Turning up the heat in college

Oat pancake

Quick simple and cheap, it is also a healthier cousin of the traditional flour pancake.

One egg

One banana

Tsp of cinnamon

35g of oats

Tbsp of honey

Tsp of oil

1 Mash a banana in a bowl, then add one beaten egg, a teaspoon of cinnamon and the oats and mix well. You can also add fruit, such a blueberries or strawberries at this stage.

2 Heat the oil in a medium to high-heat pan. Add your mix and leave for three minutes on each side. Serve with honey or toppings such as peanut butter of Nutella.

Overnight oats

Overnight oats is a great way to start the day or as a cheap and healthy snack for when you get in from lectures or to bring with you to have on campus.

Oats (quantity up to person)

Milk (enough to cover oats)

Fruit (optional)

1 Put the oats in a bowl and cover with milk. Leave overnight for the next morning. Add in whatever fruit you like. Now you can’t get much easier can you?

Simple tomato sauce

It doesn’t really get simpler than a homemade tomato sauce. It only contains five or six basic ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to cook. For those who are health conscience, a homemade tomato sauce is far healthier than some of the shop-bought alternatives, which are often laced with sugar. Plus a homemade sauce is far tastier and you can adapt it based on your own preference.

Olive oil

One onion

One clove of garlic

One tin of tomatoes or passasta

Dried oregano

Dried basil

Tsp of sugar

1 Turn the pan on a medium heat and add the oil. Add one diced onion and one clove of chopped garlic to the pan. Fry for five minutes until the onions are translucent (keep an eye on the onions. Stir occasionally. If they are starting to burn, remove from the heat. Return to a lower heat after 30 seconds).

2 Add in the tin of tomatoes and stir. Add in dried basil, oregano and a teaspoon of sugar. The sugar will help balance the bitterness of the tomato.

Note: This tomato sauce is perfect for numerous tomato-based recipes, such as lasagne or marinara. If you want to have it with pasta, you could add a splash of balsamic vinegar. It can also be used as a base for chilli con carne, just replace the oregano and basil with spices such as cumin, chilli and cayenne pepper and add mince and kidney beans. This will take a little longer but it’ll be worth it.

Simple Indian chicken curry

A curry can be intimidating for a first-time cook. Similar to tomato sauces, there are many tin alternatives with unnecessary additives, such as lots of sugar and cream. For a much healthier option, a simple homemade version is the way to go. This is perfect with rice or naan bread. For vegetarians, use chickpeas or lentils instead of chicken.

One or two chicken breasts

Olive oil/coconut oil (Tablespoon)

One onion

Tsp of crushed garlic

Tsp of crushed ginger

One tin of tomatoes or passasta

Tin of coconut milk

Tsp of chilli powder (optional)

Tsp of garam masala

Stick of cinnamon/tsp ground cinnamon

Three cloves

Coriander

1 Turn the pan on a low heat and add the oil. Add a stick of cinnamon (or ground cinnamon) and three cloves to the oil and fry for 20 seconds to toast. Add one diced onion to the pan and turn the heat up slightly. Fry until soft and put in the breast of chicken and let it cook for five minutes. Add in a teaspoon of chilli powder (optional) and a teaspoon of garam masala, fry for 10 seconds and add in the tin of tomatoes and garlic and ginger. Stir and leave to simmer for five minutes. Add a tin of coconut milk and stir. Simmer for another five minutes until done.

Healthy spicy chicken

This is a very simple chicken dish that’s done in less than 10 minutes and uses very few ingredients. Perfect with pasta or rice.

One or two chicken breasts

Olive oil/coconut oil (Tablespoon)

Tsp of chilli powder (optional)

Tsp of garam masala

Tsp of coriander powder

Tsp of paprika

Tbsp of honey

Half a lime

1 Dice the chicken breasts. Coat them in chilli powder (optional) garam masala coriander powder and paprika. Squeeze half a lime and mix. If possible, leave to marinate.

2 In a medium to hot pan, add in the oil. Add the chicken and fry for six to eight minutes, depending on the size of your chicken chunks. Drizzle honey over the chicken and turn off the pan (as not to burn the honey). Serve and enjoy.

Irish Country Living looks at eight tips that could be useful to students in the kitchen as they start college.

1. Hygiene. Be careful when you are handling raw meat, especially chicken. Wash your hands and soak the utensils and chopping board in boiling water. Touching surfaces or tea towels with unwashed hands can lead to cross contamination. Whatever about yourself, but don’t make the housemates sick.

2. Stock your spice shelf. Spices, for the most part, are cheap and cheerful. They add loads of flavour to your food and are a must in everybody’s recipe resume, so buy lots and bring them with you.

3. Trial and error. Nobody gets good at cooking overnight so learn as you go by trial and error. By learning early in first year it will stand to you during your college years and beyond.

4. Bring a spatula. It is a great utensil and much handier than a wooden spoon.

5. Clean up. Respect your other housemates and clean up your mess. It only takes five minutes and will keep the housemates from giving out.

6. Learn to cook at home. With college approaching, it may be an idea to trial one or two recipes at home in front of a parent or sibling who can cook. It may give you a better idea of what you are doing when it comes to the real thing. Dare I say, like studying for the Leaving Cert?

7. Buy a lunchbox. This is a basic piece of advice but bringing lunch into college means you can avoid buying food in college and save those pennies for other college expenses.

8. Cook extra and freeze. If you are going to the effort of cooking, maybe make extra and freeze it or use it the next day. It may save time and money cooking in batches.