Student survival kit Fiona Beckett If you've just arrived at uni, no doubt the last thing on your mind is how you're going to feed yourself. But if you're going to stretch your meagre budget, you'll need a few basic skills beyond opening the inevitable can of baked beans.

In this article

Confident cooking Five a day

Smart shopping Try some of the recipes

The essential kit

Students spend an average £29 a week on food according to the 2005 Unite Student Experience report, which sounds like quite a lot - until you realise that seven £4 lunches would swallow that easily. And the high-fat, carbohydrate-laden diet in most university halls and pubs isn't going to do your health or your appearance much good either, leaving you lethargic and prey to winter bugs.

Cooking may sound daunting but it's a doddle, really. If you can write an essay or pass your A-levels, you can follow a recipe. You can cook a simple pasta sauce, for example, with a tablespoon of oil, a clove of garlic and a tin of tomatoes for less than half the price of the pasta sauces sold in jars - and it'll taste much better. It couldn't be easier - or quicker - to rustle up a plate of scrambled eggs or to make a spaghetti carbonara (pasta with egg and bacon sauce). It takes minutes to wash and dry a lettuce and make a simple dressing that will cost you a fraction of the price of a pack of salad leaves.

If you have an oven you can even make a slap-up Sunday lunch. Simply buy a tray of chicken legs and thighs and roast them in a big tin with a little oil and garlic, turning them occasionally and chucking in a few sausages halfway through. You don't even have to carve. Make a simple gravy by dissolving a teaspoon of Marmite in a mug-ful of boiling water. Melt a tablespoon (15g) of butter, stir in a tablespoon of plain flour and stir in your Marmite stock, bring it to the boil and there you have it. Sounds weird but it works.

Getting the recommended five fresh fruit and veg a day might seem like an insuperable hurdle but if you try to incorporate some in each meal it's not that hard. A glass of orange juice for breakfast, a salad at lunchtime, an apple or banana as a snack during the day and a portion of frozen peas with your dinner and you're almost there (frozen veg are just as healthy as fresh ones). Stir fries are also a really tasty way of upping your intake. You don't need prepared stir-fry sauces either - just shake over some light soy sauce (which you'll find is cheaper in small ethnic grocers and Chinese supermarkets).

Cheap fruit isn't always of great quality, but if you add a little sugar or cook it briefly you can make it taste fantastic. Plums, for instance, are often hard and unripe but if you stone them, cut them into chunks, stir fry them in a little butter, sprinkle over some sugar and pinch of cinnamon and cook them for another minute you won't believe how different they'll taste. Serve them on toasted malt bread with a dollop of plain yoghurt for a real feast!

An important part of eating well is shopping well. Supermarkets are convenient for staples such as tinned tuna, pasta and rice but it can be cheaper to shop for other ingredients, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, elsewhere. If you live in a town that has a street market or if your digs are near a row of small independent shops you may well find it's cheaper to buy from them, particularly if you're living in a student house and cooking for a crowd. Fresh herbs and spices are about a third of the price you'll pay in a supermarket.

Even in the supermarket you can save a lot of money by buying ingredients loose rather than pre-packed. A couple of carrots, for example, will cost you around 10-15p. A pre-packed kilo bag will cost about 90p. A pack of grated cheese is obviously much more expensive than a block of cheese you grate yourself.

You'll also save money by pooling your resources. Twenty-nine pounds doesn't go far for one person but if four of you contribute £15-20 each to a kitty you'll have a week's food budget that will rival that of most non-student households. Or if ten of you pitch in £5 for a slap-up Saturday night feast you'll be able to afford a meal that's infinitely better than anything you would get for that amount in a restaurant. It's also more fun to cook together - if you share the preparation (and clearing up!) it never seems as stressful.

Finally - if nothing else persuades you - cooking is sexy! There's nothing as seductive (well, almost nothing...) as a guy - or a girl - who can cook.

Fiona Beckett is the author of two student cookery books: Beyond Baked Beans and Beyond Baked Beans Green

Basic tomato and basil sauce - you can leave out the basil if you don't have any available, or use half a teaspoon of dried basil instead.
Spaghetti carbonara - you can use crème fraiche instead of cream and leave out the basil if you don't have any - it will still taste great!
Stir-fried vegetables with noodles - prepare your own vegetables and leave out the basil to save money.
Plums on toast
Jo Pratt's chilli con carne - make a big batch and freeze as individual portions. You'll get up to eight meals from this recipe if served with rice, crusty bread or a jacket potato.