Savvy Student Suppers

Being a student there are a lot of stereotypes we are burdened with...being lazy, always being slightly hungover and living on microwave meals, which fair enough some of these are true. But one thing that really annoys me is when other students moan that "it's too expensive to cook from scratch" or that "it takes too much time and effort to cook for myself". So I want to prove that students can eat cheaper and healthier when you cook from scratch. 

This week I've been hitting the weights at the gym (don't laugh, I know the image is ridiculous) so I've been trying to eat more protein without spending an extortionate amount of money on meat, it's been difficult but the reduced isle of Tesco on a Sunday afternoon has been my savior! So here are a few of the protein rich but student budget dishes I've been cooking up...

Monday- Chocolate & Banana Porridge:

I know it's sad but I think porridge for breakfast is the highlight of my day, it's the only thing that could make me get out of my warm bed into the real world of my freezing cold house. It's so quick, simple and cheap to make too! 

Put 45g of porridge oats in a pan and add a teaspoon of hot chocolate powder and a splash of milk, then top up the pan with a small glass of water. Cook the mixture over the hob for about 5 minutes, until it thickens up nicely, stirring every 30 seconds or so. Simply slice a banana then chuck it on top and voila! The best thing about this recipe is that it is SO cheap to make, using tesco value oats it works out at about 40p a serving ( that's 10p for the oats, 15p for the banana, 10p for the hot chocolate powder and 5p for a splash of milk). That's a massive saving compared to buying the ready to eat pots of porridge like Oats So Simple for example which will cost you a £1 a serving! And this tastes waaaay better...

Tuesday - Spicy Pork & Aubergine:

I don't eat pork very often but I picked up some pork mince in the reduced section so thought I would try something new. The recipe I followed served 4, so I popped a couple servings in the freezer for a lazy day and let my house mate try it too.

I started by cooking 500g pork mince in a frying pan, when it began to turn brown I drained off the excess fat from the pan. I added 2 chopped onions and a diced aubergine to the pan and stir-fried for about 5 minutes. Then I added 2 sliced red and green peppers, a table spoon of mild curry powder, a tin of chopped tomatoes, 150ml of beef stock (I didn't have pork and it doesn't make much of a difference) and a sprinkle of paprika. I let this simmer away for about 10 minutes until it was nice and sticky in consistency. I served the dish with quinoa as it has a really high protein percentage for a carbohydrate and it's a nice change from rice! Again this was another bargain recipe coming in at around £1.20 a serving ( I always use tesco value products when I can to keep the price down). If you were to buy a Sainsbury's Sticky Pulled Pork ready meal that would set you back £3!

Wednesday - Fried Eggs with Mushrooms:

 I was feeling rather ravenous after a long session at the gym on Wednesday so needed a quick fix for my lunch, so went for my classic fallback eggs and mushrooms. A bit of an obvious recipe I know, but it tastes so good and cost so little! 

Finely chop a handful of mushrooms and half an onion, then dry fry in sauce pan for about 5-10 minutes. Whilst they are cooking pop 2 slices of bread in the toaster and heat a dash of oil in another pan. Crack 2 eggs in the pan and cook them for about 5 minutes. Add a massive sprinkle of black pepper to the mushroom and onion mix and then serve. The best bit about this lunch is that your getting protein and one of your 5 a day for just pennies, I worked out that this meal cost about 50p. Even if you bought this in a dingey dinner it would cost you at least £3!

Wednesday - Egg Fried Rice:

We all love a take-away but this is a much cheaper and much healthier alternative! 

Cook about 60g of rice until soft, drain and put to the side. Chop a range of vegetables that you have to hand (this is a great recipe to use up left overs) I used onion, mushrooms and a red pepper as I had them lying around from the past few days. Fry the veg in a wok (or a big pan if you don't have one) until soft, then add in some crushed garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Then chuck in the rice and an egg, then stir the mixture like crazy so that the egg coats all of the ingredients and doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes then dowse in soy sauce and serve.  

Thursday - Butternut Squash Curry:

This is one of my favorite ever dishes, I'm a massive fan of squash and curry so it's a match made in heaven for me! And again it's quite an easy and expense free recipe to recreate.

Start by peeling and cubing one medium sized squash, then boil in a pan with water for 10 minutes. Whilst this is bubbling away chop up an onion and start frying it in a wok with a little oil. After 10 minutes drain the squash and add to the wok with 2 tables spoons of curry paste (I used Bhuna paste as I like things HOT). Give the mixture a stir and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Then add a tin of chopped tomatoes and 200ml of chicken stock, let the it simmer away for about 15 minutes and stir occasionally. When it starts to thicken up a bit add a tin of chickpeas and a handful of spinach, mix it all together and let it cook for a further 5-10 minutes. Take the wok off the heat and stir in 3 table spoons of fat free yoghurt. Once again this is a really inexpensive dish to make, this recipe serves 4 people so works out at about