Our diet and eating patterns have a huge impact on both our physical health and mental health/wellbeing – therefore impacting our mood, energy levels and ability to think clearly. Moving to University is often many individuals first experience of being responsible for their own cooking and providing a nutritious diet for themselves. Some key areas to consider are:

• How often are you eating? When we do not eat regularly, our blood sugar levels drop – this can make you feel tired, irritable and low in mood. It is important to eat regularly throughout the day, and choosing foods which release energy slowly will help maintain these blood sugar levels. This includes foods such as: cornflakes, sweet potato, oats and whole wheat carbs such as bread and pasta.
• Eat fruit and vegetables – Fruit and vegetables provide a range of minerals, vitamins and fibre that our body needs to maintain physical and mental health. Try and incorporate this into meals where you can, for example, buying frozen vegetables can be a cheap and easy way to get in your 5 a day and to bulk out meals. We know that buying fruit can sometimes prove expensive for students, especially if you don’t get round to eating it before it goes off. Perhaps see if a flat mate would be willing to share multipacks of fruit to reduce costs and minimise waste.
• Eat the right fats –fatty acids such as omega-3 are essential to keep our brain working effectively. Healthy fats can be found in a variety of foods, including: poultry, oily fish, nuts, seeds, avocados, cheese and eggs.
• Eat protein – protein is high in amino acids, which help to regulate your thoughts, feelings and brain function. Protein also keeps you feeling fuller for longer. Good sources of protein include: fish, eggs, lean meat, soya products, nuts, lentils and beans.
• Managing caffeine – caffeine is a stimulant, and whilst it can be great to help wake you up in the morning, it is important to remember the negative effects caffeine can bring. Such as: feeling anxious or nervous, irritability, disturbed sleep and poor concentration. Remember – chocolate and many fizzy drinks such as cola contain caffeine too!
• Stay hydrated – being mildly dehydrated can hugely impact cognitive function, attention levels, memory and coordination; and knowing when we’re mildly dehydrated can prove very difficult. Essentially, you may just think you’re tired, but actually you need a glass of water (or several)! If you want to maintain your mood at prime levels, you also need to maintain your hydration![1] It is recommended that we drink around 8 glasses of water per day.

So, we’ve discussed the importance of having a healthy diet and what this entails, but how do we actually put this into practice and maintain it?!

• Cooking and eating with others – If you have friends or flatmates that you feeling comfortable cooking and eating with, this can be a great way to maintain a balanced diet. Buying food together can lower costs and minimize waste as cooking for one person can sometimes prove expensive – this also provides social interaction and makes cooking more fun!
• Eating on a budget doesn’t have to be unhealthy – most vegetables tend to be fairly inexpensive and help to bulk out meals – they can even be substituted for meat. Red peppers, broccoli, spinach, garlic and yoghurt are all great for your immune system and come at minimal costs! Frozen vegetables can also prove a saviour for budget cooking – particularly stuff like frozen onions, meaning you can you use the exact amount. Don’t forget to stock up on herbs and spices, these are cheap and will last you for a long while but make the world of difference to your meals. A few healthy, budget recipe ideas include: chickpea and chorizo stew, tuna pasta bake, creamy mushroom pasta, vegetable Singapore noodles, homemade curry and chilli con carne.
• Batch cooking- This is a great way to ensure you eat regularly and nutritiously whilst living the busy University lifestyle. Cooking in batches will save you masses of time (and saves on energy) and most meals are safe to reheat within the next 5 days or can be frozen for a later date. Making your own lunches to take to Uni can be healthier and save you masses of money too – those £3.50 meal deals soon add up! Some cheap/easy meals for batch cooking include: Bolognese, soups, Mexican chicken and beans and vegetable tagine.
• Meal Planning – planning meals and sticking to this can save you huge amounts of money and helps your diet to stay on the right track. Going shopping without writing a list or planning what you will eat, often results in coming home with loads of bits that caught your eye, and nothing that actually forms a nutritious meal. Planning allows you to choose items which can be used in various meals throughout the week to minimize waste and reduce costs. We recommend setting a ‘use up’ day each week where you use only foods that you already have, to ensure that none of this goes to waste – this is best done when you’re approaching food shop time!

Below are some useful weblinks for finding cheap, nutritious meals:

• Budget batch-cooking recipes | BBC Good Food
• Budget Meals | and Meal Planning | Tesco Real Food
• 14 recipes every student should know | Features | Jamie Oliver
• Weekly meal plan: 28 cheap and healthy ideas - Save the Student

[1] Being Mildly Dehydrated Could Affect Your Concentration, According To A New Study (bustle.com)