Burnett School of Medicine Students Learn How to Meal Prep on a Budget

FORT WORTH –  A balanced diet of fruits, vegetables and protein is just as necessary now for second-year medical student Isabella Amado as it was when she competed as a gymnast in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

“Back when I was training, it improved my training and now I think it will improve my studying,” Amado said. “I love vegetables as a meal and finding alternate ways of getting protein in is important because you feel better after you eat and it’s lighter on your stomach.”

For medical students the rigors of medical school can be time consuming, expensive and physically and mentally taxing. Like student-athletes, medical students need to maintain a healthy diet to ensure their minds are in peak form.

Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University is exploring ways to help medical students learn to budget while still eating healthy. The Office of Admissions, Outreach and Financial Education hosted a session with the Culinary Medicine Student Interest Group called “Meal Prep On A Budget” in which a culinary dietician demonstrated how one ingredient can be used for several meals.

“This isn’t something that they think about all that often,” said Chris Gilbody, Director of Financial Education and Scholarship at Burnett School of Medicine. “For them to be able to think about this, not only for themselves but also their future patients, is something I’m really excited about.”

The students learned how to make four different meals using chick peas as the main ingredient from Dixya Bhattarai, MS, RD/LD, a culinary dietician at Food, Pleasure & Health.

The dishes were chick pea and spinach curry, chick pea salad, Tabbouleh and chick pea fajitas. Using chick peas as the star of each dish showed the students the versatility of plant-based meals, according to Bhattarai.

“If you’re looking for protein, you could make it with salad, or stew, or mix it with another salad like Tabbouleh to bulk up the meal,” Bhattarai said. “It’s versatile, nutritious and actually very budget friendly.”

Data released in October 2021 shows the average cost of groceries per month for a U.S. college student is $260, according to the Education Data Initiative. In Texas, the average cost for groceries per month is $191.

“I try to keep my budget low so I don’t go over my spending limit,” Amado said. “I give myself little allowances for the month so trying to stay within that budget is very important.”

Creating a manageable budget for food expenses can sometimes be challenging for medical students coming to Texas from all across the country, Gilbody added.

“A lot of the time different foods that are available in Texas might be different from what they are used to at home,” Gilbody said. “A lot of times you’ll turn to cooking yourself for a lot of those different inexpensive options that are healthy.”

As Amado continues her medical school journey to become a physician, she appreciates the additional support and advice.

“It’s all 100% super useful,” Amado said. “All the advice from financial [education] and how to stay in budget and use your resources has been super helpful. I’ve used it a ton so I’m really thankful they host these events.”