You might be used to eating out or having your meals served directly on your table. Bid goodbye to all this luxury because all of this will change the second you go to study overseas. 90% of university students resort to cooking their own meals, owing to various reasons ranging from adopting a healthier lifestyle to being economical. Eating out regularly not only proves to be expensive in the long-run but also leads to serious health consequences. That’s why you need to have healthy student meals.
We understand that sometimes, cooking can be boring and cumbersome. With millions of assignments and projects due every day, taking the time out to shop for groceries and cooking your own student meals can be exhausting. This is why we’ve gone the extra mile to jot down some healthy student recipes along with a concise grocery list that will allow you to whip up your favourite restaurant dishes at a fraction of the price!
The average student spends £96 a month on groceries and an extra £35 on takeaways. The total food expenditure comes up to around £1,572 for 12 months.
Our little student healthy meal plan is designed to be budget-friendly but also delectable. We’ve covered an array of versatile dishes that are perfect for dinner parties or even be a source of scrumptious comfort food. We’ve included some favourite uni meals like Enchiladas, Pancakes, Sausage Casserole and Spaghetti Bolognese!
The following healthy meals for uni students can be curated at £2.83 flat. Moreover, these are meals for a week. We’re talking breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks! If you follow our meal plan for students, you could end up saving almost £210 a year on your student meals.
Breakfast –
| Day | Meal | Price |
| Monday | Toast | 15p |
| Tuesday | Eggs | 26p |
| Wednesday | Porridge | 23p |
| Thursday | Weetabix | 21p |
| Friday | Yoghurt | 14p |
| Saturday | Pancakes | 45p |
| Sunday | Cornflakes | 11p |
Weekly: £1.55, 28 days: £6.20
Lunch –
| Day | Meal | Price |
| Monday | French onion soup | 86p |
| Tuesday | Bacon and egg pasta | 60p |
| Wednesday | Sausage casserole | £1.50 |
| Thursday | Chilli con Carne | 85p |
| Friday | Chickpea and chorizo couscous | £1.40 |
| Saturday | Cheese and onion rosti | 57p |
| Sunday | Greek salad | 62p |
Weekly: £6.40, 28 days: £25.60
Dinner –
| Day | Meal | Price |
| Monday | Chicken stir-fry | £1.43 |
| Tuesday | Cod with pesto puree | £1.87 |
| Wednesday | Pulled pork and rice | £1.40 |
| Thursday | Bolognese | 75p |
| Friday | Chicken with roasted vegetables | £1.80 |
| Saturday | Enchiladas | £1.52 |
| Sunday | Pea and mint spaghetti | 77p |
Weekly: £9.54, 28 days: £38.16
Snacks –
| Day | Meal | Price |
| Monday | Nuts | 30p |
| Tuesday | Avocado on toast | 51p |
| Wednesday | Popcorn | 25p |
| Thursday | Granola bars | 45p |
| Friday | Homemade hummus and carrot sticks | 24p |
| Saturday | Celery and cream cheese | 20p |
| Sunday | Omelette muffins | 42p |
Weekly: £2.37, 28 days: £9.48
For this student healthy meal plan to manifest on your table, you’ll need to pick out the following ingredients. So be sure to add them to your shopping list. We have based these calculations on Tesco.com prices and as you can’t generally buy just 25p’s worth of porridge. We have bought enough ingredients for four servings per recipe to last the month.
So here’s a monthly shopping list that encompasses all the required ingredients (excluding cooking essentials) for the best uni meal ideas.
