Almost there! Yesterday’s menu came to $5.58. I’ve been repeating a lot of foods, but honestly, how could you get sick of this?

I feel like a bit of a nerd actually doing this project and documenting everything so carefully, especially since I found out a lot of my classmates are completely making it up.

I think that it will help me in the long run, though, to have done this project, especially if I end up doing community work where I counsel individuals who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and similar programs. Private nutrition practice is a nice idea and all, but there’s so much else I want to do first.

I’ve seen a lot of dietitians come in to give “career talks” and it always annoys me when they say they wanted to do private practice and were able to hang up a shingle and not struggle too much as they grew their practice because they “had a husband.” What kind of message does that send aspiring dietitians?* To be fair, though, the collective value of the diamond rings in my school’s nutrition department is probably pretty hefty.

I’ve heard people joke that dietetics is the new trophy wife position, and I find that really insulting. What about those of us who were drawn to the field out of a passion for health and wellness, not to mention food? Some of us want to save the world, you know, not just help rich folks lose those last five pounds. Sometimes I wonder if I’m too ambitious for my own good, but there are worse kinds of excess.

*Disclaimer: This is all solely my stressed-out-after-a-long-week opinion, feel free to take it or leave it. I know there are plenty of exceptions to these stereotypes, and this is just my snapshot-in-time viewpoint. I’m mostly just annoyed at the (false) message that this is just a career for housewives when there’s still so much room for activism, etc…