11 Actual Student Meals

I don’t know about the rest of you students out there but I have never made any of the meals out of this book. Not because the food doesn’t look yummy but because I do not have time to make a smoothie. Ever. Also cleaning the blender is such a boring task.

So I have compiled a list of actual student meals that can all be made in under 10 minutes, cost next to nothing and have little to no washing up. They will make your Mum want to force feed you veggies but if you are at uni this is what your diet is likely to look like, at least at some point.

Now don’t get me wrong, I actually like cooking and I can definitely create more elaborate meals than these. In fact most of the time I cook like a proper adult. But sometimes a girl just can’t be bothered so its essential to have a few emergency ideas up your culinary sleeve. I bet even Nigella Lawson has eaten a few of these bad boys in her time. All these carb filled meals will probably make you fat but hey, they’ll make you happy. 

      1.. Baked potato. This is the absolute student classic and can be jazzed up with all sorts of toppings. My personal fav is lots of butter and cheese. Grab a potato, stab it to death with a fork and microwave the living daylights out of it for like 10min. If you fancy being more Nigella like (and you can actually bear to wait for your food) then microwave it for like 7min and then chuck it in the oven for another 10 min so it goes all crispy and yummy. Rub a little sea salt into the skin beforehand for extra crispiness. No washing up either. 

2.       2. Uncle Bens rice and Blue Dragon individual sauce packets. This is a great standby meal and can be made in 2 minutes in the microwave. Add into it whatever the hell you like or be lazy like me and eat it as it is. Up to you. Also involves no washing up so it just gets better and better. 

3.       3. Pasta and something. Bulk buy yourself a big bag of pasta, bonus points if you can get your parents to buy this before term starts. Boil the kettle and pour it over your pasta rather than boiling a sauce pan of water, life is too short for that shit. When the pasta is cooked add to it whatever ingredients you happen to have lying around. Personal favourites are pesto, cream cheese, mayo and ketchup. All of these will make this into a perfectly edible meal that can be whipped up in a few minutes. Only 1 pan to wash up. 

4    4. Toasted sandwich. Grab some bread, butter it and slap cheese in it. Chuck it in the sandwich maker/George Foreman/under the grill. Voila, dinner is served. No washing up because let’s be honest you’re not going to clean whatever implement you used to cook this. You’ll leave it for your flatmate to deal with later.

5.       5. Toast. Similar to above but as far as I’m concerned toast can be eaten wherever, whenever. Slather it in something delicious such as honey, jam or chocolate spread. Eating it with crisps is optional. Zero washing up with this one because only mad people clean their toaster all the time.

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       6. Soup. Warm and soothing this is ideal for when you’re freezing your ass off cos you can’t afford to turn the heating on. Be daring and add toast to this for extra carby happiness. Again no washing up, just microwave it and chuck the can you bought it in the bin. Unless you were actually pro enough to make your own soup. In which case, hats off to you but also you probably don’t need to be reading this list as you are clearly a competent human being.

7.       8. Lazy spag bol. Same as the pasta mentioned but buy yourself a few of those Dolmio pasta sauce things for one. Make the pasta, microwave the packet and then pour it into the pan with the pasta. If you can be bothered add extra veggies and cook some mince but Dolmio actually does a Bolognaise sauce version so I would advise purchasing that out of sheer laziness.  Another great emergency meal that can sit happily in your cupboard until needed. Only 1 pan to wash if you follow the recommended lazy instructions.

8    9. Pot noodle. Personally I hate these things but I have been at uni long enough to know they have fed many a hungry student. Buy it and follow the instructions. No washing up just chuck the pot in the bin. Or don’t cos you’re a student and having mould filled things in your room is just what happens.

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      10. Bacon sandwich. Your fridge should never not contain bacon. This is a miracle hangover cure and great for mornings when you don’t have early lectures as a treat. Spend another £1 and treat yourself to Smoky streaky bacon and fry til crispy. Make some toast (yay more toast) and cover in ketchup. Just the one pan to wash. Plus you get to make all your flatmates jealous with the glorious bacon smell.

1    11. Tea and biscuits: Don’t care what anyone says if you can’t be bothered to cook then this can constitute a meal (depending on how many biscuits you eat, obvs). Zero washing up because the washing up fairies clean all cups left lying around the house. Also tea is just tummy warming happiness so that makes this acceptable.