University students share tips for eating well on a budget

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Melissa Alvarez wouldn’t have believed you if you had told her a few short years ago that she’d be able to cook a good, healthy meal while living on her own.

“I’d say, no way, I don’t have any time,” said Alvarez, a third-year psychology student at St. Mary’s University.

But after gaining some knowledge about what one can do with a few ingredients while juggling a full course load and soaring grocery prices, Alvarez says it’s much easier than it seems.

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“If I’m going to have energy for five courses, three jobs and a personal life, I need to eat well,” she said.

Alvarez, originally from Mexico, said she was “very surprised” how many students regularly eat pizza and other fast food. As a youth back home, items like hamburgers and pizza were reserved for situations like doing well in school and weren’t a regular part of a family’s menu.

“When I talk to some of my friends (about food), I’d say, ‘Hey, you should do this,’ but they said ‘I don’t know how to cook’,” she said.

Other international students, especially, have had similar thoughts, she said.

Raising awareness

As with many students, Alvarez’s first year was in a dorm without a full kitchen, so she used St. Mary’s mandatory meal plan. In the meantime, she took a Global Change course at St. Mary’s, which greatly influenced her eating and purchasing decisions.

“(It) made me more aware of ingredients like palm oil, which is common in processed foods but can cause cardiovascular disease and is a threat to the environment,” she said.

Alvarez has an iron deficiency, so she needs to focus on iron-rich foods like beef and spinach.

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With the help of a good friend who loves to cook, Alvarez soon learned to make easy yet nutrient-filled meals once she moved to a place with her own kitchen. Her go-tos include chicken with basmati rice, gnocchi with salad, and salmon sprinkled with lemon and baked in the oven.

“These are very simple to make,” she said. “I didn’t realize how simple it is to make food.”

Part of learning how to cook good food is learning how to shop wisely. Alvarez collects PC Optimum points at Superstore, which can go towards free groceries; she also checks apps like Uber Eats for discounts at Walmart.

“A few weeks ago, there was a 40 per cent discount on the app, so I got so many groceries for $135,” she said.

Grocery stores like Superstore have a special student discount day once a week, but in Alvarez’s experience, she’s received the discount any time she mentions it to a cashier and shows her student ID.

“It’s a matter of … not being ashamed of saying ‘I’m a student, I need a discount’,” she said.

Meal plans

While many university students who live on campus are signed up to meal plans as part of their lodging, that doesn’t mean they don’t have access to good food. Matt Robinson, director of Housing and Conference Services for St. Mary’s University, said meal plans have come a long way in the past 20 or so years.

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Robinson explained that the Dockside Dining Hall experience includes a rotating menu covering everything from pizza and pasta, burgers and fries, chicken pot pie and stir fries, and much, much more. There’s also many international flavours, as well as options for those with dietary restrictions.

“It’s very difficult to go into the dining hall and not be overwhelmed by choice,” Robinson said.

Robinson said SMU Dining offers its own dietitian, who can show students “how to best navigate those options” regarding eating preferences, dietary restrictions and the like.

Robinson said university cafeteria services have become more mindful of the diverse student population when it comes to food choice.

“Whether (home is) PEI or in Dubai, we’ll do what we can,” he said. “As much as students want to eat healthy, they’re just as interested in eating authentic flavours from home.”

Part of this is a menu item known as “Huskies Choice,” in which the cafeteria takes suggestions from students and puts them on the menu for a short time.

In his experience, there’s a “wild range” of how competent students are in cooking for themselves. Robinson said when students express an interest in being able to make their own meals, they find out that, “in many cases, students will realize there’s a lot of work and preparation involved.”

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Inspiring change

Catherine Matthews, a nutrition and dietetics student at Acadia University, is quite involved in not just her own healthy eating efforts but in other people as well.

She is part of what is known as the C.H.A.N.G.E. program, a student volunteer-run collaboration between Acadia’s School of Nutrition and Dietetics and Wolfville School. The program teaches basic food skills and nutrition advice to students from Grade 4 to 7.

