So, the post-freshers’ blues have kicked in, and things are starting to settle down. You feel as if you have got to grips with your timetable and finding your way around. Yet you still haven’t mastered the art of cooking for yourself. You’ve attempted to try and work out how to use the oven, but failed miserably. Your mum has been pestering you to make sure you’re eating properly and you aren’t going hungry, so you lie to her and tell her everything’s fine despite taking a bite into your fifth beans-on-toast meal for the week. You thought that a breakfast of Red Bull would give you the necessary energy boost you needed to get up for those early lectures after a heavy night out, but you’re starting to realise that it isn’t the healthiest option. Any of this sound familiar?
Well, now that you can no longer rely on the free slices of pizza from the Pizza Hut stall at Freshers’ Fair, and the amount of society socials offering “FREE FOOD” have dramatically decreased, I’ve come up with a solution. I like to call it, ‘Food for five days, that takes around 5 minutes-ish to prepare, and should cost under a fiver’. Okay so I may need to come up with a shorter, snappier name for it still. But, I have put together this weekly guide to help kickstart your cooking days. Don’t worry, you don’t need to have any experience in cooking at all in order to follow this guide. Simply check out my tips and you might even be inspired to cook up your own recipes.
Monday
Tesco’s ‘Quick Cook Penne’ for £0.95
You can also get ‘Quick Cook Spaghetti’ and ‘Quick Cook Fusilli’, which, unlike regular pasta that takes 15-20 minutes, will only take 5! To make this into a meal, simply add a pasta sauce, which can be bought from any supermarket; or, if you are feeling experimental and creative, why not try making your own? Just mix together whatever sauces you may already have in the fridge, for example ketchup or chilli sauce, and have a taste. To make the dish more exciting (and healthy), you could add vegetables such as sweetcorn or peppers, and I would personally recommend adding tuna or chicken to make it extra yummy.
Tuesday
Morrison’s ‘Prepared Caesar Salad’ for £2
Salads may sound a bit boring and dull, but once again feel free to add your own elements that you find delicious. At Morrison’s you can get a prepared Caesar salad that comes with croutons and dressing and even parmesan shavings, which add up to the perfect amount to feed one. Adding chicken will make this dish yummier yet again, and will be sure to keep you full for the day. Vegetables too, such as avocado, can also make it a bit more exciting. Another idea may be to add couscous, which you can get in packets from any supermarket for around £0.70, and this will even make the dish a bit more exotic.
Wednesday
Sainsbury’s ‘Steak and Kidney Pie’ for £0.69 or 2 for £1.10
Although the preparation time needed for this dish is pretty much nothing, it will need to be left to cook in the oven a bit longer than the other meals. You could add to it a portion of chips if you wanted, and again vegetables make a great addition too.
Thursday
Asda’s ‘Soup to Go’ for £0.97
This is a very simple meal, one that will be extra yummy on those cold, winter days. All you have to do is heat it up in the microwave and add breadsticks or fresh bread from a bakery or supermarket. There is also a huge variety of flavours for whatever takes your fancy.
Friday
TGIF
It’s the weekend! After a whole week of attempting to cook and trying your best to be healthy, go on and treat yourself with a meal out or a take away. Check online for vouchers, discounts and special offers to help save money.
All of the above meals are just simple suggestions to help you on your way to getting started with cooking. Please read the cooking instructions beforehand to give an indication on how long the ingredients need to be cooked for and at what temperatures. Being independent and having to learn how to do all these new things at once can be hard, but you will never know how good you are until you give it a go! So go on and set your inner Jamie Oliver free!