I've accidentally become a vegetarian

Yes, really. Since moving into our student house in September, my boyfriend and I have become predominantly vegetarian. As we were in the uni's catered halls last year, it's the first time that we've had to fend for ourselves food-wise, and Oli's made several attempts to go meat-less before now. But, at least during term-time, so as not to inflict our new and self-inflicted dietary restrictions on parents at home, he (and I) finally managed it. 

It happened for a couple of reasons - for one thing, going veggie can be better for you than eating a diet that includes meat (provided, of course, that you make sure you're getting lots of protein and all of the other essential bits and bobs). Secondly, because we're students, a near-constant concern for us is money, or lack thereof. Vegetarian food, as it turns out, seems to be a lot cheaper to make than meaty meals; even when we do a dreaded Big Shop, we're not spending as much as we would be if we had to buy enough mince, chicken or other assorted animals to last us for a week.

So, with a student budget and the corresponding cooking skills in mind, here are a few of our favourite cheap-'n'-easy things to eat...

Veggie burgers with homemade potato wedges - I'm kicking off with a super-easy one; basically, this  requires you to be able to take a box of veggie burgers out of the freezer, open it and bung them into a pre-heated oven. This is a meal I'd make if I'm heading out of an evening, because, once you've thrown everything in to cook, you can leave it be while you do your make-up, get changed etc. Don't worry about peeling the potatoes, just chop them into nice chunky wedges, coat in vegetable oil and cook at 200°C for about 40 minutes. Nice things to add to your burgers include rocket, salsa and a generous/Hayley-sized helping of cheese.

Vegetable pasta bake - if, like us, you have an abundance of tinned tomato soup in your cupboards, this is a good recipe to use some up - at the last count, we had at least twenty cans of it! You can use any veg you fancy. We usually go for peppers and courgettes, but I made this for my parents last night and added a lot of mushrooms, of which my Dad is a fan. It's a really easy dish to make, although it takes a bit of time to prepare, so having a chopping partner helps.

Traditional nut roast - if, like me, you're a part-time veggie who craves traditional roast dinners, this nut roast is a good way to go. Even if you are meat eaters, it can make a good substitute for stuffing. Nuts are quite expensive things, so we don't make this dish too often, but it's always a nice treat at the end of a particularly long and busy week. Add onion, breadcrumbs and mixed herbs to the nuts while they're cooking in the pan, then crisp up in the oven. All you need then are potatoes, green veg and a good glug of gravy!

Vegetarian chilli pie - this is a great Friday night dinner, especially if you're having a lounging-around-with-a-DVD sort of evening. Cook your favourite Quorn or bean chilli recipe (we've tried so many different ones that it's impossible to keep track), then pour into a casserole dish and top with nachos and another generous helping of cheese. To finish, pop it into the oven for the cheese to melt.

If you'd like to have a go at veggie food, but you're on a tight budget and you're not sure where to start, I recommend Vegetarian Nosh for Students by the wonderful Joy May, also the creator of the original Nosh for Students cookbook, from which some of our dishes are adapted. 

If you do have a go at any of our favourites, I'd love to hear how you got on and what you thought of them. Maybe you'll 'accidentally' become a vegetarian too...