Below you will find what we at and some thoughts on our first day.
Lauren Dewey
Breakfast- ¼ cup of steel cut oats with frozen
blueberries and instant coffee
Lunch- 2 ounces
of turkey on wheat bread with tomato (from my garden), and shredded cheddar
cheese
Dinner- Egg
salad on one slice of wheat bread with a cup of baby spinach
Snack- 3 cups of
popcorn, 2 clementines, and ½ a pound of carrots
Did you do all of your shopping for the 5
days? Yes.
I spent $43. 98 at King Soopers on Sunday.
What is your strategy (did you meal plan, use
coupons, consult other SNAP challenge websites?)I planned a menu based on what was on
sale at the store. We are going out of
town this weekend so I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to get done and didn’t want
to spend all day running around to different store. Meal planning and shopping took about 2
hours.
Were you hungry at the end of the day? I was not hungry but I definitely had
less energy than I usually do. I took a
nap after I got home from work which I never do. I went to the gym around 7:30
(very late for me) and I struggled through my workout.
Do you think you will succeed? I think I will succeed but I will be
very tired and worn out by Friday.
 |
| Lauren's breakfast and lunch packed to take to work. |
Amy Pezzani
Breakfast- Coffee
with cream, 1 banana, oatmeal (with a touch of brown sugar which I considered a
condiment and was not part of my budget).
Lunch- Veggie
tortilla wrap. The wrap had reduced fat
swiss, tomato, spinach, cucumber and pepper.
Tortilla chips (baked not fried).
Snack #1- Peanuts and
popcorn (purchased in bulk and popped this morning)
Snack #2- Low fat
vanilla yogurt and a fresh peach
Dinner: Steamed
broccoli and homemade turkey sloppy joe which included shredded carrots and
spinach in the sauce on a “wheatish” bun.
Did you do all of
your shopping for the 5 days? Yes.
Sunday we spent time planning out our meals to fit within our
budget. I feel like shopping all at once
is a better use of finances. In the end
I was left with about $1 out of my $67.50 budget for 3 days.
What is your strategy
(did you meal plan, use coupons, consult other SNAP challenge websites?) We
have kept receipts for the last couple of weeks so we know how much things
cost. This allowed us to plan out meals
for the week and have a very good concept of the cost. We added it all up and had about $20 left
that we decided we would use in the produce department once we saw what was on
sale. We also bought some items in bulk,
like oats, rice and popcorn, so we would only need to purchase the amount we
absolutely needed for a meal. We did
also use coupons and it was great to see the total decline at the end as the
coupons were scanned!
Were you hungry at
the end of the day? As day one ends
I do not feel hunger. I had a dinner
with plenty of low fat protein which really filled me up and feel like I had a
pretty healthful diet today with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Do you think you will
succeed? I will absolutely succeed because I know I have at least the same
amount of food for the other days this week as I had this week.
Takeaways Day 1: Trying to live off the benefit for 5 days is
harder than trying to do it for a month.
Also, I had to budget for my daughter to eat breakfast and lunch with
the SNAP benefit. In reality, she would
have had free breakfast and lunch at her school if we lived at an income low
enough to qualify for SNAP which in turn, would have helped us get more at the
store.
I have realized
midday that I am not hungry but the fear of scarcity is making me think about
food way more than usual. Knowing that I
only have $1 left for food until Friday has put me in a much different frame of
mind. The only meal I don’t have planned
is Friday dinner but my plan is to put together a meal of random leftovers from
the week. Even if this goes awry I will
have plenty of rice and pasta to eat.
