THE FOOD

My ALDI purchase

PREVIOUSLY PURCHASED
Acme Toasted Oats Cereal (On sale for $1.88 - $1 instore coupon): $.88
Eggs/dz (Free but if purchased at ALDI...): $1.65
Clementines (1/3 box left of $5.99): $2
Baby Carrots (Leftover from Thanksgiving. If purchased at ALDI...)$1.19
Oatmeal (5 packets): $1
Wholewheat pasta: $1
Veggie pasta: $1
Tomato can: $1
Tomato sauce: $1.50
Frozen green beans:$1
Dried noodle soup: $1.19
Parmalat: $2.19
Dark chocolate with raisins & nuts: $1.99
Total: $16.40

ALDI
Coffee (90 cups worth): $2.79
Butter (Salted/4 sticks): $1.99
Crunchy Peanut Butter: $1.69
1lb Ground Turkey: $1.49
1lb Sliced Lunchmeat (honey turkeybreast): $3.29
Peanuts: $2.69
Pork Tenderloin: $4.55
Chicken Breast: 3.39
Snack Bags Combo(20): 3.99
12 Grain Bread: $1.89
String Cheese: $3.29
Sliced Cheddar: $2.19
Granola Bars: $1.89
Orange Juice: $1.99

$37.12 (ALDI)
+$16.40(OTHER)
$53.52
______________________
$60 (BUDGET)- $53.52=$6.48
(-$4 eating out credit used= 2 meals missed)
$2.48 extra which goes toward that darn Dunkin' Donuts coffee and donut.
______________________
adjusted for usage
$.50= 1 stick of butter (Used 3 tablespoons for whole week)
$.03= 1 cup of coffee (times 14 cups= $.42. Lucky has two cups a day. Me= Zip).
No eggs were used.(savings of $1.65)

(First day, hubby had leftover turkey and grapes for lunch since we hadn't gone shopping yet.)

DAY SEVEN: What I've learned

Breakfast
Oatmeal. Hubby had a granola bar.

Lunch
Nothing (We had a big sale at the store and I was too busy to eat. Plus I had a superbad cold). Hubby had a peanut butter sandwich with the one last piece of bread.

Dinner
The second packet of dry noodle soup with leftover ground turkey (Makes a bad cold go away. OK, maybe not really, but it did make me feel better). Hubby had more leftover pork with pasta. Viva la leftovers! And finished up with a piece of chocolate.

So what did we learn? Well, that living on a budget of $60 is doable. And that in general, you won't go hungry. However, it does restrict you. Because of money issues, I didn't really have enough fruits and veggies. We relied on our multivitamins to make sure we got the minimum RDA. If the monies were given as a monthly stipend, it would have been a lot easier: buying apples and clementines twice a month, stock up on frozen veggies when they are on sale. Also it did help that there were two of us participating so there was more money to use (since you can't get just a few spoons of peanut butter or half a loaf of bread).

For the items I purchased for the challenge, we didn't touch the dozen eggs and have 3.75 bars of butter and 75% of the peanut butter left over.

Emotionally, it was a bit draining; we gave up a couple of opportunities to go out with friends this week because we "didn't have the money." There was also the potential for embarrassment that first day at ALDI when I had to put some food back because I didn't have enough money.

JUST ONE LAST QUICK STEP ONTO THE SOAPBOX
Some of the local chainstores around here have signs posted re: foods that are accepted by SNAP and WIC. Often they are for overly processed, sugary, sodium-laden foodstuffs that are not filling and don't have much nutritional value (I wish I had taken a photo of the sign over those small plastic "barrels" of artificially fruit flavored sugar water). RARELY have I seen those signs in the produce, meat or dairy aisles. I hope that SNAP recipients are not just handed a pamphlet of suggestions but actually told what foods are suggested to purchase first.

I am lucky to live in an area that has a lot of places that accept foodstamps. But I know that is not often the case in the innercity. Also, I do have two ALDIs nearby which has very low prices on basics (And a vehicle or mass transportation to get to those places).

• Eating Healthy on a Budget
  
• Dollar a day
  
• SNAP-Ed Connection

DAY SIX: I'm feeling like Mother Hubbard

Finished the rest of the cereal for breakfast. And brought a sandwich to work (the last of the bread). My husband combined leftovers: the orange pork and red beans & rice). We joined friends for dinner. It's been a tradition for NINETEEN YEARS. They make the turkeys and everyone else brings side dishes. With the addition of spouses and children, it's now a party of over 40 people! I usually bring a green bean casserole but because of the challenge, was not able to spend the money. I did bring a bottle of sangria soda that was unopened at Thanksgiving ($1.69).

It did feel a bit strange not being able to truly contribute to the meal this year. But I also did appreciate being surrounded by friends who love me. I know that not everyone in NJ has a strong support system of friends and family to help them survive.

I factored the meal into the budget and deducted $4 from the $60.

