Living away from home can be incredibly daunting. For many people, it’s a whole new experience. You’ve to do everything for yourself, like cooking. So, to maybe give you a helping hand, here are five simple recipes that you can cook on a budget while staying relatively healthy!
Stir Fry
A stir fry is one of my go-to meals if I’m in a rush. They’re so incredibly versatile and are super healthy. You can make them with any meat, or without meat at all. I love adding peppers and green beans to mine.
Pre-packaged vegetable stir fry mixes can be found in supermarkets like Aldi and also come with a spice packet for that extra kick. Noodles are an excellent carbohydrate to balance out your meal. You can find plain microwaveable noodles in Aldi too!
Pasta
It wouldn’t be an affordable meal list without having pasta on it. Yet again, pasta is so versatile! There are so many shapes and sauces you can try, and lots of them are so simple to make.
You may be tempted to buy a jar of sauce, but these are slightly high in salt and are on the pricey side. If you’re up for the challenge of making your own sauce, a tomato-based one is always the way to go. A tin of tomatoes, some tomato puree, some basil and oregano. Perfection on a plate. And always remember, pasta into the sauce, never sauce onto pasta.
Fajitas
Fajitas aren’t for everyone, but they are for me. You can add lots of spicy vegetables and even some salsa and guacamole. What’s even better, is the fajita mix often lasts two-three days. I always end up setting some mixture aside when I make them.
Another fun thing about fajitas is, almost everyone loves them! Why not have a socially distanced fajita night with your flatmates when restrictions lift? Food is a great way to bond with people.
Everything Curry
This recipe is something that my cousin and I came up with one day when our aunt only had minimal ingredients in her cupboards. A tin of tomatoes and some light coconut milk later, we had the basis of a beautiful sauce. We added some turmeric and chilli flakes, leftover Sunday roast chicken and peppers.
This can be made with any leftovers you have from the week. While it may seem a bit all over the place, creating a new meal with leftovers always has an extra feeling of comfort to it and could remind you of your lovely meals back home.
Eggy Bread
I knew I had to include a slightly unhealthy idea here because everything is good in moderation. Soaking your somewhat stale bread in some beaten up eggs and frying it in a pan? Unmatched!
This is one of my favourite meals. And they are, for the last time, so versatile! You can eat it savoury with some cheese and spinach or can make it sweet with some honey and fruit. The possibilities are endless with this recipe.
It’s easy to lose track of your money and eating habits in college. There are many more things you’d instead be thinking about, like finishing an assignment or making it to your next society meeting. Cooking easy recipes and ones that are cheap to make and last long are the way to keep your spending down and your body healthy!