[6] Because her single mother was paying her way through medical school, Melissa discovered her passion for cooking and developed her budget strategies very young.

After a period working on cruise ships as part of the entertainment staff, d'Arabian studied at Georgetown University, earning her MBA.

[3] In 2012, she published her first cookbook, Ten Dollar Dinners: 140 Recipes and Tips to Elevate Simple, Fresh Meals Any Night of the Week, which became a New York Times best seller.

[9] d'Arabian is a frequent judge on Guy's Grocery Games, where she has demonstrated her ability to speak fluent French.

Her recipes and budgeting tips have also been featured on the Today Show, CNN, People, Food Network Magazine and iVillage.com.

In each episode, d'Arabian shows the viewers how to cook up a dinner for four people based on a budget of $10 USD.

[16] She has also competed on Guy's Grocery Games, Chopped, and Cutthroat Kitchen for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

[17][18][19] d'Arabian has volunteered with a number of other charitable organization including teaching family cooking courses for Coronado Substance Abuse Free Environment and live-tweeting her mammogram for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.