SHOP, PLAN, PREPARE....

The Hunger Challenge begins tomorrow, and I did all of my shopping and planning on Sunday. I am a picky eater, and I try to shop frugally most days, but I did not do a good job of shopping multiple stores/farmer's markets to find good deals when finding my hunger challenge items. That is something that I should be doing EVERY time I shop, and I will do that from now on.

Sunday afternoon, list in hand, I headed out to my local grocery store. I looked for good staple items, and piled those into the cart first (oatmeal, canned vegetables, potatoes). I found a pretty good deal on "healthy" bread and boneless, skinless chicken breasts... so I added those to the mix. Canned tuna was next, but the most affordable choice was "packed in oil". I added them anyway, but was disappointed that I couldn't find a healthier option. I am not a fan of fresh veggies, but I do love fruit, so I looked for a good deal on fresh produce but couldn't find much that would fit into the budget. I walked away with a pack of cherry tomatoes, which will have to cut it for both a fruit and veggie. By the time I was ready to check out I realized I had NO condiments or spices, NO coffee, NO snacks or treats. I didn't have the budget to cover those items, so I was truly left with staples, pretty bland and basic. But, I did come in under the budget limit, so I might head back out and pick up some coffee after all.

It is very difficult to stick this very limited budget, find healthful selections, and add flavorful variety to meal choices. But millions of people have to do this every week. They prepare their limited lists, do their homework about which stores have the best deals that week, and head out to shop. They face hunger challenges each and every day. but do their best to make the most of the opportunities out there. The challenge begins tomorrow, and I will do all I can to make the most of my opportunities.

Planning and Shopping

I have to admit that the thought of "planning" for the Hunger Challenge overwhelmed me more than living on $29 of food for a week. So many thoughts and questions were swirling in my head. I had never really stopped to think about the food stamp system, how they work, that they are not stamps anymore, but a swipe card. I didn't know the new name since 2008 is SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The acronym "SNAP" is a little ironic since living on this small amount is not a SNAP for many people. Then a sense of guilt surfaces for not taking time to seriously contemplate a way of life that so many people struggle with daily. I have always been involved in charities that help the less fortunate, but I never tried to walk in their shoes - not that a week of living on $29 comes near to what some have to shoulder every day.

I need to outline things before I embark on them and the nutritionist at Food Outreach, Josh, was nice enough to share an overview of how to approach this Challenge. He had food options, how to work nutrition into the menu, etc. I then grabbed my notepad, calculator and pencil and found an Aldi's in Maplewood. I have never been to Aldi's and I have to say it was a great resource. I first walked down the aisles just taking everything in and then started loading my cart with oatmeal, peanut butter, jelly, canned veggies, a bag of apples, bananas (50% off) white rice (brown rice wasn't offered...hmmm), canned tuna, crackers, frozen chicken breast, pasta and spaghetti sauce. I wanted to buy more fruit, but it looked like it would of gone bad in another day or so. I also had to put back the oatmeal cream cookies twice -- soo tempting. My total was just over $28 and I used empty boxes for the food since I forgot to bring my own bags and Aldi's charges for bags.

My five year old son wants to know why he can't have any of the food I bought. When I explained what I was doing and it was a "special project" he told me I wasn't sharing and that wasn't nice. I will keep trying to turn this in to a meaningful lesson for him too.

Gearing up for the Hunger Challenge!

This morning, I woke up with a hungry tummy growling and contemplated my grocery list for the week on a budget of $29. As I gear up for the Hunger Challenge, I wonder – will this amount be enough to cover my list? Will my food intake for the week be too redundant?

I also thought of all the things I’m running low on that are not covered by food stamps – floss, antiperspirant, moisturizer, dog treats… - yes, my dog is an important part of my family, and looks forward to his daily treats when he comes in from his walk.

As I make my week’s list: oatmeal, soy milk, spinach, 2 sweet potatoes, broccoli, fresh berries (reminiscing, when at their summer’s peak, blackberries were just $1 per 6 oz. container) and other fresh fruit (shoot – just one peach can weigh a pound!), lentils, black beans, eggs, tuna, walnuts and cheese, I’m wondering if this will cost more than $29. I also wonder if I can come up with enough different dishes to make using these items. Oh, I left out yogurt – but I’m pretty particular – no yogurt with high fructose corn syrup for me – only organic, and preferably the super yummy, creamy Greek kind.

