While most colleges have grand sweeping staircases, stately quads, and great dining halls, many of them lack access to what many would consider essential: kitchen facilities. Whilst food in hall is available to most, it isn’t always the most affordable option. Most of us do, however, have access to a kettle and microwave, two appliances that you can surprisingly do wonders with. Here are three healthy, cheap and easy recipes that require no other kitchen facilities, designed for students who don’t have much time on their hands.
Breakfast: Blueberry Protein Porridge
This is a staple breakfast: healthy, and filling plus tastes like a dessert!
Ingredients
- Frozen blueberries
- Sugar or honey 1tsp
- 50g rolled oats
- 350ml milk (or plant milk – it’s 2020)
- Nuts or nut butter
- Cinnamon
- Protein powder (optional)
Method
- Put the oats and milk into a bowl and microwave for 5 minutes, stirring halfway through
- Stir in protein powder of your choice – we used vanilla
- Once porridge is at your desired consistency, set aside
- Add a handful of frozen blueberries to a bowl with 1tsp sugar or honey
- Microwave for 2 minutes – it should turn out like a gooey compote
- Top porridge with your blueberry compote, nuts or nut butter, and cinnamon
Price per portion: £1 (or 65p without the protein powder!)
Lunch: Jewelled Tabbouleh
This delicious North-African-inspired dish is quick to prepare and can be eaten on the go.
Ingredients
- 75 g couscous
- 1 medium tomato
- Half a red pepper
- 1 red chilli (optional)
- 2tbsp olive oil
- Pomegranate seeds
- Parsley
- 1 stock cube
- Spices of your choice – we used a harissa mix
- Pitta bread
- Hummus
Recipe
- Chop vegetables into small cubes – the smaller, the better.
- Chop parsley finely
- Set vegetables and parsley aside in a bowl, add salt to release juices.
- Boil kettle
- Measure couscous into a separate, medium sized bowl with a stock cube and a teaspoon of your spice mix
- Pour boiling water over couscous and cover bowl with a plate. You want a 1:1 ratio of couscous to water. Be conservative – you can always add more water, but you can’t take it away.
- Let it stand for 10 minutes, or until water is absorbed
- Once water is absorbed, fluff your couscous with a fork, then add to the vegetable bowl
- Mix couscous with vegetables
- Add pomegranate seeds and olive oil
- Garnish with more parsley
- Serve with toasted pittas and hummus
Tips
- Add chopped nuts for extra protein
- This works as a side-dish served with chicken, lamb or any kind of veggie stew
- This dish is nicer the day after and keeps for a few days in the fridge. Make a big batch and your lunches are sorted for the week.
Price per portion: £1.30
Dinner: Spicy Sesame Ramen
This recipe is really flexible – you can use whatever ingredients you have in the fridge to jazz up a regular pot noodle. It’s a VERY good hangover cure.
Ingredients
- 1 pack of ramen noodles (buy in the international section of the supermarket –half the price of pot noodles and way nicer!)
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1tsp rice wine vinegar or lime juice
- 1tsp teriyaki sauce
- 1tsp sesame oil
- 1stp honey (or vegan replacement e.g. maple syrup or agave)
- 1 sriracha (or any Asian-style hot sauce/paste – gochujang works well here)
- 1/2tsp garlic paste
- 1/2tsp ginger paste
- Half a red chilli
- Sugar snap peas (or any greens you have – green beans or mangetout would also work)
- Spring onion
- Pre-cooked tofu or pre-cooked chicken (again, use whatever leftovers you have in the fridge)
Recipe
- Mix the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, teriyaki, sesame oil, honey, garlic paste, ginger paste and sriracha in a small bowl, alongside the flavour packet that comes with the noodles.
- Boil water
- Add the mix to the noodles and pour over boiling water
- Cover until water is absorbed – feel free to microwave to make the process a bit quicker
- Add greens to a small bowl and cover with a little water. Cover with a plate and microwave for 2.5 minutes to steam
- Chop chilis and spring onions
- Once ramen noodles are softened, stir and garnish with your steamed greens, chopped chilis, coriander, spring onions and pre-cooked protein of your choice (we used cauldron tofu which worked well!)
- Drizzle with extra sriracha if you like spice
Tips
- Works well topped with a runny boiled egg (you can do these in the microwave!)
- If you have sesame seeds these would also work nicely sprinkled on top
Price per portion: £1.15
This article was co-written by Ellie Jenkins and Gus Lliff