The Joy of Eating

One reason I chose to become a dietitian was my passion for food. Some people enjoy learning about politics, marketing, or style...I want to learn everything I can about food.
I consider my place of "zen" when I have the opportunity to spend time in my kitchen creating nourishing dishes. I find comfort in grocery stores. I spend hours researching where my husband and I should go for dinner.
I find "joy" in eating. It is one of the pleasures of life.
Although I ate "nutritiously" throughout this hunger challenge and proved to myself that I could eat healthy on an extremely low budget, I can't say I found the "joy" of eating that I am accustomed to. I take for granted that every single day, I can walk into a food store and "splurge." I take for granted that I can savor a food and not feel guilt. This week, I had a very strict plan that I could not afford to stray away from and it felt constraining. I turned down going out to eat with friends. I turned down easily accessible food when I was hungry. I turned down going in for coffee with my running group because I didn't think I could handle smell of fresh brewed coffee.
Living on this budget separated me socially from friends, reduced my ability to immediately nourish myself when I was hungry, and in the end, stole some of the "joy" out of eating. Participating in this challenge for the second year did not make thing necessarily easier. $28 is $28 and it's restricting, it's challenging, and it's scary to feel hunger. I am blessed that it ends tomorrow. I think that this challenge goes beyond calling us to take action by helping to provide resources for the food insecure, but just as importantly, to give them moments of "joy" in eating.

Late...and Eating Snobby

Last Monday as I was almost about to savor the last bite of my cake batter flavored frozen yogurt from "Chill," my spoon stopped short and I realized...Oh no! this was the week I had decided to participate in the FO challenge! And there I was so proud of myself that my frozen yogurt treat weighed in at just under $4, when in reality, if I was living off of food stamps, this $4 ice cream treat would have had to last me all day. I decided to start next Monday the 20th.

From participating in this event last year, I knew how much planning it would take to eat "well" feel "full" on $28/week. So, for 1 1/2 hours I slaved over an excel spread sheet calculating what I could and could not afford. At one point, not knowing what I was working on, my husband passed by my computer and commented that I seemed to be tackling, "quite the project."

After using Schnuck's on-line grocery store for price checks, and searching for new recipes, I had finally calculated out all meals and snacks for seven days. I headed off to the store with my detailed list and small budget.

In my original FO blog, I mentioned I had grown tired of lentils from the first challenge. Well, they are back, but they've had a makeover. They have lost that drab brown color and have re-appeared in red. This inspiration came from a cooking demo that my student's performed last year. In this demo, they demonstrated how to make a vegetarian version of sloppy joe's called "Snobby Joes." It was fantastic, and I knew it would be affordable. Protein tends to be one of the most expensive items on one's grocery list, and legumes such as lentils are a satiating and healthy way to fill up on cents.

Snobby Joe Ingredients:

And here is a picture of the finished product, along with my other two items I could afford.

It's day 2 of eating this meal, and I am hoping it not only lasts 5 days more, but that I don't get tired of my new and improved legumes. I look forward to the awareness of hunger this week might bring.

1 in 7

Recent news reports have announced that 1 out of every 7 Americans live in poverty-the highest proportion of the population since 1994. At Food Outreach, we are increasingly enrolling individuals who never dreamed they would have to go to a food agency. Many of these clients used to donate to food pantries, but now find themselves in need. Year to date, we have provided 21% more meals than in the same time period in 2009.

Lessons Learned

I’ve had a few days to look back on my Hunger Challenge experience and wow, what an experience it was! Being on such a tight food budget is hard. Really hard. It takes an enormous amount of planning and food knowledge to create balanced meals. Satisfaction and variety are hard to achieve and when you can only spend $28 a week, sometimes you go to bed hungry. I want to thank Food Outreach for this enlightening opportunity. The Hunger Challenge made me appreciate my own blessings and raised my awareness of the reality of food insecurity. This was a valuable experience that I will carry with me into my future as a dietitian.

