COOKING FOR ONE TIPS

Whilst the start of a new academic year has got me green with envy, what with seeing status updates from freshers off to uni for the first time and tweets from those excited to be returning for another year, it's also got me thinking about my own experiences over the past three years and what tips I can share to make student life a little easier and save those precious pennies.

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I think eating well (or as well as you can afford to, I know what it's like when you're down to your last fiver, I've been there!) at uni is really important, it might sound a bit cheesy (no pun intended) but a healthy diet - and that's just one that doesn't consist of instant noodles, take away pizza and potato smiles everyday - will probably help you concentrate better and be reflected in your grades, and just generally make you feel better. Making meals from scratch is not only cheaper and satisfying, but I find, provides a tremendous and justified source of procrastination; after all, eating is a necessity!

Obviously it's cheaper when a few of you chip in and make a meal for all of you, but with varying timetables and other various social commitments, it's not always feasible for you to cook together, and you find yourself alone in the kitchen. That's when the overeating starts - you've made enough to feed a family of four - or you end up throwing it away (even after you've frozen it; it looks so unappealing in that tomato sauce stained tuppaware box with a layer of frost covering the surface, and a bad case of freezer burn. Besides, they were underneath the box of potato smiles and chicken dippers, how could you resist?)

Halve your quantities and have a set of scales

This might sound quite obvious, and potentially patronising, but it makes perfect sense. Most recipes serve 2 or 4. Just divide everything! Half an onion, or a pepper will last another good week if wrapped up nice and tightly in cling film, and they'll be there to use in something else. The same goes for tinned items, but don't save them in the tin itself! Having scales and a good mathematical brain will be useful when knowing portions of rice and pasta, although most packets tell you how much to allow per person.

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Freeze meat in single portions

Again, another obvious tip but I know that some people will freeze a pack of four chicken fillets in the box they come in. Have you ever tried to prise apart frozen chicken fillets? Impossible!

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Use protection! (when freezing)

To avoid the unappealing scenario above, where you cannot tell what the hell you saved in that tupperware box because it appears to be covered in snow, invest in some good quality freezer bags, no not those thin clear ones, the fancy blue ones with the tie handles! Double bag if necessary, and put one around the tupperware box if the seal isn't so great on the lid. Also, avoid placing them to the back of the freezer, that's where you'll find the most frost, and the shepherd's pie your mum sent you off with at the beginning of the year.

Save some in the fridge for post-night out snacking

If you've only budgeted enough for the night out and taxi home itself, you'll inevitably be jealous of your drunken mates devouring their takeaways, you might get to pinch a chip or two but you just can't shake the drunken munchies. But you've saved some of the tasty cuisine you cooked up to line your stomach earlier! No, I know, it's just not the same. Chicken kebab please mate.