7 Day Student Meal Plan

Uhh its that time of the day again, when you've gotta cook. It can be tricky and boring to cook for one, and often as a student you want dishes that won't take long. We have put together seven dinners perfect for the busy student on the go, who wants a healthy, low cost meal plan. 

We are sharing some of our all time favourite recipes that are both healthy and great for on a budget. You might notice that some of quantities are quite small on the shopping list. We advise you buy loose vegetables (not pre-packaged) and for meat either buy loose from the counter or buy in a larger pack and freeze the rest. 

• The dinners all take 30 minutes or less to cook so you don't have to worry about slaving away in the kitchen all day. 
• The recipes are designed for one portions (great for busy students) but for families/couples multiply up the quantities depending on your needs.  
• The meal plan has a self contained shopping list of everything you need for the week plus all the recipes. So you only need to print of one document to take with you to the store. 

Our favourite tools for meal planning

We love to keep all the meal plans we create in one easy to use binder. Plus, by keeping the meal plans in sheet protecters means we can re-use them time and time again and saving us printing out several copies. 

  

Click on the image of the meal plan below to be taken to the Google Drive where a PDF of the plan is available for you to download and print off. We hope you enjoy the meals as much as we do.

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*This post contains affiliate links, all opinions are our own*

£5 Dinners | Courgette and Tomato Tart

We have started a new series of posts on Instagram called £5 Dinners where we will be sharing some of our favourite budget friendly meals. Follow us @savingscotts to keep updated with the series.

We have also decided to post all the recipes on here and there is now an easy to use tab on the navigation bar just for £5 dinners. So you can find all your favourite, easy to cook, low cost dinners in one place. 

Plus save money on your food shop using approved discount gift cards with Zeek. 

This weeks recipe is a courgette tart that takes 30-35 to prepare and cook making it a great mid-week meal plus its vegetarian too. Prices listed below for ingredients are for the 7/1/2017 at Tesco.com. The total cost for this meal serving 4 people is £3.57. 

- Pre rolled puff pastry - £1.30

- 1 courgette- sliced  - £0.38

- Brie 200g - £1.15

- 3 - 4 tomatoes £0.69

- Italian herbs £0.05

- Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius 

- Cut the puff pastry to fit your baking tray. Score the pastry approx 1cm from the edge on all 4 sides.

- Add a row of courgette slices, followed by a row of tomato slices and them brie. 

- Repeat until you fill the puff pastry. 

- Season with a pinch of Italian herbs. 

- Cook for 20-25 minutes.

- Serve with your favourite vegetables (we served with some left-over pesto pasta) . 

We love to keep all the meal plans and recipes we create in one easy to use binder. 
Plus, by keeping the recipes in sheet protecters means we can re-use them time and time again and saves us printing out several copies. 

   

£5 dinners | Spiced pumpkin soup

We have started a new series of posts on Instagram called £5 Dinners where we will be sharing some of our favourite budget friendly meals. Follow us @savingscotts to keep updated with the series.
We have also decided to post all the recipes on here and there is now an easy to use tab on the navigation bar just for £5 dinners. So you can find all your favourite, easy to cook, low cost dinners in one place. 
Plus save money on your food shop using approved discount gift cards with Zeek. 

This weeks recipe is the perfect way to use up left over pumpkins after halloween and is vegetarian, vegan and dairy free friendly. It is the perfect winter warmer and is less than £3 for 4 portions. It is best served with fresh bread to dip into the soup. It can be made in batches, frozen and reheated when required. 

• 1kg of pumpkin- peeled and cubed (50p)
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil (20p)
• 1 onion chopped (10p)
• 2 cm of fresh root ginger- peeled and finely chopped (10p)
• 4 tsp red thai curry paste (50p)
• 450 ml vegetable stock (5p)
• 400 ml of coconut milk (£1)
• 20g fresh basil (10p)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and cook the pumpkin in a roasting tin for 30 minutes until soft.

2. Meanwhile in a pan soften the onion and finer in the oil for 10 minutes

3. Add the red curry pasta and stir for 2 minutes

4. Add the vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

6. Add to a blender the pumpkin and then the liquid and blend until smooth. 

7. Add the fresh basil and serve.

We love to keep all the meal plans and recipes we create in one easy to use binder. 
Plus, by keeping the recipes in sheet protecters means we can re-use them time and time again and saves us printing out several copies. 

   

£5 dinners | Gnocchi bake

We have started a new series of posts on Instagram called £5 Dinners where we will be sharing some of our favourite budget friendly meals. Follow us @savingscotts to keep updated with the series.
We have also decided to post all the recipes on here and there is now an easy to use tab on the navigation bar just for £5 dinners. So you can find all your favourite, easy to cook, low cost dinners in one place. 
Save money on your food shop using approved discount gift cards with Zeek. 

