Meal Planning Tips – How to spend less on meal prep

Meal prepping is a great habit that can save you time and money. If you have convenient and filling meals already prepared at home, you can forget about binging on snacks and speedy takeaways! Not only will you be helping your budget, but also fuelling your mind and body for the week ahead. 

Knowing how to shop smarter and keeping your routine simple will ensure that you stick to it. To help, we’ve pulled together some advice on how to meal prep tasty student meals that are budget friendly and will reduce your food waste. 

Budget-friendly meal prep for students  

When it comes to planning your meals and cooking for one, preparation is key. Here’s four tips on how to start your meal plan and stick to your budget: 

1. Plan out your week 

It can be hard to know what you’re going to want for dinner in advance, but it’s good to think about your schedule and have a rotation of meals to fit around any plans you might have. For example, you may have a society event on a Friday night, so a quick pasta dinner would be better than a roast. 

Knowing what meals, you’re going to cook will help you avoid impulse buying or stocking up on snacks. Take a shopping list with the items you need – including any treats – and try to stick to it. You’ll be surprised how much you save! 

Not sure where to start? Save The Student have developed a handy weekly meal plan with tips on creating healthy meals and snacks.   

2. Buy in bulk (when you can)  

Sometimes you need to spend a little to save a little. Things like tins, spices, pasta, rice, and meat (which can be portioned and frozen) can be cheaper when bought in bulk.  

Bulk buying also reduces additional waste packaging, but it’s important not to buy more than you can afford or use within a reasonable timeframe. Effective bulk buying should reduce your food waste and save additional trips to the shop. 

3. Buy frozen fruit and vegetables  

We often hear the saying ‘fresh is best’ when it comes to eating healthy. However, buying frozen fruits and vegetables can be just as nutritious can the fresh stuff, but much less expensive.  

Frozen fruit and veg will also last much longer and can be brought back to life in a couple of minutes for a quick and healthy addition to any dinner. Buying versatile veg will also encourage you to find new ways to sneak in 1 of your 5 a day; think onions, peppers, mushrooms, and carrots. 

4. Batch cook tasty meals 

Student life is busy and there may not always be time to cook a meal from scratch. But did you know that you can essentially make your own healthy ready meals at home? 

By using one evening a week to prep and cook your meals, it can set you up for the week and beyond! There are many flexible dinners that will keep for weeks in the freezer and all you have to do is heat them up.   

Check out the BBC’s guide to the best batch cooking ideas for students. 

Quick and easy student meals and recipes  

Eating on a student budget doesn’t mean just beans on toast or pot noodles. There are plenty of simple recipes that are easy to make and taste great too. Here’s just a few examples from Tesco that you can make on your own or with your housemates that won’t cost the earth:  

Carbonara Pasta Bake – serves four and costs 1.10p per serving  
Fish Finger Tacos – serves four and costs 0.51p per serving  
Spiced Cauliflower Steak Burgers – serves four and costs £1.80 per serving  
Batch-Cook Soup Concentrate – serves eight and costs 0.59p per serving  
5-Ingredient Piri-Piri Pasta – serves four and costs £1.02 per serving  
  
Sometimes cooking for one can feel challenging, which is why so many people resort to ready meals. But it doesn’t need to be. Check out these budget meal plans for one that all come under £10.  

Sustainable food Apps  

OLIO  
Aims to connect neighbours and businesses so food can be shared, not thrown away. On OLIO, you’ll find local people giving away food and other household items to their neighbours, all for free. This includes Pret and some Tesco stores across the city.  
Apple Store | Google Play  
  
Too Good To Go  
This app aims to make sure good food gets eaten, not wasted. Across Manchester, fresh food and drinks get thrown away from cafes, restaurants, and supermarkets every day, just because it hasn’t sold in time. 
 

Too Good To Go lets you buy and collect this food, at a significantly discounted price, to reduce waste. There are loads of vendors around campus, the city centre, and Fallowfield offering meals and bags of food starting from £2.  
Apple Store | Google Play  
  
SuperCook  
Do you struggle for inspiration when it comes to deciding what to cook? Unsure of how to use up leftover ingredients in your fridge but don’t want to throw them away?   

 
SuperCook is the app for you! Find thousands of recipes broken down into categories at your fingertips. Simply enter the ingredients you have in your cupboards and fridge and SuperCook generates recipes you can make with what you already have.   
Apple Store | Google Play