2010 Food Stamp Challenge Day 1

Today is the first day of my 2010 Food Stamp Challenge and although it will no doubt be easier this year since I know what to expect, it's not an experience I'm looking forward to. The objectives for me are the same as last year: increase my firsthand knowledge of eating on a budget so I can better serve our clients and raise awareness about the food insecurity our clients face. Food Insecurity is a very real issue, right here in St. Louis, MO although you won't see any 3 am TV programs on it and there isn't a gaggle of celebrities doing PR for it.

As for me: Breakfast is always the easiest meal of the day for me because I usually eat oatmeal and today was no different. Lunch is the hardest. Today was the weekly Monday lunch at Food Outreach. This program is designed to provide a restaurant experience for our clients so at least once a week they can still feel as though they still get to go out to eat. Instead of stuffed sole, hushpuppies, and a decadent dessert, I had tuna salad sandwich, a yogurt, and an apple. Dinner will likley be more of the same for me as I have a meeting and won't feel like preparing anything by the time I get home. To be clear, I certainly don't feel sorry for myself as I'm only doing this a week; our clients have no end in sight, I have cast iron stomach; our clients battle numerous GI issues associated with the treatments/meds, and I'm not battling a life-threatening disease and unfortunately, ALL of our clients are.

Variety is the Spice of Life

When I did my grocery shopping for the Hunger Challenge, I was surprised by the amount of healthy food I could get for $28. I filled my cart with yogurt, whole wheat tortillas, veggies, frozen fruit, oats, beans, and lentils. I proudly brought my healthy bounty home and prepared for my cheap week of eating. Flash forward to Day 7. Yogurt is great, but eating it every. single. day. is getting a little old. And I don’t even want to look at another bean or lentil again. Although 28 bucks can buy you healthy food (one of the things I hoped to prove while completing this challenge), it doesn’t buy you variety. I ate oatmeal every morning with the same frozen blueberry topping. I had to rotate the leftovers from three dishes for my lunches and dinners. I’ve actually started to dread mealtime. I would shovel down the monotonous food and feel full, but never satisfied. I’m craving variety- spices, sauces, new side dishes! When you are on limited funds, variety is a difficult thing to pull off. I’m starting to regret allowing my windowsill herb plants to wither away. Variety really is the spice of life.

As the my last day of the challenge winds down, I am beginning to reflect on all the valuable lessons I’ve learned this week. Tomorrow morning I will be sipping my Kaldi’s coffee with ample gratitude.

No Frills

After 2 $4 days, I'm really missing my little extras. $28 covers the basics, but it leaves no room for the frills. Yesterday I noticed how many frilly food choices I make on auto-pilot: brewing my morning coffee, adding vanilla almond milk to my oatmeal, buying a slice of banana bread at the cafe on campus, grabbing a small handful of chocolate chips after dinner. As I enviously watched my fellow classmates tote their daily dose of Starbucks and freshly baked banana bread, I realized how oblivious I was to those that can't afford to make these mindless decisions. Food choices that are part of my daily routine are extravagant splurges for others. Eliminating the frills made me realize that they are just that: frills. Extras. Not necessities. However, even though I am getting plenty of calories, forgoing all of my between-meal indulgences has left me feeling a little underfed.

I had to laugh when I read Jen's post because I made a brown lentil soup for dinner last night and as I portioned out the mounds of leftovers into Tupperware, my appetite for lentils quickly began to fade...

