Calling all Self Catered University students

[Neverhoodian]

If you're tired of pasta and potatoes all the time, try going with eggs like others have mentioned. They're pretty healthy, you can prepare them any way you like (boiled, fried, scrambled, omlettes, etc.) and they go well with any number of other food items. Sometimes I'll buy a package of cheese bratwurst to use as an alternate topping for pasta. Carrots last a while, provide a good source for Vitamin A, and can be used as a side dish or as an ingredient for the main course. Don't forget squashes and yams as well.

Apples and bananas are good choices for fruit, though it's advisable to buy the latter when they're still green, otherwise they'll most likely become overripe before you can eat them all. Oranges are also advisable, as they provide an excellent source for Vitamin C. You can slice them all up and make a fruit salad as a side dish or as a dessert with some whipped topping and/or powdered sugar.

Also, different seasonings and condiments can go a long way to giving boring meals a bold new direction. Sometimes a bit of experimentation can result in some pretty tasty results. For example, I like blueberry waffles with barbeque sauce.

 

[thelonewolf266]

Super noodles, pot noodles and bacon all a man needs.

 

[ComicsAreWeird]

Fishfinger salad. Put the fishfingers in the oven. Get´em out. Make a salad and add the fishfingers cut to bits. Add cocktail sauce. And you got yourselve a simple decent dish.

 

[Alar]

Risotto basically rice gravy and any meat + vedge you have laying around

That's what risotto is? Wow, that sounds really good...

My personal recommendation? Curry with rice, carrots, any meat, and potatoes or onions are optional.

 

[PureChaos]

Super Noodles are great

 

[Pinkamena]

Sausages, toast, spaghetti or macaroni with meat sauce, noodles, OMELETTES!, macaroni with pesto and cheese, etc. That's what I survive on.

 

[Bloedhoest]

Step 1: Buy a deep fryer.

Step 2: Deep-fry everything.

I know, I know, fat American, blah blah blah. Deep fryers are awesome.

Actually, once a week isn't that bad. I do it myself, French fries, frikandellen en kroketten.

On topic. get a wok, you can basically wok anything, takes me 15 min to make a decent meal.

 

[the.gill123]

I lived off pork chops and chips, pizza, spaghetti bolognese, spaghetti carbonara, beef or mushroom stroganoff, omelettes a fuck load of egg and sausage sandwiches and whenever I ran out of money, I would chuck everything in my cupboard into a frying pan, and pray something nice would come out of it, sometimes it was nice, and sometimes it was just awefull.

If you can find a local Iceland, it will become your best friend during uni, it has cheap food and booze.

 

[Sam Warrior]

Risotto basically rice gravy and any meat + vedge you have laying around

That's what risotto is? Wow, that sounds really good...

My personal recommendation? Curry with rice, carrots, any meat, and potatoes or onions are optional.

I'm not sure if thats whats officially in it but thats how my family makes it.

 

[lacktheknack]

Fill up on fruits and veggies. Not only are they often cheap and require no preparation, but they're healthy and help you perform better in school!

Also, you chop them into a delicious stir-fry. Try using peanut sauce, or Worcestershire.

 

[Lopsided Weener]

Some really good suggestions in the thread, keep em coming guys. =) Might even report on how some of them that I try go.

Care to share some recipes that keep you guys alive while away from home? I've been at uni for a couple of weeks now and am looking for some new ideas of what to cook, and any tips and tricks out there to make fast, cheap food.

I've been living off a diet of pasta, potatoes, beans and sausages pretty much (not all at the same time). Chopping up some potatoes into thin strips and frying them in a pan, essentially making homemade chips is a favourite of mine. Simple, cheap, and quick to do, but boring after a while.

So Escapist, what ya got cooking? I'm open for any suggestions. =D

well i see your in the UK so i can't quiet tell you outside of the grocery store on what to get.

personally i love carrots and potatoes, so what i do is i buy a bag of potatoes and carrots, use a peeler to get off the potato skin and the first layer of carrot, and then dice em up and put in em a roaster pan, while adding in a bit of onion soup mix (also cheap), let that sit in the oven for a few hours while your doing hw or whatever and *tada*, you got yourself a delicious and healthy meal, plus lots of leftovers (i usually make enough to feed myself 3 times to the max), and they heat up real fast when you put em in the fridge for leftovers so that's another perk.

i don't have many other suggestions since alot of stuff i eat is very "americanized".

Doesn't really make a difference, ingredients are pretty much the same, though maybe a bit more expensive here. xD I might try that if I have an afternoon lecture and plenty of time after it, though coming back to the flat after 6pm lecture and starving doesn't really allow for cooking that. =(

 

[CainOfNod]

Buy the cheapest canned vegetable (or tomato soup) you can find, bring to a boil and add your own fresh potatoes and noodles. It's got all the carbs you could want and enough vitamins to keep you healthy.

 

[mrhateful]

Go to any major stores Delicacy department and buy already made delicious FRESH(not frozen) food for about 4-5 euro. Pretty sweet and you don't even need to wash anything up or prepare something, just go home and eat it ^^

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Some really good suggestions in the thread, keep em coming guys. =) Might even report on how some of them that I try go.

Care to share some recipes that keep you guys alive while away from home? I've been at uni for a couple of weeks now and am looking for some new ideas of what to cook, and any tips and tricks out there to make fast, cheap food.

I've been living off a diet of pasta, potatoes, beans and sausages pretty much (not all at the same time). Chopping up some potatoes into thin strips and frying them in a pan, essentially making homemade chips is a favourite of mine. Simple, cheap, and quick to do, but boring after a while.

So Escapist, what ya got cooking? I'm open for any suggestions. =D

well i see your in the UK so i can't quiet tell you outside of the grocery store on what to get.

personally i love carrots and potatoes, so what i do is i buy a bag of potatoes and carrots, use a peeler to get off the potato skin and the first layer of carrot, and then dice em up and put in em a roaster pan, while adding in a bit of onion soup mix (also cheap), let that sit in the oven for a few hours while your doing hw or whatever and *tada*, you got yourself a delicious and healthy meal, plus lots of leftovers (i usually make enough to feed myself 3 times to the max), and they heat up real fast when you put em in the fridge for leftovers so that's another perk.

i don't have many other suggestions since alot of stuff i eat is very "americanized".

Doesn't really make a difference, ingredients are pretty much the same, though maybe a bit more expensive here. xD I might try that if I have an afternoon lecture and plenty of time after it, though coming back to the flat after 6pm lecture and starving doesn't really allow for cooking that. =(

yeah that's kind of what i meant, for pricing and stuff.

and my classes are kind of spread out, so i have time to come home and prepare something like that and i'll come back after and it'll be done as soon as i get home =] so it's quite nice to do once a week.

 

[Kair]

If you can find cheap chicken, turn it into chicken burgers. It is very filling and not so expensive.

 

[Treefingers]

Fajitas are the way forward.

 

[Zepren]

I lived on pasta bakes in college as the supermarket near my flat always had the sauce on special. I second the super-noodle sandwich mentioned above. You dont have to be a student to enjoy on though. that's gonna be my lunch

For pasta bakes, milk, flour, and some kind of stock will make a decent sauce when added with some form of meat or vegetable. Failing that, tinned tomatoes and a few herbs (maybe some bacon or tuna in that one). Much cheaper.

Ah not phased. I'm working now so I can enjoy the finer things lol