Brain food on a budget
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If you have read the other articles available on the Studyhomes online platform, you may have inferred that we pride ourselves in going beyond our services as student houses in Southampton. We have outlined a series of informative articles that may provide you with guidelines making your stay at Southampton student accommodations comfortable and give you an enriching and vigorous experience during your university life. In this article, we have discussed importance of nutrition for better neurological functions and enhanced performance and what you can do about it.
Why is healthy food important?
Although the importance of healthy diet and lifestyle cannot be denied, it is particularly important for students. As a student you may often be inclined to get food on the go or do binge eating at times and consume copious amounts of junk. While your active and strenuous routine may prevent you from gaining any extra weight, it does not necessarily mean that you are healthy from the inside and the food you are eating is doing you any good. When you are studying, you need your mental faculties in top shape so that you can perceive and process the information provided during the course of your education, memorize it and give a worthy output during exam time.It is a scientifically proven fact that when you provide your body and mind with a healthy and nutritious diet, it helps to improve your focus, increases your cognitive brain functions, improves your thinking patterns and promotes your problem solving abilities. It also enhances your memory and retention skills and therefore promotes healthy brain functioning.Hence, eating the right kind of food in order to stay healthy will help you in performing well and will enable you to accomplish your educationalobjectives.
Eating healthy while staying on a budget
When you are living in a shared housing arrangement, unlike the student hall accommodations, you are mostly responsible for managing your finances which entails paying your bills, purchasing groceries etc. This helps you to learn the skill of better financial management and helps improve your perceived value for money. While we understand that as a student it is important for you to survive on a specific budget, it is equally important that you invest in a lifestyle that will aid you in reaching your ultimate goal of excelling in your academics which are inevitably the determining factor for your career and professional goals in the future. Having said that, it is therefore pertinent that you give due importance to your diet and consume food that aids your brain and memory functions.
There is a common misconception that eating healthy is expensive and you can only get good quality nutritious meals if you spend lots of money. However this is not necessarily the case. Let us give you few tips that can help you to eat a healthy and balanced diet during your university life.
· Plan your groceries- while time is of the essence during your student years, importance of healthy eating cannot be denied. In order to be careful about what you eat you need to focus on cautious purchasing habits. Make a list of food or grocery items that you feel will help you in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. You can do bulk shopping as well which will help you save eventually and you can benefit from the bundle discount offers as well.
· Make your food-you may often find yourself faced with a dilemma when you try to buy food on the go that is health friendly and nutritious. There may not be a lot of options when it comes to healthy readymade meals. You can prepare some meals for yourself. This way you will knows exactly what ingredients have gone in the making of that dish and you can keep a track of your micros and macros. As you know Studyhomes are residential facilities that individuals use as student houses in Southampton. They are proper multiple bedroom houses with well equipped kitchens where you have the independence to plan and prepare your meals as per your individual preferences. Therefore if you are living in our Southampton student accommodations you have autonomy over what you choose to eat and how you can go about preparing it if you wish to.
· Plan your meals-as a student you may have very busy routines and may hardly get time to cook for yourself during the week or get up and go to get groceries or food that is not readily available junk. A good idea in this situation would be to plan batch cooking over the weekends. If your peers or housemates share the philosophy of healthy eating, you can team up with them and prepare meals for your week during your day off and freeze them for later use.
Economical brain food for the win
You may be wondering, what are my options? What exactly can I eat that is healthy as well as doesn’t cost me an arm or leg? Let us give you a few ideas about the kind of food when you are eating on a budget. Let us give you few ideas that you can work on and include in your diet to make it healthy and well balanced and basically food for your brain.
· Food on the go; grab fruits or nuts- food on the go doesn’t necessarily have to be a candy bar or a pack of crisps. Fruit is always a good idea, for instance apples are not only good in taste, they are vitamin enriched, and eating a banana will provide you with potassium and good fiber content. Citrus fruits like oranges are rich in flavonoids that aid and enhance your memory. Similarly berries like raspberries are rich in antioxidants and anthocyanin that can improve your brain function.
Similarly nuts are packed with vitamin E and zinc that is beneficial for your brain. For instance a small bag of peanuts can keep you satiated for quite some time. They are pretty cheap and do not have the unhealthy calories like those crisps that are loaded with preservatives and chemicals.
· Quick and easy breakfast ideas-
o Eating peanut butter spread on a toast makes for a popular snack item. It is healthy and delicious and can be prepared quickly. On mornings when you are in a rush, it can make for a hearty and quick meal options.
o Moreover, if you haven’t tried oatmeal yet, it is time you do so. Prepare overnight oats and put them in the fridge. All you have to do in the morning is grab your spoon and have it.
o Similarly smoothies make for a fulfilling delicious breakfast. Just put a banana with a cup of milk and spoon of peanut butter in your blender and you have a delicious smoothie. Want to give it a little kick? Add a little coffee in your smoothie. Coffee too is rich in antioxidants that not only improves health but also reduces risk of diseases when it is taken in moderation
· Eat your dairy and legumes- regular dairy products are high in protein and low in carbohydrates, which not only keep you full but may also satisfy your cravings. A small serving of greek yogurt with a few berries can satisfy your sweet tooth and make for a very healthy food item.In addition legumes like beans or lentils also serve to keep you full while not being too heavy on your packet. They are loaded with nutrients and fiber content.
· Eggs – incorporating eggs in your diet can be the best thing you do for yourself. They are quick to prepare, easy to eat, cheap in price and are packed with health essential nutrients making them one of the top brain foods on a budget.
· Chocolate- a piece of dark chocolate as a substitute to that candy bar that is loaded with sugar and preservatives, quickly serves to curb your chocolate cravings
· Try salads when you can- a piece of celery or carrot with a little bit of hummus makes for a good meal item; it is rich in taste and economical as well. Your body will thank you for the vitamins from the vegetables and the protein from your hummus.
