Why in the world is this take one, you might ask? Well, because I anticipate this is going to come up A LOT over the next few years. So, just humor me in the meantime.

A wise friend once told me (yes, Scott...I think you're wise) not to skimp on food in graduate school. He could not have been more right! When you have had a rough week, you don't want to come home to top ramen! You want to come home to a delicious feast! Okay - maybe not a feast! We are in graduate school - and we'll probably all end up having our own versions of poor graduate student Thanksgiving.  But, what I'm saying is buy good food. Put good food into your body. I have a $250/month food budget, because I don't limit myself to the cheap top ramen, hamburger helper stuff. I buy good stuff! I cook! I understand if you're not a good cook. I'm really not either - I get most of my recipes (and yes, I pretty much strictly use recipes) from Cooking Light, Pinterest, or Food Network.  But, I'm putting good things into my body. We're expect a lot out of our brains, so we need to feed ourselves right!

Tonight I'm having chicken parmesan meatballs with a caesar salad  and sourdough bread.

So here's my tip for you!

If you're down to cook, which I hope you are, and you're okay with leftovers (which, trust me, are a graduate student's best friend), this is what I do:
I cook on Sunday. I go online and pick out a few good recipes that I've either had or want to try. I go to the grocery store, pick up whatever I don't have from the recipes, and spend the next few hours cooking. Then, if I'm feeling really ambitious, I portion everything out when I'm done cooking, and figure out how many meals I have for the week. That way, I can map out my week's menu before I have to worry about to-do lists, deadlines, meetings or anything like that.  Sometimes, if I know I'm going to have a particularly crazy week, I cut up fruits and veggies and portion them into ziploc bags for snacks throughout the week. That way, everything is ready to grab in the morning before I take off for the day!

And voila! There you have it - cook on Sunday and make your life easier for the rest of the week so all you have to do is reheat and maybe throw together a quick salad!  As always, doing things to make your life easier is going to be key for all of us in grad school!

Hoping to help wherever I can! Next time, I think I might tackle finding an outlet for your stress, hobbies, and/or exercise! Stay tough my grad school friends! :-) Until next time!