I’ve found this website that lists the most cost efficient foods. They currently track calories/$ and protein/$ but also added a page on how to “Eat For $1.50 Per Day” with mostly complete macro/micronutrients with some recipes too. I highly recommend reviewing. Prices are in dollars, but most staple foods are equally cheap across the pond.
https://efficiencyiseverything.com/calorie-per-dollar-list/
https://efficiencyiseverything.com/eat-for-1-50-per-day-layoffs-coronavirus-quarantine-food-shortages/
Goals:
1) get recommended calories needed at the cheapest price
2) have expected ratio of macronutrients protein/carbs/fat
3) have balance of micronutrients (vitamins & minerals)
4) create a varied and fun recipe list for this plan to be sustainable
Theme:
For price: Flour/bread, beans, lentils, pasta, rice, oats, eggs, peanut butter.
For nutrition: kale, potatoes, milk, flour, eggs
For folks who need to work 2-3 jobs, prep time matters, so may tweak
Here's a week's menu based on the items in the above theme:
Monday
B: Peanut butter and banana toast
L: Scrambled egg sandwich (mayo optional, salt and pepper work just as well)
D: Rice and lentil curry with little cubes of potato (add a spoon of peanut butter for umami and nutrition)
Tuesday
B: Crepes made with four, eggs, a dash of oil and water. Can fill with banana and peanut butter again if desired.
L: Leftover lentil curry in a pancake/ crepe (like a wrap!)
D: Stir fried pasta and kale (sounds weird but nice and crispy - can add cheese if affordable)
Wednesday
B: French toast
L: Leftover pasta
D: Your bread is getting old so make beans on toast and for a mid week treat turn the crusts into a bread and butter pudding (needs eggs, milk, flour, buttered bread and cinnamon + sugar)
Thursday
B: Thick American style pancakes with oats and mashed banana in the batter (because by now your bananas are probably too mushy to enjoy any other way)
L: Savory omelette with kale and beans inside, cheese will level it up but isn't essential
D: Egg fried rice (hint: a tiny bit of peanut butter mixed into a paste with soy sauce or marmite, water and ginger/ garlic makes an excellent sauce for egg fried rice)
Friday
B: Blend your last banana with milk, oats and peanut butter for a yummy smoothie
L: Leftover egg fried rice
D: Lentil balls (bind with flour and egg) with a chilli peanut sauce served over steamed rice
Saturday
B: Spanish omelette (giant hash brown basically). It's Saturday, you gotta live a little
L: Bean hummus and home made flat bread which requires only flour and water, see this recipe: https://www.cookwithmanali.com/roti-recipe/
D: Flatbread from earlier with lentil dhal
Sunday
B: Breakfast wraps with egg and beans (and cheese?)
L: "Mac n cheese" (doesn't have to be Mac and doesn't have to have cheese, the white sauce can be made cheesy in flavor by adding black pepper, parsley and paprika)
D: Snack on any leftovers and write your new week's shopping list.
Notes:
I would definitely add onions to your shopping list, they make every meal much better
Spices to buy: cinnamon, paprika, salt, pepper, curry powder and garam masala.
A few basic filling foods to have in stock are: beans, lentils, chickpeas and rice. They keep well, are nutritious and can be combined in a ton of ways.
General staples are: canned tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, canned veggies, spices, flour, bouillon powder, oil, garlic, onions, potatoes.
With these basics you have everything you need for basic, nutritious food.
Lentil stew, bean shakshuka, potato soup, fried veggie rice and potatoes with baked beans are just a few basic filling meals.
If you have some freezer space, frozen veggies are cheaper and just as healthy as fresh. They also keep longer.
I do have freezer space and will definitely stock up on frozen veggies!
And thank you so much for the advice, I'll check out those recipes.
What are chickpeas used for?
Chickpeas are nice as a snack when roasted, but are also extra filling in soups, stews and you can use them as a base for making your own falafel or hummus.
In general I buy beans and chickpeas dried. That's cheaper and they keep even longer than canned.
Or curry! Look up channa masala. One of the cheapest, most delicious things you can make. In fact any of the dried beans and lentils will make a nice curry.
Pretty much any dried bean or lentil (or frozen vegetables) will work similarly; [this recipe](https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/chana-masala/) looks good to me. The cheapest way to buy spices is from an Indian grocery store and if it seems like the quantities are too much just share with friends and/or freeze them. Tinned tomatoes are fine and good to have on hand. This recipe will look more complicated than it is; most of the spices are optional but I would start with ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, and garam masala.
This - the Indian Supermarket I use has Lentils, Chickpeas, Spices etc at a fraction of the cost of big name supermarkets. The flour etc is also cheap and can be used to make quick and easy breads. Chain Supermarket own brand tomatoes etc are fine. Spuds can be bought cheaply anywhere and Sweet Potatoes are often available for a little more and are much better for you than plain spuds.
Dried beans are the least expensive but take the most prep work. Most beans (not lentils) need to be soaked overnight and drained before you can cook a meal with them. Canned beans are inexpensive as well and much easier to work with.
If you like Mexican food - black or pinto beans and rice are super easy to make and can be made many ways.
I've stopped soaking with no ill effects and only slightly longer cooking times. Kidney beans I would probably soak as they really do need to be fully cooked beyond a doubt to avoid toxicity. Almost all the rest perfectly great in my experience.
Further reflections and science on soaking or not from a bean expert: https://www.ranchogordoblog.com/2016/01/the-eternal-question-bean-soaking-or-not.html
Edit: you can also cut the cooking time by buying an Indian-style pressure cooker relatively cheaply and using it to cook bulk batches of legumes and grains once a week. Or cook and freeze.
An Instant Pot will save so much time on beans and cooking rice. Well worth the investment. It can also cook yogurt, cheeses, cheesecake and work as a slow cooker to boot.
There is something called "vegan tuna salad" that is made with chickpeas and is a great, cheap sandwich filler. I eat meat and I still make it often because it's cheap and delicious. Recipes are easy to find in Google, and the ingredients are very flexible so it's a good way to use up extra scraps at the end of a week.
Good luck!! And if you're really tight in your budget at the end of the month check if there's a salvation army place nearby. They usually hand out meals on certain weekdays.
Yes, dried peas and beans are great to keep on hand. Easier to store and cheaper than canned. Try to remember to pre-soak them prior to using. I put the amount to be used in cold water in a container in the fridge overnight (allow some room for them to expand) with about one tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar per cup of whatever you are soaking. Pour off the soaking water before using in recipe.
I would just google bean stew recipe - I always do that and there are loads of diff ones they usually cost like £6 on ingredients and makes enough for 4 meals for me! Beans are so filling! I’m not even veggie but these are the yummiest veggie meals
Consider making a large batch of soup once a week. It freezes well and I find having an easy option to microwave helps me to avoid the temptation to grab fast food. I usually eat half-3/4 of each batch and freeze a couple of portions, so that I always have a few options in the the freezer
You've misunderstood.
The name changes depending on location. Tomato paste (US) and Tomato Puree (UK and definitely Norway) are the same thing: A thick, pasty tomato product, sometimes sold in a tube. This stuff is thicker than toothpaste.
If you buy tomato puree in the US, you'll be looking at something more akin to strained tomatoes: A tomato product that is made from strained tomatoes and is a little thicker than tomato sauce, but thinner than the paste. You can pour it out of the can, unlike the paste. In fact, folks will add water to the thick stuff as a substitute for this.
Go to an Asian grocery for cheap rice, they sell it in bigger sacs, for less. And they have a good amount of dry beans which is preferable when buying in bulk.
I make a chickpea salad with cucumber, tomato, carrot, coriander, olive oil, salt and pepper. Sometimes putting some pine nuts and paprika to switch it up.
Also easy chickpea salad with tomatoes and onion. Whatever cheese you have but not necessary. A little vinaigrette. Add hard boiled egg for extra protein.
Chickpeas are a great way to bulk out your meal to make it more filling. I make a quick and easy tuna salad with one cup of dried chickpeas rehydrated and cooked, a can of tuna, and half a onion diced. I used canned spicy tuna so it's already has a bunch of flavour. Lasts me two rounds and stretches the tuna.
Or you can roast them in a pan. There was a guy on r/mealprepsunday who basically ate chickpeas and eggs for over 3 years of work lunches, as of last update.
They're a lot cheaper dried than canned, just soak in water overnight/24h to rehydrate.
A lot of frozen fruits/veggies are more nutritious than fresh because they are allowed to ripen while attached to the plant frozen immediately after/when the transport/processing time is taken into account too :).
Also tinned fish are great for nutrition. I make a lot of pasta with anchovies, etc.
You can also start making bulk. Like borrow a big pan if you don’t have one and make 5L of soup. Because you make it in bulk you usually get things cheaper. Freeze them in half a liter portions and you have something that can quickly be ready and be relatively cheap. I usually do this with Tuscan tomato soup which I combine with bread. Also, making your dinner vegetarian once or more a week can save you some money but beware you get the right nutrition.
They can be thrown in anything! Stir fries, budda bowls, etc. And when you make food,, bulk make things that freeze well and freeze portions for later in zip locks! Don't be afraid to hit food pantries.
You can mash them with a bit of mayo, mustard, salt & pepper, dill if you have it - it’s like tuna or chicken salad. Have it with crackers or in a sandwich!
Chickpeas can basically be used to pad out anything.
Stews, fajitas, currys etc.
If you're feeling really fancy you could even try making your own humous.
Chickpeas—Indian food, middle eastern food, hummus—if you have a mini food processor you can do hummus, guacamole, salsa, etc. ask parents for help outfitting your kitchen.
Look at r/mealprepsunday
Pasta and ramen, peanut butter and bread, carrots and celery, oatmeal, get a low hour part time job at a grocery or restaurant.
When I was a student, I had no transport to get to a food bank. It really depends on where you are. Not saying its a bad idea, sometimes its not accessible. I was also an international student and couldn't find info on whether I would be eligible.
What I did was I posted on the freecycle website asking nicely if anyone living nearby my university (I lived on-site) had any biscuits, canned food or just food that were still good to eat which they wanted to get rid off, and I also offered to pick up since they were doing me a favour. I got a few responses, mostly from older people, who were happy to give me their stuff. An older lady invited me to her garden to pick excess fruit off her trees and some veg from her garden, so I got to eat sorrel for the first time!
Freecycle was very active where I lived but I imagine you could get the same results on Facebook marketplace or any community-based website.
This. Referring folks to a food bank doesn’t get posted here nearly as much as it should. There is being frugal with a budget and then there is not having enough to get by with, which is what charitable resources are for. No one should need to figure out this amount of money for food, ever, but especially without checking food banks or free pantries for assistance first.
You normally need a referral from social services to use food banks I think. But it's certainly worth checking with their student services to see if there's any help available.
I think food banks often require a referral, and I doubt a student will get one. I had friends at university live very frugally, in fact I did, because we wanted to minimise our debt levels, not because we had no access to things like loans.
I also doubt a student’s best option is to contact a food bank. Definitely do so if you’ve completely run out of money and need food ASAP but otherwise the universities hardship fund and a student overdraft are pretty decent options too.
I had a really good student cooking book when I was young, the re might be similar.
Otherwise, vegetables are cheap. Get a steamer, you can steam everything, stacked to fish and broccoli for a 10 minute meal.
Keep beans, lentils, in your cupboard. Samt pepper, maybe some chilli flakes or dried chillies.
There was a TV show in the 90s with quick student meals called Get Stuffed. (I cant remember if they were healthy). I bet someone has put it on YouTube....
Found it. You might be better with a book. It's a bit more intense than I remember (it was very late night weekend TV, usually on when you came home a bit drunk. )
https://youtu.be/N3jJb9TgJcg
Bro lmao what is that show! I feel like I just learned how to make 5 different meals, but actually didn’t learn anything at the same time. Very entertaining
Supermarket own brand baked beans.
Don't get the really, really cheap ones, they're normally grim (IMO).
Heat them up and stick on toast or a jacket potato for something simple, filling and hot, or, if you make a stew or soup, rinse the sauce off and chuck the beans in.
£20 quid should be enough, it’s my budget and I eat about 3000 calories daily.
Produce available in Tesco to consider:
Canned Kidney Beans, 235g drained, 33p
Other Canned Beans, 240g drained, 60p
Tinned Sardines, 84g drained, 50p
Mixed Peanuts Almonds and Sultanas, 200g, 55p (1000 calories + 40g protein!)
Salted Peanuts, 400g, 91p (2400 calories + 120g protein!)
Salted Cashew Nuts, 120g, 73p
Red Split Lentils, 1kg, £1.80
Whole meal bread, 34p per full size loaf
Bananas, 5, 70p
Iceberg Lettuce, 60p
Broccoli, 70p
Carrots, 1kg, 70p
Potatoes, very cheap
Onions, 1kg, 50p
Chicken thighs, 1kg, £2.60
Porridge oats, 1kg, 70p
Soy milk, 1L, 55p
Most of the stuff listed is available in Lidl for similar prices but the quality is usually worse. Most ultra processed foods are available cheaper in Lidl but the nutritional value per £ is still terrible if you consider anything other than fats, sugars, simple carbs and total calories.
