Healthy eating benefits your state of mind, fuels your body and has such a positive impact in terms of your academic capabilities. This post is about how to cook healthy, nourishing meals for yourself, whilst living in residence, when you’re working on a tight budget.
Tips & Tricks to get you started:
1. Cook with a friend. Find someone who stays close to you in your section, who wants to eat the same as you and is willing to put in the effort. Cooking for yourself is WAY more effort than just booking meals on MySun and then heading down to the eetsaal for Tuesday night’s vegetarian meal.
Cooking with a friend means that you can save a little extra money by cooking together AND you can save time by taking turns to cook for one another, so instead of having to think of something to make for yourself for dinner every single night and then also slave away on the gas stove to make a fresh dinner for one (I’m not a fan of over cooking and having lots of leftovers, because it’s not nice to eat the same Chicken-ala-king Monday to Thursday for dinner) it means that you’ll be responsible for making dinner for half of the meals, but getting good food all the time.
If you can’t seem to find a friend to cook with, it’s not the end of the world, it’s just a bit more effort.
2. Go vegetarian or at least look into doing a few meatless meals a week. Not only is a veggie diet slightly cheaper than meats’, but it’s way healthier too. Veggies, beans, tofu & other foods are also a far more sustainable source of food today, as it takes more than 15 000l of water to produce 1kg of beef! Check out the benefits of vegetarianism here (https://www.downtoearth.org/go-veggie/top-10-reasons)
3. Get used to washing dishes DAILY. Mentally prepare yourself for what is laying ahead for you. If you’re no longer eating at the eetsaal on plates that are washed for you by the amazing humans that work hard to make your mealtimes super easy & smooth, it means that you’ll be washing your own plates, bowls, cutlery, pots & pans. Remember to take this into account when you’re setting up a daily planner.
4. Leave an empty shelf in your cupboard for dry foods, such as a pack of rice, box of oats, canned beans and vegetables, as well as your plate, bowl, mugs, cups and a pot and pan.
5. Save up for a mini HOB (if you don’t have access to one in your section area). A Sunbeam Double Spiral Hotplate goes for R209,00 on Takealot.
6. Splurge on a non-stick pot and pan, it just makes cleaning SO much easier, meaning that washing dishes won’t crush your motivation to make your own food.
7. Get a microwave steamer. It’s a little Tupperware that can steam all sorts of things, though I mainly use it for veggies such as broccoli, green beans, carrots and sweet potato.
Recipe ideas
1. Breakfast oats porridge – jungle oats. Buy a 1kg box of jungle oats and make yourself half a cup of it every morning in the microwave or cook it in your pot on your mini HOB. This is way cheaper and healthier than eating instant oats or a very sugary cereal. Add one thinly sliced banana, a dash of cinnamon and some honey or a sliced apple and a dollop of peanut butter, and Voila! You’ve got a cooked breakfast that should keep you fueled for your morning classes! Opt for the non-cooking option by making a Bircher muesli.
2. Salad with cous cous or rice (for a gluten-free option). Not only is cous cous super easy to prepare and affordable, but it also works as a great whole-wheat base for any meal and does a great job at keeping you fueled. Add spinach, feta cheese, cucumber, tomato and just about any leftover veggies in your fridge for a yummy meal. Pop it in a Tupperware container and bring along a fork and you can enjoy your salad on the Rooiplein between classes! There’s no reason for you to have to rush back to res or eat at COB. Try switching up by adding butternut and sesame seeds instead of cucumber and tomato. Top it all off with a lemon and herb dressing!
3. Sandwich on a fresh whole-wheat or rye loaf (from Food Lovers’ Market in Eikestad Mall) with cream cheese, basil pesto, sliced tomato, and lettuce/spinach. Feel free to add a boiled egg on the side to complete your monster of a lunch that all your class friends will be jealous of.
4. Whole-wheat wrap with a bean or meat curry. You can buy this ready-made at Food Lovers’ Market or make a whole lot at home or on a quiet weekend and freeze small portions and defrost to add to meals. Wraps are easy to pack into a lunchbox and eat on-the-go; ideal for students!