Crappy food you ate as a student

[ALemonyPea]

I was reminded today of the really cheap frozen shepherds pies I used to buy as a student. £1 for 6 of them from Tesco, served with frozen peas. Was an absolute feast circa 1998.

Or instant noodles with grated cheese. I like to have that every now and again, proper comfort food.

Chips n cheese from local chippy, was a quid I think.
I must be honest, we were all vegetarian and cooked a tomato-based pasta sauce probably 5 nights out of 7. Very cheap and healthy. Grated cheese was a luxury topping. I actually lost weight at uni.

8p noodles from asda
£4 pizza from the local takeaway
Cereal for dinner

Supernoodle sandwiches, with cheap white bread and margarine

'Pizza'- plastic cheese slice, tomato purée and onions if I had any on the cheapest of white bread, then grilled.

10p reduced baguette and cuppa soup was a staple.

My money went on booze

Pasta in tinned tomato soup 🤔

Supernoodles with cheese on top, pasta with cheese on top, findus crispy pancakes, pot noodles when really desperate.

Love a packet pasta or supernoodle meal when want comfort food.

I went through a phase of using beanfeast
DON'T TRY IT

I used to eat Birdseye Chicksticks. They similar to the Chicken Fingers they make now, but they had a really rough crumb coating and I think maybe potato as well as chicken in them. I used to grill them then eat them on a soft white roll. With loads of ketchup.

Everyday- 19p bread with eggs. Pasta & tomatoes. Toast, toast and more toast. Beans (when the supermarkets used to practically give them away).

Luxury- value fish fingers, various mince dishes, toad in the hole, chicken kebab from the curry house.

I became quite a good cook at uni from not really knowing how to boil an egg. Was great fun & very sociable. We used to team up to bake cakes for each other’s birthdays, I fondly remember the first flat attempts!

Also, Bernard Matthews Turkey Drummers, with ketchup and mustard mixed together for dipping.

Bacon super noodles with chopped up pepperami in them 😍 still indulge occasionally!

Potato waffles beans and cheese.

I practically lived on crisp sandwiches.

I lived near a Chinese wholesalers.

I ate mainly incredibly cheap unbranded noodles, or took pot lick and bought ingredients not labelled in English. I had some odd meals.

Cheese pasties with baked beans. A lot.

And cans of Spar own brand lager.

I ate really well at uni actually, my friend (and former uni housemate) we’re talking the other day about how we managed to eat better in those days than we do sometimes now - we pooled money and cooking responsibilities and I think that helped. When times were hard though it would be a load of veg in no frills tinned tomatoes poured over pasta for days on end, still not terrible though.

I do remember 9p instant noodles with a tin of sweet corn stirred through occasionally too.

Spaghetti and cup-a-soup was my staple meal.
Cook Tesco value spaghetti for required time.
Boil water and mix small amount into tomato cup-a-soup to make highly nutritious ‘sauce’.
Mix together.
Yum.

Wash down with pint of ipa. (£1 bargain).
I couldn’t afford the books either. Pints were more important than books.

Beanfeast, chicken thighs, tinned ratatouille, fish fingers, bird instant custard

My first year in halls just had a kettle, toaster and a microwave to cook with.
9p beans on value bread
Bachelors pasta n sauce
9p noodles
Value "fruit" jam on toast
Value cheese and onion pasties
And when i was really desperate
Ketchup sandwiches.
Between that and walking at least 5 miles a day I was super thin by the end of Y1.

Those breaded chicken fillets from the freezer with garlic inside them, kiev I think. Eugh .. frozen chips, plain pasta with tomato sauce, noodles, packet lasagnes

Sosmix

Pasta, tuna and asparagus cup a soup

Big bag of poppadoms from the takeaway

And best ever - garlic and coriander naan bread from Al-Halal supermarket down the road

Pop tarts (chocolate) and/or bananas for breakfast.

Meals: Beanfeast (as mentioned by a pp), scotch pancakes (yes, actual meal), pasta and olives. Anything pre packaged, usually Linda McCartney foods. Vegetarian pate on toast (Holland and Barret used to sell it in circular foil dishes). I wondered why I was thinner then. Hmmm

supernoodles on toast or Sandwich spread toast. also a potato waffle with a fried egg or a hamwich. not sure if they still exist but frozen breaded sandwich thing. must have survived on beer or k cider!

I used to have pasta with mayonnaise and ketchup. I also used to have pasta n sauce sandwich and of course cheese findus crispy pancake sandwiches.

I was vegetarian but I heard of students who would talk of huge bags of frozen sausages you could buy for a few pence! Sounded awful. I probably exaggerate but they were very cheap.

Those Dr Oetke frozen pizzas, at least 3 times a week.

DH bought one the other day, it was absolutely disgusting. No idea how I used to eat that!!