Day Seven - Finishing Well

I did it!

Breakfast was the last of my Raisin Bran and a fried egg sandwich, on a Kaiser roll.

Lunch was the second of my stuffed chicken thighs, from Friday night, the last bit of my potato soup from last night, and a baked potato.

Last night, as I was thinking about tonight's finishing meal, I asked Irene if I sprayed the bottom of a crock pot with PAM, cut up potatoes, and put chicken thighs on top of that, it the PAM would keep the potatoes from sticking/burning, and if the chicken thighs, as they cooked, would provide juices to make the potatoes moist.

Irene gave some thought to the idea and did her own variation on it, and so I finished with baked thighs, potatoes and succotash.

Tomorrow, I'll take stock on what I have left over, and share some of my thought about the week.

Random Jots

As the week has gone by, there are a few things that have occurred to me, or maybe needed explaining, but didn't warrant a full post, so I've saved that for this thread. 

First, I realize that the saying "you get what you pay for" can apply to food. One of my purchases this week was Raisin Bran, which I bought in the cheapy aisle at Farm Fresh, for $1.00. However, after getting it home, Irene noted that it wasn't that full a box; it was only 7 oz., and they might have skimped on that. However, it did help me get through the week, and provided a breakfast that I liked on at least 4 mornings, so I won't quibble with that.

Second, I did survive on "donated" condiments. On a couple of days, I mentioned having a cup of bouillon. I didn't buy that, but Irene had a jar of chicken bouillon cubes that she had purchased, but doesn't like using. So, in essence, I went to my "neighbor" and borrowed a couple cubes of bouillon, and other minor condiments.

And last, I don't know if you noticed, but I didnt' purchase anything to drink. Yes, I bought a half-gallon of milk, but that was for the Raisin Bran and any cooking I might do. It wasn't until Thursday, that I started drinking any milk, when I did an inspection of my "pantry", and saw that I still had 2/3 of that jug of milk left, for just half of a week. 

My habits during the week are to drink a large insulated mug of water in the morning, and when I have finished that, to treat myself to a soda in the afternoon. Usually, an off-brand version of Mountain Dew, which I dearly enjoy. And then, sometime in the late afternoon, after I've finished that, I will switch back to water.

For this week, I eliminated the Mountain Dew/soda, and drank just water. I know that that is really pushing it for a lot of people who say that they can't live without their soda, but I was going to come in under that $31.50, and doing without soda was not that big a wrench for me, anyway.

So, there you have it; just some observations about living on the SNAP Challenge.

Day Six - Rounding the Turn, Heading Into the Straightaway

Today's breakfast and lunch consisted of repeat dishes that I have had this week; however, there was something new to the menu tonight, for supper.

Breakfast was two breakfast burritos: eggs, chili and cheese.

Lunch was another hard-boiled egg sandwich on a Kaiser roll. Irene brought me a couple of graham crackers with a glass of milk for a little "cookies and milk" dessert.

Irene asked me in the morning what I wanted for supper, and while I had pretty much planned Saturday's breakfast and lunch, and Sunday's menu, I hadn't really given thought to Saturday evening's meal. She asked if I would like a potato soup with cheese and that sounded good. 

This afternoon, I thought about what would make a good go-along, and the common phrase, "Soup and Sandwich" came to mind. Earlier in the week, Irene told me that Extra Sharp Cheddar was terrible for planing, even for slicing. Since I knew that to be true, while she took a nap, I worked at planing/slicing a couple 1-oz. blocks, for a toasted sandwich.

So tonight's supper was Potato and Cheese soup and a grilled cheese sandwich on crusty Rustic bread. It was delicious.

Day Five - Creativity Achieved!

Here is today's menu, as it happened:

For breakfast, I had a small bowl of Raisin Bran and a fried egg sandwich, on a Kaiser roll.

