Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Food On the Brain, day 2
On Wednesdays I go over and make dinner for my Grandma. This means I will have to make my own dinner seperate from hers tomorrow. I was thinking of making the pasta with some of the canned tuna and a white sauce but am worried about how much a jar of sauce will cost. In a pinch I can get a can of diced tomatoes for 78c but that sounds weird with the tuna. I got a little obsessed and scanned the coupons from Sundays paper hoping fora discount I could use as well as the inserts from Rite Aide and CVS because they have discount brands at times but to no avail. Maybe I'll bite the bullet and buy a cheap jar of sauce. Maybe Velveta??How much does Velveta cost?
Day 1 part 2
Even though I'm eating foods you'd think would fill me up I still have periods of hunger. I was watching TV with my wife and really wanted a snack but I'm trying to save the eggs for breakfast so hard boiling some were out. I also don't have a lot of the turkey pack left so I wanted to save it too. I ended up drinking lots of tea (we have a 10 year supply thanks to my Russian mother in law's fear there will be a tea shortage over here) and kept thinking about the leftover peas and rice.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Day 1 Thoughts part 1
My breakfast of a fried egg wasn't very filling and I may double up
though then I won't have any to hard boil for snacks toward the end of
the week. I may get a loaf of bread to make toast and some butter to mix it
up for breakfast. I think I'll be really sick of eggs for breakfast after a week.
I thought I was being clever by buying dry beans, But they have to soak overnight AND take 2 hours to cook (According to the package). I tinkered with the time and heat level and got them in about half an hour. I also soaked the entire bag of peas so they will be ready before hand. I may cook them as well so then I only have to warm them up.
I thought I was being clever by buying dry beans, But they have to soak overnight AND take 2 hours to cook (According to the package). I tinkered with the time and heat level and got them in about half an hour. I also soaked the entire bag of peas so they will be ready before hand. I may cook them as well so then I only have to warm them up.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Day 0
So, Newark Mayor Corey Booker inspired me to to try this for a week. I know this isn't anything like having to live on food stamps but as an out of work teacher who is working as a substitute, it's a reminder that things could be FAR worse for me. A little background, I am the first born son of a Teacher and a city planner. I don't remember ever going hungry, even when I learned later that times were leaner then they could have been. My parents had a garden and I fondly remember the produce for it and several fruit trees as a child. I am eschewing anything I canned or grew in my garden over the summer during this week because I know having access to that land is a privilege that not everyone has. This means no homemade sauce for the pasta I bought, the zucchini I canned, or the dill pickles I made in July when things were plentiful. My reasoning is that not everyone has the time to grow or can food and this felt like a way to bend the "rules" to me.
I went to the store (one in my area that accepts SNAP coupons) this afternoon and ended up using 28.42 of my California average 37.44 for a single person, for a week on food stamps. I purposely held some money in reserve after reading parts of Mr. Booker's blog and Twitter posters so if I needed I could get coffee or a protein source or whatever is needed.
Here is an accounting of my receipt, though I should mention the fish was discounted due to being about to expire (I froze it for later use).
12 oz. Snapper, fresh
1 package variety turkey breast9 oz
1 dozen eggs
1 head romaine lettuce 11 1/2 oz
1 lb black eyed peas
2 lb brown rice
12 oz pasta
1 lb black beans
1 lb kidney beans
2 5 oz cans of tuna
15.25 oz can corn
2 14.5 oz green beans
2 15 oz cans beets
2 lbs russet potatoes
I must say that even just shopping for these food items was a challenge because I wanted some green olives and carrots for snacks, as well as salad dressing and a large "family size" can of soup for my week but ended up changing my mind because of quantity over quality.
I will try and keep you up to date on how this goes along with how I feel keeping a regular schedule which includes work when I get called, going to the gym, and regular housework that needs to be done.
I went to the store (one in my area that accepts SNAP coupons) this afternoon and ended up using 28.42 of my California average 37.44 for a single person, for a week on food stamps. I purposely held some money in reserve after reading parts of Mr. Booker's blog and Twitter posters so if I needed I could get coffee or a protein source or whatever is needed.
Here is an accounting of my receipt, though I should mention the fish was discounted due to being about to expire (I froze it for later use).
12 oz. Snapper, fresh
1 package variety turkey breast9 oz
1 dozen eggs
1 head romaine lettuce 11 1/2 oz
1 lb black eyed peas
2 lb brown rice
12 oz pasta
1 lb black beans
1 lb kidney beans
2 5 oz cans of tuna
15.25 oz can corn
2 14.5 oz green beans
2 15 oz cans beets
2 lbs russet potatoes
I must say that even just shopping for these food items was a challenge because I wanted some green olives and carrots for snacks, as well as salad dressing and a large "family size" can of soup for my week but ended up changing my mind because of quantity over quality.
I will try and keep you up to date on how this goes along with how I feel keeping a regular schedule which includes work when I get called, going to the gym, and regular housework that needs to be done.
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