“Kids are absorbing any information you throw at them,” Matthews said. “If they can pick up at least one tip or nutrition advice, that would make us so happy and maybe something they learn today could also help them in their future.”

Matthews said there’s a trend among university students to opt for convenient – and often less healthy – food choices. Much of the reason is due to time constraints, she said, as well as the fact some students have limited cooking skills or knowledge to prepare healthy meals.

“As students, we often have very busy schedules with classes, studying, extracurricular activities, volunteering, and this often results in leaving little time for meal preparation,” she said.

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“I also believe some people perceive that healthy foods can be more expensive, especially for students on a tight budget, but I find with careful planning and budgeting, healthy eating can be affordable.”

Advice

Matthews said this can be achieved by making a meal plan and setting a budget – and sticking with them – to avoid impulse purchases and reduce food waste.

In Matthews’ case, she says, “I like to take 30 minutes at the beginning of the week and plan out what I want to eat.”

Matthews has a lot of advice for students looking to stay healthy without breaking the bank. Besides weekly sales and coupons, you can also go with generic brands as they are cheaper and often the same quality as ‘name’ brands, she said.

One of the pitfalls of living alone as a student is the potential for food waste, which is why Matthews recommends students look at more sustainable ways of preparing food. Buying larger packages and freezing the leftovers is one idea, and buying non-perishable food items in bulk also works especially if you’re sharing food with other roommates or classmates.

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Sometimes it might be a matter of getting out of your comfort zone. Matthews encourages students to “embrace” plant-based meals with items like beans, lentils, tofu and vegetables, as they’re an excellent source of protein and fibre.

“(Also), focus on whole foods, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein sources,” Matthews said. “I generally make sure I have a protein, a carb, a fat, and fibre” for each meal, she said.

One example of a meal she often eats involves sausages – which Matthews said often go on sale – that she throws into the air fryer, along with grains like rice, barley, quinoa or couscous.

“I often like to add vinaigrette to my ‘grain’ component, because if it’s bland I’m not going to eat it,” she said. “Then, (I add) frozen vegetables like edamame, broccoli or a veggie mix.”

Matthews said social media platforms like TikTok and Pinterest are great sources for meal planning and food ideas.

Cost savings

Lorraine Coleman, store operations for Belbins, a small specialty grocer in St. John’s, said the store just recently started offering a student discount day, which will benefit the students at nearby Memorial University.

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“We definitely see an uptick (of student customers), and they’ll encourage other friends at school (to shop here),” Coleman said.

Belbins is known for having a full grocery line, plus specialty items one can’t find anywhere else. The store also includes a wide assortment of homemade meals, a salad bar, and other quick foods.

Coleman remembers being a student herself and understands the expense of both university and groceries.

“As a student … I would only go grocery shopping on Tuesdays unless I really, really needed something,” she said. “Saving an extra 10 per cent may not be a lot but it helps you a little bit.”

Coleman said student discounts also encourage students to shop locally.

“Our students are our future business and our future people here in Newfoundland.”

Health challenges, healthy eating

Daniel Cousins of Charlottetown is a mature student in the Bachelor of Arts program at the University of Prince Edward Island.

He has a particular challenge because he has Type 1 diabetes and is allergic to certain types of sugars. He says it’s difficult to find a recipe that doesn’t have artificial sugars such as aspartame.

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In general, Cousins has some tricks he says are guaranteed to save you money. Besides collecting points at Superstore and Sobeys, Cousins says regularly checking out the sales and discounts is worthwhile – and that includes discounts placed on perishable items at the end of their sell-by date.

“If you shop earlier in the morning or later in the day, you’re guaranteed more discounts in meat and produce,” Cousins said.

Buying directly from the producer, whether it’s the local butcher or at the farmers’ market, is cheaper in the long run. He believes students could make a large communal meal to help ensure a few days of leftovers and less food waste.

Cousins observes that some students are, as he says, putting “food items my parents wouldn’t let me have at home, in the shopping cart.”

“You have to learn just because you can buy a birthday cake just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

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