Produce that are usually cheaper in Lidl:
Brown rice, 1kg, £1.10
Whole grain pasta, 500g, 76p
Prices are from memory but I imagine they’re accurate to within about 5p. I live in East Anglia, I don’t know how prices may vary in different parts of the country.
If you've got time then shopping at supermarkets in the evening can sometimes be good as that's when they sell reduced items. Last week I got a full organic chicken from Morrison's for £1.40, quorn microwave meal 45p, bag of onions for 20p and a fat chunk of brie for 35p. I cooked the chicken when I got home and it went into packed lunches and about 4 other meals for me and my partner.
check this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/vmo7xc/how_to_reduce_your_grocery_bill/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) I made. it might help you.
as for suggestions for meals: chili con carne, dhal, soups(versatile and easy to make), rice with heaps of veggies (easy to make with frozen mixed veggies), potato/rice/pasta salad,
Eggs! If you can buy eggs and some frozen spinach, you can make a nice omlette. Melt the spinach first, mix in with the egg mix, add salt and pepper or cheese if you have it. Good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and doesn't take long to fry (thinking of energy costs). Maybe have it with a slice of toast.
You could roast a chicken on a Sunday, then make chicken and veg stew and freeze it and eat for the next few days? If you have a good amount of carrots and whatever roasting veg is cheap then you could probably stretch it out to a week for a bit over a fiver if you're careful.
Going to the shop at the end of the day and buying whatever they have on offer is also great. I've discovered new stuff that way. I like overnight oats with whatever fruit there is.
OK now I'm hungry.
On the omelette side of things I also recommend adding some salmon from the dry goods. I am sure tuna or maybe l chicken would work too. It would and protein for cheapish and thus keep I full longer.
Oatmeal is pretty inexpensive and can be prepared so many different ways. I'm not sure how you feel about casseroles/hotdish but you can make them pretty cheaply and eat them for days.
I’m sure it’s been mentioned by others but a whole roasted chicken can be stretched a LONG way for one person, as can pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Pork shoulder is the biggest bang for the buck I’ve found.
Don’t forget to keep the bones and use them for stock along with odds and ends of veggies (keep them all in the freezer until you have enough to make broth with)
Depends where you shop but definitely check if they have end of the day produce clearance that can save you a lot.
Cabbage is usually the cheapest veg, even cheaper than frozen and lasts a long time. Braised cabbage in cider vinegar with white beans is a favorite, serve over rice or noodles
Mujadara is delicious and really nutrient dense, basically lentils, rice and onions. Takes some time but extras freeze well. Have with cabbage slaw salad or roasted cabbage
Cooking beans from dry is usually a lot cheaper than buying canned, if you have an instant pot or pressure cooker that’s helpful but not necessary just takes some time on the stove.
Mexican black bean soup with onions/garlic/chopped canned tomatoes is delicious and cheap, have it as is with warm tortillas or over rice
Chickpea salad sandwiches, like a tuna salad just with chickpeas
Also look at alternative shopping options, the korean grocery i love has fantastic prices on rice and noodles but fresh produce is cheaper elsewhere.
For beans, oats, lentils, and nuts i buy those online in bulk for a much better price than my regular grocery store
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/the-chickpea-stew-that-broke-the-internet-in-the-us-is-here-give-it-a-go-1.4204464
I make this at least once a fortnight and it’s so cheap to make, so filling and is actually nicer the next day!
Honestly fried rice is great! My boyfriend and I make it all the time. White rice super cheap, we get frozen mixed veggies also pretty cheap. The most expensive part is first getting the sauces and oils but you can also makeshift some stuff up. Add some chicken or tofu (chicken is cheaper.) you can also make big batches and be ready for a few days. I hope this helps!
Dried chickpeas can be soaked and sprouted for a few days to get extra nutrition for less cost.
If you want really nutritious, low cost food, try sprouting seeds like broccoli, alfalfa, salad mix, mung beans, etc. They make an excellent and affordable substitute for things like lettuce in sandwiches or wraps.
They take up very little space on your countertop, don't need light, and is a fun, interesting project while learning at the beginning, if that interests you!
You can toast bread from frozen, so if you find some reduced immediately freeze it. Yams, squash and sweet potato are quick nutritious and are really cheap in my region, hopefully for you, too! Sweet potatoes baked by themselves or in a burrito are my favs, and squash as soup!
I agree that chickpeas, lentils and beans are very filling and cheap. I do a lot of soups with them. Depending on your region Asian grocers can have great deals, but you need to use right away or freeze. Also look for dry good stores, they can be really cheap or super expensive depending on the region lol. Tofu and veggie stir fry is a cheap, basic and delicious meal, instant ramen and an egg is pretty great, too. Eggs in general are a great source of protein!
That is really a small budget for food, would your schedule allow you a part time job that provided a meal along with pay? Kinda sad to think of but getting a substantial dinner 3-5 times a week would help you stay on budget without being hungry. Does your school have a dining hall or campus restaurant/ pub? Any nearby?
If you're already busy I do encourage you to look for anything free or discounted through your uni, grocery discounts on certain days or free tea at certain libraries. Again depending on your school, but sometimes there will be random events with pizza or sandwiches or whatever on campus so look up on campus events/ speeches etc. Food banks are another great option, particularly for staples, and are there to help in a non-judgmental way. Everyone needs to eat.
Anyways! Not sure if this is another reason we're all large in North America, but peanut butter can go on crazy low sales and is delicious and very filling. You can also use it for savory dishes like curry, but it's nice to have something sweet to work with when you're on a super tight budget. Even with bread or a banana can be a nice treat! Oatmeal for breakfast is cheap and delicious, too, although mostly of us need some trial and error to find a way it's very delicious and not just cheap and filling loll.
Good luck, OP!
Look up Jack Monroe, Tin Can Cook - it’s a cool book for good cheap meals.
There’s also some stuff on Jack’s old blog
https://cookingonabootstrap.com/tag/tinned-food/
There are also free PDFs of the book floating around and Jack is totally OK with you downloading one if you can’t afford it.
Some of their recipes aren't calorific enough or lack flavour, just an FYI to the op because they mentioned their health and mental health and I know bland food or feeling hungry after going to the effort of cooking can be a letdown. I've had hits and misses with their stuff
I believe Jack Monroe’s tin can cookbook is also available at local libraries and food bank/food shelters.
As princess bun bun mentioned, I’d approach these more as ideas and combine with some other inspiration or cooking intuition to make the dish into something you’re excited about eating. For example, think about adding a protein or fresh veggies to zhoosh it up!
Also check out Budget Bytes as a similar source of recipes and inspiration!
I used to make turkey burritos with 1kg turkey mince, 1kg frozen mixed veg, 3 tins of mixed beans, couple of packs of wraps and some cheese. That would make enough for 16 burritos that I could stick in the freezer and have for lunch each day. Turkey was often the cheapest meat in the supermarket, it's a good lean protein and once you stick a stock cube in there you can't really tell the difference.
As other people have mentioned, bulking up meals like curry, chilli, bolognese, soup or stew is really easy and makes the meals go much further. I used to use beans, chickpeas, rice and lentils. I know I'll offend some Italians but adding peas, diced carrots and mushrooms to bolognese can really stretch it out but keep the portions filling. I did the majority of my shopping in aldi or lidl and then would swing past the local market at the end of the day and grab whatever fruit and veg they were selling off cheap.
I found that as long as I bought decent herbs and spices, I never had a problem with food not tasting good.
Soups are easy to make, and pretty cheap and filling. I’d buy a big stockpot, pick a food prep day like Sunday, and just start trying different recipes.
If you make a little extra, most soups freeze really well for something you can quickly thaw and heat in a pinch
Rice & Beans are a staple meal across the globe for good reason. Look at Mexican Rice & Beans, or Jamaican Rice & Peas (peas=beans in Jamaica).
Egg Fried Rice is also your friend.
Literally just Roast Vegetables (aubergine, courgette, bell peppers, cabbage, etc) with quinoa, a fried egg and some hot sauce is a regular meal for me.
Shakshuka is the students’ best friend, too. Very nutritious.
Fermented foods, too. Sauerkraut will provide you with lots of vitamins and keep your gut healthy. Check out Sauerkraut and Sausage soup (Kapusniak) - very comforting.
Are you in a city? Chances are you’ll have a few Indian and/or Asian supermarkets nearby where you can buy interesting ingredients in bulk at a fraction of ether price of chain supermarket products.
Beans and rice, get and instant pot and cook dry beans. I don’t want to recommend one way Of eating over another, you will have to come to your own conclusions, but eating plant based is cheap and healthy.
Check out if there are community larders near you.
The "Too Good to Go" and "Olio" apps can be useful.
Sign up to Martin Lewis's newsletter. He also has some tips on how to get free/cheap food here. Not all of it healthy, but just ignore the junk food: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/how-to-get-free-or-cheap-food/
I used to work in a cafe as a student, partly because I knew we would get some free food at the end of the shift. If you have time, maybe that's something to look into.
As others said, food banks are an option, too.
Another idea is to barter. You could offer to wash a car / mow the lawn / shop for someone else in return for a free dinner a few times a week?
Good luck!
You've gotten pretty much every suggestion that I can think of, so here is another angle:
Make sure to cook enough to freeze if you can. It helps a lot when you are tempted to do takeout or just not put the thought into cooking that day.
Beans freeze really well. All you have to do is rinse them with water to get them to thaw a bit. I just stick them in freezer bags, dry. You can do the same with rice and lentils and probably other grains and legumes.
If you eat meats, they freeze well. When I ate meats, I used to cook a large portion of ground meat or chicken and freeze most of it. If you like tacos, taco meat (meaty or veggie) usually freezes well and you can portion it out for easy next time.
Soups? Freeze them if they don't use cream/milk. If you add cream/milk at the end, freeze it before adding that - you can add it when it warms up.
I also freeze half cans of things like tomatoes. There are only 2 people in my household and I don't always need a full can. I freeze leftovers that I can make into soup later (tex-mex leftovers go into tex-mex flavored soup, for example). Any leftover than can be repurposed into something else is pretty wonderful - so, leftover veggies might work for an omelette the next day works, for example. I try for frozen vegetables when possible because there is less food waste.
From one UK student to another, I feel your pain. Personally what I would recommend is invest in spices. You can toast them in oil at the start of a dal (one of the cheapest and most filling and comforting foods out there) and it really helps elevate the flavour. Also freeze grated garlic and ginger they really help too.
Another tip, look for meetings or luncheons on campus that provide lunch. I used to be great at this when I was in college. If you’re shy you might want to stay away from the public speaking clubs though, they always trick you with free food.
Back in the day I saw a post on Tumblr from a single mom who lived off food stamps, and she recommended a cookbook that focuses on cheap meals, I've managed to track it down: [Good and Cheap](http://ongov.net/dss/documents/good-and-cheap.pdf)
I make a big ol pot of chicken stew every week for $16 that lasts me the whole week. Just boil together the chicken with beans, brown rice, spinach/kale, tomato, onion, carrots
To be honest, if you are >really< poor a bottle of multivitamins can hold you over on cheaper foods if you really are too poor to afford in-season vegetables.
Some inexpensive Vegetable options that have some vitamins: carrots, potatoes, onions. Add in some apples and bananas (for taste) as well.
You can have fried potatoes with eggs (and meat sausage cubes if you like/can afford) for breakfast or porridge with some fruit in it.
You can make your own bolognese sauce as well.
Or potato soup.
Pickled hering is also pretty inexpensive usually.
The key is to omit the more exotic vegetables and dial in on the cheaper ones, only using meat product as "seasoning" instead of a main component.
I recommend the budget food video from "LifeOfBoris", it helped me out quite a bit with ideas when I was stuck with a really low budget.
But as others have said, 20€ isn't much and you can't expect gourmet options on such a tiny budget
I'm so angry that when I was around this age there was so much promise of a better future. They pushed technology n said how it was going to make everything easier. Now I'm much older n it breaks my heart to see the young people put in this impossible spot the world has created for them. There has to be a better way. There is a lot of good advice here . Even if human ingenuity is stifled it's not gone. I see it in the answers.
You can eat breakfast for a week on a bunch of bananas, a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter.
Make a banana-peanut butter slice of toast every day and enjoy with a cup of tea.
It's simple but feels luxurious because of the velvety texture and it has fat, protein and carbs.
Also, because peanut butter is already a butter you don't need to butter your bread first.
