Grocery Shopping for Eight

There are a lot of things you take for granted when you're home. Like groceries. Food in the fridge. The way if the milk runs out early more magically appears when one of your parents comes home from work.

This doesn't happen in a house of eight college students. It's remarkably difficult to get the right amount of groceries. Interesting discoveries:

1. The first week you can spend $372 on groceries. Language censored for small children. Though I think small children can handle swearing... but I think Greg will feel better if I fix it. =)
   
2. Cost co cards are very valuable.
   
3. The fourth week you can be down to $80.
4. Toilet paper goes by more quickly than you'd like to think.
   
5. No one likes bananas or ham
6. Christina drinks more orange juice than anyone i know
7. Two gallons of milk a week isn't enough. Three might not be either.
   
8. I simply will never be home enough for dinner. I've only been to three house dinners so far.
9. Anyone can cook. Even Andy Barry.
10. Grocery shopping is fun. Less so when you can't just buy whatever strikes your fancy.
11. I give up on meal plans quickly and revert to my diet of hummus, taboule, and salami or turkey sandwiches.
12. Ben really likes peanut butter and jelly.
    

The really important thing is just to figure out meals with everyone ahead of time- otherwise it gets confusing and complicated. I gave up on eating with everyone after about a week.

I think one definitive thing you need to know about yourself before moving into a house is how you like to shop and eat. I'm fine with sharing, but I also have my weird, specific (and sometimes expensive) things that I want. I do not want to have to do that with everyone living here.

On the upside, you can get some pretty awesome meals when you have a few people cooking for eight. For instance, last night we had homemade chicken tortellini with crushed tomato sauce a, salad, and garlic bread. We had Mike's canolis for dessert, too, courtesy of Erik's parents.

On the whole things are finally settling in, but food is definitely one of the more complicated house issues.