Lifestyle

The essentials for your first food shop!

By bzellie 19 Aug 2020

A priority, once you've moved in, is to do your first food shop.

We've picked out some of the essentials that will make mealtimes a lot easier if you have these stocked in your cupboards;

Porridge oats are one of the best breakfasts you can have at university. They'll give you all the brainpower you need, they're healthy and one box can last you AGES.

Pasta is one of the most versatile (and easiest) ingredients. Whether it's spaghetti, penne or macaroni, it'll only take 10-15 minutes to cook. Trying to watch your carb intake? Opt for brown pasta instead.

a close up of some different shaped pasta

Rice is cheap, easy to use and very filling. It can be used in loads of different dishes and one bag of rice will last a very long time. Make sure you biggest bag to save multiple trips to the shops!

Potatoes in the cupboard? Dinner is looking good! You have a choice of baked, boiled, fried, mashed or roasted. Sweet potatoes are a great alternative to white potatoes and are packed with vitamins.

Onions are the base of pretty much every sauce/meal so you should always have plenty in your cupboard. Once you know how to chop an onion, you've got a skill for life. Just keep some tissues handy...

Tins can stay in the cupboard for months so get them all stocked up. The most important ones to have are chopped tomatoes, sweetcorn, tuna and baked beans, so get plenty.

Eggs can be eaten in so many forms that are all easy to do and they keep for about 4 weeks in the fridge too. How do you like your eggs in the morning - boiled, poached, fried, baked, scrambled or in an omelette?

Oil is something that is a necessity in the kitchen whether you love cooking to not. Extra virgin oil or coconut oil are good for you and better tasting. If you want the lighter option, sprays are best for that.

Herbs and spices can your meal go from 0-100 real quick! Get your cupboard stocked up with versatile ones like basil, thyme, chilli flakes, fajita seasoning and paprika and watch your food be transformed with flavour.

Salt & pepper can be easily forgotten but they really complete meals by adding taste to your cooking or boiling water to give vegetables or pasta some savoury flavour.