For this busy post-grad student with a full-time job, grocery shopping is self-careIllustration by Kat Frick Miller
Studying full-time for her masters of business administration degree at McGill University on top of working her day job at a consulting firm, Liela Touré constantly finds herself in a time crunch these days.
“It has been a shock on all fronts,” says the Montreal native. “I’m not home for 12 hours some days.”
This juggling act, Touré says, has made grocery shopping and healthy eating difficult. With less time to cook, she focuses on meal-prep, doubling and sometimes tripling her portions of soups, proteins and balanced meals, which she freezes, to consume throughout the week.
The 33-year-old is also making choices that have had a positive effect on her health and energy levels, which she says is necessary to avoid burnout. She now limits her caffeine intake to two caffeinated beverages a day, has cut out alcohol for the semester and has traded biweekly trips to restaurants for home-cooked meals and Pilates or yoga, which she tries to fit in on Saturdays.
“It’s been hard,” says Touré, who can only recall two occasions that she had the time to go out and eat at a restaurant with friends during her first semester of her MBA.
It does not help that food is a figurative love language in her family. Her parents met at a dépanneur – a corner store – in Montreal. Her mom still delivers some of Touré‘s home-cooked Filipino favourites, such as nilagang buto-buto, a bone broth soup with beef, vegetables and tamarind, and a roasted chicken which she portions out to eat with rice or salads.
“The flavour of the soup is just unparalleled to anything I have. It’s warm and delicious and cozy with a bunch of collagen,” she says.
How I save money on groceries: I save on the items that I cook into meals, because I won’t taste them as much. For items like olive oil or frozen spinach, I find the least expensive options, because they’re not finishers for my dish.
How I splurge on groceries: I splurge on good-quality basics such as salt, my favourite oat milk or peanut butter, and other pantry staples that I use to enhance the flavour of my food.
The hardest shopping habit to keep up: Since starting my MBA, it’s hard not to rely on packaged snacks. The office has great fruits and vegetables for us, but when I prepare to spend hours at the library, packing fresh food to eat can be a little bit harder. It’s something I’m still working on.
How I’ve changed my eating habits recently: I stopped drinking alcohol a few months ago. I’m more conscious of what I’m putting into my body because it can have such an effect on my energy. Since starting my MBA, I make my meals more balanced with vegetables, carbs, proteins and healthy fats. The stress makes me crave more sweets, but I know I need to avoid those and alcohol so that I don’t crash.
Five items always in my cart:
- Sea salt – Maldon – $11.99: My sister recommended this to me and I’ve been eating it since. It’s good to put a finishing touch on chicken or even on some sweet stuff to enhance the flavour.
- Red cabbage – $2: With red cabbage, I usually keep it in my fridge presliced, then use it throughout the week for a quick side dish, and slice the cabbage using a mandoline.
- Raw chicken wings – $4 for about five whole wings: That is my go-to guilty pleasure or splurge meal. I do a dry blend of herbs with smoked paprika, coriander seeds and maple syrup and bake them, they turn out really good.
- Peanut butter – Nuts To You Organic – $8.99: I enjoy this with sliced banana, and I usually sprinkle a pinch of the Maldon salt on. I also make a great sauce with the peanut butter, soy sauce and chilies for dumplings.
- Ground coffee – HaveFun.Coffee – $18: I buy this coffee from a café called Café In Gamba. It’s a short walk from my house, and I usually study there, so I’ll often pick up a bag of coffee beans and have them grind it for me so I can enjoy it at home through my espresso machine.
