2011 Hunger Challenge Day 1

The Plan

Well this is my third year doing the hunger challenge and each year my goal is to add something to my dietitian toolbox that will make me a more effective resource for our clients. One of the things the program team and I have been discussing at Food Outreach is incorporating a more plant-based diet. The major driver for this discussion has been cost or more specifically how much we could cut food costs by moving in this direction. I could write an entire series of blog posts on this topic so before I jump into a tangent, one objective this year is to gain some perspective on a plant-based diet. Other than the tuna and the neckbones I bought for seasoning, my purchases this year are all plant-based. I'm a HUGE meateater, I generally walk away from meals that don't involve meat, my lower mandible is actually significantly larger than it should be, giving me an underbite and destroying my modeling career and as co-worker likes to tease "you really are a carnivore!". I figure, if I can do this and be satisfied, then it's a good marker for how our clients will embrace it.

Ready, Set, Shop!

Since we were off work yesterday I decided it would be a good day to do my shopping. This somewhat turned out. It turned out that I had strep throat which did not leave me in the mood to navigate Wal-Mart but it created a somewhat more realistic experience relative to what our clients face. In other words, they probably don't feel like bargain shopping with the masses when they're suffering the effects of chemotherapy. So with that in mind, I dismissed the wambulance and headed over to Supercenter.

As I mentioned, I was striving for a more plant based diet but I wasn't really up to doing the math in my head so I played it loose and figured we'd just see what happened at the register. I chose a lane that was empty and told the cashier what I was trying to do. She appeared nervous and new or both as evidenced by her telling me the total around $6.82. As the experience rolled on, people began to gather behind me in line and eventually the cashier stated we were at ~$34.65. I didn't even have all my items up there and I told her to start taking items off. Almost immediately she got flustered and had to call a CSM; this didn't shock me or bother me. The CSM came over and I told her what I was doing and it was as if I was in Jr. High again, back in the principal's office, "explaining my actions". I could tell she didn't believe me as she kept telling me two or three times that I could watch the total in the future on the credit card machine. It would no doubt be embarrassing to have to put items back but I found myself getting a little angry over the condescending tone of the CSM. The lack of professionalism with which I was treated was an eye-opening experience for me.

Let's Make Some Magic!

I arrived home, unloaded, and jumped right into cooking my lentil soup. The experience is as follows:

The Good
-Very tasty and lentils, carrots, butter, and onions are dirt cheap

The Bad
-The neck bones were a bit pricy but the garlic, thyme, nutmeg were just not priorites on my budget. Guess salt and pepper will have to do.

The Ugly
-The labor for this meal was atrocious! Puree lentils? Shred a pound of carrots? Saute the meat and onions separately? I'm supposed to do all of this while sick as a dog? Even cooking it for 1.5-2 hours is a bit unrealistic if you don't have a crockpot. If you couldn't tell I made a few modifications.

Once everything had been chilled and the dishes cleaned, I felt a sense of relief but what if I didn't have this fluff day?