A True Temporary Challenge

I vividly remember my meals during Food Outreach’s 2009 Hunger Challenge, and I haven’t eaten brown lentils since. One my frugal recipe ideas included a lentil dish that oddly combined mint, brown lentils, and tomatoes… long story short, it wasn’t good, and I ate a lot of it. A couple of weeks ago, when I saw an email from Food Outreach in my inbox, it sat there unopened for a couple of days. I admit that I was avoiding it. This hunger “challenge” is just that, truly challenging, and I felt guilty for not wanting to address the email. Many individuals and families in St. Louis and in our country don’t have the option to say no to this email invitation. They live it each day.
I decided to start my challenge on Monday the 13th. This year, Food Outreach gave us the option to choose the week in which we would live off of our $28/week, $4/day food allotment. I chose next week because I am not traveling anywhere, don’t have any visiting guests, and my husband will be on the road with work, so I only have to worry about feeding myself. This timing makes it easier for me to live off of a food stamp budget, but those that are food insecure don’t get to pick and choose.
Before Monday, I will be forced to plan out a week’s worth of meals, re-think any dinner plans with girlfriends, and peruse the newspapers for grocery sales. I already know from last year’s experience, that I can’t afford my morning caffeine jolt, enjoy an after lunch dark chocolate fix, or visit my neighborly restaurant Winslow’s Home. Doing this for the second year lessened the initial shock that I couldn’t afford these indulgences, but my hunger challenge only lasts one week. The following week I am back to mindlessly enjoying foods that others would think hard about before throwing them into their grocery cart or ordering off a menu.
Like last year, I plan on posting any recipes I try, but you can be rest assured one ingredient you won’t see on my grocery list are those brown lentils…

Counting My Blessings

I begin my Hunger Challenge tomorrow, and I unintentionally had my “last supper” all day today. At every meal I couldn’t help but think about whether or not what I was eating would be feasible on food stamps. Most of the time, the answer was no. No Kaldi’s coffee. No Lara bars. No Local Harvest brunch. No frozen yogurt at Chill. Today I realized that I live a very luxurious food life compared to many people in my community. But that’s why I volunteered to participate in this challenge- to give myself and whoever is reading this a wake-up call.

I am a college student at SLU- you’re probably thinking “that’s not fair, college students already know how to eat cheap.” But I’m not just any college student, I am a Nutrition and Dietetics student. Translation: I love food, I love healthy food, I love specialty grocery stores, I love cooking with all my cookbooks and kitchen gadgets, and I love trying new restaurants. I cut costs in other areas of my life to allow myself a rather hefty (for a college student) food budget. This week will definitely be a challenge.

I grocery shopped for the week today. I decided on two stops, Trader Joe’s and Schnucks, and I did some heavy meal planning before leaving the house. I realize that I already have an incredible advantage because I have the time, desire, and nutrition knowledge to sit down and plan my meals for the week- fully utilizing every item. I also have a car and I’m not dealing with the symptoms of HIV/AIDS or cancer. The process of calculating prices and hunting for the cheapest items was exhausting. My grand total for the week is $27.48.

It’s not even day one and I’m already counting my blessings.

Food Insecurity Worsened In Missouri

The 2010 Missouri Hunger Atlas shows food insecurity has worsened. "Missouri is one of 17 states with a rising rate of food insecurity. The increase over the past ten years is among the highest five in the country, Rikoon said." Check out this enlightening article about Missouri's hungry.

September 2010: Hunger Action Month

You might be surprised to know that 36 million Americans go hungry every day. 12 million of these hungry are children. For the past 2 years, friends of Food Outreach have joined Food Outreach staff in the Food Stamp Challenge during Hunger Action Month. This September, we will once again raise awareness of food insecurity by asking individuals to participate in the Hunger Challenge because we believe everyone should have enough to eat.

At Food Outreach, our clients come to us not only hungry, but sick-battling either HIV/AIDS or cancer. As you remember, the average amount our clients would receive in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is about $28 a week. Imagine how difficult it is to eat on such a small amount, let alone to eat nutritiously. It is imperative to have proper nutrition every day, but particularly when battling a life-threatening illness.

We would like to invite you to participate this year and hope that you will share your experience on this Hunger Blog. Participants may select any 7 days during the month of September they would like, however Food Outreach's Executive Director, Greg Lukeman, will begin his Hunger Challenge on Monday, September 13th.

Getting set up on the blog is easy. Please e-mail justin@foodoutreach.org if you’d like to participate this year, and feel free to ask friends to join you! It is truly a humbling experience that brings awareness to those dealing with food insecurity.

Check back here often for updates from the individuals who have already signed up to participate in this year’s Hunger Challenge.