a nice meal with a bit of rice or pasta.

 

[jlamontagne]

If you have any veg that is starting to go off, then chop the remaining good stuff up into small bits, boil up some red lentils in water for ten minutes and then chuck the veg in, add a stock cube (veg or chicken work well but I'm sure others would too) and cook for 30 mins. This makes a nice filling soup with food that often gets thrown away. If you have a small blender (I use a little hand-held one which was a fiver from Tesco a couple years ago) then even better.

Thanks, on the subject of veg (and fruit) that's about to go off...I like to throw it all in a curry Tonight I made a nice curry that had pineapple in which I had left over from my breakfast, it was very tasty.

 

[MoG]

I'm one of those who thinks that food is more about knowledge and not necessarily budget. You can eat very healthily on the budget you describe - the war generation were on rations and there was no option to eat more crap, because it wasn't available anyway.

Oats for the morning - porridge is great and a £1 or so pack will easily last a week. You just need milk and honey or sugar to add. Fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables for a start - don't pay over the odds for something out of season. Fish - Mackerel is cheap but contains all the right oils, so too Sardines. Salmon is more expensive but every once in a while, eh? Pasta - cheap as chips, potatoes, rice (buy in bulk if you can). Eat less meat but good quality again, when you can afford it - roast a chicken yourself and keep what you don't eat for sandwiches and boil the carcass with vegetables to make soup. Beetroot is a sports food (look it up) and onion and garlic are good for the blood. Most seasonal green vegetables are invariably cheap and stacked with good stuff - if you really want to go for it, drink the water you've boiled/steamed them in (once cooled down obviously).

If you can, put aside a small amount to buy herbs, spices, stocks etc which will make your cooking more flavoursome, adventurous and worthwhile - if you buy these things all at once they're bloody expensive but worth doing in the longer run. Cooking is great fun, never a rigmarole, so learn to enjoy it and learn as much as you can about nutritious foods - and you may be surprised to learn that they're not all ridiculously expensive. On the other foot, some of the most nutritiously worthless foods and luxuries cost the Earth.

+1 for the above. Can I also give a big shout out to a much maligned veg - the humble sprout- all the usuaal green veg benefits, and packed with protein. The frozen sprouts are cheap, and can be microwaved. I also use a lot of chilli flakes sprinkled on my veg/meat - not sure of the nutritional value but they sure add flavour!