Five ways to eat better on a student budget
First published at Hijacked on 30 November 2015.
We all know that one of the most common experiences at uni is having to live with other students’ dirty habits. Breaking up is one solution, and the other is to live alone. But the latter solution isn’t all rainbows and sunshine: a recent QUT study has found that it can lead to a low diversity of food intake. As authors Dr Katherine Hanna and Dr Peter Collins point out, it means missing out on the cultural and social roles of cooking and food found within a household of more than one person.
Fear not, though. Here are five ways to eat better on a student budget, whether you’re living alone or with others.
Go home during study breaks and get free cooking lessons from parents
While you may have moved away from home to get your parents out of your hair, you should go back during breaks to learn basic cooking and nutrition skills. They love you (I hope), so it’s free education. Dr Hanna says leaving home without this knowledge is a common issue for some university students.
“Working parents meant that they were probably time-poor to cook healthy meals, let alone be patient teaching their children,” she says. “It was mostly about feeding the kids and getting fed themselves.” But it’s never too late to let your inner child re-emerge and learn, since kids who cook are hungrier for healthy food choices.
Read the full article at Hijacked.
