If you’re anything like me, and getting sick of constantly forking out £5 for lunch on campus let me introduce you to the biggest life-saver: meal prepping!
By no means a new discovery, there are a wide range of benefits to meal prepping. Through creating a versatile shopping list that is utilised in all your dishes, you negate the likelihood of accidentally finding a rotting head of lettuce in the back of the fridge a week later. Alongside this, the bulk-buying nature of meal prepping often means it turns out cheaper and saves you plenty of time. There is nothing better than coming back from a, frankly alarming, amount of hours in the library to remember that all that stands between you and a hearty meal is a simple reheating process. Additionally, among a busy uni schedule, it’s no surprise that healthy eating can sometimes slip down the priority list. However, batch cooking can ensure you maintain a well-balanced, nourishing diet in between endless essays, tutorials, and society meetings.
One of the biggest drawbacks to meal prepping, however, is the slightly grim nature of reheated food. Sure, on Monday spaghetti bolognese seems like a great idea, but come Friday, the thought of eating the same reheated meal for the fifth day in a row is enough to make even an Italian wince. Additionally, meal prepping can be a somewhat limiting factor; spontaneous catch-up lunches or meals out with friends are one of the most enjoyable parts of university, but often this comes at the cost of the Thai green curry stuffed up in the back of the fridge.
However, it is important not to set your standards too high with meal prepping. Videos of people on TikTok filling their freezer with a month’s worth of burritos seems great, but let’s be real – no student flat in Edinburgh comes with that much freezer space. Instead, I find following the ‘Sunday Reset’ a great way to tackle the task. It allows you to ensure your week is sorted, and if you’re lucky enough to have plans get in the way, then you can fill up your freezer.
Another great way to meal prep is by preparing components as opposed to entire meals. This provides day-to-day variety, whilst also ensuring you reap all the benefits of meal-prepping. One of my go-to components is a Mexican-inspired bean mix. This can easily be transformed into a chilli, wrap filling, or side salad. Equally prepping a protein source or two –chicken, salmon, tofu– is always a good idea as it can easily be chucked into salads, curries, sandwiches or pastas throughout the week. This ensures you maintain the versatility between meals whilst still saving time and money.
Therefore, I strongly encourage anyone who feels like they are struggling to balance healthy eating alongside the funds and time constraints of being a student to try meal-prepping. Whilst it may seem daunting at first, it’s cost-effective, healthy, and saves you time–what’s not to love?
Image by Ella Olsson on Unsplash