Hilarious advice from the Guardian

Fen1

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/21/student-cooking-recipes

Just had to post this. Are the writers living in la-la land?
£22 for one student meal?
Access to a freezer in halls?
Make your own meringues? Am I supposed to take my own Kenwood Chef with me, and trust that other students won't want to use the oven at the same time, or that the cleaners won't switch the oven off?

These are nice recipes, but utterly unsuitable for broke students living in hall.

melancholly

i had my own fridge in my room - a freezer wouldn't be a bad idea (although we had them in the rubbish small kitchens in halls). plenty of students live in shared houses where freezers are an option.

the £22 is for a meal for 4 though. not something for every night, but certainly cheaper than out for a meal (it's amazing how many broke students can afford to eat out 3 times a week!).

i think £5 for a meal for 4 isn't terrible! anything that encourages students to cook themselves to eat healthier and cheaper is a good thing!

robin_banks

I regularly make a meal costing a fiver go for 4 people.

On another note why should the cleaners switch it the oven off, you're all at university and are over the age 18 how's about a bit of responsibility ?.

melancholly

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

i suggest students hang out on the OS board for lots of recipes that are cost saving (although i think it's a rule that you can't leave there without getting a slow cooker )

robin_banks

It genuinely amazes me how much money gets wasted on food.

Eating well is cheaper than any oven ready small portion garbage.

Char_pdc

I think I am going to use some of those recipies...although I will make them veggie. I particularly like the lentil one as I have 1.5kg of lentils in my cupboard right now.

Some of them are a bit expensive I agree.....£22 for a fish curry on a regular basis?? Others are fairly reasonable - eg the curry one. And can also be made cheaper by using basics/value ranges.

Not sure about the making desserts bit when you get biscuits/fruit fairly cheaply at supermakets.

robin_banks

Italian bean soup dirt cheap and you can make huge quantities in one go, and dare I say it use a freezer.Actually soups in general are really cheap.

Use cheaper cuts of meat for stews/casseroles/curries.

It's not rocket science.

The_One_Who

Most students will move into their own private let after first year, and I presume this is more aimed at them. Those recipes do look a tad expensive, but where is the harm is eating fancy every once in a while? Or it would be easy enough to adapt them to suit your own tastes and own budgets.

ultimatedingbat

I had a freezer in my halls of residence in first year. On a similar note however we used to afford eating out once or twice a week with good deals like Wetherspoons cheap dinners, and their beer and burger deals. Plus we used to go to a local cafe where we could get a good dinner for under £5 inc a drink. On a we wanna go out night we'll still only spend £20 max between two of us inc drinks in the pub afterwards.

stingeylass

£9.50 to make macaroni cheese?! :eek:

To think I wasted my student days studying and socializing when I should have been whipping up meringues and shopping for galangal paste to add to my £22 thai curries...

Indie_Kid

£9 for shepherds pie? I used to make my own whilst at uni and it would only cost a few quid maximum.