Food and Drink
Money saving food tips and recipes - want to cut the cost of your supermarket bills? We'll show you how...
Due to global commodity driven inflation, food prices are rising fast. Whilst official government figures put this at around 7% a year, in reality core basics such as eggs, pasta, bread, milk and cheese are rising much faster. You've probably already figured out the old tried and tested money saving tips such as:
- Buy cheaper own brand products, they're often the same ingredients just without forking out for the brand's marketing budgets
- Buy in bulk, yes we know it will cost you more initially but for non-perishable goods the savings can be significant, and you'll save some packaging while you're at it
- Take advantage of 'buy one get one free' offers, but only on products you would have bought anyway
- Don't go shopping when you're hungry!
Invest in a breadmaker and bake your own
If there are four or more of you sharing a student house/halls of residence kitchen then making your own bread could save you around £1 a loaf on buying equivalent bread, after factoring in ingredients and electricity costs (although in student halls these are typically included!). Buying a breadmaker could pay for itself in less than an Autumn term and don't tell me you're too lazy: it takes less than five minutes to set up each time. A new breadmaker currently costs between £30 and £100 on Amazon
Don't buy ready made things - make them yourself at a fraction of the price. Pasta sauce, salad dressing, and tasty snacks like Hummus, guacamole and tzatziki cost about £1-2 in the supermarket yet take a few minutes to make:
Tomato and basil pasta sauce - heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan and cook a chopped onion and 2 crushed garlic cloves until soft. Stir in a tin or two of chopped tomatoes, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar and 2 tsp sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Stir in a handful of hand torn basil leaves or a sprinkling of dried mixed herbs. Season with salt & pepper and serve over cooked pasta with grated parmesan cheese. Of course mince for bolognese, fried bacon and mushrooms or seafood can all be added to this base sauce.
Salad dressing - in a jar/bottle with a lid mix 3 parts olive oil with 1 part balsamic vinegar and a dash of white wine vinegar (optional), add a finely chopped garlic clove, 1 tsp runny honey, 1 tsp French mustard, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt & pepper. Put the lid on and shake, always dress the salad at the last minute. Avoid prepared bags of salad as these are not only expensive but lose freshness fast, so buy proper lettuce.
Hummus - take a can of drained chickpeas, 2 crushed/chopped cloves of garlic, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tbsp olive oil, 4 tbsp water, 100ml tahini (optional), 1/4 cup of lemon juice and puree in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt & pepper, serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a garnish of 1 tsp paprika and chopped parsley.
Guacamole - juice half a lime into a bowl with a seeded and chopped fresh chilli, 2 chopped tomatoes, 1/2 finely chopped/grated onion, a crushed/chopped clove of garlic and 2 tbsp chopped coriander. Halve, stone and peel the avocados, chop roughly and add to the bowl. Roughly mash with a fork then season with salt & pepper. Add more lime juice/chilli/garlic/coriander to taste.
Tzatziki - mix together in a bowl a peeled, grated and well drained half cucumber, 200g Greek yoghurt, 2 tbsp chopped mint, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 crused garlic clove, grated zest and juice of half a lemon. Season with salt & pepper.
Buy less and waste less
British adults waste an average of £424 a year each on food that goes off before they get around to consuming it, according to research from insurer Prudential. One in three people admits to throwing away food regularly and one in two to throwing away frozen food that's too old to eat. The most commonly wasted foods are lettuce and bags of salad, followed by bread, fruit, milk and cooked meat. One reason is that people tend to over-estimate and over-buy when doing a weekly food shop, especially when faced with a vast array of choice and special offers in supermarkets. There's no point falling for a buy 2 of something for a discounted price if you're going to throw one of them out when it goes off.
Don't believe that prices are always cheaper at supermarkets
Give local retailers a chance, whilst local corner convenience stores can be pricy most towns have a fruit & veg market which will give you significant savings. If you do shop online, use a supermarket comparison site such as mySupermarket.co.uk to check you are getting the best deal. Draw up a shopping list and the website will work out the cheapest of four supermarkets for you - comparing prices at Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose's online service Ocado - and send you to the relevant online checkout.
Within your chosen supermarket, the site will scan all offers and comparable products to those on your list and if it finds a similar product at a better price it'll suggest you do a swap, saving you more money. Of course, if you prefer to do your shopping in person, you can still use the website to find your cheapest supplier and print off your shopping list.
Wherever you shop, buy loose rather than prepackaged foods saving both money and the environment and buy fresh produce in season when prices are lowest.
Links to food, recipe and drink sites
BBC Food - search by up to three ingredients, or by recipe type.
Beyond baked beans - real food for students. Check out details of their recipe books below.
Chopstix - information on Chinese recipes and cooking techniques. This site links you through to the more comprehensive chopstix.net
Recipes covering all areas of cooking.
Recipe Web includes a specific section of recipes for students.
