Can anyone help a student cook on a budget?

Miss-chelle_2

Hi Guys and Girls,

My first ever post, exciting times! I was wondering if someone could help me. I am off to University for my final year and while I have paid off the credit cards, and not in my student over draft.... my accommodation is £75 a week ( more than my £60 last year! and a car loan of £130 a month) so my budget is going to be squeezed!

I am thinking of setting up a weekly/monthly tescos delivery (I know I'd rather spend a £5 on delivery than get tempted in the store I am hopeless when in there)

I would like a meal plan, spending as little as possible but as healthy as possible!

I love stews and soups and would happily live on them Shepards Pie etc

I also if given instructions have a slow cook and would be more than happy to use it!

My favourite recipe recently is corned beef casseroles, which is par boiled potatoes, tinned tomatoes, tin of baked beans a tin of mixed beans corned beef and some tobasco and whatever else is in the cupboard and book for 45mins (scrummy!)

I was thinking of cooking a whole chicken on Sunday for dinner, potato, carrots, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower... then maybe using the wings legs in something else, left over in sandwiches, bubble and squeek, and maybe bones in slow cook to make soup...

Also maybe 1kg of minced beef and make big shepards pie/spag bol etc?


So really a shopping list I can stick to, I will be working at an ice rink so anything I can take along warm in a thermos would be good. The house also has a chest freezer so I can freeze away to my hearts content!

I saw somewhere the freezer building blocks which had some good ideas... but so many pages and I am so sort of time right now!

Ideas please! Thank you

P.s - I am an unofficially diagnosed ceoliac (it runs in the family and I have not eaten gluten since I had food poisoning three years ago since I can't tolerate it at all so refuse to even try to get the proper diagnosis as right now it isn't worth the pain or hassle)

Little_Vics

I hear you about the wheat - same with me.Are you in halls or rented? What are the kitchen facilities like? Do you have access to a freezer? I think that's going to be quite important!

Miss-chelle_2

No Halls £150pw!! Not on your life!! Its a private house with a 28year old who runs his own business, and a Phd student. There is a huge chest freezer in the garage, and the kitchen is lovely even has a dishy and every pot and pan imaginable! Very lucky there not your usual student digs

SailorSam

Student Recipes - Quick, easy and cheap recipes ideal for students

nanokitten

I had a couple of great student cook books (the one I liked was veggy grub on a grant) you could see if your library has a student and a GF cook book and take a selection of recipies from each. Obviously choosing recipies which avoid gluten (eg cottage pie, soup, curry) will be cheaper than buyng loads of special GF food as it's so expensive. Shame you don't have a diagnosis as prescriptions might work out cheaper if you are on a low income - have you had the blood test? (this doesn't involve eating gluten but not everyone tests positive especially if you've been wheat free a while).

bluebag

One thing I do to help with bugeting is to make all my sanwiches for the week and then freeze them. It means I can take advantage of larger packets of cooked meats and multibuy discounts on bread. The fillings I use are corned beef, lunch sausage, chicken, cheese, ham, meat paste, cheese spread and even tuna mayonnaise. If I want salad or onions or chutney I take that fresh (not frozen) in a small seperate tub and add it to the sandwich at lunchtime. I take the required number of sandwiches out of the freezer the night before and put them in the fridge to defrost. Hope this helps.