I've just finished my 2nd week of medical school (more blogs coming regarding the med school application and experience). For those of you unaware of the ridiculous cost of medical school tuition, a year at my school ranges from $50k-$55k. This cost does not include rent, books, scrubs or lab equipment, gas, food -- basically an average person's living expenses.
One way to add onto the bill fast is to eat out, and I am guilty of spending anywhere from $20-40/meal out, which is pretty much how much I would spend if I bought groceries for the whole week. I went online to do some research on ways to save money on weekly groceries, but couldn't really find anything that was suitable for me. I'm highly sensitive to wheat so spending money on cheaper grains like cereal and bread was out of the question. I am also an advocate of the Paleo 80/20 lifestyle and like to eat meat pretty regularly (at least 2 times per day). I am also for organic produce if it doesn't cost a significant amount more, but other than that, I will buy non-organic for most things (I do always buy berries, apples, and leafy veggies organic). Most of the blogs I found online stayed within the $40/week budget but skimped on meat, and were wheat and processed-filled. I don't like to feel deprived so I needed a list with plenty of meat/fish, veggies, and some junk food to keep me sane during the long nights.
The thought then occurred to me to start my own posts in the hopes it could unite people like me out there looking for grocery lists that cater to our specific needs. (If I knew I was going to post this online, I may have skipped out on the ice cream, chips and candy, but hey, medical school is stressful and this is a non-judging environment!) **Note: I still had some eggs, rice, snacks (nuts) and 2 sweet potatoes at home.
Without further ado, here is a breakdown of my week's list (all from WinCo):
1. Meats -
$8.98 - 2 lbs. wild-caught salmon with tasty omega-3s
$6.98 - 3 lbs. sirloin beef patties
$6.86 - 2.5 lbs. carne asada sliced beef
2. Produce -
$1.08 - 4 bananas
$1.96 - 2 - 12 oz. frozen veggie bags
$1.78 - 1 portabella mushroom
$1.77 - 2 lbs. zucchini
$4.20 - 5 bell peppers
3. Other-
$3.68 - Tillamook Oregon Strawberry ice cream (my favorite thing in the world)
$0.98 - Trolli sour candy eggs
$2.28 - Lay Poppables
Total- $40.55
The red bell peppers were a bit expensive ($.88/one) but they are filled with vitamins so I didn't feel too guilty about buying them. WinCo also had chicken legs on sale for $1/lb, but it felt like a beef week to me.
I like to keep things simple. I'll usually make an omelette in the mornings, and have fish or beef with some veggies and rice/sweet potato for lunch and dinner.
As always, tips, comments, and suggestions are welcome!
