1. German Doner Kebab Friar Street RG1 1EP This German food chain have been rapidly growing in popularity across the UK, and for good reason, their Kebabs are delicious and feel much lighter and healthier than your typical “greasy” kebab van. Coming from Berlin, the home of the Doner Kebab, they certainly know how to deliver one of the UK’s favourite takeaways. They have a restaurant available to dine in or offer delivery services via Deliveroo. 2. Milano’z Pizza Wokingham Road RG6 1JL Big name pizza brands like Domino’s and Papa John’s are often too expensive on a student budget, which is why we love Milano’z so much. They offer amazing pizza at a cheaper rate than the big chains, while being in walking distance of campus and the student residential area. The pizza’s are highly customisable with a huge array of toppings and are available either by collection or delivery. 3. 7 Bone Burger St Mary’s Butts RG1 2LG Our favourite burger in Reading, 7 bone offers many delicious variations of burgers including truffle, blue cheese and cheesesteak variations. Seasoned and loaded fries offer the perfect side compliment that help differentiate 7 Bone from your typical burger and chips dinner. Available to dine in or deliver on Deliveroo. 4. Finn’s Traditional Fish and Chips Hatherley Road RG1 5QE Our pick for the best fish and chips in Reading! Located inside the university student residential area, it provides the perfect location to quickly grab a tasty dinner. Serves fresh fish cooked right in front of you and offers a variety of gluten free options at cheap prices. Rated 4.5 on Trip Advisor, available for collection only. 5. Sizzling Spice
Christchurch Road RG2 7AZ Located right next to the university campus by SportsPark, this is our pick for an Indian in Reading. They offer all the classic Indian dishes at an affordable price at a convenient location. They even have a bar inside! On Sunday’s they offer an “all you can eat buffet” which is ideal if you wish to end your week indulging on some delicious food. They also offer home delivery for a lazy night in.
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All recipes are super easy and cheap, so give them a go and make sure to post them and tag us so we can see your results!
1. APEROL SPRITZ Ingredients: Ice 100ml Aperol 150ml prosecco Dash of soda water Orange (for 2 glasses) Recipe:
2. SEX ON THE BEACH Ingredients: Ice 50ml vodka 25ml peach schnapps 50ml orange juice 50ml cranberry juice Recipe:
3. WOO WOO Ingredients: Ice Lime 50ml vodka 25ml peach schnapps 100ml cranberry juice Recipe:
4. PORNSTAR MARTINI Ingredients: Tesco’s premixed pornstar martini (£10) Passion fruit Cold glass Recipe:
5. PIMMS Ingredients: 200ml pimms 600ml lemonade Mint leaves Cucumber Oranges Strawberries Recipe:
1. Tasty - The official YouTube channel of all things Tasty, the world's largest food network. From recipes, world-class talent, and top-of-the-line cookware, they help connect food lovers in every way they interact with food. They offer a wide-range of videos ranging from a 31 One-pot Recipe’s, Romantic Three-course Dinner You Can Make In 30 Minutes to Four Recipes To Host The Best Taco Night Ever. One of our favourites being 20 Recipes you should learn in your 20’s linked below: 2. Food Insider - The place for all thing’s food-related: recipes, hacks, good eats, and more. They have great videos including 32 Places You Need To Eat In London, The Best Burger In London and a How It’s Made series. One of our favourites being 9 Easy Meals Anyone Can Make linked below: 3. Twisted - Twisted is the home of outrageous, delicious fun. From creating recipes, you can’t stop consuming to hanging with the world’s biggest stars, they don’t take themselves too seriously and believe that life tastes all the better for it. They’ve got a lot of great video playlists including Sandwich Recipe’s, Snack Ideas and Ultimate sharers. One of our favourite videos from them is 13 Life-Saving Hangover Snack Ideas because nothing is worse than waking up with a dreaded hangover after a night out. Twisted are here to help with these life-saving hangover snack ideas to soak up all the alcohol from the night before: 4. SORTEDfood - Everyone’s best mate in food. A global community of food lovers helping each other cook and eat smarter every day. They post new videos every Sunday & Wednesday at 4pm - either filmed at their studio in London or from somewhere near, far or wide. Examples of videos include 3 Chilli Con Carne Recipe’s Compared, Reviewing Christmas Gifts for Foodies and 3 Creative Chicken Salad Recipe’s Compared. One we definitely recommend watching is How To Make The Perfect Scrambled Eggs – 3 Ways, linked below: 5. Student Mealz - Student recipes, easy recipes, cheap