On the other side of the paper, I put my dream list: Edy’s frozen fruit bars, soy bacon, soy coffee creamer, lox, cream cheese, whole grain bagels, heirloom tomato, pineapple, strawberries…

I perused the ads of three different grocery stores today and found certain foods on sale at each, and thought I’d look up more online at work. Then I realized, it will cost me more in gas to run all over town to different stores, and made me feel empathy for those who rely on public transportation – how it’s not easy to lug bags groceries and kids around on the bus.

Actually, my brother’s family relies on public transportation, and I know how difficult it must be for them to brave the elements every time they go somewhere – I mean, not every day is as glorious as it was yesterday. I tell my nephews all the time how ecologically cool they are and how much better what they are doing is for the environment – to mentally soften some of the hardship they sometimes endure….I digress….

Thinking about my free cup of coffee at work tomorrow morning, and wondering if I can use those squeeze packets of mayo in the fridge– it wouldn’t be as if I were scamming someone else’s lunch or anything – those packets are up for grabs, aren’t they? Psyching up for tomorrow……

In the Planning Stages of the Hunger Challenge

With the changes in our economy over the year, as a registered dietitian, I have had several requests by reporters or writers for budget-friendly meal ideas for their segments like “How to feed a family of 4 for $20 per day.” These requests required me to price out ONE meals’ ingredients, but that was the extent of my efforts. As I begin to think about applying this to ME, and what I will eat for the week of Sept 1-Sept 7, the task begins to seem much more challenging, and to be honest, I think, why didn’t I assign this to the students in one of my nutrition classes?

When grocery shopping, I pay attention to the price per ounce when comparing items, and I frequently purchase sale items and store brand items. Our household money is spent on nutritious inexpensive foods like beans, frozen vegetables, rice, etc. I bring my lunch to work, I eat at home most nights of the week. But, I also “splurge.” I do spring for certain foods like the nicer cuts of fish, or the higher fiber grain products, and I purchase these items not only because I like the way they taste, but could spending extra money now potentially save me money later on smaller health care bills? Others however, do not have such the luxury, yet they deserve the ability to eat healthy just like I do. So as a dietitian, I feel it is my responsibility to help others see that they can feed their family nutritious foods that can be purchased in an affordable way. The Hunger Challenge presents me with some practice to do so.

Yet, I begin to think about those favorite foods I take for granted.

Coffee, even though I brew my own coffee at home, when I think about the creamer, splenda, and sometimes a dollop of whipped cream…it almost takes too much effort just to calculate the costs! Either way, I think I can get by without it for a week, and save those precious pennies for something else.

Diet coke, another caffeine source bites the dust. I will miss the afternoon jolt, but once again, I could use the pennies for food.

Eating out. I can’t even imagine how that could possibly fit. That makes me sad. I am going to find some great happy hour deals somewhere.

I am still in the planning phase, but here are some of things I know I can change:

Breakfast: I have to eat the same quantity, you don’t want a hangry (hungry + angry) teacher for my early morning students, I will just switch to store brand cereal and store brand English muffins. For a snack, I plan on buying bagged on-sale apples instead of my favorite pink lady apples, which are never on sale.

Sometimes for dinner I make omelets, eggs are a cheap source of protein, but instead of the omega-3 fatty acid fed eggs, I will buy the store brand. I eat a vegetables with both lunch and dinner, therefore I will have to figure out which veggies give me the best bang for my buck, and I will more than likely visit the farmer’s market. The pressure cooker will be busted out of the cabinet and be put to good use making a bean soup.

But what about my microwave Kettle Corn? I hope I can make it fit, but if not, the air popper will finally get used as well.

No doubt, this is not going to be easy. It will take planning, and possibly more time in the kitchen. My goal is to stick to the budget as close as possible, and also maybe come up with some recipes that I can continue to use in the future.

I have to remind myself, it is only for a week, and how blessed am I that this is just an “experiment?”