Quick, Cheap and Healthy Eating: 3 Essential Student Friendly Meals

Heading off to University means a whole lot of learning – and we’re not just talking about your studies. From managing your money to looking after yourself without your family around you, the skills you develop in your first year at Uni will be plentiful.

If, like me, your parents did most of the cooking before you went off to University, you might find yourself suddenly in a position where you’re wondering on Earth you can cook that will keep you healthy, full and won’t break the bank.

Well let’s start with the basics. We caught up with Vita Student who gave us their take on three simple staple recipes every student looking for quick, cheap and healthy meals will benefit from.

  1. The Humble Omelette

Omelettes are versatile, cheap to make and protein rich. The basic ingredients are 3 eggs and 10g of butter for an omelette.

  • Beat the three eggs together
  • Heat the butter in a frying pan
  • Pour the beaten eggs into the pan

You could simply season and cook through for a plain omelette or add ham, cheese or whatever other combination takes your fancy.

Easy, protein rich and cheap, the omelette is a super staple at any time of day.

2. Tomato Soup

Homemade tomato soup is healthy, comforting and really easy to make. Of course, you can find any number of recipes online and fine tune to your tastes, but a typical and tasty version is this one:

  • Heat a teaspoon of butter in a pan large
  • Add a chopped onion and fry until soft
  • Add 600ml of chicken or vegetable stock
  • Add 3 medium sized fresh tomatoes (chopped)
  • Add a tablespoon of tomato puree
  • Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a couple of table spoons of tomato passata
  • Bring to the boil and simmer for an hour
  • Whisk until smooth
  • Season with salt, pepper and dried herbs
  • If it’s a bit too tangy, take off the edge with a little sugar

Tomatoes (both tinned and fresh) are very cheap and supermarket own brand stock cubes are affordable too. Serve with a couple of slices of bread as a warming meal.

3. The Underrated Jacket Potato

There is very little cooking involved in a jacket potato. Spuds are incredibly cheap and you simply need to wash, prick and pop in the oven for an hour or two depending on the size of the potato. Add cottage cheese, grated cheese, beans, tuna or egg mayo (some favourites). In fact, add whatever you want.

You can easily create a filling, carb rich and low fat dinner for under a quid!

Happy Cooking!

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