Video Jug watch videos of food and drink recipes being prepared.
Waitrose recipe search contains over 5000 double-tested recipes: from simple-to-prepare, tasty snacks to more elaborate special occasion meal ideas.
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Nosh 4 Students - A Fun Student Cookbook "This book is so good it has changed the way in which i feed myself at uni. It makes all the recipes seem real easy so you don't mind trying them out and the recipes taste great. I didn't cook much before getting this book, now instead of eating of spending loads of money on covenience food i can use the shopping list in the back and get a weeks worth of shopping easily and eat real cheap.........which is nice!" |
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Beyond Baked Beans: Real Food for Students Leading food and drink writer Fiona Beckett’s groundbreaking cookery book is a student cook book with a difference. No patronising tone, no ‘witty’ cartoons, no same-old predictable recipes. Instead, a fresh, inspiring, well-designed book for students to get excited about. |
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Beyond Baked Beans: Real Veggie Food for Students Fiona Beckett sets out in typically groundbreaking way to revolutionise the way in which students cook and eat vegetarian food. This is a book that treats the post-Jamie generation to a feast of wonderful and affordable vegetarian recipes coupled with sensible advice on menu building, entertaining and nutrition. |
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Student Grub 'Humorous and informal . . . tells you how to cook delicious food cheaply and quickly.' |
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The Essential Student Cookbook A combination of two student cookbooks - "More Grub On Less Grant" and "Vegetarian Grub On A Grant" - this title presents one jumbo volume to provide everything the aspiring student cook needs. The recipes are completely straightforward and assume no prior knoweledge. They take into account the student's limited means and time but also cater for the odd occasion when they might want to splash out to entertain friends. |
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Meals in Minutes One hundred easy recipes from the irrepressible TV cook, Ainsley Harriott. |
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The Classic 1000 Cocktails This is a book for the connoisseur and beginner alike. With more than 1000 thousand cocktails to choose from, including those which are non-alcoholic. |
B-52 - Ingredients: one shot of Bailey's, one shot of Kahlua, one shot of Grand Marnier. Technique: fill mixing glass with ice. Add Bailey's, Kahlua and Grand Marnier, then shake. Pour into a glass filled with ice.
Between the Sheets - Ingredients: one shot of brandy, one shot of Cointreau, one shot of rum, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Technique: fill mixing glass with crushed ice. Add ingredients, then shake. Pour into a glass filled with ice cubes.
Black Russian - Ingredients: two shots of vodka, one shot of Kahlua. Technique: fill a glass with ice. Add vodka and Kahlua, then stir.
Bloody Mary - Ingredients: two shots of vodka, 75ml of tomato juice, 25ml of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, dash of Tabasco sauce. Technique: combine ingredients in a mixing glass, then shake with cracked ice. Pour into a glass filled with ice cubes.
Blue Geezer - Ingredients: three shots of blue bols, two shots of vodka, bottle of orange juice, lemonade. Technique: combine ingredients in a pint glass, then top up with lemonade.
Daiquiri - Ingredients: two shots of rum, 25ml of lime juice, 25ml of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of icing sugar. Technique: fill mixing glass with ice. Add rum, lime juice, and icing sugar, then shake. Pour into a chilled glass and garnish with a slice of lime.
Kamikaze - Ingredients: one shot of vodka, one shot of triple sec, 25ml of lime juice. Technique: shake and serve in a glass over ice cubes.
Manhattan - Ingredients: two shots of whiskey, one shot of sweet vermouth. Technique: add ingredients to a glass of ice cubes and stir, garnish with a cherry.
Screwdriver - Ingredients: two shots of vodka, 150ml of orange juice. Technique: pour ingredients into a glass a ice cubes, stir.
Sex on the Beach - Ingredients: two shots of vodka, one shot of peach schnapps, 50ml orange juice, 50ml pineapple juice, 25ml grenadine. Technique: add ingredients to a glass of ice cubes and stir.
Snakebite and Black, also known as Purple - Ingredients: lager, cider, 75ml of blackcurrent cordial/squash. Technique: pour blackcurrent into a pint glass, then add equal quantities of cider and lager filling the glass to the top. This is the ultimate student cocktail.
Snakebite and Blue - Ingredients: lager, cider, 75ml of Blue Bols/Blue Curacao. Technique: pour the Blue Bols/Curacao into a pint glass, then add equal quantities of cider and lager filling the glass to the top.
Tequila Sunrise - Ingredients: two shots of tequila, 25ml of grenadine, 150ml orange juice. Technique: fill a glass with ice. Add tequila and fill with orange juice, then stir. Slowly pour in grenadine and let it settle. Before serving, stir very gently once, to create the 'sunrise' effect.
Turbo Shandy - sod all this poncy stuff, this is a student favourite! - Ingredients: lager, bottle of Smirnoff Ice, a shot of vodka (optional!). Technique: pour the bottle of Smirnoff Ice into a pint glass and then top up with lager. Throw in a shot of vodka if you're feeling mad for it.
