Panicking about food on a student budget? We’ve got it sorted
Student meals HSDC style
When students start at college, including HSDC they have to step up and take more responsibility for themselves. We at AMPLIFY know this only too well so that’s why we’ve come up with some great tips and advice on easy and quick cooking. In this article you will find how you can manage time and be able to cook on a budget, and you will also learn what types of food students recom- mend that are quick, easy and cheap. I started by investigating what it’s like to be at University, managing on your own and cooking for yourself. I spoke to former college student Anjali Patel to get her advice after two years experience. She found that the easiest way for her to cook on a budget was to at the end of the week to a big food shop and do some meal prepping, which she said that it saved her so much time as well as money. When asking her what cheap and easy foods she recommends she said that pot noodles and ready made salads were her go to. When it comes to making the food she said that she makes enough that it will last two meals. I then posted a survey for HSDC South Downs stu- dents and asked them what cheap and easy food they would recommend and why. Most of the students said that their go to cheap and easy meal was pot noodles, because they are really cheap and they only need hot water and it takes no more than five minutes to make. But what about making a homemade pot noodle? All you need is some noodles, a stock cube, throw in some frozen veg and perhaps a pinch of spices or chilli for an extra kick. . One student said that they would recommend bulk buying food then meal prepping it before hand, because it is a quick way of getting food and it is at an appropriate cost as well. A few other students said that they would recommend cheese toastie as it won’t cost much and also it won’t take long to make and it can be a quick easy meal for in between lessons or while doing work.
I spoke to Denise who works in the HSDC South Downs Courtyard Cafe and got her opinions on what type of foods work best with students and how they make it work. She said that their main goal is to cater to meet the needs of students and what they like. The most popular things that they sell are chicken wraps, pasta pots, all types of burgers, chips, wedges and fizzy drinks. How - ever she said that they don’t sell much fruit or veg. They also have a two week rotation plan for the different foods. So if these are your favour - ites here’s an easy homemade burger : https:// www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/ healthy-burger-recipes I spoke to former college student Anjali Patel again to see where she is now after those two years and get some advice for prospective stu - dents. When speaking to her she said unlike be- fore where she just used to eat pot noodles all the time she now makes sure she finds the time to cook no matter how late in the day. Compared to before she said that she thinks she has definitely come further than before, as before she said she didn’t know the value of money and how quick it can go, and now she knows good ways to save money. She also said that to this day she would suggest bulk food shopping and meal prepping which saves so much time and lots of money. So after speaking to a range of different students, former students and staff I think that when it comes to managing money and cooking for your- self on a budget you just need to make sure you have the right mindset for it. You also need to just plan things in advance so you’re not wasting your time on things that could be done in a split second, and you can use that time for the more important things like your college/uni work. That’s it - enjoy cooking and studenthood.
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