DAY FIVE: Running Low

BREAKFAST:
We were running low on cereal and milk, so I had oatmeal instead. That way the hubby had milk for his coffee. The clementines were gone. So I had orange juice; not a fan of concentrate but needed the Vitamin C. (Hubby: the usual)

LUNCH:
Sandwich, chips, carrots, cheesestick. (Hubby: the usual)

DINNER:
I gave Lucky a couple of choices; he opted for another Italian night. So the chicken baked a few nights before was reheated with another 1/3 of the tomato sauce and two cheesesticks with the rest of the veggie pasta. Voila: Chicken Marinara.

DAY FOUR: Who Wants Leftovers?

BREAKFAST
Same.

LUNCH
Same.

DINNER
I finished the leftover Thai curry pork from Monday. Lucky had his company's holiday reception in the city. I WAS going to subtract a few bucks from our budget because of that but considering that he had an allergic reaction to the first bite he took and didn't eat anything else... (PS He's ok now).

When I started this, I didn't go with a plan. I knew I was going to use some stuff we already had on hand but on the whole, I didn't know what I was going to have until I got to the supermarket. But if I were really on SNAP, I certainly would have to plan better.

Here is some links I found today...

• http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dfd/programs/njsnap/index.html
  
• http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm
  
• http://www.bettertimesinfo.org/2004index.htm
  
• http://www.7dvt.com/2007/stayin-alive
  
• http://www.kansascity.com/2008/03/26/547630/one-week-four-people-and-a-tight.html
  
• http://mdhungersolutionsblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/my-food-stamp-challenge-journey.html
  
• http://bangordailynews.com/2010/07/27/health/experts-want-junk-taken-off-food-stamp-menu/
  
• http://www.rebeccablood.net/thriftyo/2007/04/the_organic_thrifty_food_plan_1.html
  
• http://www.tacanow.org/family-resources/gfcfsf-diet-on-food-stamps/
  
• http://foreverinhell.com/wordpress/?p=678
  
• http://www.bettertimesinfo.org/foodchallenge.htm
  
• http://thirtyaweek.wordpress.com/
  
• http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=2&tax_subject=256&topic_id=1342
  
• http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
• http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/09/26/most-food-stamp-recipients-have-no-earned-income/
  
• http://www.lsnjlaw.org/english/governmentaid/hunger/foodstamps/njfoodstamps/
  
• http://www.nj.gov/humanservices/dfd/programs/foodstamps/
  

DAY THREE: Who's on Third?

I think I finally got the swing of things today.

BREAKFAST
The usual (See I have a usual now.)

LUNCH
I had a sandwich! Actually it tasted good. It's a 12 grain bread with honey (and of course other stuff. But it's more substantial than white bread); although the turkey tastes like that chicken roll stuff I ate as a kid. Two clementines, cheesestick, handful of carrots, and bag of chips. (Lucky had his usual but added another clementine).

DINNER
Was edible. But not our finest effort. Baked the two chicken breasts (slicing them in half to make four pieces. Half the chicken, half of $1 Green Giant green beans almondine, and half of a $1 Zateran's red beans & rice equals a "New Orleans" meal half good (Our oven did too good a job on baking the chicken and I didn't stir the rice enough. Oh well, we ate it.)

Would I have tossed the meal and started from scratch? Probably not. But I normally would have considered the thought a bit more than I did. Those chicken breasts may have been tough but I was TOUGHER.

DAY TWO: What's Missing?

Started the day off right...
BREAKFAST
Cereal with milk. (The hubby had cereal with milk, orange juice, and coffee)
Took along some snacks for the day: chips, cheese stick, two clementines. Was going to make a sandwich, no time, will do it when get back home. (You DO see where this is going, right?)

LUNCH
Needed to finish something before I left my morning job. Then the boss threw in some extra work that needed to be done ASAP, and then had a 75 minute meeting. I worked through my lunch break (the hour I have between jobs) to try and finish, I didn't. Went to my second job (at the lovely Heidi's Cottage) without eating anything. Ok, I did grab one of the Werther's Originals we have scattered around the store. (But honestly, this is not an isolated circumstance. I often miss meals: either I'm running late at breakfast time and rely on my snacks, or I'm running late at lunchtime and rely on a quick prepared food somewhere on my route OR go the martyr route and not get anything.This is fast becoming less of a foodstamp challenge and more of an admission that I really need to change some bad dietary habits!)
(The hubby had a granola bar- actually there are two in the package but who really just eats just one, a clementine, a bag of chips and a sandwich).

DINNER
Tonight's "Italian Night". I grab the pound of frozen turkey that's been thawing in the fridge and cook it up in a tablespoon of butter. I've never bought turkey in a plastic tube before but it doesn't look bad. I save half for "Mexican Night", and start making the sauce: 1 can of $1 diced tomatoes, 1/3 bottle of $1.50 Prego VeggieSmart pasta sauce, a cheese stick (lowfat, it takes time to melt into the sauce), garlic, paprika (don't judge me, this is based on my German mother's recipe). Cook it down and serve with half a box of $1 Ragu Garden Delight pasta. A delightful nonsparkling water with lemon juice is the perfect compliment to the meal. Lucky (the hubby's nickname) thinks it's good, but not as good as yesterday's meal which he wants added to my repertoire.

