Meal prep can be a lifesaver when you first start university life. After a long day of work, or after a night out, it can be very tempting to splash your money and keep getting those meal deals or your favourite takeaway.
However, if you’re on a budget, then deciding to meal prep at the start of every week can be a real money saver in the long run.
You can create some really simple and easy dishes that you can store in your fridge and freezer, and then have as a quick meal instead of having to do all the preparation that evening.
Below are some tips and some of the best ways to meal prep with delicious recipes that you could try.
Health-conscious options
If you are being slightly conscious of your health, then meal preparation can be a great way to kick off your balanced eating regime.
Some dishes that I would suggest are chicken or salmon teriyaki, with rice and green beans.
This is extremely simple to create and can be done effectively on a Sunday afternoon. You can place your different dishes into different containers and then place them in the fridge for your upcoming week.
These tasty and healthy dinners will stop you from splashing out on expensive restaurants or takeaways, as you will want to get your money’s worth for what you have already prepared.
Another health-conscious meal preparation option would be making your own soup. Purchasing an affordable blender online can be easily done through sites such as Amazon.
You can then create the most simple, tasty, and cheap dishes for those cold winter evenings.
BBC Good Food has a great section on healthy and easy soups to make. This became a real lifesaver to me at university, as having a warm soup after a cold walk back to my dorm really did make for a great evening.
Tasty Dishes
Some real tasty dishes for the winter season which you can cook in bulk and then store for your week include spaghetti Bolognese, lasagna, and chilli con carni. These all contain the same basic ingredients, so can be altered each week to give you some variety.
These are healthy yet extremely filling takeaway alternatives that will not disappoint on those days that you just crave a good homecooked meal.