10 Ways To Jazz Up Your Student Meals
It’s easy to be disheartened by making the same student meals over and over again. Making cooking interesting again is surprisingly easy, and you’ll be confident in the kitchen before you know it. Here are 10 ways you can jazz up your student meals.
1. Flip the day on its head
Who said breakfast foods have to stay for breakfast? Widen your recipe book and pick and choose however you see fit. Using eggs as your base for the meal, for example as an omelette or on toast, is a great way to use breakfast foods for your own benefit.
2. DIY pizzas
Not only is this healthier for you, but it’s also a lot more fun too. Whether you’re making a full pizza for dinner or sticking a mini pizza in the oven for lunch, buying the pizza bases and the other ingredients separately means you don’t have to stick to the same toppings shops demand you use; you get to cherry pick the very best ingredients for your ultimate meal.
Plus, you can invite friends over and make DIY pizzas together, so you can get a social night out of it too!
3. Sweet chilli sauce
This one is a bit of cheat, but the results work wonders. For meals with flavours that complement instead of contrast, such as stir-fries or cream-based sauces, adding a bit of sweet chilli sauce can give your meal the slight kick it was needing.
It works great on lunches, too – tuna-mayo sandwiches work amazingly with sweet chilli sauce!
4. Fresh sides for frozen dinners
Nothing can be 100% fresh all the time. It’s inevitable that, as a student, you are going to buy frozen dinners – they last a long time and help you plan your week around your studies. But that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the fresh food totally.
You can add a salad with fresh ingredients, or steam your vegetables while your frozen food is cooking. Not only does it fill out your meal, but it has the added benefit of being much healthier.
5. Swap the spaghetti
Spaghetti is an essential pasta to make your meals with. However, not every pasta dish has to be complemented by spaghetti. There are so many different types of pasta that will give you the same satisfaction but will totally transform your dishes. The stuffed meat or vegetables inside tortellini parcels make a great ingredient to pair with a tomato-based sauce.
6. Make your own sauces
Getting a jar of sauce is fine, and tasty, but making your own sauces can be even more rewarding. By using tinned tomatoes in tomato sauce, fresh vegetables and herbs of your choosing, you bypass the salt found in shop-bought sauces and put your own stamp on your meals. Although it may take a little more time to prepare, the results are definitely worth it.
7. Go veggie or vegan
You don’t have to stick to meat and two vegs, or a pasta base. By avoiding the meat and looking online for vegetarian and vegan recipes, you can hone your cooking skills and get acquainted with a whole host of different ingredients.
You can go down the meat-replacement route, or sprinkle in protein-heavy beans, or experiment with uncommon vegetables. Even if you’re not vegetarian or vegan, these dishes can be a staple for your week!
8. Experiment with ingredients
If you’re not a fan of cooking, then it’s much easier to stick to the status quo and be done with it. But you can transform your time in the kitchen and change your attitude completely by experimenting with what you eat!
Let your inner chef free and swap your vegetables for more unusual ones. Research about which seasonings go with which foods, and adjust accordingly. The more experimental you get, the more confident you’ll be in your cooking!
9. Stick to a theme
Themed nights are often a social event, but they don’t have to be. Take inspiration from international kitchens and cook different kinds of food.
Sweet and sour sauce can be made at home – pair it with spring onions and rice. Expand on your taco nights: make your own guacamole; sprinkle cheese and salsa onto your nachos and bake them in the oven. Pair your drinks with the themed night you’re doing, and really make it a meal to remember.
10. Invest in a slow cooker
This is the most expensive suggestion – we suggest you save up or request one of these for a birthday or Christmas present. Although you might not think so at first, slow cookers are actually ideal for the student lifestyle, as they break up the time needed to prepare food throughout your day.
If you’ve got a busy afternoon with little time to prepare a full meal in the evening, with the slow cooker you can prepare your food in the morning and cook them throughout the day. You’ll reap the benefits when it’s done – less stress and more delicious food with the flavour really teased out by the slow cooker.