Lunch was an egg salad sandwich on a Kaiser roll, two blocks of Cheddar and three graham crackers. I didn't think about it until after breakfast, I had planned an egg and Kaiser for both breakfast and lunch. Not very creative, I admit, but wait until I get to dinner.

As I was puttering around the kitchen, preparing lunch, I saw how much cheese I have in my cheese container, going into the weekend, so that's the reason I splurged with two large chunks of Cheddar. I mentioned that to Irene, and she said, "You know, a whole pound of cheese is a lot for one person to eat in a week." I'm kind of surprised at that, but I see what she means.

Okay, dinner now. I had Irene thaw out two chicken thighs, and this evening, she deboned them. She took some of my Rustic bread and made a sort of stuffing, and microwaved the thighs and stuffing until they were done. Of course the bread soaked in the drippings from the chicken. Then she browned them under the broiler. With a side of mashed potato and a serving of succotash, it was delicious. **

The idea of deboning and putting stuffing in the thighs was something we had seen in a Julia Child/Jacque Pepin show on Hulu last year. In that program, they said that there is never enough stuffing from the cavity of a turkey (a feeling with which I heartily concur). They solved that by making more space for more stuffing by breaking off the legs and thighs, deboning them, filling them with stuffing, and wrapping them in foil, and roasting them with the rest of the turkey. It worked well when we tried it, and so I knew that deboning the thighs and cooking them with stuffing would be good.

Something different for our SNAP Challenge week. Something almost gourmet, since I got the idea from Julia Child.

** I only ate one of the thighs, leaving the other for Sunday afternoon. Usually on Sundays, we have something light when we get back home from church, and have our big meal later in the day. A chicken thigh and stuffing will be just right for Sunday afternoon.

My Receipts

BTW: here are the receipts for my shopping at Food Lion and Farm Fresh, earlier this week. I seem to have thrown away the receipt from Flowers Bakery.

Day Four Update

Forgot to post this last night, so here goes:

For breakfast, I had a breakfast burrito (scrambled egg, a little chili and some cheese) and fried potato. I thought the burrito was a little creative, so I give myself points for that.

Lunch was a chicken sandwich and bouillon; the chicken was the left-over thigh from the night before.

Finally, supper was one of my favorite peasant meals. For me, a baked potato with chili and cheese is fine dining, so Irene baked two small potatoes and covered them with chili, and crumbled cheese over the top.

As to my cheese, I finally realized a couple of months ago that, while I do like most kinds of cheeses, my favorite is Extra Sharp Cheddar. I love the sharp flavor it add to my favorite foods, and it crumbles easily for toppings.

Mid-Week Ruminations

Well, it's Thursday afternoon, and I've got some free time, and so I'm going to put down a few things I've been thinking of, concerning this Challenge.

First, I've become more aware of my limited universe of options. While we do most of our food shopping together, Irene handles the food and kitchen department in the house. I'm seeing what it means to have a "pantry" available to you, to make your choices from. Yes, we do have more options in our house than the Challenge left me with; however, as we were discussing my options for the next day or so, she said that I was getting insight into what she faces. What do we have in the house? What can I make with that? We have three meals of chicken, two of hamburger and a pork roast - which will I make tonight, and how do I 'schedule' the others so that we don't end up doing the same two nights in a row? Do I go Italian or Mexican? Will Chuck totally be bummed out by stir-fry? Etc., etc., etc.

Okay. I don't have all of Irene's worries but I do see that my limited pantry does mean that my weekly menu is limited, and I need to do some planning in order to make sure I don't end up with no meat for the last three days and I'm not living off of a diet of tortillas and graham crackers.

Second, I can see the reason why there are so many people who are overweight on SNAP. One of the things you'll hear in complaints about Food Stamps is that so many people on Food Stamps are actually overweight. Looking over what I purchased, look at the starches I bought: two different breads, tortillas, frozen corn, potatoes. Lima beans, a legume/vegetable is also a starch. Starches are basically very cheap, and the easiest to bulk up on in order to not go hungry.

