Diet - student money

I have been eating low fat houmous and wholemeal pitta for lunch lasts 2 days £1 for the houmous and 35p for 6 wholemeal pitta full of protein and wholegrains . get yourself some fruit and some oats for breakfast

 

What is your diet like at home?
What are your goals?
What will be your food budget?

Wholemeal pitta is really not a protein source. It HAS protein, but about 10-15g per 100g which doesn't really make it a protein based food if you are interested in keeping it high.

 

Diet wouldn't change, the goal is still whole natural foods when possible. Buy fruits and veggies frozen instead of fresh, that's usually cheaper. Compare prices for the rest in a few stores, life on a budget isn't that complicated but it takes some effort.

It takes less than 50 euro's a week to eat 100% healthy in the Netherlands.

 

50 euros would go a looooooong way in Cyprus, I miss home

The problem with going to uni is if you want to go out and have "one off" costs, it all takes away from the weekly budget.

Things like tuna used to be very cheap, not so much anymore.

Learn to make soups and stews, makes cheaper meat taste better.

 

Eggs are very cheap. Get used to eating boiled or fried egg sandwiches. A cheap pack of mince in the UK won't cost much more than £1 in a big supermarket. I'd have two meals with that.

Look out for misshapen bacon packs- it's far cheaper than normal bacon and is the same thing. I used to buy these at weekends and by Sunday I was sick of the sight of bacon- it was wonderful.

You can get boil in the bag mackerel fillets for about 60p in supermarkets- you can get a couple of sandwiches out of them and they are delicious

Asda is the cheapest supermarket. Buy protein powder from myprotein.co.uk, it's the cheapest place for protein

 

I really wouldn't bother with protein on a budget, as a student your diet will be ****ed as will your sleeping pattern most of the time anyway, you want as many nutrients and whole foods as possible.

Good shout on the mackerel fillets, sardines, 50p a tin each usually. Mince and kidney beans, tin of chopped tomatos, cumin, chilli powder, salt pepper, hey presto you have chilli. Don't buy any ready meals and avoid eating junk food, it is usually more expensive than the real stuff.

Get a mixer, worst comes to the worst you can put 5 eggs in there (10 for 90p in Lidl, 6 for 1.10 if you are a free range dude), add some whole milk (or not!) and drink it down, that can constitute a meal of sorts. I remember there were times I had no food and low on money, was ill as well so couldn't really go out do anyhting, I just blended up 10 eggs and some stuff and had that.

 

Eggs are excellent for life on a tight budget indeed. Same protein the more expensive chicken contains, and nutrient rich. Butter milk, milk, yogurt, rye bread, whole wheat bread, butter, cheese, peanut butter, quark, all very cheap over here. Mince meat for in veggie soups, get the veggies frozen for ultra dirt-cheapness. Kidney beans, healthy and cheap as ****. Make meals (chilli, pasta sauces from veggies, pea soup, etc) in batches and freeze em, much cheaper on the long run.

 

Agreed 100%.

 

Avoid sweets, and **** like that just because it is cheap and on offer, it ALWAYS is. This took me about 18 months to figure out
This is all in hindsight from my own mistakes too.

 

One of the shittest things about being a student is the inability to bulk buy anything much, since you only have 1 fridge shelf, 1 freezer shelf, 1 small cupboard area, and a room that's small enough to start with let alone filling it up with foodstuffs. I am looking forward to next year when its just me and my girlfriend, with a FULL FRIDGE FREEZER!

 

Freezer space is what limits most. In my old place I had a giant freezer, I could stash months worth of fruits, chilli, veggies in it. I had a large trash bag full of blackberries from the summer, lasted me up to December. Free blackberries even, nature gave em to me just had to be faster than the birds

 

I practically lived like scum at uni but I reckon I could have gotten away with cheap protein. The stuff I was buying was £13 a kg (flavoured) which is a pretty good deal. It was almost pure protein aswell, not some bodybuilder **** with a load of extra stuff in it

 

I don't need protein powder at all, so on a budget it's the first thing that goes. Haven't had it in years, it's a luxury article for me.

 

Pure protein, 13quid a kilo, that's pretty standard pricing anyway. But regardless its a supplement, you shouldn't make up your needs from supplements.
Say 60g serving, say 40-50g of that is protein. 200g chicken breast has about the same. Chicken boob about a quid. 1kg of protein say, 13 quid, so that's around 16-17 servings. Just under a quid. Two pints of whole milk, about 40g protein, 1 pound. Kilo of beef mince, 5 quid, 1 quid for 200g, 40-50g protein. 6 eggs of medium to large size, SURELY a pound or less, but for argument's sake a pound, 35-50g protein. 2 tins of mackerel, one pound, 40-50g protein. And those are pretty lean sources, if you go to caged eggs, whole chickens, chicken thighs, wings, legs, not-so-lean steak mince (wash under the tap to get rid of some of the fat if it puts you off taste or consistency wise) it is even cheaper. 2Litres of milk is cheaper per pint than just 1 pint. Storage comes into issue of course.
For about 15-20p per serving you can get a lot more nutrients, amino acids, vitamins and whatnot. You will get a lot better gains and be in better health from eating real food, this is especially true for guys who substitute proper meals with powders or meal replacement bars (all while costing pretty much the same). In short protein powder is pretty much unnecessary UNLESS you are a large dude and have trouble eating the amount you need/want to eat to maintain, or get bigger, or any other goal of yours. If you eat 3-5 meals a day depending on your size, with the above, you are sorted protein wise.