Food shopping is different for every individual. Some see it as a quick dash around the frozen foods aisle for some pre-prepared meals, while others like to take their time, going around the shop and carefully collecting ingredients.
Finances have to be considered - if anything is on sale, us students tend to grab it. Some people take this too far, though, and pick up EVERYTHING with a "reduced" or "half price" label.
Many students need to factor alcohol into their shop, but some prefer drinking their food and basing their meals around wine and cider. (My friend once told me: "Cider has apples in it, therefore it counts as one of your five a day".
We've learned the hard way how to shop sensibly and effectively - every year, you spot first-years with baskets filled with all the ingredients for a chicken curry but the chicken, or nothing but chocolate and energy drinks.
The "Value" brand often appears in student shopping baskets, but we often forget that cooking from scratch and preparing meals in advance always saves some cash.
That's why we tend to glare at the super-savvy student shopper, who visits the supermarket with a carefully prepared shopping list, reusable bags to pack it in, knowledge of the cheapest food brands and how to spot a good deal. We tell ourselves we'll learn to be as good as this person...then come back to the supermarket the following week and get distracted by the 3 for 2 offer on the Finest brand of potato dauphinoise.
