Day one down, and a new one for us - a completely meatless day. And it was okay.

Our bellies were full, and we ate healthy. 

Breakfast was similar to what Craig eats every day, but with one big exception. While grocery shopping, we had to cut whole wheat English muffins from our list. One package of six muffins costs twice what a loaf of 100% whole wheat bread (16 slices of bread, enough for eight servings of toast) costs. Spread two tablespoons of peanut butter on the toast, a serving size that is actually quite generous, a banana, and coffee, and you’re off to a great start to the day. I can live without wine, but I couldn’t work with a caffeine headache, so we agreed we HAD to budget coffee into our total – about $1.20 a day for a full pot (seriously, who thinks of java as being 15% of your daily allotment of food dollars?!?!). We didn’t finish the pot in the morning, and it was SUCH a treat – and pick me up – iced in the afternoon.

LESSON:  if you prefer one food over another, too bad. You eat what's cheapest.

LESSON: “Real” plates, glassware, and flatware make food taste better as I experienced drinking my iced coffee in a glass (versus the old, plastic Kreiger cup I had been drinking water from up until then today). This is one of the reasons Food Outreach’s Monday Hot Lunch program is so vital. It allows clients to experience a three-course, restaurant-style meal. The kind of thing most of us take for granted, but not folks living on SNAP.

Lunch was really tasty and very filling, but frankly repetitious, due to a few errors I mentioned yesterday. While I was reheating the soup, Craig mused that most days he snacks while we’re getting lunch ready, and we almost always have cheese and crackers with a glass of wine while we make dinner. Not today because we have nothing easy to snack on (we did get real popcorn but that takes too much time to pop for quick snacking). I missed my after lunch, fun size Peppermint Patty, something I consider a not-too-bad-indulgence – dark chocolate and low fat/calories, right?

LESSON:  eating cheap requires planning and time, things someone battling HIV/AIDS or cancer has in short supply. And snacking and simple indulgences are never considerations. Typically I would not think of spices (such as a good curry powder that is excellent in the soup) as a luxury, but they are on a budget.

If you want to see the recipe for the Lentil-Sweet Potato Soup, click here and you’ll be redirected to my blog.

I failed to mention that our total for our four days of the challenge came to $31.49.

Denise and Craig Evans