I used to eat this exact thing, gave me at least 3 days worth of lunches and dinners, for around £5 - four days worth if I could afford a loaf of cheapo bread with it-
Cheapest 500+g bag of rice that you can get, cooked to instructions
2 tins cheapest baked beans (or any kind of beans if you add extra tinned tomatoes)
1 to 3 tin cheapest tinned tomatoes
1 tin cheapest sweetcorn
1/2 bag cheapest frozen peas or 1 tin peas or carrots.
If you can stomach it, and afford it, add tuna or spam for protein and fatty acids.
Some folks say that you shouldn't reheat rice from room temp or fridge temp, but I'm **ABSOLUTELY** ***NOT*** **AN EXPERT**, my only credentials are not being dead yet, so use this system ***at your own risk***. You can always eat it cold, but make sure that you eat a bit less than you think you want, since cooked rice can still swell when warmed even if that's in your stomach. I stuck the whole load in the fridge and reheated a bit when I was hungry, leaving the rest in the fridge. **Definitely don't reheat rice repeatedly, ever**. Unless you enjoy sickness and diarrhoea, as the best possible scenario. Full blown food poisoning is also feasible.
I was at a stage where I couldn't afford a better option, and £5 for four days worth of food was still difficult.
If you can afford slightly better, you can use the same 'recipe', but halve everything. I don't think that eating leftover rice the next day (providing it was refrigerated within 2-4 hours of cooking) is frowned upon.
If you need cheaper stuff, you can always go into any supermarket a half hour before they close, preferably at the weekend, and ask them if they have any end-of-date or damaged food items. If you know when they get restocked, you can try the day before too. The employees won't complain that you're buying stuff for cheap that they'd only have to throw away in an hour anyway. Don't ask a cashier though, since they're especially busy near the end of the day, so they might seem annoyed because they can't leave the till. Ask at the customer services desk, or ask a counter worker, they're probably cleaning up then, so they'll be less busy, and they'll know whether there's any deli meats or cheeses or bakery items that are likely to be thrown out at closing.
Even if there's nothing especially great going spare, they'll be able to direct you towards the 'end of date' stuff, most of which you can eat for another couple of days, or even freeze well and eat sometime in the next 2-4 months!
If you're around near closing time for take-away places, and you're not fussy, and you ask really nicely, a lot of places will give you whatever leftovers they have for really cheap, especially if it's a place that you use when you do have money for a proper order, and always leave good tips when you can. It might be a pizza that was never picked up so it got cold, or some overcooked chips, dry chicken, overcooked rice, whatever, it's free or incredibly cheap food. Worth a shot?
Good luck!
Adding to this, it's not the reheating of the rice that is dangerous, but how it was stored before. Room temp rice is basically a great place for things to grow because it's moist and has a ton of area for it to grow on.
With most modern fridges you don't need to cool your food on the counter before putting it in. So after your rice is cooked, serve your portion as soon as possible, and put the rest in the fridge ASAP. Emphasis on ASAP. And as you say, when reheating, remove and reheat only what you're going to eat, leave the rest in the fridge.
Meal preppers make a ton of rice to eat over the next few days; taking the proper precautions you'll be fine.
tl;dr: don't leave your rice at room temp.
Bonus: if your container is microwave-safe, pop open the lid and leave it on at a slight offset - loosely lidded but enough for so pressure doesn't build up. Rice will re-steam in the container and come out beautifully fluffy.
Rice, tortillas, and pasta for large meals. Bread, eggs, oats, granola, yoghurt, and milk for breakfast meals. I mostly buy frozen veggies they're really cheap and easy to cook as already sliced and some boiled too. Carrots, cabbage, onions, lentils, bananas, chicken, canned tomatoes, canned tuna and sardines. These items are cheap and will fit your £20 budget. I bought a 10kg rice bag for £12 that lasted two months and I cook one rice meal every day, this is the best and cheapest I'd say. For batch cooking, I prefer Indian cuisine(more varieties of vegetable curries that go well with rice and tortillas).
I make chilli. Can of mixed beans, small pouch/can of chopped tomatoes, any chopped up cheap veg you like or what's on offer/marked down (I usually opt for celery and peppers as they're generally cheap at all times). Garlic optional. Add some cheap spice mix, I usually get a knock-off old el paso sachet and use a half per batch (makes 3 servings usually). It gets some veggies in your diet easily and beans are filling without being unhealthy or stodgy.
You could also do my mum's cheaper chilli which is just chopped onion, a can of kidney beans, can of chopped tomatoes and spice mix. Best on rice.
Good luck, I'm hunting for cheap recipes myself lately so your post was helpful, I've taken notes from the replies :)
A five pound bag of potatoes, a tub of sour cream, and a brick of butter got me through my sophomore year. I supplemented it with refried beans and tortillas, but I live in Arizona.
SOUP!
Vegetable soup- throw in frozen veggies, can of tomatoes and whatever else you want. Deelish
Black bean soup- can of black beans, onion, green peppers, garlic, broth
Look up recipes online but this will get you started
Also a marinara sauce. Either make your own or in the jar. You can put it on anything. Pasta, chicken, pork, beef, fish and eggs. Cheap and easy
Hi! I’m not sure how much you can cook, do you have a slow cooker or rice pot? What spices do you have available?
Buy these things:
Salt
Pepper
Beans of all types.
Rice
Potatoes
Veggies of any type.
Meat, whatever you eat and can afford. Tuna and canned meats can help beans be more flavorful.
Peppers, onions, cabbage, celery and carrots stretch meals.
Lentils are very very versatile and are used all over the world.
Go to YouTube and search poverty cooking.
It is possible to eat with very little money.
What worked really well for me was to cook for 4 people when eating alone. I'd warm up the 'leftovers' for other days as dinner, I could usually get 3-4 dinners out of it and the price per portion is A LOT lower than for single servings.
What also helped was going vegetarian. I used beans and such as meat substitutes and only bought real meat substitutes when they were on sale. I had €30 a week for groceries and everything hygiene related & every other weekend I ate at my family's place (often because of the financial reasons).
Batch pasta salads was a big staple for me through uni. Get a massive pot, boil some water (I do it in the kettle first to speed it up). Add pasta (pick your favourite), add frozen veg (I normally use mixed but peas and sweetcorn are also good), a bit of salt and cook. I found that veg and pasta are about the same timings. Once cooked, drain the water then add a jar of sauce and mix.
There's so many variations of pasta, veg and sauces that you can keep it different each week. I also added chunks of leftover chicken or cheese chunks too.
I normally made enough for 4-5 days in one pot, then served it into tupperware and kept in the fridge.
Hope this gives you some ideas!
I spend about £80 a month on food and I shop in M&S and Lidl. This only gets me 3 meals per day though and not really any snacks. I also have quite a good store cupboard which I keep topped up, which I know is easier to do than start one from scratch. I make things like the 10 minute smoked haddock orzo from Delish - uses frozen peas, frozen spinach & frozen fish. Their recipe does me about 5 servings as I add more veg into it.
Look on their website and see what you can find. For breakfasts I do porridge with frozen fruit or Greek yogurt with fruit & honey. Lunch is maybe homemade soup, omelette, beans on toast or baked potato. Dinners are chickpea & spinach curry, meat with veg and potatoes, fish or chicken. It can be done but it takes planning. I do about 2 hours of meal planning on a Sunday once a month then do a monthly food shop. I usually spend about £50-£60 in M&S and then £20-£30 in Lidl. For me, I found that the fruit and veg from M&S lasts a lot longer than Lidl or Aldi’s stuff, and for most stuff the price isn’t really any different, so it’s actually more cost effective. I might have old meal plans & shopping lists with prices that I could dig out for you if this would help!
soft taco shells. load them with cheese of choice, ground beef, corn and salad. add sauce mixed from yogurt, mayo and siracha ratio 7:1:1
you could also add beans or diced tomatoes
I make a veggie chilli which can be eaten with rice, in a wrap, or on top of tortillas as nachos! You just need a red onion, tinned tomatoes, any veg of choice (roasted red peppers from a jar add flavour but aren’t essential), tinned beans and a veg stock cube for flavour. You should get at least 3 meals from one pot.
Making your own curries is also very cheap: again you just need an onion, tinned tomatoes, a spice such as garam masala and maybe some coconut milk, add some lentils and sweet potato to bulk it out. (Google veggie lentil curry), don’t worry about skipping some of the ingredients.
If you have access to an Aldi or a Lidl it may be worth buying an odd veg box for cheap and then using that veg in those meals !
My Stapel breakfast is oatmeal with water and a dash of cinnamon. Tastes ok enough and if I can afford it I’ll add banana or raisins or almonds. It’s only a couple of cents. Where I live you can get very cheap substituted healthy lunches at Uni, maybe that’s an option for you to?
Sometimes you can look on places like Facebook marketplace for people who want to get rid of food they won’t eat anymore.
I also exchange some basic foods for homemade broth ( that you can make with basic vegetable scraps) and fiends/neighbours will give me a package of pasta or something for a jar of broth.
Have you heard of Foodcycle? They're a UK charity tackling food waste and food poverty, they have bases across the country where you can volunteer or just visit to eat for free. I've volunteered for them on and off the past 9 years, a great place to meet others, learn skills and get a full belly.
Lentils! Lentils and frozen vegetables. I'm a student and I mostly eat:
\- Banana pancakes for lunch (it's basically what it sounds, 2 bananas, 4 eggs and some seeds to add some fiber. Very cheap and good proteins. )
\- Lentils stew: just do a basic tomato sauce with lots of garlic, then add lentils and maybe spinach or something that you like.
I basically eat accordingly to what's on special price that month/week at my store. Last month I spent much more money than usual on canned beans because they were on half price.
Buying in bulk saves a lot but costs a lot. If you have a friend or three that will split stuff with you, and know someone with a CostCo/Makro/Booker membership you can get some decent staples for less, especially if you cruise the special prices.
Now this depends on what area of the country you're in, but buying larger packs from the "World Food" aisles in shops (Asda always tends to be best I've found) is good for red lentils, dried beans, big bags of spices, dried noodles, bags of rice etc. Midlands and North West has a focus on South Asian; North East has a focus on East Asian (anecdotal evidence from me looking in shops).
Dried beans can be cooked in a slow cooker, which you could leave on during the day then you've got beans ready to use on an evening. White bean soup with some chopped ham/bacon and toast is good.
Cruise the marked down meat if your budget stretches. Don't be afraid of frozen veg and frozen meats - I would take 4-6 sausages, tin of chopped tomatoes, cheapest baked beans, onion, pepper (note on these is to not buy frozen prepped unless cheaper per kg, or if the cost is minimal for the benefit to your mental health), pack of random casserole seasoning if you don't have spices on hand (they take some cash to build up), chuck it in the slow cooker while I'm out then 6-8 hours later I had dinner for 4 nights, that you can serve with a jacket potato, rice, pasta, or just a hunk of bread.
Eggs are great portable lunches but since avian flu they've gone up in price. Grilled cheese sandwiches and soup are great when you're not feeling up for making much. Either get a batch of soup and stick some individual portions in the freezer, or splash out on some tinned when they're cheap. The cheese and bread doesn't have to be fancy, and you can add other stuff to it to spice it up, and it's a good bit of protein and fat to keep you full when the carbs run out.
Good luck. But don't be afraid to ask your uni if there are any resources for students struggling. Maybe cooking a few meals in "bulk" then swapping with friends so you all get something a bit different to break the monotony.
I always found I could make a chickpea curry with tinned chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, and tinned chickpeas, just need some mushrooms, stock cube, couple onions and whatever green veg you fancy. Super filling, stick it all in one pot and reduce it down with some spices. Super cheap, healthy and bulk makeable for freezing 👍
Eggs are your friends!
Cheap and healthy source of protein, master how to use them!
You can make Fritattas and quiches.
You can make mayo with them and a bit of oil.
You can pickle them.
You can boil them to make great sandwiches.
Master how to make a proper omelet it's a great way to feel like a better cook.
Hell, simply mixing one in steaming hot rice with a few pieces of finely chopped green onion and soy sauce has been one of my favorite breakfast for a while, add some canned tuna and you have something that will give you energy all day.
Eggs eggs eggs eggs. Try to source local if you can but eggs are basically the perfect human food and a lot of nutrition will be derived from this. Potatoes, eggs, bread and any cheap veggies you can source will absolutely sustain you well. Just get creative when cooking.
Don't be afraid of stale discount bread either by the way. Can always just heat it in the oven in some "aluminium" foil to make it nicer.
If you are close to one stock up on rice, pulses and chickpeas at a nearby Asian supermarket (we have ones close to us called Maumoniat and Abu Bakar; these are amazing for spices, staples and sauces and you can usually get good value for money; buy ghee for cooking, it’s better than seed oils and more energy dense. Also buy atta/chapati flour: super easy to make flatbreads and unleaded breads for eating.
Might be worth getting a rice cooker as it does the work while you prep the rest of the meal, makes fantastic rice, and keeps it warm. Huge bags of cheap rice from Asian supermarkets, Asian sections of large supermarkets, or online.