This week's recipe is a Gnocchi bake. If you've never heard of Gnocchi before its a pasta/potato dumplings. In that sense this dish is essentially a pasta bake, but the Gnocchi give it a different flavour. This dish is so quick to make the prep is about 5 minutes then 30 minutes, making it a perfect back to school dinner. We purchased all the ingredients from Tesco apart from the peppers which were part of the wonky veg box and in total it cost little over £3 for a serving of 4.

• 400g fresh Gnocchi 
• 2 small Orange peppers (capsicums) diced
• 400g tinned cherry tomatoes
• 125g mozzarella
• 3 tablespoons Passata (optional) 
• pinch of Salt
• pinch of Pepper
• pinch ofItalian Herbs

• Combine gnocchi, diced pepper and cherry tomatoes in a pyrex dish. Ensuring that the sauce covers all the gnocchi (you may wish to add a bit of pasata if your a bit short on sauce). 
• Top with mozzarella, salt, pepper, and Italian herbs and cover with foil.
• Cook in an over at 180 degrees (Celsius) for 30/40 minutes (until the gnocchi is all cooked through and a soft consistency, not hard or gritty)

Our favourite tools for meal planning

We love to keep all the meal plans and recipes we create in one easy to use binder. 
Plus, by keeping the recipes in sheet protecters means we can re-use them time and time again and saves us printing out several copies. 

   

Wonky veg box review

A while ago ASDA announced that they were introducing wonky veg boxes into their stores. My local was a listed store but despite checking regularly none were being stocked. When doing our shop this week we discovered that they actually had some in the store now so we though we would give it a go and let you guys know our thoughts on the box.

The concept is about encouraging people to buy 'imperfect food' that would otherwise go to waste. In a waste not, want not fashion. A bit like a broken biscuit tin there is no preset combination of veg in a box, but there is a label to say what the box contains on the outside so it is not a surprise.

I would always rather have fresh food thats 'ugly' than pretty frozen veg so we love the concept of a veg box on a budget. Plus because it is veg that would have otherwise gone to waste it is sold at a reduced price, the box was only £3.50 but have about £8 worth of vegetables in it. Being able to source low cost food is a great way to keep costs down so if like us your trying to stick to a budget wonky veg can help you with that.

Ours contained the following

• aubergine
• salad onions
• onions (white)
• orange peppers
• carrots
• cabbage
• lettuce 
• potatoes 

Check out the video below to see what the box contained and our thoughts on the concept.

Overall we are really happy with the box and think it is good value for money. My biggest gripe is that the lettuce was in a plastic bag as other than that it is pretty eco friendly packaging. The blemishes on the vegetables were all very minor (I would hardly consider blemishes) and the unusual shapes weren't that different. The carrots were probably the most 'deformed' but as most of the time we would be chopping them up, you wouldn't notice, plus I'm planning on using them in a soup anyway. 

What do you think of the idea of a wonky veg box, is it something you would buy?

£5 Dinners | Israeli couscous salad

We have started a new series of posts on Instagram called £5 Dinners where we will be sharing some of our favourite budget friendly meals. Follow us @savingscotts to keep updated with the series.
We have also decided to post all the recipes on here and there is now an easy to use tab on the navigation bar just for £5 dinners. So you can find all your favourite, easy to cook, low cost dinners in one place. 
Save money on your food shop using approved discount gift cards with Zeek. 

This weeks receive is a Israeli couscous salad.  Israeli couscous was developed to be a low cost staple to feed the people of Israel when times were tough. Though not hugely well know, it is a great carb for dinners and we often substitute it in dishes that call for pasta. It is all pretty inexpensive and can be found in most major supermarkets, usually in the Kosher or World foods aisle (we purchase ours from Tesco). 

Whilst tined olives work great, if you want some extra flavours hit your local market (turkish markets are brilliant for olives) to pick up some delicious olives at bargain prices. Fresh herbs are a great investment, and wilting plants can often be purchased for knock down prices. This dish is so simple and take 10 minutes to make and is a summer favourite in our house.

• 1 cucumber
• 1 cup Cherry tomatos
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 cup Mushrooms chopped
• 1 cup radishes
• 1/2 cup of Olives
• handful of fresh basil (optional) 
• 50g feta cheese
• 2 cups of Israeli couscous

For the dressing

• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 lemon juice
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper 
• pinch of dried herbs

• Add couscous to a saucepan and a dash of oil and cook on low heat for a 3-4 minutes. This is call toasting the couscous it helps bring out the nutty flavour. 
• Add 2.5 cups of water and a pinch of salt (optional) and allow to cook on a low-medium heat for 10 minutes, continuing to stir intermittently. 
• Chop all the vegetables, olives, feta, basil and mix together in a salad bowl.
• To make dressing combine, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of dried herbs. Add to salad when served
• When the couscous has absorbed all the water, allow to cool slightly in the sauce pan before adding to salad. 
• Serve and add dressing.

