As promised, here I am talking about some quick and (mostly) nutritious meals that students shouldn't find too hard to make. I've heard so many of my friends not knowing what to make for themselves so I hope this helps! I'm writing mainly with reference to the UK, so the prices of ingredients may vary if you want to recreate this someplace else.
I'm a huge fan of merging meals; brunch, tea, supper. I love how they're inbetweeners and hence you have to make just one meal for the an entire half of the day. So lets begin!
TOAST, AVOCADO, FRIED EGG, BACON.
(Brunch)
Ingredients:
Bread (loaf): under £1
Eggs (6 pack): under £3
Bacon: under £3
Avocado: £1 each
All you need to do, is scoop out the flesh from half an avocado, sprinkle some salt and some freshly cracked pepper and a dash of oil. Then, mash the avocado with a fork till it's spreadable. Spread the avocado on your slice of bread and then toast it. Next, fry some bacon with a drop of oil. Once it's done, make the fried it in the same pan so you have all the nice bacon fat and juices flavouring your egg. Then build it like I have below and add a last dash of olive oil on top. Done.
WARM CARAMEL WAFFLE, GREEK YOGURT, BERRIES.
(Breakfast)
Ingredients:
Caramel Waffles from M&S (pack of 8): below £4
Greek Yoghurt (small): below £1
Blueberries : £2
Raspberries: £2
This is the simplest to make. Buy a packet of caramel waffles from M&S. They're not too expensive and there are loads of 'em in one. Pop one onto a pan until you see the caramel oozing out. Next, spread some cold Greek yogurt onto the warm, oozy waffle. Lastly, place the berries of your choice on the waffle. The difference in tastes and texture is just great. Also, you're incorporating some lacto bacili and fresh fruit into your system.
GRILLED CHEESE, BACON, ROCKET SALAD.
(Brunch/Lunch)
Ingredients:
Bacon
Bread
Rocket: £2
Red Leicester: below £4
Emmenthal: below £3
Mayo: below £2
First, make the grilled cheese sandwich. Spread mayo over two slices of bread and place the 2 cheeses on the non-mayo sides and make a sandwich. Yes, you're going to use the mayo to grill the sandwich. No, it's not going to taste disgusting. Since mayo is basically an emulsion of egg and oil, it makes for the perfect frying fat. Grilling the sandwich with mayo will give you a gorgeous, crispy crust. Take the sandwich off once both sides are golden-brown and both the cheeses are melting beautifully. Next, fry off the bacon. Lastly, get a handful of rocket out of the bag and place it on your chopping board. Add a pinch of salt, some fresh pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and use your hands to coat the leaves evenly with the simple dressing you've just made. Perfect for hangovers and even more perfect for long days
TOAST, AVOCADO, SCRAMBLED EGGS, FRESH CHILI.
(Breakfast/Brunch)
Ingredients:
Bread
Eggs
Avocado (half)
Red chili (1 packet): below £2
Prepare and mash the avocado as before, and toast it with a slice of bread. Crack an egg onto a pan with a bit of butter on a low heat and start breaking the egg with a spatula. Soon, as the heat increases, the egg will start to cook and come together. Take it of the heat when you can still see a bit of liquid in the egg and season with salt and pepper. Add these gooey eggs to your avocado on toast. Then, finely chop some red chili and sprinkle it on top of the eggs. Finish with a dash of olive oil.
EGGS ON TOAST, ROCKET SALAD, ROASTED TOMATOES, EASY GUACAMOLE.
(Brunch/Lunch)
Ingredients:
Bread
Eggs
Rocket
Avocado
Chili
Garlic
Cherry vine tomatoes: below £3
Smash a clove of garlic and throw it into a pan with some olive oil. Once it's hot, add the tomatoes and then lots salt and pepper. Turn the heat down and let the tomatoes soften and take in the flavour of the garlic and olive oil. Meanwhile, make the easy guac. Chop half an avocado, chop some chili, chop some garlic and mix all of these together with some salt, pepper and olive oil. A squeese of lemon would also taste great. Then, do what you already know, fry off some bacon, make some oozy scrambled eggs and the simple rocket salad. Take the tomatoes off once they start looking blistered and beautifully roasted. Now tell me that this isn't a beautiful meal after a hard night.
THE HUMBLE MEZZE.
(Supper/Dinner)
Don't worry! I'm not going to tell you to make hummus from scratch. Most of this is store bought, just tweaked.
Ingredients:
Rocket
Hummus: below £3
Pimento stuffed olives: below £4
Ham: below £3
Make the simple rocket salad like I said before and place it in the corner of the plate. Next, pick out some olives and place them next to the salad. I usually find the hummus in the stores here a little too sour so I tweak it by adding some crushed garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. The sourness works great in this mezze though as it acts like a salad dressing and balances out the dish with its acidity. Lastly, place a slice of ham on the plate. This is great for when you want to have a glass of wine in front of your laptop and haven't had time to make any dinner. Also, once you mix the ingredients together, it becomes a stellar salad!
CHAI & CROISSANT
(Whenever)
This is my absolute go-to meal. Buy the strongest tea bags you can find (they still won't be strong enough) and make chai like you would usually. Then, buy a croissant from Sainsbury's (they're gorgeous) and pop it in the oven for like 5 minutes till the top is crusty and the butter is awake. Then it's all just a case of tearing, dipping and smothering. Sigh.