Now, I don't regret those foods, but I'm thinking that maybe I could have done a better job shopping and providing for my pantry.

Day Three In the Books

This is going to be pretty short, as there was no block busters of information.

Breakfast was a cup (not a bowl) of Raisin Bran, a scrambled egg and a fried potato. Have I mentioned that I love potatoes? 

In case I haven't, let me say this now: I love potatoes!! So having a five-pound bag for me, for the week, is a must. And the fact that it was only $2.00 means that one of the basics of life is very affordable. This got me to wondering, and so I asked Irene how many were in my bag. It turns out that after my breakfast, there were 12 potatoes left. That seems pretty good.**

Lunch was two burritos: two flour tortillas, with chili and an ounce of grated cheese. Delicious.

So this afternoon, I was a little hungrey, and so had some graham crackers. As I said, I planned for something a little sweet during the week, and they were just right.

This morning, Irene put two chicken thighs out to thaw for my dinner, and when it came time to prepare supper, she broiled the thighs, nuked a potato and prepared the succotash. As I mentioned in the post about shopping at Food Lion, the thighs are quite large, and so I was satisfied with one thigh, a potato and a serving vegetables. I topped off the meal with a couple more graham crackers.

The leftover thigh and succotash went into the fridge for another day, and I'm done for another day.

** I forgot to mention that at the same time I asked Irene about the potatoes, I asked her how many eggs I have left for the week. She tells me that after the two on Monday, and one each on Tuesday and today, I have eight eggs left.

Day Two - Plunging Ahead

Okay. All the food is here, and I pretty much know what I want, if not what I'm doing. I start off the day with a breakfast of Raisin Bran, one egg, and one piece of Rustic bread, toasted. I like Raisin Bran, so my breakfasts won't seem to be a sacrifice.

Onto lunch, and the first of my Kaiser rolls, with a chunk of cheese and a cup of bouillon. I'm surprised at these Kaisers, as they are lighter than the ones I usually get at Farm Fresh. Still, Irene halved it and lightly toasted it in a skillet, and it was good.

And onto tonight's supper, which went just as I planned. Irene soaked the bag of beans overnight, and then cooked them during the day. This afternoon, the pound of hamburger was browned and added to the beans along with diced onion and the can of tomato sauce. I seasoned it, and had two bowls for supper tonight, along with two slices of Rustic bread. Delicious and filling.

Day two is over.

Tomorrow? A burrito and cheese for lunch, with chicken, potato and succotash for supper? Sounds like a plan.

Day One - I Begin, and a Couple of Hiccups

I told about going shopping, in my previous posts, but what I didn't mention is that our shopping trip was after my breakfast, Monday morning.

Yesterday's breakfast was two eggs, two pieces of toast and two small link sausages. I have to explain why I thought I'd be having sausage. Farm Fresh often carries a small package of Banquet frozen sausage links for $1.00, and in my planning, I was thinking of buying one. However, when we got to the store, we found that, this week, their price was not a sale price, but significantly higher. So, I did have a meal that was off the menu. I'll be looking at what to do about that, later this week.

Lunch went as planned, however. I had two slices of my Rustic bread along with a 1 oz. block of cheese and a cup of bullion/broth, and that was good.

Supper - ah, yes. Supper. That was completely off the menu. Last night, our church's Men's group had their quarterly meeting and a meal was included. So last night, I had two pork tenderloin medallions, a serving of mashed potatoes, green beans, two small dinner rolls, and a piece of cake. Did I not go off my Challenge? Yes, technically, but many churches in our area provide meals for the poor and needy. Our church has Rose's Supper each month, and the Salvation Army provides free meals on Saturdays, so having a free meal doesn't mean I am doing something that is not available to others.

But, with the two hiccups, I may extend the Challenge an extra day, so that I get my seven days accomplished.

So, How Did I Do?

How does what I purchased for my week's eating look? How does it stack up?