| Ingredient | Quantity | Price |
| Avocado | 2 | £1.77 |
| Baby potatoes | 700g | 72p |
| Bacon | 500g | 82p |
| Canned beans | 2 tins | 65p |
| Minced beef | 2 x 500g | £2.98 |
| Black beans | 1 tin | 56p |
| Bread | 1 loaf | 36p |
| Cannellini beans | 2 tins | £1.20 |
| Celery | 100g | 49p |
| Cheese cheddar | 460g | £2.43 |
| Cherry tomatoes | 2 bags | £1.10 |
| Chicken breast | 2 packs | £8.30 |
| Chickpeas | 3 cans | £1.68 |
| Chilli powder | 50g | 82p |
| Chopped tomatoes | 2kg | £1.40 |
| Chorizo sausage | 1 | 91p |
| Cod | 520g | £2.23 |
| Cornflakes | 500g | 50p |
| Couscous | 500g | 71p |
| Crackers | 300g | 41p |
| Cream cheese | 200g | 58p |
| Curry paste | 200g | £1.35 |
| Dark soy sauce | 150ml | 65p |
| Eggs | 2 boxes of 15 and 1 of 6 | £3.25 |
| Egg noodles | 300g | £1.55 |
| Fresh mint | 20g | 70p |
| Frozen peas | 900g | 62p |
| Frozen spinach | 900g | £1.50 |
| Frozen vegetable mix | 1kg | 82p |
| Garlic | 2 cloves | 34p |
| Grana padano | 175g | £1.91 |
| Granola | 1kg | £1.64 |
| Green pesto | 150g | 92p |
| Kidney beans | 1 tin | 32p |
| Lemon | 1 | 30p |
| Lettuce | 1 | 45p |
| Low fat yoghurt | 3 x 500g | £1.35 |
| Mayonnaise | 500ml | 46p |
| Milk | 8 pints | £2.20 |
| Mushrooms | 190g | 81p |
| Mustard powder | 57g | £1.36 |
| Onions | 12 | £1.09 |
| Orange juice | 3 x 1L | £1.35 |
| Passata | 500g | 34p |
| Penne pasta | 2 x 500g | 61p |
| Pepper | 9 | £2.85 |
| Popcorn | 6 bags | £1 |
| Pork shoulder | 1kg | £3.92 |
| Porridge | 1kg | 75p |
| Potatoes | 700g | £1 |
| Red onions | 3 | 65p |
| Rice | 1kg | 47p |
| Sausages | 8 | £1.42 |
| Spaghetti | 3 x 500g | 62p |
| Spring onions | 100g | 55p |
| Sweet potatoes | 1kg | 95p |
| Wheat biscuits cereal | 432g | 76p |
| Wraps | 1 pack of 8 | 95p |
| Total per day | £2.58 | |
| Grand total | £72.4 |
Startup Kit On How To Make A Healthy Student Meal Plan –
One Day At A Time
It is a gigantic task trying to prep three meals a day for seven days a week. We advise students, especially those who have never meal prepped before, to start small and prep one meal a day for yourself.
Starting with lunch is probably a good idea because it’s the one you’re most likely to eat at uni. Sure, uni canteens are cheaper than your average restaurant, we’d like to remind you that our Greek Salad costs 62p.
Try to make a different dish for every lunch meal a night before. You can also make enough for dinner and use the leftovers for lunch the next day.
Set Time Aside For Meal Preps.
Life at uni can be chaotic at times. Between running for classes and completing assignments, you have very little time left for yourself. Try to set aside one day a week to do all of your meal prep cooking.
Usually, items in a meal plan for students are not very perishable and have a reasonable shelf-life. Remember to make full use of the freezer if you want to sustain a healthy student meal for a long time.
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Choose Uni Meal Ideas That Are Quick And Easy To Make
Dishes like pasta are super easy to make and don’t take a lot of time to make either. Our lunch meal prep has a bunch of easy to make dishes which will ensure you don’t spend hours trying to figure out what to eat for the next week.
Planning Healthy Meals For Uni Students Can Be Fun!
If you love cooking, spending an afternoon in the kitchen will be a breeze. But even if you don’t, there are many ways to make student meals prep more enjoyable. Listening to music while sautéing your vegetables is a great idea and a little bit of Netflix in the background never hurt anyone!
Cooking with your roommate in your student accommodation can also make a uni student meal plan more fun. If you can manage to get your housemate to join in on the money-saving, you could each choose a couple of recipes and then split the end result. Four hands work a lot quicker than two!
Keep Your Kitchen Counters Clean
An uncluttered and clean kitchen should be a part of your uni student meal plan. A clean cooking environment is refreshing and it exudes the calm and order. When you have a clear counter, it provides you with the necessary space in your kitchen and your mind to start cooking. Since we are talking about the kitchen, make it a point to have a sharp knife there. You can’t go wrong with a Santoku knife, that is perfect for slicing, dicing, and mincing. Once you know your way around a knife, your student meals preparations will be much easier.
Be Confident!
They say love is the secret ingredient in every outstanding dish but we beg to differ; Confidence is key. Step up to the cutting board, the stovetop or the oven, with full confidence in your abilities. Being anxious or lethargic is simply a recipe for disaster (no pun intended). You need to convince yourself that you want to cook and that you will do a good job at it. Use this trick, and lo and behold! You will be able to whip up amazing student meals for you and your friends. Remember that you will make mistakes while cooking, but don’t let that discourage you. Keep learning and trying out new recipes till you are full of confidence.
We hope you enjoyed reading this blog on Best Healthy Student Meals. Make sure you incorporate a healthy student meal plan into your daily life. If you’re someone who wants to share your valuable experiences through a blog, we’re more than happy to collaborate. Write to us at contact@18.170.55.100 to know more about our guest-post submission process.
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