General Chat

Thankyou Just Jean for the cook books,They are great.We have all had a good look through them.quite a few i am going to give a try.Thankyou so much.Maria xx

...Another good thing I found when I lived alone, in the Shetland Islands, 3 miles from the nearest bus stop (2 buses a week) was the 'eternal' lamb stew. I would make a huge lamb stew at the beginning of the week, and it would last me the week. If it looked like running out, I would add more gravy and potatoes.
The glory of it was, being lamb it sort of 'coated' my stomach in unhealthy fat, so, when I went out drinking - which (whilst waiting for friends) quite often involved me and Russian or Polish fishermen having a drinking competition - I drank whisky (bought for me by them) - they drank their own vodka - I won!!

Mind you I did have a reputation for having an asbestos gut!! LOL

Excellent point re. house sharing, Summer. I remember around January of first year being upset when my flatmates were renting a house together and I was never asked, so it is good to be clear on these things early. (Also consider if litlle habits in people if you do go for a house share, the "tidy" girl in my flat in first year drove those she shared a house with mad!)

Anyway, meals . . .

One suggestion I have is Yorkshire pudding. Make a large quantity then you can have it over several days and it's very filling. Also goes with my mince recipe . . .

Buy 500g mince, bag up into 5 or 6 portions and freeze what you're not using. (Mince is nice and compact, fits into awkward little corners in the freezer drawer - we had three freezer drawers between 5 of us in 2nd/3rd year!). Brown your mince in a pan, sprinkling with Oxo if you like. Make 1/2 pint gravy (I used another Oxo with hot water, poured most onto the mince and reserved a bit to add cornflour to for thickness but instant Oxo granules are just as good.)

Chop up 1 carrot and add to mince and Oxo solution, simmer until reduced but not too reduced, then add froxen peas if you want. Allow to simmer a bit then add cornflour mixture to thicken. Goes with mash and also Yorkshire pudding and can be reheated.

I took to eating a lot of the things my mum cooked for me - bacon, mash, peas and pineapple rings, also braising steak (good if you're busy - you can just stick it in the oven and forget about it for a few hours) - and sometimes I'd just do tuna salad (drain it, chop up whatever veg/salad I had, add salad cream, mix it and it was done).

Interesting thing about being a student - when your food is running low, you come up with new meals. Tuna and salad cream and chips go together, bacon and Yorkshire pudding go together too!

Thankyou all so much for the tips.I am really grateful for the time you have taken. Maria x

Maria,

I taught both my boys to cook and when they went off to Uni they were well prepared.

With young people time always seems to be a problem so they learned with their new friends how to make quick and cheap meals.

I would not worry too much as I am sure they will be fine.

Leaving the nest for the first time is always more of a worry for us then for them.

Lindy xx

Buy them The Commonsense Book of Cookery - only about £5-6 and covers everything. Bought one for son and g.daughter - then thought it so good I bought a copy as did 2 of my friends.

Also, another thing to consider is vaccinations. Depending on what they're doing, the vital ones are Tetanus (if not had a booster in the last 10 years) and the meningitis one (if not had). If nursing, physio etc most unis except them to have hep c course too.

Keep in mind that unless they're lucky they won't have very much freezer space. Labelling food may seem picky but it can save a lot of grief. Unless the uni they're going too guarantees accommodation right through, they should start looking fairly early in the first year (around jan) for accommodation in the second year and they should be very careful about who they choose to share with as it can put so much strain on friendships.

This summer, Wilkinson had some great offers on stuff for students going off to uni, I was almost envious. They had them in different colours so you could even get them diff colours. Also, check which uni they're going to as I know at least one (Staffordshire) provide a welcome kit that includes basic everything (cutlery, crockery, cooking utensils and pans, bedding etc) So it's worth checking what they'll need.

Smart price bedding (duvet covers, sheets etc) are good value and argos occasionally has 2 for 1 on duvet covers. ASDA a few months ago had duvet and pillow sets for £6 too.

Aldi do some excellent ready meals,roasts of beef,lamb,chicken and gammon.

I think they are usually £1.50 but I bought a load at £1. Lidl do similar for about £1.50 but I am told the Aldi ones are better.

They mean that I can go out and leave my dad with his mate to microwave them.They would certainly mean that students would get some sort of food that didn't involve chips.

Some very good ideas on this site.
http://www.freewebs.com/mfc-cookbook/cookingdietingtips.htm

If you can get hold of a copy of Katharine Whitehorn's classic paperback"Cooking in a Bedsit" I can recommend it too! That helped me as a student.

Sue
x

Gremlin
I can't agree with 5) on your list.

Daughter was in a houseshare with 4 other girls and it worked well for 2 years.
They worked out a rota around varying lecture times so that during the week one girl cooked and another cleared / washed up so that each got a day cooking and clearing. Weekends they just mucked in depending on who was around. and bought food together for the following week.
They ate well, but more economically than an individual could.