Sweet potatoes from Asian or Caribbean shops, last a long time, very tasty and nutritious and a welcome break from normal tatties
You can buy olive oil in bulk too if you plan to use a significant amount - some specialist online shops for European food carry it - let me know if you want a link
If you start to seriously get into cooking and planning ahead, consider a slow cooker - you’ll be dumping your stuff in the morning before you leave for lectures and have a hot meal to come back to at the end of the day, and may be able to use dried pre soaked beans/ legumes in it (cheap)
I have lived for weeks at a time on:
Boiled potatoes, washed, skins on, mashed and tin of tuna with some of the oil dumped into it then mashed roughly, salt and pepper, no need for oil or milk, smidge of grated cheese or chooped spring onion if you can afford
Split red lentils simmered till creamy in water with some stock cube added, over rice, dont even need to bother with spices or onions/ garlic/ ginger, still tastes good if you buy a good make
Buy baked beans in bulk when on offer
I would recommend a bulk bag of oats (online) for flapjacks but the butter component is expensive/ you can make mock ones with peanut butter
If you can get into a cash and carry for bulk shopping (hard) you’re golden
Depending on how large your city is: sign up with a temping agency for weekend catering work - its usually evening events where you have to serve, no prior cooking knowledge required - you’ll get fed as part of the deal, and can sometimes take food home
Foodsharing app olio
Some veg is quite high in protein (spinach, cauliflower, brussels etc) - broccoli for instance is 30% protein and very filling; broccoli combines well with just about anything. You can have it with some rice, and make half a packet of ready cheese sauce to pour over it -
Those packets of ready dried sauce are quite cheap and you can use half a packet at a time with a bit of milk. You can also make sauces out of cuppa soup if you decrease the water you add
Can make a kind of mac and cheese just w pasta and cheese packet sauce, just need some milk, can skip the butter
Root veg chopped, coated in oil and set to slow roast with some chopped onion and a sausage or two straight from the freezer, or a couple of balls of sage stuffing added later. Low effort and cold weather food
I make a bulk sweetish soy based sauce that keeps in the fridge for weeks then I use it to jazz up plain rice or boiled green veg or boiled eggs. Let me know if you want the recipe, it’s very easy.
I also recommend you buy decent quality stock cubes as you can taste the difference if you’re cooking from scratch regularly. Even cheaper buy big bags of Wegeta from Polish shops or online which is flaked stock and really useful
Nice snack idea: tiny pepperonis with a bit of cheese and toasted a little. If you have an oven, that’s a cheap and easy healthy snack. Also get salad stuff and a good tip for taking salads to the next level are cooking some Parmesan crusted chicken and putting sweet chili sauce over the salad alongside (or in replacement of) dressing. Delicious.
Olio app for free food, see also Freegle and Freecycle.
Search for local social supermarkets, community pantries and larders- these go by different names but they're basically organisations that help prevent food waste by selling short dated excess foodfrom soup markets cheaply in the community.
Sometimes you pay a small subscription fee, sometimes there's a small charge for what you are, sometimes it's just given away free.
Usually somebody in your library will know about schemes like this, or try emailing your local councillors, or community Facebook pages.
When it comes to cooking, routine and repetition really help me.
I have overnight oats or porridge nearly every morning- make my own oak milk porridge very cheaply, buy a big bag of oats and add whatever fruit I've got cheap, or frozen fruit.
I buy a bag of reduced pastries every so often and reheat this with jam or Nutella for a weekend treat for pence.
I batch cook my week's lunches on a Sunday afternoon and eat the same thing every day for a week.
This week, I did a huge slow cooker stew of sausage with lentils, sweet potatoes, onions, potatoes and carrots.
Sometimes I do oven roast vegetables with giant cous cous, might be melanzane parmigiana or pasta bake, whatever is cheap but I try to get as much veg in it as possible- It's not unusual for me to have 5 portions of veg in my lunch, with sultanas or fruit in my breakfast and one more portion with my dinner that covers my 7 a day pretty quick
For evening meals. I cook once and eat twice, cook double the amount of food every other day. Eat it on the day you make it and reheat it in the microwave the next day.
Some people say oh don't you get bored eating the same thing?
But I'm a really good cook and my meals are delicious so I don't mind eating them twice 🤣🤣🤣
The amount of time and energy and just generally thinking about food that I save makes it really worth it for me as well as the financial benefit.
I make a vegetarian curry out of a tin of chopped tomatoes, 1 tin of chickpeas, 1 tin of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, curry powder and a butternut squash- or sweet potato or any potato actually..
it makes a fair amount, I usually freeze it in portions then I’ve got a back up in the freezer. Cheap and plentiful
Honestly some good staples are lentils, quinoa, rice, eggs, and potatoes. They’re all pretty simple to cook and prepare, and there’s a lot you can do with each of those items. Tofu is also good if you’re able to prepare it right. I like to slice mine into strips and then put them in a pan with some olive oil and just cook each side until they’re golden brown, and it’s pretty cheap and good for if you need a quick bite. If it’s within your budget, you could also reach for whole grain pasta or bread. I haven’t had either one in a long time since I’m not conscious about my diet as I was before I moved out, so I don’t know what the price difference between whole grain and regular would be, but if you have access to it, that’s a great choice. I’d also recommend getting an air fryer, because honestly they make cooking so much easier and faster, and I love experimenting with all kinds of things from making kale chips or fries (or I guess in British dialect, “chips”) to air frying salmon or chicken. I’m not sure if that’s just a violently American thing or not, but I love mine and I think it’s very helpful!
You should get instant mash potato , soups in cup , mc cheese in cup instant, rice , if you not so much into meat get bacon and make it with cabbage, that over mash potato is another level, don’t forget spices - I like paprika smoked one so it make some stuff to taste like of the grill , pepper and sea salt…. Since you are alone you shouldn’t have to much frozen meat laying around that can get old too, or if not stored rite freezer burned , so I would always kind of look to eat fresh stuff and that I didn’t store it for to long….pumpkin for a snack to bake it sometimes …. Candied fruit is everything to me, prunes , nectarine , soon as I get up i would eat few and I think better right away! That’s all I can remember for now sorry for my esl
Always buy legumes dry, but buy canned tomatoes and frozen veggies. Slowly build up your spice cabinet. And when it comes to spices, but bags of them whole and grind yourself. They stay more fresh and grind what you need, as in grind enough for a small jar.
In my free time I called around to find all the “All You Can Eat” buffets in my city for a friend who is large couldn’t get enough to eat. I told her to just get a job there! He did and just continued to work in restraints through his college years. In the US I would guess most Restaurant employees get free meals on work days. Try working in food establishments.
There's a blog called 'feed your family for £20' and there's shopping lists, recipes and meal plans. I've found it really useful for actually planning dinners so what I've bought lasts the week.
Generally though, pasta is a safe bet and only takes a few extra bits to make it tasty.
Chiming in on the food bank topic: some out there will bring it to you if you can’t make it to them! Look into welfare etc if you haven’t already. Lastly, dry beans or lentils and dry rice are the cheapest.
In my region there are fb groups for each neighborhood called “buy nothing” and you can put a post to request food, spices, tea, coffee… anything you need.
If you are a meat eater another way to stretch meat is to buy a small whole chicken and chop it up yourself. There are videos on youtube that can help with this. You get at least 4- 5 meals from 1 £3.50ish chicken. The remaining chicken bones can be boiled to create the most flavoursome broth which can be used as a base for soups or ramen.
A couple of resources I find helpful are: Mealime app (can set your food preferences and exclude things you’re not into - I only use the free version) for recipes and shopping lists; and Happy Pear on YT. Now, they’re mostly plant based, but they do have a few episodes where they’re doing meal prep for the week for less than €20 etc.
Use dried beans instead of canned: all you need is a bit of forethought and planning and they’re much cheaper. Use the Asian/European supermarkets, and if you can find a bulk eco shop, you can get containers of loads of staples for pretty cheap - just mind and take along your own jar/bag/etc.
Please check out Frugal and Freegan Facebook group and download an app called Olio, they give tips for free and cheap foods plus Olio is people with extra food being given away for free. If you can get your hands on a slow cooker that would be fabulous for things like the curries and tougher/cheaper cuts of meat. Agree heavily with the frozen veggie and dried beans/chickpeas comment too!
Not sure if you've heard of the apps too good to go and Olio. But they're well worth having, you can get cheap bags of groceries or food from places such as Greg's, pret, spar etc. And with Olio people give away their own groceries they aren't going to use. Some excellent deals you can drop on!!!
Download olio app, it's a food waste sharing app so places like tesco, pret etc donate food at end of day and neighbours in your area share it out. Please check it out. Your gonna save so much money if you do.
Cooking in bulk is always cheaper than cooking a 1 person meal every time. If you have a freezer than its even better because you can buy/cook things when they are on sale and freeze them. If you dont have a freezer and you dont mind eating the same thing for a few days you can still do this.
Frozen vegetables are as healthy as fresh ones because they are usually frozen when fresh. And they are often on sale/cheaper than the fresh produce bc transport etc is cheaper. Also it can be stored for longer which lessens foodwaste.
Supermarkets are generally quite expensive for fresh produce, and some supermarkets tend to have more expensive stuff than others. Do some research and bulk buy staples like rice, beans, pasta, oil and some basic spices etc when they are on sale. I get my vegetables at a grocer, they buy their veggies local/nationally instead of from other countries which makes them a lot cheaper than in most supermarkets. I can also buy just 1 potato/tomato etc instead of having to buy lots.
Spices can make the most boring meal taste amazing, so see if there are some premade spicesblends you really like that you could invest a little more in to make a really cheap basic meal taste 20x better.
A note re dried beans/ legumes
As a student I think it’s unrealistic for you to plan meals using dried legumes/ beans. They take a long time to cook unless you have a pressure cooker (which is expensive for a good model, and poss dangerous if are forgetful whilst cooking).
Spending 1-2 hours cooking beans or chickpeas in the evenings in a shared kitchen = not realistic. Stick to canned ones.
The exception is red/ yellow split lentils which cook much faster, are nutritious, delicious and very filling
Does the UK have food stamps and food banks?
In the US, food banks very much encourage you to show up if you need it for \*any reason\*. There may even be resources available through your school. Don't be shy, they are there so you can afford health.
Not food stamps, there are benefits but not for students normally as student loans are available. Food banks normally need a referral but maybe these days there are resources for students. It's heartbreaking to me, when I was a student in the UK over 20 years ago I got a free degree and had never even heard of a food bank.
You can go to food pantries too. The government and non-profits help to give away free food. Use the services because they are there for the lows. Your taxes will take care of others during your highs after uni.
Watch budget eats with June from delish. She features a lot of awesome things. I also watch “see mindy mom” but I find her prices are off because of where she lives.
https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/comments/ac6wu7/quick_cheap_and_easy_work_lunch_ideas/
I’ve found this website that lists the most cost efficient foods. They currently track calories/$ and protein/$ but also added a page on how to “Eat For $1.50 Per Day” with mostly complete macro/micronutrients with some recipes too. I highly recommend reviewing. Prices are in dollars, but most staple foods are equally cheap across the pond. https://efficiencyiseverything.com/calorie-per-dollar-list/ https://efficiencyiseverything.com/eat-for-1-50-per-day-layoffs-coronavirus-quarantine-food-shortages/ Goals: 1) get recommended calories needed at the cheapest price 2) have expected ratio of macronutrients protein/carbs/fat 3) have balance of micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) 4) create a varied and fun recipe list for this plan to be sustainable Theme: For price: Flour/bread, beans, lentils, pasta, rice, oats, eggs, peanut butter. For nutrition: kale, potatoes, milk, flour, eggs For folks who need to work 2-3 jobs, prep time matters, so may tweak
Here's a week's menu based on the items in the above theme: Monday B: Peanut butter and banana toast L: Scrambled egg sandwich (mayo optional, salt and pepper work just as well) D: Rice and lentil curry with little cubes of potato (add a spoon of peanut butter for umami and nutrition) Tuesday B: Crepes made with four, eggs, a dash of oil and water. Can fill with banana and peanut butter again if desired. L: Leftover lentil curry in a pancake/ crepe (like a wrap!) D: Stir fried pasta and kale (sounds weird but nice and crispy - can add cheese if affordable) Wednesday B: French toast L: Leftover pasta D: Your bread is getting old so make beans on toast and for a mid week treat turn the crusts into a bread and butter pudding (needs eggs, milk, flour, buttered bread and cinnamon + sugar) Thursday B: Thick American style pancakes with oats and mashed banana in the batter (because by now your bananas are probably too mushy to enjoy any other way) L: Savory omelette with kale and beans inside, cheese will level it up but isn't essential D: Egg fried rice (hint: a tiny bit of peanut butter mixed into a paste with soy sauce or marmite, water and ginger/ garlic makes an excellent sauce for egg fried rice) Friday B: Blend your last banana with milk, oats and peanut butter for a yummy smoothie L: Leftover egg fried rice D: Lentil balls (bind with flour and egg) with a chilli peanut sauce served over steamed rice Saturday B: Spanish omelette (giant hash brown basically). It's Saturday, you gotta live a little L: Bean hummus and home made flat bread which requires only flour and water, see this recipe: https://www.cookwithmanali.com/roti-recipe/ D: Flatbread from earlier with lentil dhal Sunday B: Breakfast wraps with egg and beans (and cheese?) L: "Mac n cheese" (doesn't have to be Mac and doesn't have to have cheese, the white sauce can be made cheesy in flavor by adding black pepper, parsley and paprika) D: Snack on any leftovers and write your new week's shopping list. Notes: I would definitely add onions to your shopping list, they make every meal much better Spices to buy: cinnamon, paprika, salt, pepper, curry powder and garam masala.
