Even if you set off for uni with the best of intentions, it can be difficult to eat well. Your gleaming new student kitchen may look great but, when you are faced with the reality of sharing a couple of rings and a microwave with a dozen other ravenous students, you rapidly realise its limitations. If the nearest shops are a couple of miles away, it is easy to give up the struggle and fall back on ready-made meals.

So why bother? Because making and sharing food is a great way to make you the most popular person on your floor. Not to mention that eating out all the time tends to be expensive if it is healthy food and unhealthy if it is cheap; that freshly prepared food tastes better and that you’re more likely to remain fit and well, in body and mind, if you have a varied, balanced diet. Need any more persuasion?

If your cooking skills are limited, though, where do you start? My advice is to begin with something that you really enjoy eating. Most books assume that students live off a diet of pasta, and many do, but you can try something else. If you have limited cooking facilities, concentrate on one-pot dishes such as chunky soups, stir-fries with noodles, chilli con (or without) carne or pilafs (savoury rice with bacon, ham or vegetables such as peas and mushrooms).

Tinned pulses such as beans, chickpeas and lentils are good mixed with vegetables such as onions and peppers for one-pot dishes, as well as a filling and inexpensive source of protein.

You will need seasoning to jazz up your dishes: garlic, lemon juice (fresh or out of a squeezy bottle), soy sauce, chilli powder or hot sauce are all must-haves in my kitchen, together with my all-purpose Moroccan spice mix (2 tsp each ground cumin and coriander, level tsp turmeric and level tsp chilli powder or hot paprika).

If money is tight, learning to shop and store is as important as learning to cook. Most of us just hit a super- market and randomly grab what we fancy, but if you are on a budget you do need some kind of plan so that you buy for several days’ eating rather than just the next meal. With a medium can of tuna, for example (cheaper than two small ones), you can use half for a salad one day and the rest for a sandwich or pasta sauce the next.

Half a dozen eggs can make three meals: two for scrambled eggs, two hard boiled in a salad or sandwiches, two in a spaghetti carbonara (spaghetti with bacon and eggs). A batch of mince can make a bolognese sauce one night, be turned into a chilli the next night and a keema (spicy mince with peas) on the third. This cuts down on the amount of time you have to spend in the kitchen, too.

Shopping in supermarkets needs a certain amount of guile. If prices are slashed on some product, they will be charging over the odds for others. Buying vegetables and fruit loose is usually cheaper than buying them pre-packed. Finally, one of the best times to go shopping is in the evening, when prices on many fresh foods are reduced, although some staple goods may be sold out.

Fiona Beckett is the author of three books on student cooking — Beyond Baked Beans, Beyond Baked Beans Green and Beyond Baked Beans Budget — all published by Absolute Press. www.beyondbakedbeans.com

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