We know that with exam season just around the corner, it can be a pretty stressful time for all of our Lancaster students! When you’re in the midst of completing your exams and revising morning, noon and night, we appreciate that self-care might not be at the top of your priority list. But it’s just as important to look after yourselves as well. Keeping a handful of quick and easy nutritious meal ideas in your back pocket is great for tackling exam season. Especially when you’re living in off-campus student accommodation in Lancaster centre and have to balance revision, work and a budget!
For those of you who are in Lancaster town centre student accommodation, you’re lucky enough to be close to most of the big supermarkets. Sainsbury’s and discount supermarkets like Lidl and Aldi will be right on your doorstep. Perfect for our Lancaster students! Here are some basic, student budget friendly recipes to make that are sure to help you during exam season.
5 Minute Chicken Noodle Soup
You only need 5 ingredients and a spare 5 mins, this soup is PERFECT for our busy students during exam season! This recipe is not only healthy but also cheap to make!
Ingredients
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 50g dried egg noodles
- 2 spring onions thinly sliced
- 50g frozen peas
- 50g shredded cooked chicken
Method
- Pour 700ml pint of freshly boiled water into a saucepan, add the stock cube and stir well to dissolve. Add the noodles, spring onions, peas and chicken, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes, or until the noodles and peas are cooked and the chicken is cooked through.
- Ladle into a deep, wide bowl and, if you fancy for some extra flavour, top with the chilli, ginger, garlic, coriander and soy sauce.
Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry
This recipe is perfect for our Lancaster students on a budget! Not only is it cheap to make but it’s also healthy, and it’s perfect for cooking in bulk and freezing for those days when you really need to lock in on revising for your exams.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion and 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 fresh red chilli, roughly chopped
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 400g tin coconut milk
- ½ butternut squash, chopped into 2cm
- 400g tin chickpeas
- Fresh coriander leaves
- 150g rice
- salt
Method
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onions, garlic and ginger and fry over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the garam masala, fresh red chilli, cumin and turmeric and cook until the onions have softened.
- Pour in the tomatoes and coconut milk, bring to a boil then add the squash and chickpeas. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 30–40 minutes. Check occasionally and add water if needed.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Place the rice in a large bowl and cover with water, carefully discard the water and repeat until the water runs clear.
- Place the rice in a saucepan and add 500ml water, season with salt and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat and leave to stand with the lid on for a further 10 minutes.
- Serve the curry with rice and a sprinkling of fresh coriander.
Pesto Pasta
There’s a reason students love pasta! Pesto pasta is the perfect student recipe, it’s cheap to make, it’s filling and it’s so easy. Plus, you can add in some extra veg, or some meat to make bigger portions and you may have enough for a couple of days’ worth of meals!
Ingredients
- 400g spaghetti
- 190g jar pesto
- 150g kale, stems removed roughly chopped
- 250g frozen peas
Method
- Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions. Add the kale and peas for the last 1–2 minutes of the cooking time.
- Drain the pasta and vegetables and stir through the pesto. Serve.
All of these simple student recipes are from BBC Good Food, and they have tons of different recipes on there to suit all dietary needs. Here at Escape Campus, we hope you have a successful exam season and the best of luck to all of you!