Times are tough, guys. I’m skint. You’re probably skint too. Affording food has become somewhat of a ridiculous luxury. Spending £50 on fresh ingredients every week makes my foodie heart very happy, but leaves my bank balance severely unimpressed.
In order to cut costs, my boyfriend suggested a break from creating blog-friendly food for a week (HOW VERY DARE HE?!) and make a “student” shopping list. Unlike myself, he’s never actually lived a student lifestyle, so I was given the task of creating a shopping list to feed us both, three meals a day, for a week, for £25. I did it – but how did he cope with our budget banquet? And how did we feel after a week living like students in our mid-20s?
First, I’ll give you a little run down of what we actually ate for the week:
Day 1
Bowl of porridge made with water
Jam sandwich, packet of crisps, cereal bar, last week’s grapes
Frozen pizza, oven chips, baked beans
Day 2
Bowl of porridge made with water
Wrap made with whatever I could find in the fridge (some slightly out of date veggies), cereal bar, and an orange
Went to a student pub with some mates and ordered a “Burger and a Pint” meal deal from the menu
Day 3
Bowl of porridge made with water
Another leftover “whatever was in the fridge” wrap, packet of crisps, cereal bar, and an orange
Frozen pizza, oven chips, baked beans
Day 4
Bowl of porridge made with water
Chocolate spread sandwich, packet of crisps, cereal bar, and an orange
Small takeaway pizza for one, using a (fake) student discount code
Day 5
Bowl of porridge made with water
Chocolate spread sandwich, packet of crisps, cereal bar, and an orange
Plate of chips at Spoons (£2.99, what a bloody bargain)
Frozen microwave ready meal – chicken & bacon pasta bake – bought from the reduced section of the supermarket
Day 6
Toast
Bowl of soup
Another microwave ready meal – sweet and sour chicken this time
Day 7
Toast
Chips
Beans on toast
How did I feel after eating this? Malnourished. Tired. Gross. Oh, so gross… I’m not sure I even managed five a week, let alone a day, and I’ve consumed more bland, processed, souless food this week than I have in a long, loooong time. I’m not proud of myself.
There are a few plus points to eating like a student again – it’s cheap, it’s quick, it gave me more time to get other stuff done and, yeah, eating pizza midweek is kinda fun. For a day. Maybe two.
But feeling like a sad microwave meal or beans on toast are your ONLY options is a bit disheartening. For a food lover, someone who loves being in the kitchen, having no tools to work with left me at a bit of a loss. I felt like I was doing absolutely nothing in terms of therapeutic stress relief, let alone for my health!
How did my boyfriend get on? Well, to be completely honest, I don’t think he really noticed. He wasn’t a fan of the tasteless breakfasts and he practically begged me to never get a block of value cheese again but, at the end of the day, as long as a plate of food is in front of him and we never run out of coffee, he’s happy.
I think he’d get on alright as a student. Me? It was great at the time – about four years ago! – but these days all I want is an hour to myself in the evening to prepare and eat fresh, tasty food. Now, hand me the avocados!
#ThisGirlEats 