That's about all for now, how about I make it a monthly series though? New combinations, new ingredients. I hope this helps you guys out, even those who aren't in the UK, I'm sure you get the idea. Almost 7 fast and fabulous meals that will fill you up and still be easy on your wallet. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and also if you'd like me to talk about any particular ingredients in my next post. Now I'm off to enjoy my Sunday like a true Londoner; at the pub!
xoxo
D
I'm a huge fan of merging meals; brunch, tea, supper. I love how they're inbetweeners and hence you have to make just one meal for the an entire half of the day. So lets begin!
TOAST, AVOCADO, FRIED EGG, BACON.
(Brunch)
Ingredients:
Bread (loaf): under £1
Eggs (6 pack): under £3
Bacon: under £3
Avocado: £1 each
All you need to do, is scoop out the flesh from half an avocado, sprinkle some salt and some freshly cracked pepper and a dash of oil. Then, mash the avocado with a fork till it's spreadable. Spread the avocado on your slice of bread and then toast it. Next, fry some bacon with a drop of oil. Once it's done, make the fried it in the same pan so you have all the nice bacon fat and juices flavouring your egg. Then build it like I have below and add a last dash of olive oil on top. Done.
 |
WARM CARAMEL WAFFLE, GREEK YOGURT, BERRIES.
(Breakfast)
Ingredients:
Caramel Waffles from M&S (pack of 8): below £4
Greek Yoghurt (small): below £1
Blueberries : £2
Raspberries: £2
This is the simplest to make. Buy a packet of caramel waffles from M&S. They're not too expensive and there are loads of 'em in one. Pop one onto a pan until you see the caramel oozing out. Next, spread some cold Greek yogurt onto the warm, oozy waffle. Lastly, place the berries of your choice on the waffle. The difference in tastes and texture is just great. Also, you're incorporating some lacto bacili and fresh fruit into your system.
GRILLED CHEESE, BACON, ROCKET SALAD.
(Brunch/Lunch)
Ingredients:
Bacon
Bread
Rocket: £2
Red Leicester: below £4
Emmenthal: below £3
Mayo: below £2
First, make the grilled cheese sandwich. Spread mayo over two slices of bread and place the 2 cheeses on the non-mayo sides and make a sandwich. Yes, you're going to use the mayo to grill the sandwich. No, it's not going to taste disgusting. Since mayo is basically an emulsion of egg and oil, it makes for the perfect frying fat. Grilling the sandwich with mayo will give you a gorgeous, crispy crust. Take the sandwich off once both sides are golden-brown and both the cheeses are melting beautifully. Next, fry off the bacon. Lastly, get a handful of rocket out of the bag and place it on your chopping board. Add a pinch of salt, some fresh pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and use your hands to coat the leaves evenly with the simple dressing you've just made. Perfect for hangovers and even more perfect for long days
TOAST, AVOCADO, SCRAMBLED EGGS, FRESH CHILI.
(Breakfast/Brunch)
Ingredients:
Bread
Eggs
Avocado (half)
Red chili (1 packet): below £2
Prepare and mash the avocado as before, and toast it with a slice of bread. Crack an egg onto a pan with a bit of butter on a low heat and start breaking the egg with a spatula. Soon, as the heat increases, the egg will start to cook and come together. Take it of the heat when you can still see a bit of liquid in the egg and season with salt and pepper. Add these gooey eggs to your avocado on toast. Then, finely chop some red chili and sprinkle it on top of the eggs. Finish with a dash of olive oil.
EGGS ON TOAST, ROCKET SALAD, ROASTED TOMATOES, EASY GUACAMOLE.
(Brunch/Lunch)
Ingredients:
Bread
Eggs
Rocket
Avocado
Chili
Garlic
Cherry vine tomatoes: below £3
Smash a clove of garlic and throw it into a pan with some olive oil. Once it's hot, add the tomatoes and then lots salt and pepper. Turn the heat down and let the tomatoes soften and take in the flavour of the garlic and olive oil. Meanwhile, make the easy guac. Chop half an avocado, chop some chili, chop some garlic and mix all of these together with some salt, pepper and olive oil. A squeese of lemon would also taste great. Then, do what you already know, fry off some bacon, make some oozy scrambled eggs and the simple rocket salad. Take the tomatoes off once they start looking blistered and beautifully roasted. Now tell me that this isn't a beautiful meal after a hard night.
THE HUMBLE MEZZE.
(Supper/Dinner)
Don't worry! I'm not going to tell you to make hummus from scratch. Most of this is store bought, just tweaked.
Ingredients:
Rocket
Hummus: below £3
Pimento stuffed olives: below £4
Ham: below £3
Make the simple rocket salad like I said before and place it in the corner of the plate. Next, pick out some olives and place them next to the salad. I usually find the hummus in the stores here a little too sour so I tweak it by adding some crushed garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. The sourness works great in this mezze though as it acts like a salad dressing and balances out the dish with its acidity. Lastly, place a slice of ham on the plate. This is great for when you want to have a glass of wine in front of your laptop and haven't had time to make any dinner. Also, once you mix the ingredients together, it becomes a stellar salad!
CHAI & CROISSANT
(Whenever)
This is my absolute go-to meal. Buy the strongest tea bags you can find (they still won't be strong enough) and make chai like you would usually. Then, buy a croissant from Sainsbury's (they're gorgeous) and pop it in the oven for like 5 minutes till the top is crusty and the butter is awake. Then it's all just a case of tearing, dipping and smothering. Sigh.
That's about all for now, how about I make it a monthly series though? New combinations, new ingredients. I hope this helps you guys out, even those who aren't in the UK, I'm sure you get the idea. Almost 7 fast and fabulous meals that will fill you up and still be easy on your wallet. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and also if you'd like me to talk about any particular ingredients in my next post. Now I'm off to enjoy my Sunday like a true Londoner; at the pub!
xoxo
D
