Most first year varsity students who stay in catered varsity accommodation usually choose the 21 meals a week plan. This is to ensure that no matter how broke they are or how busy their schedule is, at a certain time and place they will be food available for them to eat.
I wanted to spend this year focusing mostly on my studies and my volunteering programs that I decided to go with the 21 meal plan. This does not mean that I do not have to buy any food. The meals are only served during a certain time and my stomach does not fully sync to the schedule of the dining hall therefore I need some reinforcements for when hunger strikes.
Since I cannot control the food made in the dining hall, I aim to make my snack choices as healthy as possible. But they also have to be lasting foods as I prefer to do most of my shopping at the beginning of the month only so that I can keep to my budget.
Here Are Some Of The Grocery Must Haves.
TEA
Whether I am studying, reading or watching a movie I always have a cup of tea with me. I buy 3 boxes, at most, of different types of tea. I sometimes mix it up but I usually end getting Rooibos, Green and Chai tea
HONEY
I don’t take refined sugar with my food and I am not a fan of the taste that un-refined sugar leaves in my tea and food so I turn to honey as a natural sweetener.
SEASONAL FRUIT
I spent over 25% of my childhood at my maternal grandparents’ farm where they had orchard of mango trees, 2 orange trees, a lemon tree, a pomegranate and 4 guava trees therefore fruits where always part of my diet.
Cape Town is home to grapes and a 2 hour drive to Ceres, the fruit capital so fruits tend to be always available and well-priced. Not to mention the multitude of farmer’s markets available in and around the city.
POPCORN
At high school I was known as the popcorn girl. I used to sell during the fundraiser at the beginning of the year or I would bring a big bowl whenever we were watching a movie in History class.
Without the added salt and spices popcorn is a healthy snack. I can pack it to during mid-morning at campus or have some, in the evening, while I go over the day’s work.
DARK CHOCOLATE
If I was president for a day, I would make dark chocolate the national staple food. Besides tasting like heaven, it is nutritious, an amazing stress reliever and lowers the risk of heart disease.
FRUIT JUICE
If your schedule and campus is anything like mine then you are probably climbing up or down stairs every half hour whilst carrying a bag-load of books. This means your body ends up using a lot of energy.
Whenever I feel as if my sugar levels are plummeting I always go for a glass of juice therefore this is a mainstay in my grocery bag. As a way of saving money I usually get mine from Bellville Vegetable Market.
The juice there is cheaper and freshly pressed.
If you live a bit further from Bellville then you can minimise the amount of trips you have to make by bringing your own big container for them to fill up.
GRANOLA & GREEK YOGHURT
A monthly grocery trip is never done unless I have my Granola and Yoghurt. There are times when I do not have the time to go down to the dining hall for breakfast. So I can quickly mix these up with a bit of honey and then eat while I get ready.
Hard Hat Girls 