Welcome back to term everyone! It's Justine starting off this term with essential pantry items when you are a student on a budget. Whether you’re a well-seasoned fourth year or a slightly scrambled first year, you can’t avoid that existential crisis you have at Woolies when you’re trying to figure out whether you really need another stick of butter or a tub of margarine.

Luckily for you, the Cookbook team has come up with a student-friendly cheat sheet for essential groceries you should have in your kitchen. These are all meant to be practical, affordable and multi-purpose, however, the more you cook the more you’ll learn what works for you and what doesn’t. So, if you haven’t tried cooking with any of these ingredients for your everyday meals, why not experiment and see if they are as life-changing as we think they are.