Five Budget Meals That Aren't Pot Noodles Or Pasta

Having a healthy diet and including fruit and vegetables in your meals can have a significantly positive impact on your mental health and motivation. Being a student can lead to many stressful moments and having the motivation to study is important and having healthy meals plays a part in allowing this to happen. However, student budgets can result in this being tricky as fruit and vegetables are more expensive than a pot noodle or a meal deal, but there are alternatives. Here are five healthy meals for when you’re on a student budget.

1. Jacket Potatoes

Now this could be seen as a boring option, but jacket potatoes don’t have to be. They can be both cheap and healthy and there are many different alternatives to make them exciting. For example, tuna melt jacket potatoes make for a cheap and healthy option or tomato and chicken are also a healthy alternative too.

2. Fish Pie

This is a hearty, family meal that can be prepped in advance and can also be frozen for meal preparation too which is an easy way to save some money. It’s also an easy option if you live with flatmates as it can be shared between a group of people and makes for a comforting meal.

3. Stir Fry

Stir fry is a meal that will take no longer than 15 – 20 minutes to make and is also a great meal for leftovers. The average stir fry for four people will cost around £5, making for another cheap option if you live with other people or are cooking for guests. A stir fry can also be spiced up with some chicken or prawns or mushrooms or tofu for a vegetarian option too.

4. Pizza

Now would you believe me if I said that pizza could be a healthy and cheap option? Replacing the dough base for a wrap and topping with tomatoes and basil is the perfect weeknight treat and is delicious too.

5. Macaroni and Cheese

Who doesn’t love a classic portion of macaroni and cheese? Although the meal is known for being high in calories, you can find ways to make it a healthy meal whilst still enjoying that classic cheesy flavour. Swapping the cheese for a reduced fat option and using semi-skimmed milk are just two ways you can reduce the amount of fat included in the meal – you could even add tomatoes on top for an extra kick of flavour.

Now don’t get me wrong, you still need to treat yourself now and then. Don’t let this article stop you from eating what you want, when you want but also be aware that there are cheap ways to enjoy healthy and hearty meals too.

If none of these meals are of interest of you, there are plenty more recipes on the BBC Good Food website.