recipes, delicious recipes, they have it all! Every Wednesday they post an easy recipe video (with a touch of comedy). So, don't forget to subscribe for silly fun, delicious and cheap recipes! Here you can find a lot of easy recipes for delicious and cheap meals. If you're on a tight budget or are just looking for something interesting, then you've come to the right place! Their recipes include vegetable quesadillas, avocado chicken wraps and healthy loaded fries. One of our favourites is the creamy mushroom pasta sauce which looks incredible and would go great with some chicken or meatballs paired with pasta or rice! Link below: 3 ways to impress that special someone without breaking the bank… Dazzle your date with a home cooked 3 course meal, and don’t worry if you're not the next Gordon Ramsay. Below is a sample menu which costs under £11 (that's just over a fiver each) and requires no previous cooking experience! Starter : mozzarella sticks and tomato chutney 12 mozzarella sticks from Tesco for just £1.00! Just stick them on a baking tray in the centre of a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes at 170°. Allow to stand for 30 seconds before serving. Add a spoonful of Branston Mediterranean tomato chutney (£1.50) if you're feeling super fancy. Main : steak, chips and side salad Boswell farm beef steaks are just £1.99 each, fry each side for between 2-5 minutes depending on how rare you like your steak! Serve with some Mccain extra chunky home chips (£1.45) which take 26-28 minutes on 210° and some Tesco house salad £1.00 (to get in at least 1 of your 5 a day). Dessert: GU dessert pots Lastly , the best part of every 3 course meal… THE DESSERT!! GU has an extensive range of amazing dessert pots which also costs just £2.00. Choose from chocolate melting middle, salted caramel cheesecake, sticky hot toffee pudding, key lime pie and many many more. Next up we have 5 recommended sit down meals in Reading, starting with our cheapest option and working our way up to our most expensive for those who have a slightly bigger student loan…
Finally a fun alternatives to cooking your date a meal or taking them out for a meal… making them cook their own meal! Why not make the cooking into a fun activity for you both to do and make HOMEMADE PIZZAS!!!
Below is a basic dough recipe along with a selection of toppings and prices so you can make this meal as cheap or as expensive as your budget will allow, have fun! Ingredients: 500g of plain flour (60p) 1 tsp salt (35p) ½ tsp dried yeast (85p) 400 ml warm water 1 tsp oil (for greasing) (£1.10) TOTAL: £2.90 Instructions:
Topping ideas: Passata - 75p Grated mozzarella - £1.90 Pepperoni - £1.00 Mushrooms - 95p Onions - 12p Sweetcorn - 50p Chicken - £1.99 Red pepper - 45p Ham - £2.00 Spinach - 95p Ricotta - £1.20 *all ingredients based off Tesco prices February 2020 1. Wet you knife before cutting an onion Everyone knows onion’s make you cry whilst chopping them, and for some people it makes slicing them nearly unbearable. However, less people know that these “onion tears” are caused by the release of an enzyme into the air, which can be easily countered by wetting you knife before slicing. Water limits the vapours released by the onion for a tear-free cooking experience. 2. Cook your garlic bread in the toaster Sliced garlic bread often takes 10 minutes in the oven, a genius way of perfectly cooking it is in the toaster! After all, the toaster’s job is to cook slices of bread so why not utilise this for a favourite student side dish. 3. Using Bananas to ripen other fruit A little-known kitchen hack is that bananas release a gas called ethene which causes other fruits in your bananas vicinity to ripen quicker. Therefore, it’s always useful to stock some bananas next to your other fruit to maximise their taste! 4. Cool your drinks with wet kitchen roll in the freezer An essential student drinking hack, a metal can of beer or cider can be served ice-cold in a matter of minutes by wrapping it in kitchen roll, running it under the tap and placing it in the freezer. Within 10 minutes the tin becomes ice cold as the water absorbed in the kitchen paper rapidly turns to ice. Simply remove and bin the kitchen paper and enjoy an ice-cold beer or cider at your pre drinks! 5. Stock Cubes
