Now it’s hardly expected, or indeed, practised to live off superfood salads or similar at University, let alone in Freshers’ week. I certainly didn’t; I was a loyal customer of both Chando’s and Domino’s, as were most of my hall and course mates. Gwyneth Paltrow would have been horrified. So this article isn’t going to say categorically that you can never eat beige food again, far from it, it’s all part and parcel of the University experience and far too delicious to give up completely. Instead, this article will (hopefully) give you some tips on how to stay away from the toilet bowl this Freshers’ week. Also if you follow this advice you will feel at your best instead of bloated and stodgy, and will avoid putting on any unwanted weight. How better to get that all in than by a top ten list! All of these items are from personal or close friends’ experiences so heed the warnings!
10. Avoid the peril of not-properly-defrosted food.
I discovered the reason for this rule to my own discomfort on my third day of Freshers’ week when my lovely flatmate made both of us chicken Kievs from frozen while I got ready for pres. Not only did it take ages to cook and was pretty horrible when I ate it, it was raw in the middle and meant I felt absolutely disgusting the next day and have been hugely put off these Polish delicacies ever since. Give yourself time to defrost meat and plan a bit ahead so you’re not staring at an empty fridge and a full freezer come 19.00 with people coming over in an hour. It pays to take this advice just to avoid food poisoning, simple as.
9. Avoid skimping on a proper meal before going out on a night on the town.
Don’t be naïve and think you’ll have a cheaper night if you don’t eat properly before you go out. Have something like pasta or rice so you can have the energy to dance the night away and the carbohydrates to soak up the alcohol so you won’t vom or have a huge hangover. Stay away from the soup or salad before a big night so it all the drink won’t go to your head at once and you will be that person who couldn’t even make it past pre-drinks. Another tip, eat this meal slowly, try not to wolf it down otherwise you’ll probably be seeing it sooner rather than later. This advice also means you probably won’t be as likely to be craving that family-sized fried chicken meal later on.
8. Avoid eating exactly the same thing every day.
It’s more than tempting to overdo it on the pesto pasta and takeaways in your first year let alone your first week. But before you know it, those jeans will be very tight, your purse will be empty and your bank account balance will give you a heart attack. Also you’ll end up hating whatever dish/food you keep eating because of ease or lack of knowledge of what else to cook. Try taking it in turns with your flatmates to cook different things for each other or experiment a bit.
7. Avoid post-night out cooking if possible.
It’s always a risky endeavour, I know more people who’ve had serious injuries from this part of the night-out than any other. Whether you burn yourself on that vicious grill, or elegantly spill boiling water all over yourself, it’s never pretty or worth it to be honest and can occasionally be enough to have to have a trip to A&E. So keep it simple with a piece of toast or a sandwich PLEASE!
6. Avoid eating every single thing that is free at Freshers’ fair or throughout Freshers’ week.
Don’t be the Fresher dustbin who says “Ooh there’s free pizza in the Union AGAIN??!”. This will mean that you will eat way more than you usually would, things you wouldn’t usually eat on a day-to-day basis at home (like doughnuts, brownies and pizza), and at times you wouldn’t normally eat (most likely) which will make you feel stodgy, probably spotty and a bit horrible. So just try and exercise a bit of restraint. A slice of cheeky pizza or cake is lovely occasionally but not every hour. Trust me.
5. Avoid kebabs.
Unrecognisable ground meat kept at ambient temperature on a stick…sounds yummy…NOT! This is food poisoning waiting for you in a pitta bread. You don’t want the food poisoning or the huge amount of calories and saturated fat and salt, so try not to get into the habit.
4. Avoid “bad breath food” like the plague.
Garlic bread and onion rings are undeniably delicious but that bad breath that no amount of minty chewing gum or toothpaste is going to stamp out is not going to impress anyone, whether it be potential friends or a special someone. So do yourself and everyone else a favour and avoid the foods that would make vampires run for the hills.
3. Avoid things that are really hard to digest.
I’m just thinking about your poor stomachs here, you’re low on sleep and your body is being put through the mill with late nights, lots of alcohol and a whole host of other things. Why make it any harder by eating food that is going to give you stomach ache? Just think about it.
2. Avoid lots of fried chicken.
The most readily fast food item available, especially in Leeds, and I’m saying stay away? Why?? While it’s great occasionally shared amongst friends after an amazing night out, very satisfying and tasty to boot, most of the time you eat it just because you’re bored and that’s just not a good enough reason. It’s cheap yes, but again that’s for a reason, and you don’t want to have a dodgy chicken experience just as you’re getting used to uni life. Eat sparingly is my advice, so that it’s a treat and not an obligation.
1. Avoid cutting out fruit and veg from your everyday diet completely.
This was a rooky error that a lot of people I met at Leeds made. Not only did they not feel great a lot of the time, and had acne outbreaks regularly, but they were much more susceptible to the infamous Freshers flu and lots of other stuff going around like the Noro virus. And they kept getting it all throughout the year. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do about getting ill, it just happens. But having an orange or some veggy soup will definitely not harm your immune system’s chances against the petri dish of disease that is university and will more than likely will help you recover quicker if you are unlucky enough to catch it.
At the end of the day Freshers is a rite of passage for every student and it probably wouldn’t be complete without you getting a bit ill. But if you can take one thing from this article and avoid food poisoning then I’ll consider it a success. On a night out if in doubt stick to chips (preferably without the cheese or curry sauce), not only is it the cheapest option available but out of all the other options it’s probably the best for you and the least risky. By and large though, something that is an amazing idea to eat at 4am after excessive drinking, I’m sorry to say, is probably going to be a huge regret the next day. Ultimately it’s about balance, which I’m sure you’ve all heard before. So with that in mind- enjoy your Freshers and feel good!
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Image Sources
2. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=healthy+girl&espv=2&biw=1821&bih=889&s…
3. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=healthy+girl&espv=2&biw=1821&bih=889&s…