Meal Prep Reigns Supreme: Five Budget-Friendly Recipes for Students | Canvas

Meal Prep Reigns Supreme: Five Easy Recipes for Students on a Budget

How often do you pick up a supermarket meal deal for lunch, rather than make something fresh at home? It’s understandable. They’re quick, easy and with the rising cost of groceries, sometimes cheaper than the alternative. However, whether you're a first-year undergrad or a third-year PHD student, a healthy, balanced diet is fundamental to staying focused as you learn and fighting off the dreaded "Freshers' flu".

Meal prepping is one of the most effective ways to make your healthier diet more affordable. It takes a little planning and preparation, but once you get into the swing of it, you can regularly save time and money, all while hitting your macros.

 

The benefits of meal prepping food while at university

• Consistently eat balanced, nutritious meals.

Meal prepping allows you to measure out your ingredients, balancing protein, healthy fats and complex carbs in each meal.

• Reduce food waste.

Planning your grocery shop around meal prep means you buy what you will use and eat.

• Cheaper grocery shops.

Buying in bulk is significantly cheaper, especially when it comes to pricier groceries like meat, fish and fruit.

• Avoid takeaways and impulse buys.

With your daily meals ready to go in the fridge, late-night takeouts and snack hauls can be a treat rather than a go-to.

• Save time cooking and shopping.

By meal prepping on the weekend, you free up your weekday evenings to spend as you please.

• Cut down energy usage.

Cooking in bulk needs far less oven time than preparing a meal from scratch every night of the week.

 

Five budget-friendly student meal prep recipes

Here are five quick and easy meal prep recipes you can try, with ingredients available at your local supermarket.

 

One-pot prawn and lentil curry – BBC Good Food

Ready in just 30 minutes, this one-pot prawn and lentil curry is cheap, tasty and easy to make. Dried red lentils and prawns are the stars of the dish, both excellent sources of protein. You can also freeze the leftover dhal base to save time on future meals. If you prefer to go vegan or use a different protein, swap out the prawns for your favourite alternative.

 

Top tip: Buy your prawns from frozen, rather than fresh.

Frozen meat and fish are much cheaper! Plus, frozen products keep longer, so there's no rush to use them.

 

Stir-fry chicken with broccoli and brown rice – BBC Good Food

This stir-fry chicken recipe comes together in just 20 minutes. It's packed with veggies, easy to portion out and completely dairy-free. This recipe uses rice, which is super budget-friendly. A 2kg bag at Sainsbury's starts from just £2.35.

Top tip: Carbs like noodles, rice, and pasta are ideal for meal prep. You can buy them cheaply in bulk and they keep for ages in the cupboard as dry goods.

 

Vegetable Pasta Bake – BBC Good Food

Perfect for veggies, this vegetable pasta bake provides six portions, so one dish easily covers your weekday lunches. The pasta bake is packed with a mix of veggies, including courgettes and aubergine, which soak up seasonings and flavours beautifully.

Top tip: For an extra flavour boost, pan-fry the vegetables with vegetable stock and your favourite seasonings before adding them to the pasta bake.

 

Overnight oats – BBC Good Food

Overnight oats are the perfect way to start your day, packed with protein, calcium and slow-release carbs to keep you going right through to lunchtime. Mix things up with different toppings, from banana and blueberries to honey and chia seeds. Fancy a treat? Try a drizzle of Biscoff spread.

Top tip: Stir in a scoop of vanilla whey protein powder to boost the protein and make your oats even creamier.

 

Burrito bowls with chipotle and black beans– BBC Good Food

Burrito bowls are the perfect dinner to help you hit your five-a-day and you can easily swap out the protein to keep things interesting. The recipe includes curly kale (a rich source of magnesium) and avocado, which is a source of healthy fats and vitamins. This dish is also dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free, making it a popular choice for students with food intolerances.

Top tip: Stick to simple recipes that allow you to swap out and adjust ingredients based on your dietary needs and taste.

 

Tips for perfecting your meal prep process

 

Buy in bulk

Foods like pasta, rice and frozen produce will all keep for extended periods of time, so you can safely stock up without worrying about waste.

 

Go for “one-pan” dishes

With one-pan dishes, you can cook all your ingredients together, so food prep is quick and low-maintenance.

 

Stockpile Tupperware

When it comes to meal prep, Tupperware is your best friend. Choose microwaveable containers with sealed lids, so you can stack them in the fridge and transport them without worrying about spills.

 

Weigh out your servings

When you eyeball food portions, it’s easy to over-serve your dish and end up with fewer meals. Weighing out your meal prep will help it stretch further.

 

Canvas | Healthy student meals, made simple

Eating healthily at university doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. A good meal prep routine will help you fuel your body so that you can be your best every day, without breaking the bank. Start collecting your favourite recipes and explore other ways you can save money at university through our student blog.