If you haven’t heard of meal prepping before or simply have never tried it, then now is the time to start!
Why Meal Prepping is Perfect for Students
Students are constantly looking for ways to save money, and meal prepping can help you do just this! From making sure you don’t overspend in the supermarket to cooking your meals in bulk to last you for a few days, meal prepping is perfect for students. Let’s look at this in more detail…
Create a Meal Plan
It’s so easy to accidentally buy more than you need when the supermarket is full of exciting foods like ice cream and chocolate cake. The problem with doing this is that food can be forgotten about in the back of your fridge and go to waste. Meal planning is when you write down what foods and meals you’ll eat each day, meaning you’ll be less likely to buy more than you need. A reasonable time frame for your meal plan is a week in advance from Monday to Sunday. Meal planning is also useful if you’re someone who is passionate about healthy eating.
Create a Shopping List
Food is expensive, and buying more than you need can eat into your student loan. Look at your meal plan, work out exactly what you need and then put together a shopping list. As you go around the supermarket, tick each item off your list so you know that you’ve got everything for the week. It’s okay if you buy one extra item or two, but stick as closely to your shopping list as possible so you don’t overspend.
Schedule Time for Cooking
After a long day, it’s very tempting to order a takeaway. However, doing this is expensive, and it’s more cost-effective to use the food you have at home. Scheduling time into your day to cook up a meal means you’ll be less likely to spend money on a takeaway.
Keep Things Simple
Cooking fancy meals is fun, but it can take time and doing this every night can be draining for some students. There are many simple recipes out there for students which don’t take long to make. For example, boiling pasta usually takes about 8-10 minutes, and there are many sauces out there which are quick to make that you can mix your pasta into. Making bulk meals is also a great idea because it’s cheap and gives you meals for days. This is something you can do with pasta by creating something like a spaghetti bolognese or pasta bake. You make big portions of meals like cottage pie, lasagne and soup as well.
Invest in Good Storage Containers
If you’re going to be making food in big portions to last you for a few days, you’ll want to invest in quality storage containers. Choose ones which are airtight to keep food fresh for longer and are suitable for the freezer. You might also buy containers which are microwave-suitable so you can reheat your food on campus to eat at lunchtime in between lectures.
Label and Date Your Meals
Dating your meals is important because the last thing you want to do is eat something that has gone off. As well as this, write yourself a note about how many portions you have of something, the date you cooked it, and how long you can keep it for. Put this note on your fridge as a reminder so you see it when you’re looking for food to eat.
Choose Budget Friendly Ingredients
When buying ingredients, always compare prices. For example, don’t pick up the first pack of sugar you see; look at how much money different brands of sugar cost. Don’t forget to look out for offers like ‘buy one get one free’ and discounted food. If you go to a supermarket late at night, you might come across some super cheap discounts on foods which are due to go out of date the next day.
Save Money With The Student Energy Group
As well as being organised with your food shop, there are other areas of your life that you can look at to save time and money. One of these is your household bills, and at The Student Energy Group, we can help with this! We’ll combine all your bills into one monthly student bills package, which you can split equally between everyone you live with. If you sign up with us, we’ll make sure to plant a tree! Get a free, no-obligation quote from The Student Energy Group today.
