Healthy Eating For Students

Advice On Healthy Eating For Students

When thinking of student food, most people think of pasta, pizza, and an extraordinary amount of late night kebabs. There are usually two reasons for the poor eating habits of students; one is that they don’t know how to cook healthy food, and the other is that they think their budget doesn’t stretch to fresh ingredients.

However, eating healthily has so many more benefits than just looking good when your parents inspect the contents of your student fridge. Getting a variety of fruit and vegetables in your diet will help you concentrate in lectures and keep the dreaded “Fresher’s Flu” at bay.

Plus, keeping an eye on what you eat will also stop you gaining the famed “Fresher’s 5lbs”!

Here are our top tips for a healthy diet on a student budget. 

Buy in season ingredients

Pay attention to the time of year and only buy the fruit and veg that’s in season in this country. Sure, we all like to eat mango in December, but it isn’t a budget friendly option. Apples, sweet corn, carrots, and broccoli are all in season when you start university in September so make the most of the cheaper prices.

Buy tinned or frozen

If your budget really won’t stretch to fresh food, look at tinned or frozen instead. You can get meat, fish, and fruit and veg a lot cheaper if you buy large frozen bags and tinned or frozen will last longer.

Keep an eye on the sugar content in tinned foods, such as fruit in syrup, and avoid frozen ready meals as they are high in salt and preservatives. 

Shop at the market

If you’ve got a local market then it’s time to make friends with the stall holders and buy their produce. You could find yourself picking up bargains such as three red peppers for 30p or a loaf of homemade bread for 80p.

Shopping when the market is about to close is another way to get a good deal; stall holders won’t want to just throw their goods in the bin.