Cooking And Eating Healthy Food at Uni with the Co-op And Britmums

I have 3 young adults off to uni this September and 2 of them are freshers in their first year. It's a scary time for them, but also for me, and I've tried to prepare them all for independence as best I can. This includes making sure they can cook themselves something hearty and filling without breaking the bank or missing out on the nutrition they'll need to stay healthy.

I'm delighted to be working with Co-op Food on a campaign to get students cooking and eating healthy meals. It really is something I'm passionate about and I've even put together all of my family's favourite and most-used recipes, as well as a few others, on my recipes page. I have tried to keep costs down, skill levels easy and nutritional value high. There is rarely a prouder moment than when I discover one of my young people cooking from one of my recipes.

The Co-op meanwhile show their commitment to students by offering a 10% discount at over 2000 stores nationwide with a TOTUM card (previously called NUS Extra). This starts at £12 a year, so you can get your money back very quickly just on Co-op food shopping. That's on top of the regular Co-op member rewards.

I was asked if I'd like to create one of our favourite family meals as a special leaving meal for one of my young people. One of our teenagers has already started at uni and the rest are always busy, however we managed to get 6 of the family together and have a goodbye meal for my 18 year old daughter.

A huge favourite here is tacos and taco night was always a treat. I like it because everyone can put together their own tacos however they like them - and everyone includes some veg or salad without argument. We set off to our local Co-op to get the ingredients, with my 9 year old future comedy film producer on the camera...

My daughter's kitchen skills are pretty good I think. She usually chooses to make stir fry, so it was really nice to encourage her to make something different and have a little practice before she has to do it alone. Even the budgeting is a real eye-opener at first. This table full cost exactly £50. (Comedy cat not included).

The tacos were great and everyone had a full tummy. It was a lovely send off and made me quite excited for Christmas, which will be the next time all of our children will be here at once. Family mealtime is something you take for granted until it becomes a rarity, then you realise just how special it is.

I am genuinely a massive fan of the Co-op and I've been a member of my local branch since I moved out aged 19. That's almost 30 years. As a member, when you buy selected products and services, including from food stores and Co-op Electricals, you earn 5% of your spend back.

The Co-op own brand range provides good quality, ethically-sourced food at very fair prices. with free-range eggs and a commitment to sustainably-managed agriculture, low impact production and minimising waste. All of the Co-op own brand fresh meat is from UK farmers.

Aside from caring about the actual produce itself, The Co-op have a very strong policy on Human Rights and Trading, and support local community initiatives as well as UK and worldwide issues. Their current main campaigns are tackling and raising awareness of Loneliness and Modern Slavery, but 1% of the money you spend goes to local causes within your own community.

A little bit later in the year I checked up on my daughter to see if she was eating sensibly and cooking those family favourites she grew up with. I even went through her cupboards... You can find that 2nd Co-op Uni Food blog post here!

You can find out more about the Co-op and their commitment to good quality family meals and to students, by checking out the Co-op Food website or by following on Twitter CoopUKFood, where you can also keep up-to-date with the latest offers.

I’m working in a paid relationship with The Co-op and BritMums to get students cooking and eating healthy meals ~ sponsored by The Co-op. Visit https://food.coop.co.uk/ to plan a meal that brings your family together.