Here is a picture of my purchases, stacked on our dining room table:

Final Stop - Can I Make It?

My final stop, Farm Fresh, where I need to pick up some staple items, and round out my food cache for the week. It doesn't look good, but I have a secret weapon: a $2.00 store coupon, from last week, which means that I am going to be able to get more groceries than my money would allow.

I need milk and eggs, and FF has them for $2.09 and $1.69, respectively.

For the chili, one onion and the Hunt's spaghetti sauce, $.81 and $.88, respectively.

As I mentioned previously, FF has the Dollar-aisle, and when I went there, I scored a box of Raisin Bran cereal for $1.00

I'm pushing it to the limit, I know, but I decide to see if FF has put out any reduced bread on their 'occasional' display, and when I look down that aisle, there is that rack. (Irene had reported to me that the past several times she's gone into Farm Fresh, they didn't have it, so she thought it was discontinued.) I went back there and looked at the artisanal breads, and found one I knew I would love. With the descriptor of "Rustic Bread", it was reduced from $3.99 to $1.99, and so I scooped it up. Yes, the Bible says that man does not live by bread alone, but with bread, cheese and a Bible? You come pretty close.

So here was my purchases from Farm Fresh:

Raisin Bran cereal (off-brand) - $1.00

Hunt's spaghetti sauce - $.88

Onion, 1 ct. - $.81

Rustic bread, reduced - $1.99

Eggs - 1.69

Milk, 1 qt. - $2.09

SubTotal - $8.46

Coupon -  -$2.00

Total 6.46

Tax - $.21

Total - $6.67

Food Lion - 23.38

Flowers - 1.53

Farm Fresh - 6.67

Total - $31.58

An Absolute Must!

White bread is evil. The stuff that America buys, whether it be Wonder, Mary Jane or Sunbeam, is absolutely pitiful. The only time Irene buys that is if she has been asked by our church to make egg salad sandwiches. I wouldn't let her do that, but would rather she used her own bread, but the church wants white bread sandwiches, not diversity.

I'm a bread afficianado. My Mom baked bread, and Irene has baked bread for the past 30 years, and so good bread is important to me. A Flowers Bakery Outlet store is between Food Lion and Farm Fresh, and so I pull in there to see if they might have something I will enjoy this week.

In looking around, I discover that Flowers has a package of eight large Kaiser rolls for $1.49. Score!! So I pull out of Flowers parking lot with basic bread needs met, and $1.53 lighter.

$1.53 lighter? Uh, that leaves me only...... $6.59! * gulp *

So, first thing we do is head over to Food Lion. They have a policy of putting out reduced meats on Mondays, and there were several things I wanted to check out. Right away, I grabbed a pack of 8 really big chicken thighs, for $4.67. That's a good chunk of my $31.50, but there's at least four suppers, and maybe even five, if I plan this right.

Of course, if I'm to have several meals of chili, I'll need hamburger, so Irene found a 1-lb. package, for $3.58. Hmm.... over $8.00 gone, for two purchases, but they are the foundation of most of my meals for the week.

Onto other things, now. One pound of extra sharp cheddar is on sale for $4.23, so there are lunches and suppers covered.

Tortillas, dried beans, potatoes. Something sweet would be nice during the week, and graham crackers are $2.00.

Vegetables. Crud. Irene, yesterday, said that I needed to include vegetables, for vitamins and minerals. "Hey," I said, "I take vitamins every day. There in the vitamin pills I take." However, I have to throw her a bone on this, and so, since I love succotash, I buy a pack of frozen corn and a pack of frozen lima beans, as my concession to vegetables. A weak gesture, I admit, but, hey, I don't like vegetables!

So I go through Food Lion check out thusly:
Graham Crackers - $1.99
9" tortillas - $1.67
Dried red beans - $1.39
Hamberger, 1 lb. - $3.58
Chicken thighs - $4.67
Potatoes, 5 lb. - $2.00
Frozen corn - $1.39
Frozen lima beans - $1.89
Extra sharp cheddar cheese, 1 lb - $4.23

Total - $22.81
Tax - $.57
Tendered - 23.38

$23. 38???? Hmmmm........

