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Salfood work closely with Nourished Life to develop nutritious and delicious recipes and key guidance on food for you to be able to eat well on campus. Check out their website here…

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A Health & Wellbeing website from Compass Group UK&I helping you to nourish your body, mind and soul.

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Ann-Marie, one of the University's student bloggers, gives her top tips for eating a healthy breakfast https://blogs.salford.ac.uk/made-in-salford/2017/03/14/student-breakfast-recipes/

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Surviving on a diet of caffeine and chocolate? There may be a way to boost your energy without them.

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TWEET IT: http://clicktotweet.com/5l4dD Want an excuse to sleep on the job? Take these scientific tips on "Power-Naps" to get the most energy out of your day, while remaining productive and non-reliant of caffeine. If done properly, naps can change your life! Written and created by Mitchell Moffit (twitter @mitchellmoffit) and Gregory Brown (twitter @whalewatchmeplz).

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Can food improve your exam performance? 

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Can food improve your exam performance? 

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When you're faced with a pile of revision, feeding your body as well as your brain may be the last thing on your mind. But can you give yourself an advantage simply by eating certain foods? And does drinking plenty of water really increase your chances of getting good grades?

Whether you're a student or the parent of a child sitting school exams, are there quick and easy food tips to help maintain those all-important energy levels and improve concentration and memory?

Research shows that pupils and students who eat breakfast perform better in exams. For the best breakfast, include slow-release carbohydrates, such as whole rolled porridge oats, whole grain bread or low-sugar muesli, as they provide slow-release energy. Add a protein food, such as milk, yoghurt or eggs, to keep you feeling full for longer. On exam day aim to include a portion of a food rich in long-chain Omega-3 fats, such as smoked mackerel, as they are believed to have brain-boosting properties. See Where Next in step seven for a collection of these breakfast recipes.

Eating a balanced diet can help you focus and avoid illness. No single food is nutritionally complete, so you need variety. Try not to skip meals or your blood-sugar level will drop. Click on the labels below for more information on a balanced diet.

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Use the above impression of a plate as a guide to the proportions of vegetables, fruit, protein and whole grains that should comprise a healthy, balanced diet. These proportions are based on the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate.

Not getting enough sleep may negatively affect your memory and slow your responses. Experts believe memory neurons that are responsible for converting short-term memories into long-term ones work most effectively when we are asleep. There's evidence that students who sleep for seven hours a night do on average 10% better than those who get less sleep. But what should you eat and drink at bedtime to promote sleep?

A heavy meal too close to bedtime can interfere with sleep, so try to have your last meal at least three hours before you go to bed. Then have a small snack such as a bowl of high-fibre cereal like porridge just before bedtime. If you need sweetener with cereal, go for dried fruit rather than sugar.

Avoid foods and drinks that contain caffeine, such as tea, coffee, cola and chocolate, for least four hours before going to bed. Be aware that some people who are very sensitive to caffeine can still feel the effect 12 hours later. A warm glass of milk can help you sleep better.

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What do you eat for exam and revision days? Eating the right foods can boost your memory and focus. But which foods to eat when time is tight?

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#FuelYourStudies on campus with tasty and nutritious dishes at Salfood

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Menus | Salfood | University of Salford, Manchester

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Our Executive Head Chef Andrew Deeny has put together some tasty and nutritious menus to ensure we have something for everyone. This includes a variety of snack and budget options starting from £1.50, consisting of soup, jacket potatoes, deli sandwiches, pizzas and salads, a value meal at £3.50 and our main dishes of the day which you can find detailed below.

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Top tips for staying healthy on a student budget

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If there's one thing that almost every student misses, it's a proper meal. In fact, 46% of freshers miss their mum's cooking more than anything else from home.

When microwave meals and frozen pizzas started to make me feel sick, tired and emotionally exhausted, I decided to take action - and find a diet that was both cheap and nutritious.

And I'm not the only one - according to one report, more than a quarter of students put on up to two stone in their first year of university, and others lose weight.

Danielle Wenlock, 20, a law student at Bournemouth University, struggled to maintain a balanced diet. "I lost weight because fresh food would go off and fish was expensive," she says.

"I'd bulk buy cereal, porridge and large bottles of milk, which kept me going for the mornings. But I'd cut out meats and fish because I couldn't afford it."

However, with many students figuring out weekly budgets and frequenting discount stores, almost three quarters of those in the UK say they are eating three good meals a day, according to a survey by Herbalife. I wanted to see if I could manage the same.

I've now learned that it's possible to whip up a meal that will keep both your stomach and your bank account full. Here are some tips:

Fresh vegetables: Someone always leaves a week-old broccoli shrivelled and yellow at the back of the fridge. But don't be put off buying it in the first place, as most vegetables can either be bought fresh and put in the freezer, or come already frozen. Frozen vegetables can be incredibly cheap, last a long time and they retain their nutritional value, so stock up.

Buy meat from the butchers: Butchers sometimes do cheap deals, and the produce is fresh. A friend recently bought enough meat to take up a whole drawer in the freezer for just £20, and that's an offer no carnivore could refuse.

Shop in the evening for reduced prices: This is when supermarkets sell food that's close to its sell-by date, such as bread and fruit, for a reduced price. It shouldn't be avoided though, as often it can be frozen and eaten later.

A budgeted weekly shop is cheaper: Save one day a week to do a big shop. Plan your meals so you don't get tempted to overspend. Stock up on all your food groups in one trip and you'll save money.

Steve Nowottny, consumer and features editor at MoneySavingExpert.com, advises students to reduce the amount of food they waste to save money.