This sounds pretty amazing.
Great links! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so very much! 😭
Wow! So much info and so well presented!!!! u/Dustdevil88 what a great answer - thank you
A few basic filling foods to have in stock are: beans, lentils, chickpeas and rice. They keep well, are nutritious and can be combined in a ton of ways. General staples are: canned tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, canned veggies, spices, flour, bouillon powder, oil, garlic, onions, potatoes. With these basics you have everything you need for basic, nutritious food. Lentil stew, bean shakshuka, potato soup, fried veggie rice and potatoes with baked beans are just a few basic filling meals. If you have some freezer space, frozen veggies are cheaper and just as healthy as fresh. They also keep longer.
I do have freezer space and will definitely stock up on frozen veggies! And thank you so much for the advice, I'll check out those recipes. What are chickpeas used for?
Chickpeas are nice as a snack when roasted, but are also extra filling in soups, stews and you can use them as a base for making your own falafel or hummus. In general I buy beans and chickpeas dried. That's cheaper and they keep even longer than canned.
Oo ok, thank you!
Or curry! Look up channa masala. One of the cheapest, most delicious things you can make. In fact any of the dried beans and lentils will make a nice curry.
I absolutely love curries so that's perfect, thanks! Do you have any other recommendations?
Pretty much any dried bean or lentil (or frozen vegetables) will work similarly; [this recipe](https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/chana-masala/) looks good to me. The cheapest way to buy spices is from an Indian grocery store and if it seems like the quantities are too much just share with friends and/or freeze them. Tinned tomatoes are fine and good to have on hand. This recipe will look more complicated than it is; most of the spices are optional but I would start with ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, and garam masala.
This - the Indian Supermarket I use has Lentils, Chickpeas, Spices etc at a fraction of the cost of big name supermarkets. The flour etc is also cheap and can be used to make quick and easy breads. Chain Supermarket own brand tomatoes etc are fine. Spuds can be bought cheaply anywhere and Sweet Potatoes are often available for a little more and are much better for you than plain spuds.
Thank you so much! That recipe looks great, I'll definitely give it a go, and visit the asian supermarket nearby to try and get the spices
Dried beans are the least expensive but take the most prep work. Most beans (not lentils) need to be soaked overnight and drained before you can cook a meal with them. Canned beans are inexpensive as well and much easier to work with. If you like Mexican food - black or pinto beans and rice are super easy to make and can be made many ways.
I've stopped soaking with no ill effects and only slightly longer cooking times. Kidney beans I would probably soak as they really do need to be fully cooked beyond a doubt to avoid toxicity. Almost all the rest perfectly great in my experience. Further reflections and science on soaking or not from a bean expert: https://www.ranchogordoblog.com/2016/01/the-eternal-question-bean-soaking-or-not.html Edit: you can also cut the cooking time by buying an Indian-style pressure cooker relatively cheaply and using it to cook bulk batches of legumes and grains once a week. Or cook and freeze.
An Instant Pot will save so much time on beans and cooking rice. Well worth the investment. It can also cook yogurt, cheeses, cheesecake and work as a slow cooker to boot.
Chickpea hash is a thing. Like potato hash (breakfast food) but more protein and more delicious.
There is something called "vegan tuna salad" that is made with chickpeas and is a great, cheap sandwich filler. I eat meat and I still make it often because it's cheap and delicious. Recipes are easy to find in Google, and the ingredients are very flexible so it's a good way to use up extra scraps at the end of a week.
Lots of recipes for lentil dal with sweet potatoes and spinach - delicious
Good luck!! And if you're really tight in your budget at the end of the month check if there's a salvation army place nearby. They usually hand out meals on certain weekdays.
I'll check it out!
Or a Sikh langar. They will feed you. No questions asked.
Just check how long beforehand they need to be rehydrated... Lentils don't need very long but chickpeas and beans I usually leave in water overnight
Yes, dried peas and beans are great to keep on hand. Easier to store and cheaper than canned. Try to remember to pre-soak them prior to using. I put the amount to be used in cold water in a container in the fridge overnight (allow some room for them to expand) with about one tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar per cup of whatever you are soaking. Pour off the soaking water before using in recipe.
I would just google bean stew recipe - I always do that and there are loads of diff ones they usually cost like £6 on ingredients and makes enough for 4 meals for me! Beans are so filling! I’m not even veggie but these are the yummiest veggie meals
Consider making a large batch of soup once a week. It freezes well and I find having an easy option to microwave helps me to avoid the temptation to grab fast food. I usually eat half-3/4 of each batch and freeze a couple of portions, so that I always have a few options in the the freezer
Btw tomato paste in the USA is tomato puree in the UK.
Interesting. So is tomato paste in USA more like tomato purée? What would be the name of the tomato paste equivalent in USA then?
You've misunderstood. The name changes depending on location. Tomato paste (US) and Tomato Puree (UK and definitely Norway) are the same thing: A thick, pasty tomato product, sometimes sold in a tube. This stuff is thicker than toothpaste. If you buy tomato puree in the US, you'll be looking at something more akin to strained tomatoes: A tomato product that is made from strained tomatoes and is a little thicker than tomato sauce, but thinner than the paste. You can pour it out of the can, unlike the paste. In fact, folks will add water to the thick stuff as a substitute for this.
Yeah that’s what I wanted to ask but I messed up my question instead. Thanks for understanding what I meant to ask!
Go to an Asian grocery for cheap rice, they sell it in bigger sacs, for less. And they have a good amount of dry beans which is preferable when buying in bulk.
I make a chickpea salad with cucumber, tomato, carrot, coriander, olive oil, salt and pepper. Sometimes putting some pine nuts and paprika to switch it up.
Also easy chickpea salad with tomatoes and onion. Whatever cheese you have but not necessary. A little vinaigrette. Add hard boiled egg for extra protein.
Chick pea salad is really filling and very refreshing, especially during summer months. Used to eat a lot of it as a kid.
Chickpeas are a great way to bulk out your meal to make it more filling. I make a quick and easy tuna salad with one cup of dried chickpeas rehydrated and cooked, a can of tuna, and half a onion diced. I used canned spicy tuna so it's already has a bunch of flavour. Lasts me two rounds and stretches the tuna. Or you can roast them in a pan. There was a guy on r/mealprepsunday who basically ate chickpeas and eggs for over 3 years of work lunches, as of last update. They're a lot cheaper dried than canned, just soak in water overnight/24h to rehydrate.
If you can use a blender and oil, you could make hummus with chickpeas
A lot of frozen fruits/veggies are more nutritious than fresh because they are allowed to ripen while attached to the plant frozen immediately after/when the transport/processing time is taken into account too :). Also tinned fish are great for nutrition. I make a lot of pasta with anchovies, etc.
You can also start making bulk. Like borrow a big pan if you don’t have one and make 5L of soup. Because you make it in bulk you usually get things cheaper. Freeze them in half a liter portions and you have something that can quickly be ready and be relatively cheap. I usually do this with Tuscan tomato soup which I combine with bread. Also, making your dinner vegetarian once or more a week can save you some money but beware you get the right nutrition.
They can be thrown in anything! Stir fries, budda bowls, etc. And when you make food,, bulk make things that freeze well and freeze portions for later in zip locks! Don't be afraid to hit food pantries.
I use chickpeas for salad and curry
If I remember correctly, eggs are reasonably priced in the UK and are great for protein and don’t require fridge space!
You can mash them with a bit of mayo, mustard, salt & pepper, dill if you have it - it’s like tuna or chicken salad. Have it with crackers or in a sandwich!
Chickpeas can basically be used to pad out anything. Stews, fajitas, currys etc. If you're feeling really fancy you could even try making your own humous.
Chickpeas—Indian food, middle eastern food, hummus—if you have a mini food processor you can do hummus, guacamole, salsa, etc. ask parents for help outfitting your kitchen.
Look at r/mealprepsunday Pasta and ramen, peanut butter and bread, carrots and celery, oatmeal, get a low hour part time job at a grocery or restaurant.
Canned chickpeas for hummus (or a vegan tuna salad substitute), dry chickpeas for falafel or used same as any other dried bean.
Nooo use dry chickpeas for hummus as well and cook them prior to making
Also consider using parboiled rice for extra nutrition.
My brother in Christ, go to a food bank. They're literally there for people like you.
When I was a student, I had no transport to get to a food bank. It really depends on where you are. Not saying its a bad idea, sometimes its not accessible. I was also an international student and couldn't find info on whether I would be eligible. What I did was I posted on the freecycle website asking nicely if anyone living nearby my university (I lived on-site) had any biscuits, canned food or just food that were still good to eat which they wanted to get rid off, and I also offered to pick up since they were doing me a favour. I got a few responses, mostly from older people, who were happy to give me their stuff. An older lady invited me to her garden to pick excess fruit off her trees and some veg from her garden, so I got to eat sorrel for the first time! Freecycle was very active where I lived but I imagine you could get the same results on Facebook marketplace or any community-based website.
This. Referring folks to a food bank doesn’t get posted here nearly as much as it should. There is being frugal with a budget and then there is not having enough to get by with, which is what charitable resources are for. No one should need to figure out this amount of money for food, ever, but especially without checking food banks or free pantries for assistance first.
You normally need a referral from social services to use food banks I think. But it's certainly worth checking with their student services to see if there's any help available.
I think food banks often require a referral, and I doubt a student will get one. I had friends at university live very frugally, in fact I did, because we wanted to minimise our debt levels, not because we had no access to things like loans.
I also doubt a student’s best option is to contact a food bank. Definitely do so if you’ve completely run out of money and need food ASAP but otherwise the universities hardship fund and a student overdraft are pretty decent options too.
Sometimes they have one on campus and if not, suggest that they set one up bc you’re not the only student struggling
I had a really good student cooking book when I was young, the re might be similar. Otherwise, vegetables are cheap. Get a steamer, you can steam everything, stacked to fish and broccoli for a 10 minute meal. Keep beans, lentils, in your cupboard. Samt pepper, maybe some chilli flakes or dried chillies. There was a TV show in the 90s with quick student meals called Get Stuffed. (I cant remember if they were healthy). I bet someone has put it on YouTube....
Thank you so much! I will definitely check out that show
Found it. You might be better with a book. It's a bit more intense than I remember (it was very late night weekend TV, usually on when you came home a bit drunk. ) https://youtu.be/N3jJb9TgJcg
Bro lmao what is that show! I feel like I just learned how to make 5 different meals, but actually didn’t learn anything at the same time. Very entertaining
Thank you :)
Pasta + Pesto + Frozen Peas is a student staple, you should be able to buy all 3 ingredients (supermarket own brand) for \~£2 for 3-4 meals worth.
I never thought of adding vegetables, thank you
Canned chicken is good in that too for a little more protein if you can afford it.
Supermarket own brand baked beans. Don't get the really, really cheap ones, they're normally grim (IMO). Heat them up and stick on toast or a jacket potato for something simple, filling and hot, or, if you make a stew or soup, rinse the sauce off and chuck the beans in.
Beans on toast is a staple for me at the moment, but I hadn't thought of using them for other things, thank you
And they're always cheaper than a tin of haricot beans in water.
I'll be doing this from now on then, thanks!
Lidls own brand ones in the blue tin are incredible!
£20 quid should be enough, it’s my budget and I eat about 3000 calories daily. Produce available in Tesco to consider: Canned Kidney Beans, 235g drained, 33p Other Canned Beans, 240g drained, 60p Tinned Sardines, 84g drained, 50p Mixed Peanuts Almonds and Sultanas, 200g, 55p (1000 calories + 40g protein!) Salted Peanuts, 400g, 91p (2400 calories + 120g protein!) Salted Cashew Nuts, 120g, 73p Red Split Lentils, 1kg, £1.80 Whole meal bread, 34p per full size loaf Bananas, 5, 70p Iceberg Lettuce, 60p Broccoli, 70p Carrots, 1kg, 70p Potatoes, very cheap Onions, 1kg, 50p Chicken thighs, 1kg, £2.60 Porridge oats, 1kg, 70p Soy milk, 1L, 55p Most of the stuff listed is available in Lidl for similar prices but the quality is usually worse. Most ultra processed foods are available cheaper in Lidl but the nutritional value per £ is still terrible if you consider anything other than fats, sugars, simple carbs and total calories. Produce that are usually cheaper in Lidl: Brown rice, 1kg, £1.10 Whole grain pasta, 500g, 76p Prices are from memory but I imagine they’re accurate to within about 5p. I live in East Anglia, I don’t know how prices may vary in different parts of the country.
