Staying healthy in university, tips and meal ideas!

So I've been in university for almost two months now and before I left I had a goal: I will not let myself start eating unhealthily! 

To me, personally, eating unhealthily isn't the whole "eating pizza and pot noddles" thing that most students do, to me it comes across by just not eating enough so I made sure to eat well every day.

The problem most students face is that "healthy food" isn't as cheap as lets say, bread or frozen pizza or instant cook noddles, which is why they would normally go for that, which is perfectly understandable however it is possible to eat healthy food and not spend your whole life savings on it.

In this post I'm going to show you some different meal plans I usually eat during the week and some nice recipes! 

Please note that I am a vegetarian however you could if you want add meat to the dishes I'm about to share, it's your choice!

Breakfast: 

For breakfast I usually go for one of 3 options, if I'm lazy I'll probably have some toast with butter, if I can put a bit more effort I'd have yogurt with granola and fruit and if I am really about making something I will have porridge with granola and fruit. All of these are a great meal to make in the morning because they all take no time at all and will fill you up for a long time. I also like to add chia seeds to the yogurt or porridge because they are full of vitamins and omega 3, I just soak them a bit with water beforehand and then mix in to my yogurt or porridge. Chia seeds can be expensive at times however I got mine for really cheap in home bargains. 

Lunch:  

Now it's time for some real recipes! For lunch (and also dinner) I change things up constantly however it's usually some form of vegetables, and pasta or rice. One thing that I do do a lot is that I make food in advanced and keep it in the fridge that way I have meals for a few days and don't have to cook every single day. Things usually keep for 3 days or more, depends what you're making.

Stir fry vegetables: 

You will need:

• 1 Onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Whatever colour of pepper you like (my favourite for this is green) 
• Frozen vegetables 
• Dried oregano, thyme, parsley and paprika
• Sweet and spicy chilli sauce
• A bit of oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to make:

• In a sauce pan with some oil sweat down the onions, pepper and garlic
• Add your dried seasoning
• Add the frozen vegetables, chilli sauce and a splash of hot water
• Cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are defrosted and the sauce inside the pot has reduced.
• Serve on it's own, with pasta or with rice!

Pashtida:

So I don't know what it's called in English but it's one of my favourites. Basically it's the inside of a quiche without the pastry bottom. It's really nice and you can change it up every time by using different vegetables. 

You will need:

• Eggs (amount changes depending on your filling, so start with 3 and add as much as you need if you see the mixture is too dry, the most I had to use is 5)
• Cheddar cheese  
• Feta 
• Vegetables of your choice (in what I made in the picture I used onions, red peppers, broccoli and mushrooms)
• Seasoning of your choice.

How to make:

• Pre heat oven to 180c
• Beat eggs 
• Add seasoning (oregano thyme and rosemary usually work nicely)
• Add vegetables
• Add cheese
• Mix well (it's as this point where you can see if more egg is needed, if so just beat one in a separate bowl, pour over and mix again)
• Put in a greased baking tin and bake for 30-40 minutes checking every now and then.
• It's cooked when it's slightly golden and doesn't have a wobble to it.

Dinner:

For dinner I would usually eat the same as I ate for lunch, but on cold winter nights nothing is better than a hot bowl of soup. My personal favourite is lentil soup, here's how I make it.

Lentil soup:

You will need:

• Dried lentils
• Onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Carrot 
• Celery 
• Seasoning to taste (I like to add salt, black pepper and parsley)

How to make:

*If you are using black lentils it's best to soak them overnight first, however with green lentils you do not have to.

• Add all ingredients to a sauce pan, cover with water and let simmer for about 40 minutes to an hour, checking on it every now and then and adding more water if needed.

This takes the longest to cook but you don't really have to do much with it. It keeps in the fridge for 3 days so once you make it you have dinner for 3 days which is great!

And those are my recipes! I hope you found it helpful and let me know if you give any of those a try!

Yam xx