A day in the life of a nutrition student: Food edition

What you eat affects how you feel. But when you’re studying abroad, caught between lectures, deadlines, workouts, and more, food often slips to the bottom of the priority list.

Nutrition student En Min Saw knows this all too well.

“I’ve been there when you’re completely swamped with work. The last thing you want to do is cook,” she says.

Min grew up in Penang, Malaysia, where her grandmother’s cooking filled the home with flavours she still treasures today, like her chicken curry or century egg congee.

But while studying at the University of Newcastle in Australia, she found it difficult to recreate those dishes.

“My grandma is a housewife, so she dedicates all her time and love to her cooking,” Min explains. “But I just can’t afford to spend hours in the kitchen. That’s why I focus on creating simple, balanced recipes that fit better with modern lifestyles.”

This practical mindset extends beyond food. For her, health is about feeling good mentally, socially, and culturally — without sacrificing one for the other.

That balance, after all, is what allows her to live and feel her best. Still, she admits it can be tough.

“That’s why I plan ahead,” she says. “I set aside a couple of hours every Sunday to prep meals, so I don’t have to stress later.”

She also sets firm non-negotiables, like exercising three times a week. And to stay consistent, she works with her habits.

For example, she would pack her gym bag in advance and go straight from class or work, leaving herself no room to make excuses.

As part of her training as a nutrition student, Min did a clinical placement at John Hunter Hospital. Source: En Min Saw

Why does health and well-being need to be a priority when studying abroad?

When self-care takes a backseat, the effects can weigh heavily on both body and mind.

One study revealed that 73.2% of students experience moderate to high levels of stress and almost one-third of the students reported frequent symptoms of burnout.

Stress like this doesn’t stop at exams or assignments; it can raise the risk of serious long-term health problems, such as cholesterol and kidney disease, Congenital Heart Defect (CHD), and asthma.

Here is where eating well comes in. Pairing healthy eating with exercise gives both body and mind what they need to stay sharp.

“We’ve all felt hangry when skipping breakfast, or sluggish after a heavy meal and that’s because our bodies aren’t properly fuelled,” says Min. “Eating well helps us stay energised, focused, and able to tackle tasks efficiently.”

The key, though, is making it easy. Students need simple, affordable options that keep them nourished while fitting into busy schedules.

 

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A post shared by Min Saw — Dietitian (APD) (@good.food.gang)

What I ate as an international nutrition student in Australia

Helping others thrive through food is what Min enjoys most. Today, she is a Performance Nutrition Coach for Fuel Fwrd. She helps active individuals and athletes improve their diets to boost energy, performance, and recovery.

She also runs @good.food.gang, where she posts easy-to-follow tips on food, fitness, and wellness.

And because Min knows how difficult it can be to stay nourished while studying, she shares what she used to eat when she was balancing life as a busy nutrition student, along with some tips for easier cooking:

1. Breakfast

Min swears by a balanced breakfast to start the day right: carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats.

When she has an early class and little time in the morning, she prepares something the night before, like overnight oats, yoghurt bowls, or sandwiches. On slower mornings, she loves making breakfast fresh.

But when life gets really busy, she keeps it extra simple with quick, no-cook options that are fast, filling, and still good for her. Some of her go-tos include:

• High-protein cereal: Two Weet-Bix with high-protein milk, chopped strawberries, and some nuts.
• Tuna mayo melt: Two slices of wholegrain toast topped with spring water tuna, mixed with low-fat mayo and cucumber slices.

There’s a good reason Min puts effort into making her own breakfast. Conventional breakfasts, like cereal, milk, bread and butter are quick, but they are carb heavy.

This meant they never kept her satisfied for long, and she often found her stomach growling in the middle of a lecture.

“Adding protein and fat keeps me full and energised until lunch,” she explains, “and helps me actually pay attention in class.”

2. Lunch

When she was a nutrition student, Min usually brought her own lunch to campus. The options around were limited, and she preferred Asian-style meals that were more familiar to her.

Rice or noodle dishes were her favourites, and she made sure each was balanced with the right mix of ingredients. Sometimes that meant rice with kimchi stew loaded with veggies and protein.

“Obviously a huge cultural aspect of an Asian diet is rice, and I love rice, so my meals usually include it,” she says.

Other times, she’d make “pan mee” (chewy hand-pulled noodles served in a savoury anchovy broth). Min would top it and topped with minced meat, egg, vegetables, and a little chilli oil.

To keep things simple, she plans her meals around a carbohydrate, a protein, and at least two types of vegetables.

By planning this way, she makes sure her body has fuel from carbs, strength from protein, and all the goodness of veggies — nutrients and fibre that keep her fuller for longer.

3. Dinner

Min’s motto when she was a nutrition student was “cook once, eat twice.”

Making extra portions meant less cooking, fewer dishes, and more time to study. Most days, her dinner doubled as tomorrow’s lunch.

Her staples included rice cooker chicken rice, burrito bowls, and kimchi fried rice. She would make just enough for four meals so that the food stayed fresh and she didn’t get tired of eating the same thing repeatedly.

4. Snacks and post-workout meals

Just like any student, Min needed snacks to power through long days on campus. She’d grab Grain Waves (a type of wholegrain snack chip), carrot sticks with hummus, high-protein yoghurt, and fresh fruit.

Outside of her classes, Min made time to exercise three to four times a week. Her basics were weightlifting and running and depending on her mood and how her body felt, she would mix things up with High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), yoga, or Pilates.

What she ate after exercising mattered just as much. Min always ensured her meals were wholesome but slightly higher in protein to aid recovery.

“For example, if I was going to have fried rice, I’d add extra shrimp and egg to bump up the protein,” she explains.

Using what she learned as a nutrition student, Min shares simple, balanced recipes made for today’s lifestyle. Source: En Min Saw

Foods international students should always have in the kitchen, approved by a nutrition student

Admittedly, because cooking is one of Min’s hobbies, she found it easier to maintain balanced meals while studying overseas.

But she knows not everyone enjoys being in the kitchen — and that’s okay. Her advice? Keep it simple. You can:

• Use ready-made pastes
• Pick easy-to-prep proteins like marinated chicken, tofu, or frozen shrimp
• Throw together one-pot or rice-cooker meals
• Stock up on frozen veggies to save chopping time
• Cook grains like rice or quinoa in bulk to save time.

As for kitchen essentials, Min recommends Asian sauces and rice (“rice is life!” she says). More than that though, she stresses that you should never give up the foods that remind you of home.

“Remember, food is enjoyment,” she explains. “You don’t need to sacrifice your culture to stay healthy. It’s about understanding how to make it work for you — maybe less rice, more vegetables, smarter cooking methods, or choosing spices over heavy sauces.”

Her own comfort food is “kaya” (a coconut jam) she always keeps stocked in her fridge.