Before coming to Durham, I had very minimal experience in cooking and while I did enjoy baking an occasional cake or pizza, the outcome wasn’t always the most edible or delectable meal. So I was reasonably worried about how well I would be able to manage cooking for myself however the worry did not stop me from opting for a self-catered college, South College, because I knew, as a picky eater–that was my best bet. If you’re in the same boat as me, worried about how well you’d manage cooking for yourself, maybe my experience will help lift some of your worry!
Grocery shopping
A well planned and more importantly, a well-executed grocery shopping trip goes a long way in determining how well your meal prep goes for the entire week. It’s always wise to prepare a list in advance because trust me, you’re not making any smart choices if you find yourself rushing to Tesco on an empty stomach as you realise, you’re all out of milk.
Tips
1. Necessities: These are the foods that I know I can’t do without throughout the week and therefore these always stay on my list such as, bread, pasta, rice, milk, and meats. Since I go through these foods more frequently, I usually look for affordable brands for these items as it helps me shop in bulk while on a budget.
2. Quick ‘n’ easy: I make it a point to always include at least a couple food options that I know won’t take too long for me to prepare. Having these on standby always comes in clutch during busy mornings or tired evenings. This would be foods such as cereal, spreads like jam/butter and frozen pizza. Also, I almost exclusively shop frozen veggies as it cuts down on the preparation time for meals.
3. Treats: In my personal experience, I’ve found including treats as an integral part of my grocery shopping helps me stay on budget as I tend to splurge less throughout the week (and smile more often) and therefore I would recommend not excluding a weekly snack or two in your grocery shopping. I usually like to get the multi pack of crisps as they are quite convenient to carry along.
Meal prepping and ingredients
As a master’s student, I was worried how much time I would have to cook while managing my classes; However, having managed both over the past few months, I must reassure you that it hasn’t been difficult at all! Even on some of the busiest days, I find myself having enough time to cook, though, I prefer meal prepping across 3-4 days as that allows me more free time to myself.
As for the meals, while some of my friends have discovered hidden cooking talents as they explore new recipes from scratch almost every week, I have found happiness in pre-made sauces–my favourite one being “Tikka Masala” from Tesco. I like to pair them with either rice or different kinds of pastas, though what I like about these sauces is just how many different types there are and the many ways you can use them.
If you’re an international student who would like to create home-cooked meals away from home, then I’d also like to reassure you that chances are you’ll most likely find some basic ingredients used in most recipes. In my knowledge, Tesco Extra has a ‘world-foods’ section that has an expansive range of ingredients and there are also some oriental food stores around Durham. If, however, you’re looking for something more ‘exotic’, a 30 minute trip to Newcastle will most likely be the answer!
My experience
To conclude, my experience while cooking has not been half as overwhelming as I had imagined. Though I have realised that good planning is what determines how smoothly the week’s meal prepping goes. So, my one suggestion would be to organise your grocery shopping trips as much as you can, so you’re not running out of ingredients mid-week (though if you do, the marketplace is probably only 30 minutes away from you at most). This might also further cut down on the hassle of deciding what to make as you’ll have a mental plan for the week’s meals.
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