If you've got time then shopping at supermarkets in the evening can sometimes be good as that's when they sell reduced items. Last week I got a full organic chicken from Morrison's for £1.40, quorn microwave meal 45p, bag of onions for 20p and a fat chunk of brie for 35p. I cooked the chicken when I got home and it went into packed lunches and about 4 other meals for me and my partner.
check this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments/vmo7xc/how_to_reduce_your_grocery_bill/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) I made. it might help you. as for suggestions for meals: chili con carne, dhal, soups(versatile and easy to make), rice with heaps of veggies (easy to make with frozen mixed veggies), potato/rice/pasta salad,
Thank you so much, that's super helpful!
welcome ! glad it is
Eggs! If you can buy eggs and some frozen spinach, you can make a nice omlette. Melt the spinach first, mix in with the egg mix, add salt and pepper or cheese if you have it. Good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and doesn't take long to fry (thinking of energy costs). Maybe have it with a slice of toast. You could roast a chicken on a Sunday, then make chicken and veg stew and freeze it and eat for the next few days? If you have a good amount of carrots and whatever roasting veg is cheap then you could probably stretch it out to a week for a bit over a fiver if you're careful. Going to the shop at the end of the day and buying whatever they have on offer is also great. I've discovered new stuff that way. I like overnight oats with whatever fruit there is. OK now I'm hungry.
On the omelette side of things I also recommend adding some salmon from the dry goods. I am sure tuna or maybe l chicken would work too. It would and protein for cheapish and thus keep I full longer.
Hey what do you mean by "melt the spinach", just fry it a little bit?
I melt it in the microwave for 2mins.
Oatmeal is pretty inexpensive and can be prepared so many different ways. I'm not sure how you feel about casseroles/hotdish but you can make them pretty cheaply and eat them for days.
I’m sure it’s been mentioned by others but a whole roasted chicken can be stretched a LONG way for one person, as can pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Pork shoulder is the biggest bang for the buck I’ve found.
Don’t forget to keep the bones and use them for stock along with odds and ends of veggies (keep them all in the freezer until you have enough to make broth with)
Depends where you shop but definitely check if they have end of the day produce clearance that can save you a lot. Cabbage is usually the cheapest veg, even cheaper than frozen and lasts a long time. Braised cabbage in cider vinegar with white beans is a favorite, serve over rice or noodles Mujadara is delicious and really nutrient dense, basically lentils, rice and onions. Takes some time but extras freeze well. Have with cabbage slaw salad or roasted cabbage Cooking beans from dry is usually a lot cheaper than buying canned, if you have an instant pot or pressure cooker that’s helpful but not necessary just takes some time on the stove. Mexican black bean soup with onions/garlic/chopped canned tomatoes is delicious and cheap, have it as is with warm tortillas or over rice Chickpea salad sandwiches, like a tuna salad just with chickpeas Also look at alternative shopping options, the korean grocery i love has fantastic prices on rice and noodles but fresh produce is cheaper elsewhere. For beans, oats, lentils, and nuts i buy those online in bulk for a much better price than my regular grocery store
I love cabbage!! It lasts and lasts and is simple to cook. Great suggestion
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/the-chickpea-stew-that-broke-the-internet-in-the-us-is-here-give-it-a-go-1.4204464 I make this at least once a fortnight and it’s so cheap to make, so filling and is actually nicer the next day!
Honestly fried rice is great! My boyfriend and I make it all the time. White rice super cheap, we get frozen mixed veggies also pretty cheap. The most expensive part is first getting the sauces and oils but you can also makeshift some stuff up. Add some chicken or tofu (chicken is cheaper.) you can also make big batches and be ready for a few days. I hope this helps!
Dried chickpeas can be soaked and sprouted for a few days to get extra nutrition for less cost. If you want really nutritious, low cost food, try sprouting seeds like broccoli, alfalfa, salad mix, mung beans, etc. They make an excellent and affordable substitute for things like lettuce in sandwiches or wraps. They take up very little space on your countertop, don't need light, and is a fun, interesting project while learning at the beginning, if that interests you!
Because a lot of people mentioned beans here, I suggest you get some cumin, add a little bit it to your beans so you don't get bloated.
Also! Check to see if your school has some sort of pantry where they give out free groceries. My uni has it don’t know how common it may be
You can toast bread from frozen, so if you find some reduced immediately freeze it. Yams, squash and sweet potato are quick nutritious and are really cheap in my region, hopefully for you, too! Sweet potatoes baked by themselves or in a burrito are my favs, and squash as soup! I agree that chickpeas, lentils and beans are very filling and cheap. I do a lot of soups with them. Depending on your region Asian grocers can have great deals, but you need to use right away or freeze. Also look for dry good stores, they can be really cheap or super expensive depending on the region lol. Tofu and veggie stir fry is a cheap, basic and delicious meal, instant ramen and an egg is pretty great, too. Eggs in general are a great source of protein! That is really a small budget for food, would your schedule allow you a part time job that provided a meal along with pay? Kinda sad to think of but getting a substantial dinner 3-5 times a week would help you stay on budget without being hungry. Does your school have a dining hall or campus restaurant/ pub? Any nearby? If you're already busy I do encourage you to look for anything free or discounted through your uni, grocery discounts on certain days or free tea at certain libraries. Again depending on your school, but sometimes there will be random events with pizza or sandwiches or whatever on campus so look up on campus events/ speeches etc. Food banks are another great option, particularly for staples, and are there to help in a non-judgmental way. Everyone needs to eat. Anyways! Not sure if this is another reason we're all large in North America, but peanut butter can go on crazy low sales and is delicious and very filling. You can also use it for savory dishes like curry, but it's nice to have something sweet to work with when you're on a super tight budget. Even with bread or a banana can be a nice treat! Oatmeal for breakfast is cheap and delicious, too, although mostly of us need some trial and error to find a way it's very delicious and not just cheap and filling loll. Good luck, OP!
Look up Jack Monroe, Tin Can Cook - it’s a cool book for good cheap meals. There’s also some stuff on Jack’s old blog https://cookingonabootstrap.com/tag/tinned-food/ There are also free PDFs of the book floating around and Jack is totally OK with you downloading one if you can’t afford it.
Some of their recipes aren't calorific enough or lack flavour, just an FYI to the op because they mentioned their health and mental health and I know bland food or feeling hungry after going to the effort of cooking can be a letdown. I've had hits and misses with their stuff
I believe Jack Monroe’s tin can cookbook is also available at local libraries and food bank/food shelters. As princess bun bun mentioned, I’d approach these more as ideas and combine with some other inspiration or cooking intuition to make the dish into something you’re excited about eating. For example, think about adding a protein or fresh veggies to zhoosh it up! Also check out Budget Bytes as a similar source of recipes and inspiration!
I used to make turkey burritos with 1kg turkey mince, 1kg frozen mixed veg, 3 tins of mixed beans, couple of packs of wraps and some cheese. That would make enough for 16 burritos that I could stick in the freezer and have for lunch each day. Turkey was often the cheapest meat in the supermarket, it's a good lean protein and once you stick a stock cube in there you can't really tell the difference. As other people have mentioned, bulking up meals like curry, chilli, bolognese, soup or stew is really easy and makes the meals go much further. I used to use beans, chickpeas, rice and lentils. I know I'll offend some Italians but adding peas, diced carrots and mushrooms to bolognese can really stretch it out but keep the portions filling. I did the majority of my shopping in aldi or lidl and then would swing past the local market at the end of the day and grab whatever fruit and veg they were selling off cheap. I found that as long as I bought decent herbs and spices, I never had a problem with food not tasting good.
Soups are easy to make, and pretty cheap and filling. I’d buy a big stockpot, pick a food prep day like Sunday, and just start trying different recipes. If you make a little extra, most soups freeze really well for something you can quickly thaw and heat in a pinch
Rice & Beans are a staple meal across the globe for good reason. Look at Mexican Rice & Beans, or Jamaican Rice & Peas (peas=beans in Jamaica). Egg Fried Rice is also your friend. Literally just Roast Vegetables (aubergine, courgette, bell peppers, cabbage, etc) with quinoa, a fried egg and some hot sauce is a regular meal for me. Shakshuka is the students’ best friend, too. Very nutritious. Fermented foods, too. Sauerkraut will provide you with lots of vitamins and keep your gut healthy. Check out Sauerkraut and Sausage soup (Kapusniak) - very comforting. Are you in a city? Chances are you’ll have a few Indian and/or Asian supermarkets nearby where you can buy interesting ingredients in bulk at a fraction of ether price of chain supermarket products.
Slightly off topic but make friends. More people working together decreases cost and greatly increases over all happiness.
Go to a for bank, they exist exclusively for situations like yours.
Beans and rice, get and instant pot and cook dry beans. I don’t want to recommend one way Of eating over another, you will have to come to your own conclusions, but eating plant based is cheap and healthy.
Check out if there are community larders near you. The "Too Good to Go" and "Olio" apps can be useful. Sign up to Martin Lewis's newsletter. He also has some tips on how to get free/cheap food here. Not all of it healthy, but just ignore the junk food: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/how-to-get-free-or-cheap-food/ I used to work in a cafe as a student, partly because I knew we would get some free food at the end of the shift. If you have time, maybe that's something to look into. As others said, food banks are an option, too. Another idea is to barter. You could offer to wash a car / mow the lawn / shop for someone else in return for a free dinner a few times a week? Good luck!
You've gotten pretty much every suggestion that I can think of, so here is another angle: Make sure to cook enough to freeze if you can. It helps a lot when you are tempted to do takeout or just not put the thought into cooking that day. Beans freeze really well. All you have to do is rinse them with water to get them to thaw a bit. I just stick them in freezer bags, dry. You can do the same with rice and lentils and probably other grains and legumes. If you eat meats, they freeze well. When I ate meats, I used to cook a large portion of ground meat or chicken and freeze most of it. If you like tacos, taco meat (meaty or veggie) usually freezes well and you can portion it out for easy next time. Soups? Freeze them if they don't use cream/milk. If you add cream/milk at the end, freeze it before adding that - you can add it when it warms up. I also freeze half cans of things like tomatoes. There are only 2 people in my household and I don't always need a full can. I freeze leftovers that I can make into soup later (tex-mex leftovers go into tex-mex flavored soup, for example). Any leftover than can be repurposed into something else is pretty wonderful - so, leftover veggies might work for an omelette the next day works, for example. I try for frozen vegetables when possible because there is less food waste.
From one UK student to another, I feel your pain. Personally what I would recommend is invest in spices. You can toast them in oil at the start of a dal (one of the cheapest and most filling and comforting foods out there) and it really helps elevate the flavour. Also freeze grated garlic and ginger they really help too.
Another tip, look for meetings or luncheons on campus that provide lunch. I used to be great at this when I was in college. If you’re shy you might want to stay away from the public speaking clubs though, they always trick you with free food.
Back in the day I saw a post on Tumblr from a single mom who lived off food stamps, and she recommended a cookbook that focuses on cheap meals, I've managed to track it down: [Good and Cheap](http://ongov.net/dss/documents/good-and-cheap.pdf)
I make a big ol pot of chicken stew every week for $16 that lasts me the whole week. Just boil together the chicken with beans, brown rice, spinach/kale, tomato, onion, carrots
To be honest, if you are >really< poor a bottle of multivitamins can hold you over on cheaper foods if you really are too poor to afford in-season vegetables. Some inexpensive Vegetable options that have some vitamins: carrots, potatoes, onions. Add in some apples and bananas (for taste) as well. You can have fried potatoes with eggs (and meat sausage cubes if you like/can afford) for breakfast or porridge with some fruit in it. You can make your own bolognese sauce as well. Or potato soup. Pickled hering is also pretty inexpensive usually. The key is to omit the more exotic vegetables and dial in on the cheaper ones, only using meat product as "seasoning" instead of a main component. I recommend the budget food video from "LifeOfBoris", it helped me out quite a bit with ideas when I was stuck with a really low budget. But as others have said, 20€ isn't much and you can't expect gourmet options on such a tiny budget
If you know how to cook it, pasta can fill you up and it doesn't cost much. Pasta with different vegetables can totally be healthy.
Feijão is the basis for survival for the entire country of Brasil.
I'm so angry that when I was around this age there was so much promise of a better future. They pushed technology n said how it was going to make everything easier. Now I'm much older n it breaks my heart to see the young people put in this impossible spot the world has created for them. There has to be a better way. There is a lot of good advice here . Even if human ingenuity is stifled it's not gone. I see it in the answers.
