Supermarket Shopping for the University Student
Ah, University – we used to joke that it beats the real world. I suppose that’s true for a lot of it (in 4 years of study, I never once had a class on a Friday), but the truth is university and college can be the first introduction into the real world for many young adults. Among many other things, that includes grocery shopping.
I’ve assembled a small guide for the university student of 2011 to help through this difficult process. While I see no reason why this would not be helpful for non-university students like TAFE, apprentices, other higher education etc… – University was my experience, so that is what I am relating it to.
A few provisos first: If you are at a fully catered college, then this guide isn’t really for you. You’ll meet the real world eventually, but for the moment you can just keep whingeing about how dull the dining hall stroganoff is on a Thursday. Also, if you are attending university while still living at home with your parents – also not that important for you. Either move out or start giving mum and dad a hand with the shopping, alright?
Ok – so it’s your first year at uni. By now the initial parties and functions will have died down a little, and you’ll be running low on the maggi noodles you found at the back of your parents pantry. You’re probably getting to a few big assignments and even exams, so keeping a good intake of food is important. Here are some basics of grocery shopping for the first timers:
1. Yes, ok we sell liquor online and deliver it to some areas (Not in QLD or TAS, and not in some areas in NT). Go on, have a look, I’ll wait here until you are finished.
You know what, I don’t want to get into trouble so best I say that bit again.
Ok, good – we over that excitement? Great. Now ladies, you might have noticed something there: Alcoholic beverages are not free. I know – shock – right? The free drinks at a uni function or from the guy at the club that you just gave a fake number to will eventually run out. If you wish to remain in the lifestyle you’ve become accustomed to, it could mean buying them yourself one day.
But look – honestly, lay of the alcohol a little. Not only will you find it more expensive that say fresh fruit, you’ve reached the end of puberty now and alcohol, along with the crappy food you usually eat when you’ve had a few drinks, will affect your body long term.
Earn your degree, get a good job, get rich and then drink the top shelf stuff. It will taste better anyway.
2. Fruit is good. Get fruit. When you are stuck for time, fruit is easy to grab and eat while still reading or tapping away on the laptop, and a lot of fruit come with their own wrapper so they are easier to keep and clean up afterwards. You can eat fruit any time of the day or night. As far as “grab and go” food goes, fruit pretty much leads the pack.
If you’ve got a few room mates, try a fruit box to get you started. That way, you’ll get a good variety of what is in season and should be able to sort everyone out. Be mindful of what size fruit box though – the Jumbo box will feed an entire group assignment team for a week.
3. Think about what you are going to be eating next week when you are shopping this week. While it’s great to have all that nice food now, you don’t want to be living off cheese slice sandwiches for a week when the money runs out. Adults call this “budgeting” – there’s a chance it will come up in one of your classes soon too, so think of this as a practical use.
4. Learn a pasta dish. Pasta is relatively cheap and easy to cook. Start with a packet of penne pasta, pick a flavour of stir through sauce, and that will give a few of you a pretty good meal for the night for about $5, and nothing left over or wasted.
Over time, you’ll get to add your own elements to it. Throw in some chicken, experiment with a few different herbs and spices, perhaps even vegetables – and you’ll make your mum proud.
And guys – the ladies like a guy that can cook. Well, some do, and I’m sure none hold a grudge against those that can, so there really is just an up side to that.
5. Go to class. Yeah, that doesn’t have much to do with the grocery shopping (which you can do online you know, did I say that already?) – but seriously, just go to class. It’s too easy to blow this lecture off to do something else. Make your life much, much easier and just attended all the classes you are supposed to. Even the stupid ones.
What is your advice for the young adult making their first grocery shop?
Leftovers are awesome. If you have a recipe that your parents made for the family and you don’t know how to make it for 1 – make the full recipe, and then portion it out. Freezing a portion is awesome for the night when you have an assignment due the next day and you have no time to cook.
Also cous cous – quicker than rice and pasta, cheap, and you can add loads of flavours to it.
My advice? Boxes of noodles from the Asian supermarket are generally cheaper than the 5 or even 10 packs of noodles from most ‘other’ places. This means, if you can afford it and it’s cheap enough, buy in bulk. Buy the ‘reduced to clear’ stuff at the supermarket. Home brand cheese is really not that bad, and certainly better than plastic cheese slices. Ingratiate yourself with bakeries like Baker’s D, sometimes they’ll spare you a loaf at the end of the day when they’re (sadly) chucking the remainders out or (hopefully) giving some to a charity collector on the sly.
If you have many housemates, and you get along well it is a good idea to share a meal at least once a week. My housemates would take it in turn cooking a meal for everyone…One of our favourites would have been a stir fry. I mean rice is cheap, most people have some honey and soy sauce in their cupboard, fry up some basic vegies yum yum!
the “15 items or less” lane is sacred, use it wisely, lest some deranged soccer mum embarrasses you.
things like bolognaise sauce last all week (freeze some for emergencies, you can eke it out with a little red wine), and any kind of lentil dish is the same. they are the meal that never ends. you can put the filling into pies, or crepes, or tortillas…
Paper plates. It avoids the mexican standoff regarding washing up with the housemates
I’m pretty sure it is poor form to refer to your new wife as a “housemate”.