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Posted Sept. 4, 2013

Tips For Eating Well On A Postgrad Budget

Eat well for lessSo, you've made the decision to embark on a postgraduate course and now you're worrying how you are going to be able to afford to live and eat for the duration of your course.

Well, here we've put together some handy tips about how you can manage to eat well but for less and keep your living costs down.

1. Time your shopping

Never do any food shopping when you're hungry.

This will lead to you simply buying junk food as your brain will be thinking about food that you can eat right then rather than thinking logically about what you need for the upcoming week.

2. Learn to cook

One great tip for tasty and affordable student meals is to always cook from scratch.

Now you might have the ability to cremate toast and have coasted through your undergraduate degree on readymade meals, but now is the time to learn to cook.

Cooking meals from scratch is not that difficult once you master the basics, and there are many cookbooks out there designed specifically for students, with food you’ll be interested in and a simple way to cook it. If you would rather not invest in a cookbook then use the internet andy google some basic recipes to get you started.

Another way to save you money when cooking from scratch is to make numerous servings of the same meal and then simply freeze them for later when you don’t have time to cook a full meal, for example when you’re deep into revision. This will save you time and money.

It's also an easy way to live a healthier diet as you can control and know exactly what is in your food, compared to ready meals which are known for high salt and fat content.

3. Buy In bulk

Always buy your food in bulk – this can also apply to other household goods.

Buying food in bulk can be done on your own, or with friends, but either way you wouldn't believe how much money can be saved by buying foods, such as pasta and rice in bulk, rather than smaller packets or microwaveable packets.

While it might seem a lot of money to spend on a single food shop, you will notice the savings you have made rack up as the year goes on.

4. Look out for the yellow stickers

One of the ways to reduce meal costs is to shop around for bargains and special offers.

Shopping towards the end of the day will often yield some great bargains as this is when supermarkets reduce stock that will be going out of date and put on the yellow ‘reduced’ stickers.

It’s also a good idea to buy vegetables such as peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes, when they are reduced, make a large batch of tomato sauce and freeze it in portions. This will provide the basis for meals such as pasta, stews or pies. All that you then need to do is add meat, tofu or pasta.

For cheaper fruit and vegetables, it is also worth shopping at your local market. Their produce is often cheaper than in the supermarket and tastes better too.

5. Spice it up!

Make the most of seasoning.

Seasoning can make a huge difference to even the most simple of meals. And once you have bought the different spices and sauces you can then use them numerous times – thus saving you more money on future meals.

6. Substitute meat

Use less meat.

To reduce the cost when making a stew or other meat-based dish, reduce the amount of meat used by about half and replace with lentils or other pulses as well as other vegetables such as carrots or potatoes.

This will bulk out the stew without compromising on taste and make your ingredients a lot cheaper.

7. Plan ahead

Plan your menu for the week ahead.

This way you only buy what you are going to use and don't waste any money. If you do this, you'll find that you can keep costs down by buying one staple and using it in various ways.

8. Healthy snacking

As a busy postgraduate student there are ging to be times when you won’t have time to eat proper meals and hunger will start to get the better of you – this is when the snacking comes in. But rather than reaching for a chocolate bar or a packet of crisps, opt for healthy snacks instead.

Nuts are packed full of the healthy fats that your brain requires for proper function. They can be eaten alone as a quick snack, or they can be added to other items to make a nourishing trail mix that will not require refrigeration. You can also snack on dried fruit like mango, papaya, and goji berries.

Remember, your body and brain need clean fuel in order to keep working efficiently, and that is why days of consuming nothing but coffee or fast food are not a great idea. Healthy snacks will help keep everything in working order and enhance your student wellbeing.

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