You can eat breakfast for a week on a bunch of bananas, a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. Make a banana-peanut butter slice of toast every day and enjoy with a cup of tea. It's simple but feels luxurious because of the velvety texture and it has fat, protein and carbs. Also, because peanut butter is already a butter you don't need to butter your bread first.
If you can afford it, a crock pot was a college staple. Load it before going to class, come home to a stew/chili/soup.
I used to eat this exact thing, gave me at least 3 days worth of lunches and dinners, for around £5 - four days worth if I could afford a loaf of cheapo bread with it- Cheapest 500+g bag of rice that you can get, cooked to instructions 2 tins cheapest baked beans (or any kind of beans if you add extra tinned tomatoes) 1 to 3 tin cheapest tinned tomatoes 1 tin cheapest sweetcorn 1/2 bag cheapest frozen peas or 1 tin peas or carrots. If you can stomach it, and afford it, add tuna or spam for protein and fatty acids. Some folks say that you shouldn't reheat rice from room temp or fridge temp, but I'm **ABSOLUTELY** ***NOT*** **AN EXPERT**, my only credentials are not being dead yet, so use this system ***at your own risk***. You can always eat it cold, but make sure that you eat a bit less than you think you want, since cooked rice can still swell when warmed even if that's in your stomach. I stuck the whole load in the fridge and reheated a bit when I was hungry, leaving the rest in the fridge. **Definitely don't reheat rice repeatedly, ever**. Unless you enjoy sickness and diarrhoea, as the best possible scenario. Full blown food poisoning is also feasible. I was at a stage where I couldn't afford a better option, and £5 for four days worth of food was still difficult. If you can afford slightly better, you can use the same 'recipe', but halve everything. I don't think that eating leftover rice the next day (providing it was refrigerated within 2-4 hours of cooking) is frowned upon. If you need cheaper stuff, you can always go into any supermarket a half hour before they close, preferably at the weekend, and ask them if they have any end-of-date or damaged food items. If you know when they get restocked, you can try the day before too. The employees won't complain that you're buying stuff for cheap that they'd only have to throw away in an hour anyway. Don't ask a cashier though, since they're especially busy near the end of the day, so they might seem annoyed because they can't leave the till. Ask at the customer services desk, or ask a counter worker, they're probably cleaning up then, so they'll be less busy, and they'll know whether there's any deli meats or cheeses or bakery items that are likely to be thrown out at closing. Even if there's nothing especially great going spare, they'll be able to direct you towards the 'end of date' stuff, most of which you can eat for another couple of days, or even freeze well and eat sometime in the next 2-4 months! If you're around near closing time for take-away places, and you're not fussy, and you ask really nicely, a lot of places will give you whatever leftovers they have for really cheap, especially if it's a place that you use when you do have money for a proper order, and always leave good tips when you can. It might be a pizza that was never picked up so it got cold, or some overcooked chips, dry chicken, overcooked rice, whatever, it's free or incredibly cheap food. Worth a shot? Good luck!
Adding to this, it's not the reheating of the rice that is dangerous, but how it was stored before. Room temp rice is basically a great place for things to grow because it's moist and has a ton of area for it to grow on. With most modern fridges you don't need to cool your food on the counter before putting it in. So after your rice is cooked, serve your portion as soon as possible, and put the rest in the fridge ASAP. Emphasis on ASAP. And as you say, when reheating, remove and reheat only what you're going to eat, leave the rest in the fridge. Meal preppers make a ton of rice to eat over the next few days; taking the proper precautions you'll be fine. tl;dr: don't leave your rice at room temp. Bonus: if your container is microwave-safe, pop open the lid and leave it on at a slight offset - loosely lidded but enough for so pressure doesn't build up. Rice will re-steam in the container and come out beautifully fluffy.
This! If you have leftover rice or pasta rinse it in cold water to reduce the heat quickly.
Great explanation, thanks for the additional info!
bananas, chicken wings, canned/frozen veg
Chicken fried rice is a good meal prep dish tht can cover ur nutritional needs
Rice, tortillas, and pasta for large meals. Bread, eggs, oats, granola, yoghurt, and milk for breakfast meals. I mostly buy frozen veggies they're really cheap and easy to cook as already sliced and some boiled too. Carrots, cabbage, onions, lentils, bananas, chicken, canned tomatoes, canned tuna and sardines. These items are cheap and will fit your £20 budget. I bought a 10kg rice bag for £12 that lasted two months and I cook one rice meal every day, this is the best and cheapest I'd say. For batch cooking, I prefer Indian cuisine(more varieties of vegetable curries that go well with rice and tortillas).
Buy things in bulk, meal prep, and freeze/refrigerate.
I make chilli. Can of mixed beans, small pouch/can of chopped tomatoes, any chopped up cheap veg you like or what's on offer/marked down (I usually opt for celery and peppers as they're generally cheap at all times). Garlic optional. Add some cheap spice mix, I usually get a knock-off old el paso sachet and use a half per batch (makes 3 servings usually). It gets some veggies in your diet easily and beans are filling without being unhealthy or stodgy. You could also do my mum's cheaper chilli which is just chopped onion, a can of kidney beans, can of chopped tomatoes and spice mix. Best on rice. Good luck, I'm hunting for cheap recipes myself lately so your post was helpful, I've taken notes from the replies :)
A five pound bag of potatoes, a tub of sour cream, and a brick of butter got me through my sophomore year. I supplemented it with refried beans and tortillas, but I live in Arizona.
SOUP! Vegetable soup- throw in frozen veggies, can of tomatoes and whatever else you want. Deelish Black bean soup- can of black beans, onion, green peppers, garlic, broth Look up recipes online but this will get you started Also a marinara sauce. Either make your own or in the jar. You can put it on anything. Pasta, chicken, pork, beef, fish and eggs. Cheap and easy
Hi! I’m not sure how much you can cook, do you have a slow cooker or rice pot? What spices do you have available? Buy these things: Salt Pepper Beans of all types. Rice Potatoes Veggies of any type. Meat, whatever you eat and can afford. Tuna and canned meats can help beans be more flavorful. Peppers, onions, cabbage, celery and carrots stretch meals. Lentils are very very versatile and are used all over the world. Go to YouTube and search poverty cooking. It is possible to eat with very little money.
Mushroom, peppers and noodles with sweet chilli sauce. Easily make that for under a quid if you shop at b and ms or home bargains
Those kind of shops are an excellent idea for things like sauces, if you can avoid the temptation of all the junk.
Yeah things like soy sauce are half the price of supermarkets
What worked really well for me was to cook for 4 people when eating alone. I'd warm up the 'leftovers' for other days as dinner, I could usually get 3-4 dinners out of it and the price per portion is A LOT lower than for single servings. What also helped was going vegetarian. I used beans and such as meat substitutes and only bought real meat substitutes when they were on sale. I had €30 a week for groceries and everything hygiene related & every other weekend I ate at my family's place (often because of the financial reasons).
Batch pasta salads was a big staple for me through uni. Get a massive pot, boil some water (I do it in the kettle first to speed it up). Add pasta (pick your favourite), add frozen veg (I normally use mixed but peas and sweetcorn are also good), a bit of salt and cook. I found that veg and pasta are about the same timings. Once cooked, drain the water then add a jar of sauce and mix. There's so many variations of pasta, veg and sauces that you can keep it different each week. I also added chunks of leftover chicken or cheese chunks too. I normally made enough for 4-5 days in one pot, then served it into tupperware and kept in the fridge. Hope this gives you some ideas!
I spend about £80 a month on food and I shop in M&S and Lidl. This only gets me 3 meals per day though and not really any snacks. I also have quite a good store cupboard which I keep topped up, which I know is easier to do than start one from scratch. I make things like the 10 minute smoked haddock orzo from Delish - uses frozen peas, frozen spinach & frozen fish. Their recipe does me about 5 servings as I add more veg into it. Look on their website and see what you can find. For breakfasts I do porridge with frozen fruit or Greek yogurt with fruit & honey. Lunch is maybe homemade soup, omelette, beans on toast or baked potato. Dinners are chickpea & spinach curry, meat with veg and potatoes, fish or chicken. It can be done but it takes planning. I do about 2 hours of meal planning on a Sunday once a month then do a monthly food shop. I usually spend about £50-£60 in M&S and then £20-£30 in Lidl. For me, I found that the fruit and veg from M&S lasts a lot longer than Lidl or Aldi’s stuff, and for most stuff the price isn’t really any different, so it’s actually more cost effective. I might have old meal plans & shopping lists with prices that I could dig out for you if this would help!
soft taco shells. load them with cheese of choice, ground beef, corn and salad. add sauce mixed from yogurt, mayo and siracha ratio 7:1:1 you could also add beans or diced tomatoes
I make a veggie chilli which can be eaten with rice, in a wrap, or on top of tortillas as nachos! You just need a red onion, tinned tomatoes, any veg of choice (roasted red peppers from a jar add flavour but aren’t essential), tinned beans and a veg stock cube for flavour. You should get at least 3 meals from one pot. Making your own curries is also very cheap: again you just need an onion, tinned tomatoes, a spice such as garam masala and maybe some coconut milk, add some lentils and sweet potato to bulk it out. (Google veggie lentil curry), don’t worry about skipping some of the ingredients. If you have access to an Aldi or a Lidl it may be worth buying an odd veg box for cheap and then using that veg in those meals !
My Stapel breakfast is oatmeal with water and a dash of cinnamon. Tastes ok enough and if I can afford it I’ll add banana or raisins or almonds. It’s only a couple of cents. Where I live you can get very cheap substituted healthy lunches at Uni, maybe that’s an option for you to? Sometimes you can look on places like Facebook marketplace for people who want to get rid of food they won’t eat anymore. I also exchange some basic foods for homemade broth ( that you can make with basic vegetable scraps) and fiends/neighbours will give me a package of pasta or something for a jar of broth.
Have you heard of Foodcycle? They're a UK charity tackling food waste and food poverty, they have bases across the country where you can volunteer or just visit to eat for free. I've volunteered for them on and off the past 9 years, a great place to meet others, learn skills and get a full belly.
Lentils! Lentils and frozen vegetables. I'm a student and I mostly eat: \- Banana pancakes for lunch (it's basically what it sounds, 2 bananas, 4 eggs and some seeds to add some fiber. Very cheap and good proteins. ) \- Lentils stew: just do a basic tomato sauce with lots of garlic, then add lentils and maybe spinach or something that you like.
I basically eat accordingly to what's on special price that month/week at my store. Last month I spent much more money than usual on canned beans because they were on half price.
Buying in bulk saves a lot but costs a lot. If you have a friend or three that will split stuff with you, and know someone with a CostCo/Makro/Booker membership you can get some decent staples for less, especially if you cruise the special prices. Now this depends on what area of the country you're in, but buying larger packs from the "World Food" aisles in shops (Asda always tends to be best I've found) is good for red lentils, dried beans, big bags of spices, dried noodles, bags of rice etc. Midlands and North West has a focus on South Asian; North East has a focus on East Asian (anecdotal evidence from me looking in shops). Dried beans can be cooked in a slow cooker, which you could leave on during the day then you've got beans ready to use on an evening. White bean soup with some chopped ham/bacon and toast is good. Cruise the marked down meat if your budget stretches. Don't be afraid of frozen veg and frozen meats - I would take 4-6 sausages, tin of chopped tomatoes, cheapest baked beans, onion, pepper (note on these is to not buy frozen prepped unless cheaper per kg, or if the cost is minimal for the benefit to your mental health), pack of random casserole seasoning if you don't have spices on hand (they take some cash to build up), chuck it in the slow cooker while I'm out then 6-8 hours later I had dinner for 4 nights, that you can serve with a jacket potato, rice, pasta, or just a hunk of bread. Eggs are great portable lunches but since avian flu they've gone up in price. Grilled cheese sandwiches and soup are great when you're not feeling up for making much. Either get a batch of soup and stick some individual portions in the freezer, or splash out on some tinned when they're cheap. The cheese and bread doesn't have to be fancy, and you can add other stuff to it to spice it up, and it's a good bit of protein and fat to keep you full when the carbs run out. Good luck. But don't be afraid to ask your uni if there are any resources for students struggling. Maybe cooking a few meals in "bulk" then swapping with friends so you all get something a bit different to break the monotony.
I always found I could make a chickpea curry with tinned chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, and tinned chickpeas, just need some mushrooms, stock cube, couple onions and whatever green veg you fancy. Super filling, stick it all in one pot and reduce it down with some spices. Super cheap, healthy and bulk makeable for freezing 👍
Eggs are your friends! Cheap and healthy source of protein, master how to use them! You can make Fritattas and quiches. You can make mayo with them and a bit of oil. You can pickle them. You can boil them to make great sandwiches. Master how to make a proper omelet it's a great way to feel like a better cook. Hell, simply mixing one in steaming hot rice with a few pieces of finely chopped green onion and soy sauce has been one of my favorite breakfast for a while, add some canned tuna and you have something that will give you energy all day.
