It is a long time since I was at university sadly, I finished back in 2003! Here I have some tips that may help you eat healthily on a student budget if you are at university, especially if you have spent your money on a used laptop for uni!
As a student, it is so tempting to eat unhealthily. With Mcdonald’s and its friends always around the corner and greasy food being easy to do at home, you can slip into bad habits fast. But actually, eating well can be cost-efficient and really easy to do.
Whether you are following a plan like Slimming World or Weight Watchers or even something a bit different like Intermittent fasting or the Cambridge diet there are plenty of ways you can eat healthily on a budget.
Here are five tips for eating healthily on a student budget:
Only have black tea/coffee
The amount that you spend on your half-weekly pint of milk soon adds up… and can get especially costly when your flatmates are nicking it! Having black tea and coffee stops you from having to buy milk at all, and it reduces the fat content you’re consuming. Tips to enjoy black coffee here!
Use oats
These are a dream to have as a student trying to eat healthily. For 80p for a 1kg bag, you can make flapjacks, which you can pack with fruit and seeds to get a vitamin kick, and then make them into cereal bars. Porridge is also quick to make before lectures or perhaps overnight oats or baked oats?
Keeping track of your goals is really important
If you need a little help with keeping on track of your weight loss then this freebie could make all the difference. Simply sign up to receive it by email and use it to help you stay motivated.
Buy reduced
Buy fruit and veg reduced Supermarket reduced aisles, usually around 5-7 pm, are treasure troves for fruit and veg simply because they go off so fast. However, you can buy them and they will still be safe to eat for a few days more.
Blend them up into a smoothie or a soup to make them last even longer! Stir fry is also a really good meal to make with an assortment of vegetables you have bought reduced!
If you buy reduced meat be sure to freeze it right away to ensure it doesn’t spoil. Tips for freezing meat can be found here.
Make salads
Salads are so cheap to do, and you can buy the ingredients for them which will last for a good week. Iceberg lettuce is usually around 50p from Aldi and Lidl, and you can get peppers, cucumber and tomatoes easily everywhere too.
A drizzle of lemon and a pinch of salt, and you have a yummy student salad! Add any favourites you can or anything you buy reduced!
Freeze Hot meals
Dishes such as curry and pasta will freeze well, and you can make them really healthily too. With pasta, you can get whole grain fusilli for 50/60p, and do a tomato-based sauce and veg.
The same applies to curry – mix some curry powder and herbs in with your veg and add a protein like Quorn or chicken, and have some couscous on the side.