Before he goes upstairs to work on our annual Christmas card, he sits down beside me and says with a sad, solemn look on his face. "Heidi, I need to tell you something." "Yes?" "I, um, I cheated... This afternoon, I went out and had a coffee and donut... I was hungry. If it makes it any better, it was a SMALL coffee..." Yes, we will be subtracting that $2.48 from the budget :)

Not certain how healthy we actually are eating (when we are eating)... thinking that even with the veggie-infused dinner, we probably aren't getting enough of something. Even with taking our daily vitamins. Need to check on that.

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So, question: have you voted for MoveForHunger yet? This national nonprofit based in NJ is one of five organizations who could win a $1million grant from Chase Community Giving. Just go to the Facebook Page and vote TODAY and TOMORROW. It is the only hunger-related nonprofit up for this grant AND it donates to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

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Move For Hunger is a non-profit organization that works with moving companies across America to pick up the unopened, non-perishable food items from people during the moving process and deliver it to their local food banks. When people move, they throw away a whole bunch of "stuff." Unfortunately, a lot of this "stuff" is food that could go to a family in need rather than thrown away. That's where Move For Hunger comes in. In just two years, Move For Hunger has teamed up with over 160 moving companies in 37 states. Together, we have delivered over 330,000 lbs of food to food banks across the nation - this is enough to provide over 250,000 life-saving meals to those in need. With 1 in 6 Americans struggling to find their next meal and 1 in 7 Americans moving each year, Move For Hunger provides an out-of-the-box solution to our nation's growing hunger problem.

DAY ONE: What are we doing?

My husband and I normally spend around $200-300 on groceries per month. Considering that our "foodstamps" provision would be $240 if we were to do this for a whole month, you would think that this would be easy. But it won't. (Or maybe it will?).

You see, we are partakers of the prepared food. Our area in NJ is resplendent when it comes to eating establishments: Vietnamese, Mexican, Peruvian, Brazilian, Cantonese, Indian, Bangladeshi, Afghan, Japanese, El Salvadoran, Ecuadorian, Korean, German, Italian, Portuguese, Jamaican, Sri Lankan, Cuban, French, Thai, Ghanaian. About twice a week, sometimes more, we go out to eat. And then we survive on the leftovers. (Yes, I do cook... but usually it's based on something previously bought, like last week when I used the leftover mulligatawny soup as a sauce for the leftover thanksgiving turkey).

Every other Monday is Cheap Chicken night: my husband and I run to the Acme to buy food for the next few weeks and grab the fried chicken special (8 pieces for $5.99). Adding a $1 frozen veggie and a $1 Knorr Side Pasta and call it dinner. During the rest of the week, we may have the chicken for dinner another night and then the rest, my hubby takes to work for lunch. It may be cheap (less than 75 cents a piece) but it's not covered by SNAP.

My husband is a bit better when it comes to lunch ("brownbagged" sandwich and snacks) but I'm more of a flybytheseatofmypants gal... grabbing a chicken and rice soup from the Chinese takeout joint, Quick Check sub, or even chicken chile relleno from Mis Amigos. Let's not forget that once-a-month sushi delivery.

SO HERE GOES DAY ONE...

BREAKFAST: Opened the 88 cent Acme Toasted Oats (on sale for $1.88 then the manager gave us $1 coupon) and Parmalat milk (from Stop and Shop for $2.19). How do I remember these prices? I'm pretty competitive when I'm looking for a bargain. It makes me feel better when we are gorging ourselves at Mister Pi in Warren.
(Hubby: Cereal, milk, orange juice and coffee).

LUNCH: Didn't really happen. I brought some snacks to my morning job, two clementines and a bag of cornchips. The boss had brought in a Cheesecake Factory pumpkin cheesecake in that someone had gave him and instructed his secretary to throw whatever remained at the end of the day in the garbage (Luckily, someone took it home). No, I was a good girl and didn't have any of it... any of the $46.95 (plus at least $20 S&H) cheesecake. At 2:30, my stomach was grumbly so I opened a box of oatmeal I had bought in bulk since it had been only a buck for 5 servings and had me a portion. Flax seed CAN taste good :)
(Hubby: leftover turkey wing, leftover grapes, a clementine, and chips)

I worked later than I planned, stopped off at home to pick up some cash and headed to ALDI. Thought I managed the shopping part pretty well but I only had $37 and the total was $46... needed to subtract some of the fun stuff. Got home, grabbed a couple of handfuls of peanuts and two cheesesticks. Now to dinner.

DINNER
Thai Curried Peanut Pork with Noodles: Sliced up a pork tenderloin, salt and peppered, and seared in pan using one Tablespoon of the four sticks of butter I had to purchase (rest is in freezer). Simmered in orange juice for a few minutes. Removed half to use later in week. Add curry, dried lemongrass, two heaping tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter, low-sodium soy sauce; add more orange juice to create sauce. Serve over whole wheat egg noodles. Handful of baby carrots to much on (forgot to cook them with the pork) Drink du jour: water with lemon juice.