White Russian - Ingredients: one shot of vodka, one shot of Kahlua, 25ml of cream. Technique: fill a glass with ice. Add vodka and Kahlua, then stir. Float cream on top by pouring it slowly over a teaspoon.
Liven up your trips to the pub or parties by trying out some of the drinking games below. Just don't blame us when you get thrown out for being too loud!
Fuzzy Duck
This is a good game to play after everybody's already had a few. Begin the game by saying "fuzzy duck" to the
person to your left. That person then says "fuzzy duck" to the person on his/her left. This continues until
someone decides to change the direction of play by saying "does he" (duzzy). "Does he" changes the direction
and the phrase that is said. Not only does the direction change but the people must say "ducky fuzz." Now the
game is going to the right with "ducky fuzz." The direction is then changed back by saying "duzzy." The words
to say go back to "fuzzy duck." Any screw-ups and you must drink two fingers worth of your drink. After a while
when the mistakes are more frequent, it turns into, "Does he F**ck?" or "F**k he does."
I Have Never...
This is a great game for a group of close friends or people who really like to share hints of their pasts. Play
this in the first week of uni and it will ensure you all get to know each other pretty quickly through this obscure
game. It will enable you to collate a complex jigsaw of your flatmate's dark past. Everyone sits around around
a table, or on the floor. One person goes first by making a TRUE statement that begins with "I have never...."
For example, "I've have never been to Disneyland." Then, if any other player HAS DONE what the person said,
they simply drink. As the game progresses, the statements tend to get more personal and explicit. But the
game only works when people are honest, and usually tends to be most interesting and revealing when
everyone is drunk. However, if somebody drinks on an "I have never..," no explanation is necessary. For
example, if someone says, "I've never had sex with an inflatable doll," and someone ends up drinking to it, no
explanation is needed, just a drink of affirmation.
The Coin Game
Simple but deadly. Someone is declared coin flipper. He/she flips the coin for each player. If they guess
'heads or tails' incorrectly they drink 2 fingers. If they guess correctly, the coin player must drink 2 fingers then
the next player in the circle gets asked 'heads of tails.' Once every player in the circle has been asked then the
job of 'coin flipper' moves on to the next person in the circle.
The Name Game/Drink While You Think
Everybody sits in a circle, and someone starts by saying the name of someone famous, or pretty close to being
famous as far as those people are concerned. The next person says a name that starts with the first letter of the
last name of the previous name. For Example: the first person says "Bart Simpson," then the second person
may say "Sean Bean." If a player can't think of a name within a couple of seconds, they must consume for the
duration until they can think of an appropriate name. Play never stops, it is always moving. Now, if someone says a
name that begins with the same letter on first and last names (ie: Mickey Mouse) then the direction of the circle
reverses.
Centurians
The game of legends! To many students the concept of getting pissed on shots of lager sounds like a crap one. However, this game is no myth - it does work! Get your mates together, grab some shot glasses, a fridge full of tinnies and... a watch.
Nominate someone to keep an eye on the time and for each minute that passes everyone must down a shot of beer. Piece of piss I hear you say... well go try it then!
Arrogance
This game is a simple way of getting hammered! A group of you sit around a table with a glass (preferably a pint glass!)
in the middle of the table. Moving around the table a player will pour a certain amount of alcoholic beverage (beer, wine, spirits, Absinth - depending on how adventurous you are!)
into the glass at their discretion. They then toss a coin and call heads or tails. Depending on whether they won on the outcome
of the flip of the coin then either they or the person sitting next to them drink the amount of booze in the glass. After they have drunk it the role of pourer moves to the person who
they were challenging with the flip of the coin. You then carry on moving the play around the table.
- A raisin dropped into a glass of champagne will repeatedly bounce up and down between the top and the bottom of the glass.
- Drunk drivers in San Salvador can be punished by death before a firing squad.
- The most popular gift in Eastern Europe is a bottle of vodka.
- British wine isn't the same as English wine. British wine is made from imported grapes; English wine is not.
- The Manhattan cocktail was invented by Winston Churchill's mother.
- The term "brand name" originated among American distillers, who branded their names and emblems on their kegs before shipment.
- Drinking lowers rather than raises the body temperature. There is an illusion of increased heat because alcohol causes the capillaries to dilate and fill with more warm blood.
- In old England, bartenders would advise unruly customers to mind their own pints and quarts (measures of which alcohol were served). It's the origin of "mind your P's and Q's."
- Methyphobia is fear of alcohol.
- In old England, a whistle was baked into the rim or handle of ceramic cups used by pub patrons. When they wanted a refill, they used the whistle to get service. So when people went drinking, they would "wet their whistle."
- Vodka ("little water") is the Russian name for grain spirits without flavour added.
- Alcohol is derived for the arabic al kohl, meaning "the essence."
