How to eat healthily at uni

Being at university (and probably on a budget) could mean that being healthy is the last thing on your mind. But there are so many ways that you can maintain a healthy diet (alongside exercise and wellbeing) without breaking the bank, here are a few!

If your flatmates/housemates are happy to, try and share meals every so often.

It means you don’t have to cook as often AND you get to eat fresher food because between you you’re only using the ingredients for one meal. Even if you aren’t happy to share meals, you can always share fruit and vegetables and then that bag of salad isn’t going to be going slimy too quickly.

Freeze your fruit and veg!

Everyone may say that it tastes better fresh, but in my experience there is no difference! If you buy all your fruit and veg when you do a shop, you can chop it and freeze it so as it’s never going to go to waste – then when you’re ready to cook it, just throw it in.

Meal plan

If you know what you’re going to be eating over the next week, you can make sure you have the right ingredients and can use up whatever is going off first. Obviously, you can (and should) switch things around depending on what you fancy but having a general outline means you have a starting point.

Try new things

I know, pasta is quick, easy and tasty – why wouldn’t you eat it every day? But there are so many tasty foods out there that you may not have ever tried. By branching out and trying new things you may find something new to love and it could even be very healthy! I would highly recommend following Facebook pages, like Tasty, to see new things and have a constantly mouthwatering feed.

Find alternatives

Although it may be easy to fall into the same patterns as always, finding alternatives to meals could bode well and help you be healthier. Instead of drinking your normal orange juice, try whacking some fruit into a blender and whipping up a smoothie (hint: try adding some açai berry powder, it’s a berry that tastes like chocolate – life changing!).

Set meal times

Snacking is the number one reason I eat unhealthily, but if you have set meal times and know exactly when you’re going to be eating it can actually be beneficial to gauge whether you actually need a snack.

Make a packed lunch

It may seem childish but if you can, take packed lunches into a full day at uni. You can save money and know that you’re eating something that’s good for you.

I’ve only talked about food in this post, but eating healthily is only one part of being healthy; don’t neglect your mental and physical wellbeing, so take time out and don’t forget to exercise.

If you want to see more about eating healthily at uni, check out Beccy’s vlog.