Store Cupboard Essentials - Student - Features

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Store Cupboard Essentials

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Tins / Jars / Packets / Dry Stores and sauces / Drinks / Fridge / Nuts, seeds and Dried Fruits / Treats / Frozen

Tins
Sweetcorn
Get the no sugar, no salt ones. Mix with tuna, sweetcorn and Greek yogurt for a healthy and tasty jacket filling, or salad accompaniment.

Baked Beans
Again look for the low salt low sugar ones, a home comfort essential and good for protein.

Soup
You can make your own, but I always have one tin in for when I’m ill and want something comforting.

Beans
You can get 3 tins for around a pound. Kidney, cannalini, black eye, broad bean, flageolet, etc great for a meat substitute, hugely filling and great mixed in casseroles, chillies, soups etc plus you can puree in to a tasty dip.

Chick peas
Same as above, or make fresh hummus* or add to salads, curried up, mix with natural yogurt, a fresh chilli and a spoon of chutney for a quick jacket filling.

Plum tomatoes
Cheap as chips used to be, great for making salsa, pizza topping, bolognaise sauce, casseroles, tomato based pasta sauces- endless uses.

Pineapple rings
For a quick dessert, but mostly for an easy sweet and sour sauce*, can be added to pizza toppings, stir-fry, sauces and a multitude of desserts.

Fruit and Veg
Tinned fruit still counts towards 5 a Day, and it’s better than no fruit or vegetables.

Jars
Honey
Not so much a necessity, but a nice touch to marinades, desserts, cereals, coffee, smoothes, curries, B.B.Q foods- any thing you want to sweeten up naturally.

Jam
For your toast, don’t leave home with out breakfast; beware of high sugar content it’s a treat.

Peanut butter
Makes a brilliant sate sauce, great with all meats, kebabs and salads. Goes in smoothes or just with toast or sarnies. - Beware of fat content- use as a treat.

Mayonnaise
I like to use Greek yogurt as an alternative, but is good with potatoes, mixed with garlic as a dip or used to accompany a salad.

Packets
Rice/Egg Noodles
Just cover in boiled water and leave to softer for 5 minutes, strain and use. Add to stir fry’s, soups, chicken and stock for chicken chow main, or if you are really feeling lazy splash on some Thai sweet chilli sauce, stir in and eat.

Pasta
Try buying brown for the fibre, Spaghetti is always a favourite, see my cooking pasta tips*. Cook pasta and eat cold bound in Greek yogurt, add some chopped salad stuff and some tuna and enjoy or eat pasta hot with a multitude of sauces. Or serve just with a little melted butter and grated cheese- by far the easiest.

Rice
Try brown, Boil 1 part rice to 2 parts water or stock, season and simmer for around 20 minutes, till cooked. Rice can be steamed, baked in the oven covered in water with a foil top or Make a Risotto or even use cold as a salad.

Cous cous
Just cover with boiled water, wait 4-5 minutes, stir- cool and serve with chopped vegetables, meat, fish, herbs, spices etc- use your imagination.

Polenta
A nice extra, something a little different- replaces Mashed potatoes, or allow cooling and setting, cutting in to chips and fry- serve with a dip. Better with plenty of added olive oil and grated cheese.

Popping corn
Heat in a dry pan with the lid on, and get popping. Serve with salt, sugar or chilli.

Dry Stores and sauces
Olive oil
The best oil to cook with and you only need a little also good for dressings.

Thai sweet chilli sauce
Bought in bottles, and totally addictive. Mix with yogurt for a quick tortilla dip, as a marinade, salad dressing, add to stir fry’s or use just as a dip.

Ketchup
You can eat chips with out tomato sauce, but it’s the main ingredient in a quick Sweet and sour sauce*to serve with egg fried rice*.

Vinegar
For the chips and sweet and sour sauce.

Mustard
To pep up grilled and roasted meats, add to marinades, dips and sauces.

Light soy
Use to flavour dark sauces, marinades and B.B.Q’s, shake on to stir-fries and cheese on toast.

Stock cubes
Add flavour to soups, stews, gravy’s and dark sauces. Knock up a quick Chicken Egg Noodle Soup.

Seasoning
You can’t cook without Salt and Pepper- preferably ground black pepper.

Thai red curry paste
knock up a Thai red chicken curry in less than 20 minutes*.Or make your own*.

Block coconut
For the above, smoothes, sweet curries etc.

Curry powder
Or ground cumin, coriander, chilli, and turmeric.

Flour
For an assortment of culinary uses.

Sugar
for your guests and the occasional cookie mix*

Custard powder
Just for the times you fancy something and custard.

Drinks
Tea and coffee
It’s a part of English life.

Lemon
Or Lime squash quench the thirst.

Camp coffee
In case you run out of coffee and fancy a milk coffee- boiled milk and camp, or cold milk whizzed with camp for a frappe, or use in desserts, like cookies and cakes or even coffee custard.
Juice cartons of juice last in the cupboard for ages and once opened in the fridge for a week. A glass of juice counts as 1 of the 5 a day. - Think of all the vitamins.

Fridge
Milk
If you are in to it, don’t forget to chuck it out when it goes lumpy!!!

Butter
Margarines are just whipped up with stabilizers, vegetable oil and air- so use a little bit of something better.

Eggs
Use to make a quick meal, omelette, frittata, eggs en cocotte, etc

Cheese
Quick and easy to use and nibble, but don’t become a mouse as its full of saturated fat- but a little a couple of times a week is fine.

Natural or Greek yogurt
Use instead of mayonnaise. Blend with milk and fruit to make a smoothes, or mix with grated zest and lemon juice and a little honey to make a refreshing Greek Yogurt Pot*.

Salad, fruit and vegetables
Keep em fresh and keep up the Nutrients.

Meat and fish
A balanced diet is a healthy diet, eat meat and fish once or twice a week, if you’re a carnivore, and beware of too much fat.

Nuts, seeds and Dried Fruits
Nuts keep a selection of unsalted nuts, for cereals, desserts, smoothes, desserts, stir-fry, and salads or just as a snack. Don’t eat loads, as they are very calorific. 4 Brazil nuts gives you the RDA for Magnesium.

Seeds
A hand full a day, boosts your health. Add to cereals, salads etc

Dried Fruit
1 portion of dried fruits counts as 1 a day. Try dried cranberries, apples, mango, paw paw, pineapple, raisins, sultanas etc buy the no added sugar ones- beware they still contain natural sugars (fructose).

Treats
Biscuits
The odd biscuit never did anyone any harm; just don’t eat the whole packet.

Chocolate
They say one small square of dark chocolate a day does you very well!!!

Frozen
I know its possible you’ve only got a small freezer or an ice-compartment – so I’ve kept this section small.

Peas
Full of nutrients, keep up the vegetable portions. Defrost by pouring on boiling water, leave for 2 minutes, strain and when needed pour on more boiling water, leave 1 minute, strain and serve- it’s easier than boiling. Honest.

Pitta Breads
Preferably wholemeal. Defrost in the toaster. Stuff and bake, use as pizza bases*, serve with dips, or toast pull apart and toast the raw side to make crispy bread.

Prawns
Buy when on offer- Defrost by placing in a sieve, run under cold water, till soft. Use in salads, sarnies, curries*, stir-fry etc