Make use of any buy one get one free offers on washing powder and toiletries. That could save your twins alot of money.

Gwyn

Don't forget about tv licences and insurance!

Lizx

You never stop worrying about your kids, even when they are grown up - it's what parents do lol

Hence so many grey hairs...

Lizx

Yes Purple ...I do agree with you and these students should be told and be more careful when they are out ....and what they do ...Like you say it only takes one idiot ............

Yes I know my son drinks to much they put photos of him in a "state" on the net for all to see .....

Kids worry worry......................

Kemp, hi, no point burying your head in the sand, I was at the inquest with one family who asked me to help their campaign for more safety features by the river side, as I am local and they come from Shrewsbury. I think prewarned is prearmed and if it might save someone else's loved one from such a fate, it is worth mentioning. We did manage to get some safety updates done like lights under the ladders so if someone ends up in the river in the dark they can see where the ladders are to try and swim to, when P. fell in one February night, the river level was exceptionally high, it was freezing cold but people on the bank who heard his cries for help couldn't reach him, kept saying swim to the ladders but he couldn't see them. Now thank heavens there are special waterproof titanium lights to show the way. Sadly when another lad went in more recently further up the river, there were no lights, and he was found down river a few days later. Not the first and won't be the last I am afraid.
One girl at my student houses was feeling really rough when I went round, turns out she was out in the city partying, got a taxi home but couldn't remember where she lived! She sort of directed the driver to the area but when she got out where she thought she knew the house, she realised it was wrong, and had to phone her friends at the shared house to come and find her, took them an hour to track her down as she was so drunk she couldn't explain properly her location. Just think if someone with ill intent had found her first, she could have been found later in an alleyway.
Sad fact of life but worth talking to the youngsters before hand, they will pooh pooh it all but some info might sink in and they think twice!
I know my son drinks too much when out sometimes, but luckily he knows the city like the back of his hand and most of the time he and his mates stick together and all roll back to his or another's flat anyway.
Put a young person in a strange town/city and they can wander into the wrong areas, etc etc. when the worse for drink.
Lizx

How cheerful Purple.............LOL......

not sure Mari needs to know that ...and she wants like I do to think ur sons wouldnt get drunk!!!!

LOL

But not once the top has gone green eh Ann lol?

I would say only buy the ready meals when they are reduced as on sell by date, they can still be frozen if too many to eat that day. That way you keep the intake low, as they are usually not very filling for young people on the go, unless eaten with a salad or extra vegetables, and also often high in salt.

Also if your young people like to drink alcohol when they are out, and also at home (most of the students I met in the 15 yrs I looked after them always had money for beer, spirits and even champagne! when they were complaining about being poor students lol) instill in them the need to drink a large glass of water before going to bed, and also to eat before starting to drink. Also make sure they keep enough money on them and possibly stay sober enough to get a taxi home and be allowed in it, many taxi drivers won't take passengers who they think might vomit over their upholstery. In Norwich we have lost several young people because they got very drunk, walked home from the nightclub area which is by the river, sometimes went to urinate or vomit into river en route, toppled in and were found too late to be helped. Tragic! Also to always have identification on them in case of accident or muggings where mobiles/wallets etc are stolen. They should always try to stay with at least one other person and not wander about alone, when the worse for drink.

Simple things that can help save their lives.

Lizx

a pack of mincemeat
various veg diced small
one or two Oxo cubes
some pearl barley or dried lentils

dry fry the mince with the veg and let it "sweat" a bit - then add the stock cubes and hot water

Makes a sort of mince meat soup which can be kept in the fridge and warmed up as needed

Thankyou all so much.You have been very helpful.I will pass on your tips to my Twins.Maria x

Some of these recipies sound absolutely delicious, but are unlikely to see the light of day at university.

My son spent three years at Livrpool, first in halls where opportunity for doing own cooking was limited to warming up a tin of soup, then two years in a rented house with three others.

He spent a fourth year at Leeds doing his masters, again renting a house this time with four others.

His tips were as follows:-

1. Meals should cost no more than about £1-50 a time
2. Preparation and cooking time must be kept to an absolute minimum. Peeling veggies is out, rice and pasta is good.
3. Cooking time must be no more than 30 mins top whack. Preferably 15 mins so casseroles are a no-no. Pies are also too fiddle and take too long to make.
4.Stir fry is good, but requires too many ingredients to do it justice for every day
5. Whatever you do, don't agree to share cooking responsibiities. It doesn't work. Cook for yourself only, unless a special occasion and you are entertaining a friend.
6. Find the cheapest supermarket and buy dry supplies in bulk.
7. Don't leave food supplies or utensils in the kitchen - they disappear without warning, or pans get used by someone else and left unwashed.