It’s not long until you’ll be heading back to Lancaster and a lot of you will have had the comfort of not having to think about cook for yourselves for the past month or so. The transition back to having to cook for yourself doesn't have to be scary, and it can be fun! Why not use the new year as the perfect opportunity to give some new recipes a go, try cooking with a flatmate or friend or make a resolution to stop getting so many takeaways!
Below are a few of our VP Campaigns and Communications, Islay’s top tips to master student cooking as part of her Bite Club campaign.

Get inventive with seasoning
Bored of the same bland dishes that just aren’t the same as they taste at home? Stock up on a few new seasonings to compliment your old faithful salt and pepper to jazz up your cooking.
Start with some chilli flakes, Italian seasoning and paprika (which will cost you around £1 eachin a supermarket).
Get creative, it might be a case of a bit of trial and error at first but it won’t take you long to discover what you like!

Stock up on some basic ingredients
Your student loan will be coming in soon, so before you start browsing the January sales, write yourself a big shopping list of basics to set you up for the coming term. The more cooking you do, the more you’ll find that the recipes use the same base ingredients. Use my student cupboard essentials graphic that I created for some inspiration on what to stock up on.

Try cooking with a flatmate or friend
Since first year, I have always cooked with my housemate. It makes total sense as it means we split the cost of ingredients in half, we take turns in cooking and washing up, you always have company when cooking and eating and it turns cooking into a fun activity instead of just another chore for the day.

Create a list of your favourite meals to make
On the notes section of your phone, jot down the name of all of the dishes you like to cook with a link to the recipe. I’ve done this since first year and have added to it over time as I find new recipes I like. I have mine divided up into categories e.g. Asian, Indian and Italian food so that it’s easier to find something I want to make. This is great if you’re meal planning and need inspiration, or if you’re tempted to order a takeaway and you want to be inspired with something yummy to cook instead!

Master a great tomato sauce
I refuse to buy jarred tomato sauce, mainly due to the amount of added sugar and salt in them (one of the leading tomato sauces has almost 7 sugar cubes per jar!) but it’s also a lot cheaper to make your own! Crack out that Italian seasoning and a tin of tomatoes that you’ve already got in your cupboard, and use them as part of your recipe to master a great tomato sauce. Once you have, you can use it on pasta, or add an extra few ingredients to turn it into a chilli con carne or enchiladas, serve it with potatoes or couscous and much more!

Try buying frozen vegetables
I didn’t realise how great frozen veg was until I started at uni, and now I use it all the time! It’s handy if you’re only cooking for one or two people as you can just use as much as you need at a time, meaning that you won’t waste any of it, it saves a lot of preparation time for vegetables like butternut squash that takes a while to chop up but can be great in a curry or soup and it will last in the freezer for ages!

Save some cash by trying more vegetarian meals
Meat can be expensive and there’s a rise in people trying a vegetarian diet. Whilst you may still want to eat meat, there’s no harm in trying the odd veggie meal here or there. A curry or fajitas are good meals to start with, simply replace the meat with vegetables and beans (peppers and tinned beans are great to use instead)

Try meal planning
Meal planning can sound like it takes a lot of time, but it doesn’t have to - and it can save you a lot of time and money over the coming week! Try sitting down on a Sunday evening and looking at the list of recipes that you’ve made and picking one for each day. Then you can make a shopping list that has the ingredients for everything on and place an online order or pop along to the shop to buy all of the ingredients. Make sure you don’t forget about buying ingredients to make lunches with, or purposely make meals that you can have leftovers of for lunch the next day - your health and bank balance will thank you for not having a Greggs seven days a week!

Try buying cheap
Buying cheap doesn’t always have to mean that it’s poor quality. Try switching some of your branded products for supermarket own brands, as chances are you won’t taste much of a difference and you’ll save a lot of cash. You could also try buying some of your ingredients elsewhere, for example the fruit and veg stall at the Saturday market in town always has some bargains!

Try slow cooking
Do you find you have some extra time in the morning but have pesky lectures that finish at 7pm in the evenings? Try slow cooking your meals so that you can prepare them in the mornings and can come home from your lectures to a hot meal!

Don’t be afraid to splash out on a couple of ingredients
If there are a couple of ingredients that are your favourite, don’t be afraid to splash out an extra £1 or 2 on them. If you’re saving some money on other ingredients by swapping to cheaper alternatives, treat yourself to some of your favourites that will improve your cooking.

Try switching from shopping solely in supermarkets
Don’t feel like you have to solely shop in the big supermarkets, try browsing the stalls at the Saturday market in town or looking in Single Step, which sells individual items by weight, so if you need to just buy a teaspoon of spices or 100g of oats, this is a great place to try!

I hope this has inspired you to get creative and try out some new recipes in the coming weeks!

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