Planning a Menu? Is This Doable?

Okay, time to see if this is doable. We have two large grocery stores near us, Fool Lion and Farm Fresh, plus a WalMart. As well, there is a Flowers Bakery outlet store here, a great place for reduced prices on breads.

Both Farm Fresh and Fool Lion put their weekly ads up on their websites, so Irene and I were able to go through their ads and start looking for deals on things I would need for chili and other things.

Let's see.... Farm Fresh has pasta sauce for 88¢. And Yoplait yogurt @ 67¢. Hey, they've got tuna at 88¢ a can! There are several other things to look at, so I make note of them. One thing that Farm Fresh does that I look for is put out their day-old baked products at half price, and since I love their different artisanal breads, I make a note to check that.

Onto Food Lion.... Oh, hey, they've got a BOGO thing going this week. And they've got chicken thighs for 99¢ a pound. That'll be good for some things. Oh, potatoes, 5 pounds for $2. Yeah, I'll need that staple. Oh, Chi-Chi's tortilla @ $1.99, that's good. Cheese, $4.23; .....

After getting some ideas, Irene tells me that Farm Fresh has a Dollar Aisle, and shows me a box of off-brand cereal, akin to Honeycombs, for only $1.00, so I make a note to check out that aisle. And some things I know I will need, like milk and eggs, I put that down on my shopping list of possibilities.

Okay, now we're ready to go shopping.

There is a very interesting article in the Washington Post, from June, dealing with the SNAP Challenge, as presented by the Democratic congressmen, and the $4.50 per day challenge. It's their Fact Checker page, and this one deals with the claim that SNAP recipients "get by on $4.50 a day."

In the article, the writer says, "Judging from the lawmakers’ tweets, some are assuming the $4.50 means that just $1.50 can be spent per meal. That certainly might be difficult with take-out food, but SNAP generally is intended to be used to buy food for home-cooked meals." It seems that the Congressmen were trying to present the idea that you could only spend $1. 50 per meal, instead of doing bulk buying for menus.

So my approach would be to buy foods for the week, not by the meal. More to come.

btw, that article is really quite good, and has a lot of links dealing with SNAP and the whole topic. You can find it here:

Fact Checker

So, in approaching this week, I think about the foods I like and about what I should be able to get. I love chili, chicken and bread. I love potatoes and cheese. Cereal, toast, eggs - yeah, great for breakfast. So, can I put this together into a menu?

I spend some time thinking and I realize that a bag of beans, with onion, sauce and hamburger, in a crockpot, will make several meals: Chili & bread; chili & cheese on a baked potato; burritos.

And I have always loved good bread and cheese for lunch. Give me chunk of cheese and a hard roll of some kind, maybe a soup as a go-along, and I'm really happy.

Chicken? Oh, yeah.

And so I begin thinking about what things I can buy and the ways I can put them together to create a week's menu. The only question - can I get the stuff I like for the $31.50 (or thereabouts) that is the 7-day SNAP Challenge?

An Argument and a Dare

Due to an article in a Methodist magazine that we get at church, I was dared to take the SNAP challenge.

For those of you who don't know SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and is the program that replaced Food Stamps, when the government went to a card, rather than stamps.

According to authorities, SNAP benefits come to around $4.50 per day, per person. This past year, in a publicity campaign, Democratic congressmen, etc., engaged in the SNAP Challenge, which called on them to try to eat for one week on $4.50 per day.

The article in our magazine was about one man who was doing the Challenge to "join in solidarity" with the poor. My initial reaction was, "Are we in the '70's? Solidarity?" But after a major knock-down, drag-out tussle with wife and daughter, I decided that I would give the SNAP Challenge a try.

This blog will be the result, as I tell of what happens.