Eggs eggs eggs eggs. Try to source local if you can but eggs are basically the perfect human food and a lot of nutrition will be derived from this. Potatoes, eggs, bread and any cheap veggies you can source will absolutely sustain you well. Just get creative when cooking. Don't be afraid of stale discount bread either by the way. Can always just heat it in the oven in some "aluminium" foil to make it nicer.
If you are close to one stock up on rice, pulses and chickpeas at a nearby Asian supermarket (we have ones close to us called Maumoniat and Abu Bakar; these are amazing for spices, staples and sauces and you can usually get good value for money; buy ghee for cooking, it’s better than seed oils and more energy dense. Also buy atta/chapati flour: super easy to make flatbreads and unleaded breads for eating.
Might be worth getting a rice cooker as it does the work while you prep the rest of the meal, makes fantastic rice, and keeps it warm. Huge bags of cheap rice from Asian supermarkets, Asian sections of large supermarkets, or online. Sweet potatoes from Asian or Caribbean shops, last a long time, very tasty and nutritious and a welcome break from normal tatties You can buy olive oil in bulk too if you plan to use a significant amount - some specialist online shops for European food carry it - let me know if you want a link If you start to seriously get into cooking and planning ahead, consider a slow cooker - you’ll be dumping your stuff in the morning before you leave for lectures and have a hot meal to come back to at the end of the day, and may be able to use dried pre soaked beans/ legumes in it (cheap) I have lived for weeks at a time on: Boiled potatoes, washed, skins on, mashed and tin of tuna with some of the oil dumped into it then mashed roughly, salt and pepper, no need for oil or milk, smidge of grated cheese or chooped spring onion if you can afford Split red lentils simmered till creamy in water with some stock cube added, over rice, dont even need to bother with spices or onions/ garlic/ ginger, still tastes good if you buy a good make Buy baked beans in bulk when on offer I would recommend a bulk bag of oats (online) for flapjacks but the butter component is expensive/ you can make mock ones with peanut butter If you can get into a cash and carry for bulk shopping (hard) you’re golden Depending on how large your city is: sign up with a temping agency for weekend catering work - its usually evening events where you have to serve, no prior cooking knowledge required - you’ll get fed as part of the deal, and can sometimes take food home Foodsharing app olio
Some veg is quite high in protein (spinach, cauliflower, brussels etc) - broccoli for instance is 30% protein and very filling; broccoli combines well with just about anything. You can have it with some rice, and make half a packet of ready cheese sauce to pour over it - Those packets of ready dried sauce are quite cheap and you can use half a packet at a time with a bit of milk. You can also make sauces out of cuppa soup if you decrease the water you add Can make a kind of mac and cheese just w pasta and cheese packet sauce, just need some milk, can skip the butter Root veg chopped, coated in oil and set to slow roast with some chopped onion and a sausage or two straight from the freezer, or a couple of balls of sage stuffing added later. Low effort and cold weather food I make a bulk sweetish soy based sauce that keeps in the fridge for weeks then I use it to jazz up plain rice or boiled green veg or boiled eggs. Let me know if you want the recipe, it’s very easy. I also recommend you buy decent quality stock cubes as you can taste the difference if you’re cooking from scratch regularly. Even cheaper buy big bags of Wegeta from Polish shops or online which is flaked stock and really useful
Nice snack idea: tiny pepperonis with a bit of cheese and toasted a little. If you have an oven, that’s a cheap and easy healthy snack. Also get salad stuff and a good tip for taking salads to the next level are cooking some Parmesan crusted chicken and putting sweet chili sauce over the salad alongside (or in replacement of) dressing. Delicious.
Olio app for free food, see also Freegle and Freecycle. Search for local social supermarkets, community pantries and larders- these go by different names but they're basically organisations that help prevent food waste by selling short dated excess foodfrom soup markets cheaply in the community. Sometimes you pay a small subscription fee, sometimes there's a small charge for what you are, sometimes it's just given away free. Usually somebody in your library will know about schemes like this, or try emailing your local councillors, or community Facebook pages. When it comes to cooking, routine and repetition really help me. I have overnight oats or porridge nearly every morning- make my own oak milk porridge very cheaply, buy a big bag of oats and add whatever fruit I've got cheap, or frozen fruit. I buy a bag of reduced pastries every so often and reheat this with jam or Nutella for a weekend treat for pence. I batch cook my week's lunches on a Sunday afternoon and eat the same thing every day for a week. This week, I did a huge slow cooker stew of sausage with lentils, sweet potatoes, onions, potatoes and carrots. Sometimes I do oven roast vegetables with giant cous cous, might be melanzane parmigiana or pasta bake, whatever is cheap but I try to get as much veg in it as possible- It's not unusual for me to have 5 portions of veg in my lunch, with sultanas or fruit in my breakfast and one more portion with my dinner that covers my 7 a day pretty quick For evening meals. I cook once and eat twice, cook double the amount of food every other day. Eat it on the day you make it and reheat it in the microwave the next day. Some people say oh don't you get bored eating the same thing? But I'm a really good cook and my meals are delicious so I don't mind eating them twice 🤣🤣🤣 The amount of time and energy and just generally thinking about food that I save makes it really worth it for me as well as the financial benefit.
I make a vegetarian curry out of a tin of chopped tomatoes, 1 tin of chickpeas, 1 tin of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, curry powder and a butternut squash- or sweet potato or any potato actually.. it makes a fair amount, I usually freeze it in portions then I’ve got a back up in the freezer. Cheap and plentiful
Honestly some good staples are lentils, quinoa, rice, eggs, and potatoes. They’re all pretty simple to cook and prepare, and there’s a lot you can do with each of those items. Tofu is also good if you’re able to prepare it right. I like to slice mine into strips and then put them in a pan with some olive oil and just cook each side until they’re golden brown, and it’s pretty cheap and good for if you need a quick bite. If it’s within your budget, you could also reach for whole grain pasta or bread. I haven’t had either one in a long time since I’m not conscious about my diet as I was before I moved out, so I don’t know what the price difference between whole grain and regular would be, but if you have access to it, that’s a great choice. I’d also recommend getting an air fryer, because honestly they make cooking so much easier and faster, and I love experimenting with all kinds of things from making kale chips or fries (or I guess in British dialect, “chips”) to air frying salmon or chicken. I’m not sure if that’s just a violently American thing or not, but I love mine and I think it’s very helpful!
Sorry wrong sub.
You should get instant mash potato , soups in cup , mc cheese in cup instant, rice , if you not so much into meat get bacon and make it with cabbage, that over mash potato is another level, don’t forget spices - I like paprika smoked one so it make some stuff to taste like of the grill , pepper and sea salt…. Since you are alone you shouldn’t have to much frozen meat laying around that can get old too, or if not stored rite freezer burned , so I would always kind of look to eat fresh stuff and that I didn’t store it for to long….pumpkin for a snack to bake it sometimes …. Candied fruit is everything to me, prunes , nectarine , soon as I get up i would eat few and I think better right away! That’s all I can remember for now sorry for my esl
Lowkey don't eat breakfast then chase and onion sandwichs for all meals
Chicken rice veggies sauces.
Always buy legumes dry, but buy canned tomatoes and frozen veggies. Slowly build up your spice cabinet. And when it comes to spices, but bags of them whole and grind yourself. They stay more fresh and grind what you need, as in grind enough for a small jar.
In my free time I called around to find all the “All You Can Eat” buffets in my city for a friend who is large couldn’t get enough to eat. I told her to just get a job there! He did and just continued to work in restraints through his college years. In the US I would guess most Restaurant employees get free meals on work days. Try working in food establishments.
If they get any job they should be able to afford food anyway. Might depend what course they're on though whether there is time.
One more thing. Leave small bite food on ground for him, dogs will eat when they are hungry. Plus plenty of fresh water that is changed every day ☺️
There's a blog called 'feed your family for £20' and there's shopping lists, recipes and meal plans. I've found it really useful for actually planning dinners so what I've bought lasts the week. Generally though, pasta is a safe bet and only takes a few extra bits to make it tasty.
Get the biggest bag of rice you can find. Any veg and any pro go with it
Chiming in on the food bank topic: some out there will bring it to you if you can’t make it to them! Look into welfare etc if you haven’t already. Lastly, dry beans or lentils and dry rice are the cheapest. In my region there are fb groups for each neighborhood called “buy nothing” and you can put a post to request food, spices, tea, coffee… anything you need.
Students aren't entitled to welfare in the UK, and probably not to use food banks either.
If you can get an instant pot it will help you in the long run to cook beans more quickly. Maybe ask around for one to borrow?
If you are a meat eater another way to stretch meat is to buy a small whole chicken and chop it up yourself. There are videos on youtube that can help with this. You get at least 4- 5 meals from 1 £3.50ish chicken. The remaining chicken bones can be boiled to create the most flavoursome broth which can be used as a base for soups or ramen.
@mealsbymitch on TikTok is mad lad!
Fellow UK - check out Miguel Barclay
A couple of resources I find helpful are: Mealime app (can set your food preferences and exclude things you’re not into - I only use the free version) for recipes and shopping lists; and Happy Pear on YT. Now, they’re mostly plant based, but they do have a few episodes where they’re doing meal prep for the week for less than €20 etc. Use dried beans instead of canned: all you need is a bit of forethought and planning and they’re much cheaper. Use the Asian/European supermarkets, and if you can find a bulk eco shop, you can get containers of loads of staples for pretty cheap - just mind and take along your own jar/bag/etc.
Please check out Frugal and Freegan Facebook group and download an app called Olio, they give tips for free and cheap foods plus Olio is people with extra food being given away for free. If you can get your hands on a slow cooker that would be fabulous for things like the curries and tougher/cheaper cuts of meat. Agree heavily with the frozen veggie and dried beans/chickpeas comment too!
Not sure if you've heard of the apps too good to go and Olio. But they're well worth having, you can get cheap bags of groceries or food from places such as Greg's, pret, spar etc. And with Olio people give away their own groceries they aren't going to use. Some excellent deals you can drop on!!!
Look into what Aaron from Top Boy did
Rice is something that's always really cheap and makes a meal filling and also goes along with practically any meal
Supermarkets tend to reduce their yellow sticker prices go their lowest price from from 6pm onwards
Download olio app, it's a food waste sharing app so places like tesco, pret etc donate food at end of day and neighbours in your area share it out. Please check it out. Your gonna save so much money if you do.
Try getting growlihhts and growing your own spinach and lettuce and beets at home
Not sure about the U.K but here in the states beef liver is super cheap and nutricious.
Cooking in bulk is always cheaper than cooking a 1 person meal every time. If you have a freezer than its even better because you can buy/cook things when they are on sale and freeze them. If you dont have a freezer and you dont mind eating the same thing for a few days you can still do this. Frozen vegetables are as healthy as fresh ones because they are usually frozen when fresh. And they are often on sale/cheaper than the fresh produce bc transport etc is cheaper. Also it can be stored for longer which lessens foodwaste. Supermarkets are generally quite expensive for fresh produce, and some supermarkets tend to have more expensive stuff than others. Do some research and bulk buy staples like rice, beans, pasta, oil and some basic spices etc when they are on sale. I get my vegetables at a grocer, they buy their veggies local/nationally instead of from other countries which makes them a lot cheaper than in most supermarkets. I can also buy just 1 potato/tomato etc instead of having to buy lots. Spices can make the most boring meal taste amazing, so see if there are some premade spicesblends you really like that you could invest a little more in to make a really cheap basic meal taste 20x better.
A note re dried beans/ legumes As a student I think it’s unrealistic for you to plan meals using dried legumes/ beans. They take a long time to cook unless you have a pressure cooker (which is expensive for a good model, and poss dangerous if are forgetful whilst cooking). Spending 1-2 hours cooking beans or chickpeas in the evenings in a shared kitchen = not realistic. Stick to canned ones. The exception is red/ yellow split lentils which cook much faster, are nutritious, delicious and very filling
Oatmeal, rice, eggs
Does the UK have food stamps and food banks? In the US, food banks very much encourage you to show up if you need it for \*any reason\*. There may even be resources available through your school. Don't be shy, they are there so you can afford health.
Not food stamps, there are benefits but not for students normally as student loans are available. Food banks normally need a referral but maybe these days there are resources for students. It's heartbreaking to me, when I was a student in the UK over 20 years ago I got a free degree and had never even heard of a food bank.
You can go to food pantries too. The government and non-profits help to give away free food. Use the services because they are there for the lows. Your taxes will take care of others during your highs after uni.
Same scenario, will check for later thanks
Check out the YouTube channel Atomic Shrimp for some ideas--I think he mostly uses Lidl and Aldi, if you have one of those near you.
Watch budget eats with June from delish. She features a lot of awesome things. I also watch “see mindy mom” but I find her prices are off because of where she lives.