10 food tips I wish I'd known before uni

It's time for another batch of freshers to start their uni journey. Matt Brady offers some top tips for first years.

Ah, student food memories. Fetid fridge discoveries, empty cupboards, and the pile of plates in one corner of my room that mysteriously grew as deadlines loomed.

During my student years, I can hardly claim to have followed all the advice below that I’d like to now pass on, but I hope that at least a few points are helpful for those about to head to uni.

1. Beans are great with everything

Beans on toast is one of the greatest foods known to man, but you can liven it up so easily when it’s becoming a tedious end-of-term-and-empty-wallet staple. Add a drop of Worcestershire or Tabasco sauce, a teaspoon of chilli flakes, a diced slice of bacon (pre-cooked!) or a quick grating of cheese. Interest restored.

2. Invest in a good frying pan

A frying pan is your best friend at uni. Whether it's a stir-fry the night before or fry-up the morning after, it’s the tool that you’ll always want on hand. Buy a high-quality non-stick pan and it should see you through your degree and beyond. 

A good all-purpose knife is a must as well, as is a sieve.

3. Always use onions

Onions are probably my favourite ingredient. They’re good for you, take 30 seconds to dice up, and go well with pretty much everything. They bulk out meals and soak up flavour, while being incredibly cost effective. If you’re hungry and don’t have much in the cupboard, add an onion rather than more meat – it’ll help you stretch it further, and sate your appetite too.

4. Avoid takeaway pizza

Takeaway pizzas are a real rip-off. They might seem good value when you get given that book of half-price coupons at the beginning of term, but even with the price slashed, it’s rarely a good deal.

Buy a pizza from the supermarket instead. It costs a fraction of the price and it’s ridiculously easy to cook. You can also get three or four (good) store-bought pizzas for the price of a takeaway and you can customise them with whatever other ingredients you fancy.

This rule will inevitably go to pot in the lead-up to deadlines. And I won’t judge you for that.

5. Don’t buy too much kitchenware

It’s too easy to just pack your parents' car with a big bargain set of pans. When I arrived at my halls in first year, I realised that all of my housemates had come fully equipped too. We had so many pans, we had to use massive plastic boxes on the floor to store them all in.

Take stock of the kitchen once everyone has moved in, and then figure out between you what else (if anything) is needed.

6. Dig through bargain bins

A given. The supermarket’s bargain bin was my holy grail at uni (and it still is today). Try to get know when the yellow stickers are coming out each day. If you’re lucky, you can get really nice food for next to nothing, and if you’re less lucky, you can grab the food you were going to buy anyway, at a fraction of the original price (for those unconvinced: this leaves you with more beer money).

Just don’t buy too much, as you don’t want to be left with a pile of rotting food that you couldn’t eat on time – however, good use of your freezer can extend these bargains’ lives for months.

7. Make sure your oven works well

Some halls and student houses have cheap, rubbish and overused ovens. If yours is really slow to heat up, make sure your food is cooked thoroughly before eating, as the suggested timings on packaging might not be enough.

You might also ask your landlord to have the oven looked at if it’s seriously underperforming, as it’ll make the utilities bill rack up really quickly.

8. Do the washing up!

The bane of every student household. I hate to say this but I have no quick fix for this one. But if you want to look after your faithful frying friend (see tip #2), you need to keep it clean. Don't use a hard scouring pad on a non-stick pan, or you’ll ruin it.

9. Ask your parents

No, not to cook for you – but ask for recipe ideas. It’s sometimes hard to think of what to make, particularly if you’re not used to cooking for yourself. Your folks might be able to pass on advice about what to buy and how to prepare certain foods, or what you can do with your leftovers. 

10. Don’t cook after a night out

If you get home really late, after a long night on the town, it’s likely you’ll be feeling hungry.

I don’t recommend cooking, because you might fall asleep waiting for your food (leaving the oven on all night or, even worse, potentially starting a fire), or you might make something that seems like a brilliant idea at the time but is completely inedible. No doubt, you’ve also wasted loads of perfectly good ingredients in it. I don’t speak from experience… honestly.

Two recommended hot foods for late at night? Microwaved cheesy nachos (they’ll only need 30 seconds or less) or toast. Avoid the hob and the oven!

Do you have more advice for students who haven't cooked much before? Quick meal ideas, good buys? Let us know in the Comments below.

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