"Every student should learn the difference between a use-by date, which is a health warning, and a best-before date, which is usually just the manufacturer's view of optimum quality. Use your eyes and nose to check - but food that has passed its best-before date is often fine to eat."

There are even stores that specialise in selling food beyond its best-before date at a discount, says Nowottny, and Approved Food does this online.

Philippa Hardiman, 20, a music student at the University of Kent, sticks to supermarkets' sale sections wherever possible. "The discount section keeps me on budget because it's a much cheaper way to buy meat and veg, which usually lasts just as long as if you'd bought them at full price," she says.

Nowottny also recommends writing a meal plan to make sure you use up the ingredients you already have. "Online services like Supercook or BigOven suggest recipes for whatever is in your fridge or cupboard," he says.

Jayna Rana, 23, a postgraduate journalism student at the University of Kent, says she finds it easier to eat healthily by sticking to a weekly budget. "I write a draft menu for the week and then a shopping list to stop me from buying things I don't need or accidentally overspending," she says.

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Student food shopping: top tips for staying healthy on a budget

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If there's one thing that almost every student misses, it's a proper meal. In fact, 46% of freshers miss their mum's cooking more than anything else from home. When microwave meals and frozen pizzas started to make me feel sick, tired and emotionally exhausted, I decided to take action - and find a diet that was both cheap and nutritious.

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Tatiana, a University of Salford blogger, shares here easy and affordable recipe ideas:
https://blogs.salford.ac.uk/made-in-salford/2017/01/20/easy-affordable-recipes-students/

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Guide to eating well for your exams and study from the BBC

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Having just started studying again in my late 20s, I am reminded of all the desperate ways we try to overload our brains when exams loom. Record cards, corkboards, exercise books, revision plans, mock tests and lots and lots of post-it-notes, jostle for space on every conceivable surface in my room. Which technique is most effective? I still don't know. Everyone's capacity for learning is different - but there is one way to ensure your brain is ready to absorb all the information on that carefully colour-coded spidergram - the right diet, packed with brain-boosting foods.

Late nights, stress, missed meals and quick food fixes will all play havoc with your ability to concentrate, take in information and the function of your fit-to-burst brain-box. If you're hitting the books this summer, follow our foodie advice for making the most of your mind...

Keep calm and carry on eating

No matter how close your test is, try to keep calm. Stress can have an adverse effect on your appetite and skipping meals won't do your concentration any favours.

Despite the current debate as to whether six small meals a day are better than three, while revising, avoid hunger pangs and eat regularly. Embrace the cliché and make breakfast the most important meal of the day, filling up on energy-giving oats and also eggs, which contain a nutrient called choline , thought to help cognitive performance and improve memory as we age. For lunch, eat foods with a low glycemic index to keep you going until dinner. For your last meal of the day, make the most of oily fish, especially salmon . The clever swimmers are a great source of omega-3, an essential fatty-acid, with many health benefits and are believed to help brain funtion. Not a fish fan? Try chia or flaxseeds, believed to be the best vegetarian source of omega-3.

Stay hydrated

Water allows many of the chemical reactions in our bodies to take place and therefore, the speed at which our brains can work and process all those notes will be affected if we become dehydrated . The NHS recommends we aim to drink around 1.2 litres of fluid a day - water being the liquid of choice to keep your body functioning on top form.

Eat for energy

Tempted to reach for something sweet to get you through the afternoon? Excessive sugar consumption is getting particularly bad press at the moment, and with good reason. The temporary high you'll get from a sugar-fix will be followed quickly by crashing blood sugar levels causing, among other things, fatigue.

Opt instead for healthy snacks, packed with wholefoods like dried fruit nuggets and melon bran pots or, if you can't close your books for long enough to cook, snack on blueberries, blackcurrants and other berries, all full of vitamin C, which is thought to help improve mental agility. Vitmain E and zinc are also thought to have a positive impact on the brain so have a helping of pumpkin seeds and walnuts on hand next time hunger strikes.

Food heroes

From wholegrains and seeds to tomatoes and sage, make sure you're au fait with brain-boosting foods by reading our top 10 ...

Get enough sleep

While you want heaps of energy during the day, come bedtime ensure your body and mind are ready to rest. Lack of sleep will make it impossible to understand the detailed theory of X Factor let alone anything else, and you'll be much more likely to reach for a sugary fix to get you through the learning lulls.

Warm milk and herbal teas before bed have a sedative effect, while a carb-rich snack an hour or so before you head upstairs will clear the way for sleep-inducing amino acids to reach the brain. Read our sleep well feature for more suggestions to help you nod off.

Support your immune system

If you've been suffering from stress, sleepless nights or a poor diet due to all that knowledge cramming, your immune system will likely need a helping hand. Avoid having your hard work scuppered by a cold or worse by filling your plate with fruit, veg and wholegrains. Discover more:
How to prevent a cold This article was last reviewed on 26 May 2016 by nutritional therapist Kerry Torrens. A registered Nutritional Therapist, Kerry Torrens is a contributing author to a number of nutritional and cookery publications including BBC Good Food magazine. Kerry is a member of the The Royal Society of Medicine, Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC), British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT). All health content on bbcgoodfood.com is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your local health care provider. See our website terms and conditions for more information. What are your top foodie tips for revising?
How to get rid of a cold
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Having just started studying again in my late 20s, I am reminded of all the desperate ways we try to overload our brains when exams loom. Record cards, corkboards, exercise books, revision plans, mock tests and lots and lots of post-it-notes, jostle for space on every conceivable surface in my room.

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We're all about good recipes, and about quality home cooking that everyone can enjoy.

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#FuelYourStudies find some tasty and healthy recipe ideas on the USSU Wellbeing Zone

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