Our favourite tools for meal planning

We love to keep all the meal plans and recipes we create in one easy to use binder. 
Plus, by keeping the recipes in sheet protecters means we can re-use them time and time again and saves us printing out several copies. *Affiliate link: see disclosure below*

   

£5 Dinners | Spaghetti Bolognese

We have started a new series of posts on Instagram called £5 Dinners where we will be sharing some of our favourite budget friendly meals. Follow us @savingscotts to keep updated with the series.

We have also decided to post all the recipes on here and there is now an easy to use tab on the navigation bar just for £5 dinners. So you can find all your favourite, easy to cook, low cost dinners in one place. 

This weeks receive is the traditional Spaghetti Bolognese. One of the best ways to save money on dishes like this is to buy mince when it is reduced and freeze it ready for when you need it. I can't remember the last time I paid full price for mince meat as its just not worth it. Other areas you can bring the cost down is buy busing value range tomato produces (they are just the same with a different label) and purchasing spaghetti in bulk.  Whilst the basil is optional it does really enhance the flavour and the you can find fresh herbs reduced in stores and all they need is a little TLC to bring them back to their former glory. This dish is easily under £5 (we spent just less than £4).

• 1 onion- diced
• 1-2 cloves of garlic - minced
• dash of oil 
• 400g mince meat (we used pork/beef mix but any kind will do)
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• 1/2 carton (approx 250g) of passata
• 1-2 tbsp of tomato puree
• 200g mushrooms
• salt + pepper
• Basil (optional) - chopped finely 
• 120g of spaghetti (or your favourite type of pasta)
• Handful of grated cheese to top

• Cook onions and garlic in oil until slightly golden.
• Add mincemeat and cook until 80% browned.
• Add mushrooms, tinned tomatoes, pasta and tomato puree. Stir for 3-4 minutes until its all throughly mixed together and bring to the boil.
• Leave to simmer by reducing the heat to low for 20-30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so. 
• Add the salt and pepper to taste (and half the basil at the stage if you want to include it).
• After simmering for 20-30 minutes, add the spaghetti to a second saucepan full of salted water and boil until cooked as per packet instructions (cooking time will vary depending on whether it is dried or fresh pasta and the type of pasta). 
• Strain the pasta and divide into four portions to serve, top with pasta sauce, basil and grated cheese. 

Our favourite tools for meal planning

We love to keep all the meal plans and recipes we create in one easy to use binder. 
Plus, by keeping the recipes in sheet protecters means we can re-use them time and time again and saves us printing out several copies. *Affiliate link: see disclosure below*

   

£5 Dinners | Tuna Pasta Bake

We have started a new series of posts on Instagram called £5 Dinners where we will be sharing some of our favourite budget friendly meals. Follow us @savingscotts to keep updated with the series.
We have also decided to post all the recipes on here and there is now an easy to use tab on the navigation bar just for £5 dinners.

Todays dinner is Tuna Pasta Bake, this is a family favourite and such an quick and easy dish to make that even Chris can cook it :) If you are looking to stretch it further serve with garlic bread and mixed veg.  To make the pasta bake is £3.10 (we purchased the ingredients from Tesco), served with frozen veg and garlic bread it came to a grand total of £4.42.

- 1 tin of canned tuna
- 2 can of condensed mushroom soup
- 300g of mushrooms diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 clove of garlic min, (optional)
- 300g of penne
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- A handful of grated cheese of your choice to top ( we used cheddar).

- Combine all the ingredients in a pyrex dish and top with cheese.
- Cover in foil and place in a pre-heated oven for 30-40 minutes (until pasta is soft and fully cooked) at 200 degrees celsius.
- This dish is suitable for freezing. Allow to cool after cooking and place in an airtight container. Cook from frozen (covering the top with foil) for 20 minutes at 180-200 degrees celsius.

Stay tuned for more delicious budget friendly receipts as part of our #£5Dinner series. 

Our favourite tools for meal planning

We love to keep all the meal plans and recipes we create in one easy to use binder. 
Plus, by keeping the recipes in sheet protecters means we can re-use them time and time again and saves us printing out several copies. *Affiliate link: see disclosure below*

   


*I am grateful to be of service and bring you content free of charge. In order to do this, please note that when you click links and purchase items, I will receive a referral commission. Your support in purchasing through these links enables me to keep Saving Scotts running and empower more people to take control of their finances. Thank you!*