There are two things college kids don’t have: time and money. I challenged myself to go grocery shopping with only ten dollars and ten minutes, with the goal to create a healthy meal that would last longer than a fast food meal. The fact that there are so many unhealthy options available makes the freshman fifteen very achievable but a factor of college that I wish to stay away from even if it means giving up my double chocolate chip cookies.

I love Aldi’s, 2569 Sycamore Rd., so I chose to head there to get my dinner. The goal was to get enough food to last me days longer than a fast food meal would all while being healthier too. I decided I wanted meat, a vegetable and rice because that takes care of most of my food groups and some of the only things I know how to cook. I pulled into the parking lot and my countdown began.

I skipped getting a shopping cart because a) I could not find a quarter to get a shopping cart and b) Aldi’s is always crowded so sometimes it is impossible to maneuver a cart. Chicken was first on the list, so I found their precut tenderloins and grabbed a package. Next, I tried to think of what vegetable would work well with chicken and grabbed a bag of green beans. My final item was rice and I only had four minutes left to find it and check out. Also, my hands were freezing from holding the chicken.

After running down nearly every aisle… multiple times, I found the rice in the last one by the cash register, so I grabbed the first box of brown rice I saw and headed to the checkout. I mentally tried to add up my groceries to see if they would be under 10 dollars, but I knew I would be cutting it close.

In eight minutes and fifty-six seconds, I proudly walked, well sprinted, to my car with my groceries in hand having only spent nine dollars and seven cents… at least now I have a quarter for next time.

Because there were six chicken strips in the package, I was able to eat all of my chicken and green beans in three days while still having rice left over. The whole goal of this was to prove eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive or super time-consuming. Also, my ten dollars supplied three meals whereas if I would go to Chipotle I would spend about ten dollars but only get one to two meals out of it.