A kitchen essential that can deliver a huge punch of flavour to even the simplest meal, stock cubes takes up a tiny amount of space in your kitchen and never go off, so no need to worry about expiry dates. Combined with leftover vegetables and/or meat, a stock cube and rice can make a easy flavoursome dinner. 1. Spaghetti Carbonara Ingredients: 400g Tagliatelle Pasta - £0.75 ASDA 200g Bacon Lardons - £2.50 ASDA 175g Mushrooms - £0.75 ASDA (pre-sliced) 225ml Double Cream - £0.99 ASDA 75g Grated Parmesan - £2.10 ASDA Total = £7.09 Serves 3-4 (£2.36 -£1.77 each) Start by frying the bacon over a medium heat, once it starts to brown, add the sliced mushrooms and begin cooking the pasta for 7-9 minutes. After 4-5 minutes add the double cream into the pan with the bacon and mushrooms. Once it begins to get hot and bubble, reduce the heat and add the parmesan into the sauce. Stir thoroughly and dish on top op the pasta once cooked and drained. Finish by seasoning with black pepper. 2. Chicken Stir Fry Ingredients: 1 Large Chicken Breast - £1.69 ASDA (buy a large pack in bulk and use throughout multiple recipes to save money) 300g Egg Noodles - £0.75 ASDA 320g Mushroom Stir Fry Vegetable Kit - £1.00 ASDA 170g Stir Fry Sauce - £0.65 ASDA Chill Powder Seasoning - £0.84 ASDA Garlic Granules Seasoning - £0.59 ASDA Total = £5.52 Serves 2 (£2.76 each, £2 each if you already have seasoning) Most major supermarkets have a stir fry section with ready made sauces and vegetable kits, making for a very easy and convenient cheap meal! For our example we’ve used ASDA, you can select your favourite of Hoisin, Blackbean, Sweet Chilli, Chow Mein or Soy & Garlic sauce for just 65p. Begin by dicing the chicken into small chunks and frying (kitchen scissors are more effective than a knife, if you have them!). Once the chicken is beginning to lightly brown on all sides, add the vegetables to the pan. After 2-3 minutes season with chilli and garlic to your preference, whilst thoroughly stirring. At this point place the noodles in the microwave for 2-3 minutes depending on your microwave’s power. Once the noodles are done, add them to the pan and then slowly add your sauce whilst stirring. Once completely mixed, dish up and enjoy! 3. Beef Tacos Ingredients: Taco Kit - £1.50 ASDA 500g Beef Mince - £1.59 ASDA Shredded Iceberg Lettuce - £0.35 ASDA Grated Cheddar Cheese - £1.75 ASDA Total = £5.19 Serves 4 (£1.30 each) If you want to customise and add extra flavour to your tacos, some tasty optional additions include: Red Pepper, Red Onion, Tomatoes, Jalapenos, Sour Cream and Guacamole Fry the mince until brown, then proceed to add the seasoning spice mix from your taco kit with 100ml of water. Stir well and once the water begins to bubble, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Heat your oven to 180°C and place your tortilla shells on a baking tray for 2-3 minutes. Once perfectly crispy, fill your taco shells with the seasoned mince meat and top with grated cheese and crispy iceberg lettuce. 4. Vegetarian Pesto Pasta Ingredients: 1 Red Onion - £0.20 ASDA 1 Red Pepper - £0.50 ASDA 250g Mushrooms - £0.70 ASDA 500g Penne Pasta - £0.53 ASDA 125g Grated Four Cheese Blend - £1.75 ASDA 190g Red Pesto Sauce - £0.65 ASDA Chilli Flakes/Powder - £0.59 ASDA Total = £4.92 Serves 3-4 (£1.64 - £1.23 each) A delicious pasta meal packed with vegetables to keep you feeling healthy at a budget cost. Begin by thinly slicing all your three vegetable into small pieces. Boil your pasta in a large pot and cook for 10-12 minutes, the large pot helps with the mixing and stirring stage at the end of the recipe. After the pasta has been cooking for 2-3 minutes add all your vegetables into a pan and fry at a medium heat, stir them occasionally and add some chilli seasoning to add a little bit of spice to the meal. Once your pasta is cooked, drain and then return the pasta back into the pot and place it on a minimum heat. At this point add your pesto sauce and thoroughly stir it into the pasta, once completely mixed repeat this process with your cheese. The four cheese blend melts perfectly to provide wonderfully cheesy pesto pasta. Finally add your fried vegetables into the pot, once mixed throughout you can serve and enjoy. 5. Chicken Curry
Ingredients: 2 Chicken Breasts - £1.69 ASDA 2 x Microwave Pilau Rice - £0.98 ASDA 500g Curry Sauce - £0.79 ASDA (There is a huge variety of curry sauces available, Madras, Korma, Bhuna, Tikka Masala etc.) Chilli Powder - £0.84 ASDA Total = £4.30 Serves 3-4 (£1.43 - £1.08 each) Optional: Add half a white onion, Naan Bread, Poppadum’s Begin by cutting your chicken into small chunks and then proceed to fry on a medium heat until nearly fully cooked, seasoning with chill powder, salt and pepper. At this point add your sauce to the pan and heat until hot throughout, if you wish you can add extra chilli powder to the sauce for a greater kick. When the sauce is hot, place your rice in the microwave for 2 mins, when finished, dish onto your plate and then add your chicken curry on top. |
AuthorsDavid Green, Bonnie Duggan and Jessica Sandhu - Students at the University of Reading Follow us on Instagram @studentfoodlife__blog
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