A Student’s Survival Guide to Cooking – handy tips & recipes!

Check out my Student’s Survival Guide to Cooking with handy tips and recipes. What every fresher needs to know to eat safely and well!

A Student’s Survival Guide to Cooking

It’s that time of year when students are heading off to college or university, and it may be the first time you’ve ever had to cook for yourself.

I know my son has been practising a few dishes, but after a straw poll of his friends, I think adding boiling water to a pack of flavoured noodles was as far as they’d ventured!

So I decided to write this Student’s Survival Guide to Cooking to help my son and any other students out there who may find themselves with more questions than answers when faced with a kitchen for the first time.

Once fresher’s week is over, it’s time to study and get to grips with cooking if you’ve opted for self-catering!

So l’ll start this Student’s Survival Guide to Cooking with some helpful hints and tips and then move on to some recipe suggestions!

Food & Diet Tips

• A portion of rice or pasta is 75g (dry weight).
• My tip for fail-safe rice is to only use Basmati (do not pre-rinse), boil it in plenty of salted boiling water and then rinse it in a sieve with freshly boiled water from the kettle.
• When boiling vegetables etc always use a kettle to boil the water first, as it’s quicker and more energy efficient.
• Use extra virgin olive oil for frying, as it’s healthier than seed oil; just don’t overheat.
• Boiled eggs are nutritious and versatile, so add them to curries, salads or mix with mayo for a jacket potato topping or yogurt for a sandwich filling. Check out how to boil eggs here.
• A jacket potato takes the best part of an hour to cook in an oven, but you can cheat by microwaving (and finishing off in the oven for a crispy finish if you prefer). A potato takes about 5 minutes on full power depending on size and wattage of microwave; when you can insert a knife easily you know it’s cooked.
• Don’t forget your 5-a-day – eat a rainbow! Scurvy isn’t common these days (caused by a lack of Vitamin C), but I’ve heard many stories of students getting it over the years. There is sense in the phrase “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” – keep your diet varied with plenty of greens, plus nuts and seeds. (A bowl of Greek yogurt or porridge with frozen berries, nuts and ground flaxseeds can help here)!
• If you’re not vegetarian, aim for 2 portions of fish a week, with one of these being oily fish eg mackeral, tuna, salmon etc (tinned is fine).
• Don’t be afraid to cook more than you need as cold food and leftovers make a great meal for the following day. Eg cooked chicken can be sliced up for a salad or a curry can be reheated!
• Avoid re-heating rice as there is a nasty bug (Bacillus cereus) which you don’t want to encounter, so only cook what you need.

Kitchen Tips for Students

• Don’t use non-stick pans as you want to avoid PFAS, which are endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
• Never heat a non-stick pan without any oil in it.
• Take it in turns to cook for your roommates and get them to wash up and vice versa!
• Soaking pans as soon as you’ve finished using them makes washing up far easier.
• Never throw hot fat or oil down the sink. Cold fat can be put in the food bin and oil placed in an old jar (sealed) and thrown away in the rubbish. (Drain clearing specialists are very expensive)!
• Keep sliced bread in the freezer as you can just take out what you need as it thaws really quickly, or you can toast it from frozen.
• Invest in a digital food thermometer as you don’t want to lose days of study to food poisoning.

Shopping Tips

• If you have a supermarket nearby, find out when they have their last reductions and buy things like mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, etc that will be good for a few more days. Reduced meat and fish can be frozen.
• Acquaint yourself with the World Food Aisle as things like tinned tomatoes, beans and spices will be cheaper there.
• Buy supermarket basics of things like flour and pasta as there is no noticeable difference in flavour or quality to the standard supermarket ranges.
• Always keep a good supply of tinned food because you don’t want to get ill and have nothing to eat. Things like soup, baked beans and tuna are great staples.
• Be sure to sign up for the loyalty card/app scheme for all the supermarkets that you’ll be using!
• Planning your meals will save you money as one ingredient can be used across a few meals.
• For tips on stocking a fresher’s cupboard, head over to Mint Custard.
• Also check out my 10 Money Saving Shopping Tips post.

Easy Student Recipes

My son asked me for a reminder of which of my dishes would be suitable for him to cook at university.

Hence, I’ve put together a collection of recipes which take into consideration a basic budget and minimal equipment.

Breakfast/lunch

• Perfect Poached Eggs
• Air Fryer Baked Eggs with Cheese
• Quick Poached Egg & Garlic Spinach Bagel
• Brunch Quesadillas
• Egg Salad with Greek Yogurt
• Cheat’s Croque Madame (if you don’t have a sandwich toaster, fry in a pan with a little oil)
• Pizzetta Toast 
• Cheesy Courgette Omelette
• Avocado Stuffed French Toast with Poached Egg
• Chorizo Tortilla

Main Meals

• Chilli, Bacon & Chickpea Pasta
• Turkey Chilli with Baked Beans 
• Simple Pork Fried Rice
• 10 Minute Mushroom Pasta
• Quick Leftover Pork Pesto Pasta 
• Minced Beef & Onions 
• Ham, Cheese & Sweetcorn Turnovers
• Spicy Bacon & Baked Bean Casserole 
• Curried Egg Mayonnaise with Ham & Sweetcorn Jacket Potato 
• Prawn & Egg Salad
• Warm Lentil, Cherry Tomato & Halloumi Salad for 2
• Easy Greek Chicken & Potatoes
• Quick & Easy Chilli con Carne

Side Dishes

• Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables (a side or main)
• Crispy Coated Roast Potatoes
• Coleslaw
• Simple Ratatouille (also great as a main with pasta)

Desserts

• Quick Apple Puddings
• Banana Pudding
• Fat Free Greek Yogurt Fruit Brulee I had this at a student party back in the day!
• Instant Orange Cheesecakes
• Banana & Chocolate Quesadilla
• 3 Ingredient Banana Nutella Pancakes
• Banana S’mores
• Lemon Drizzle Traybake (all-in-one method)

Remember, as Nigel Slater says, “a recipe is just a starting place”! So always improvise if you don’t have the exact ingredients for a recipe or tweak it to your own taste!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Student’s Survival Guide to Cooking, and if you have any tips or recipe suggestions, then please leave them in the comments below!

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Leave a comment and rating below when you’ve made this recipe; I love getting your feedback! You can also share your pictures by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram.