‘Eating good food is paramount and important to me, but I just have to consider my school materials expenses first before considering how much to spend on food; so I just eat the most easily available’ Dickson explained to his aunty who won’t stop nagging on how unhealthy he is looking after just a semester spent in school.
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Just like Dickson, many students in the tertiary institutions have that perfect excuse of why they could not subscribe to the healthy eating lifestyle while on campus even if they have every reason to eat well.
Aside from the excuse of a good and large amount of money going into purchasing of course materials and other relevant expenses in the school, there is also the time factor that contributes to healthy eating life style; as many students also hide under the umbrella of no enough time feasibility for them to always make a proper meal.
However, the importance of eating well and maintaining a healthy life style for students cannot be over emphasized. A healthy meal is a good source that supports cognitive functioning in students aside from the good growth it provides generally. Study shows that Eating healthy helps a child maintain their concentration and energy levels. This helps a child to effectively learn throughout the school day. By cutting down sugary foods and drinks, children learn better from healthy eating. This has been supported by Centres For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Learning how to balance your academic lifestyle with your eating lifestyle is very importance, and one of the best approach to this is getting yourself familiar with different recipes that are sources of balanced diet yet pocket and time friendly . The general misconception that eating healthy is expensive of course is capable of discouraging any student in making right nutritious choices; But you should know that with some strategic planning and creativity, it is entirely possible for you to eat well without emptying your pockets or suffering the time for long.
Here are some nutritious recipes you can always consider with your limited budget and still maintain a balanced diet:
- Vegetable Stir-Fry with Brown Rice
Vegetable is a good source of vitamins and minerals and is easily affordable without any drastic reduction in your pocket. You can always combine your vegetable with any food products. A good example as mention above is Rice. While rice is serving as a good source of fiber and the vegetable serving as a source to vitamins and minerals in your body, you also gets to manage your budget span without the worry of insufficiency.
- Oatmeal With Fruit
This is another easily secured meal that you can always lay your hands on without costing you more of your time and money. All you need for this diet is the; Oats, Milk or water, fresh fruits (it can be bananas, apples, berries etc.), honey or maple syrup, and nuts (nuts is optional).
Oatmeal is another excellent source of fiber that provides sustainable energy throughout the day. So you don’t have to always eat rice to maintain the source of fiber nutrient in your body. Pairing your Oatmeal with fruit also ensures a variety of essential vitamins and minerals in your diet.
- Egg Fried Rice
You should also consider stir-fry cooked rice with mixed vegetables, scrambled eggs, soy sauce and a touch of sesame oil.
- Beans And Rice
This is a very known combination; you can however be creative with it by stirring it up with sauteed onions and spices giving you a protein-packed meal.
- Banana sandwich
You can always have your fruit in different creative dish. Make your sandwich with peanut butter, sliced bananas, and a dollop of jelly alongside with your bread meal.
All these recipes are not only affordable, you can also customize it based on your preferences and ingredients you have on you. Don’t forget that your food plan should not just be limited to the mentioned recipes above, as we still have a lot of more affordable recipes you can consider, speaking of fruit parfait, yogurt parfait, beans and potatoes, plantain and beans and a lot more.
Eating healthily as a student on a budget is entirely achievable with a bit of planning and creativity. All you have to do is to be intentional and cautious of your eating habit. The recipes mentioned above shows you can always eat a nutritious meal that is simple, affordable and delicious.