John Kefalas ad Beth Helmers
Breakfast- Oatmeal (1 1/3 c, cooked), 1 medium banana, coffee
(John), 2% milk, 1/4 c (Beth)
Lunch- Curried lentil stew (2 c John; 1 c Beth), Yogurt
(homemade, from the 2% milk), 1/4 c
Dinner- Cucumber & Tomato salad (2 c) with
onion, olive oil & lemon juice (John), Rice (1 c cooked), Cheddar cheese
(1.5 oz)
Snack: 4 oz. chocolate milk (Beth), 4 oz. orange juice
(John), 1 c (unpopped)popcorn with 1/4 c nutritional yeast (John)
We've done all our shopping: $44.17…Shopping list: oatmeal, millet, eggs, onions,
garlic, fresh ginger, bananas, a lemon, frozen strawberries, canned tomato, 2%
milk, orange juice, yogurt starter, rice, garbanzo beans, pinto beans, lentils,
cheese, popcorn, nutritional yeast, coffee & orange juice (for John) and
chocolate milk (for Beth).
I (Beth) was able to spend time
a week ago dreaming up a meal plan & then go comparison shopping at the
local food stores. I had to simplify my original plan greatly. Today's main
meal, curried lentil stew, will provide another three days' worth of
lunches. Several stores have bulk bins, so that I could buy little
amounts of a number of things at a relatively decent price, e.g., two
breakfasts' worth of oatmeal. How fortunate we are, that we have so many good
places to shop here in Fort Collins! To have the time to comparison shop, to
have the transportation to do this, to have choices of where to shop -- these
are things many SNAP recipients DON'T have. And John and I have a lovely
vegetable garden, too -- without the cucumbers and tomatos and other produce
from the garden, this challenge would be extremely hard! (We both confirmed with
Lauren that we could use our garden produce.)
At the end of the day, neither
of us were hungry, though I was during the day at work, and John didn't get
back from his events to eat supper till 9:30 p.m.
I am quite sure we will succeed at this challenge. Having use of all our spices, our oils, our garden
vegetables -- this gives us considerable advantage.
 |
| Most of Beth and John's food for the week. |
Breakfast- 2 Peanut Butter Sandwich
(2 slices of whole wheat bread, 1 TSBP of peanut butter,) coffe with 1 TSPB of
half and half, and 1 slice of veggie quiche (whole wheat pie crust, 1 ounce of
half and half, 1 egg, 1 ounce of parmesan cheese, squash, and tomatoes)
Lunch- 1.5 cup of kale salad with
½ ounce of parmesan cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and tomatoes
Dinner- 1 cup of brown rice,
garbanzo and cauliflower curry (5 ounces of garbanzos, 5 ounces of cauliflower,
tomatoes, jalapenos, and spies.)
Snack- 1 apple, 1 ounce of
peanut butter, 5 cherry tomatoes, and 7 raspberries
 |
| Garbanzo and Cauliflower Curry |
Did
you do all of your shopping for the 5 days? Yes, I did the shopping
before the start of the challenge. I bought everything at Vitamin Cottage
(Natural Grocers) and King Soopers.
What
is your strategy (did you meal plan, use coupons, consult other SNAP challenge
websites?) I sat down on Sunday night and made a menu for
the week. I tried to plan things we would normally eat. Then I looked over my
receipts and the sales flyers to see what was in my budget and on sale. I
always shop the weekly/monthly sales but I rarely take the time to use
coupons.
I'm fortunate that this 5 day challenge is happening at the
peak of my garden produce. I am currently getting several pounds a day of
heirloom tomatoes, bell and jalapeno peppers, green beans, yellow and zucchini
squash, kale, carrots and basil. I also have established raspberry and strawberry
plants that are still giving a few of each fruit this late in the season!
Were
you hungry at the end of the day? I was really hungry
by dinner time, but I was able to snack on some fresh garden produce to tide me
over until the meal was ready.
Do
you think you will succeed? I ate for $4.25 total today, so I feel
pretty good. However, I'm 76 cents over budget for the week, so I'm hoping to
shave some costs somewhere over the course of the challenge!
Lauren Mingus
Breakfast- 2 eggs with cheese, spinach, onion
and a “side” serving of broccoli
Lunch- Spinach salad with tuna, carrots, red
pepper, cucumbers (from garden), cheese with olive oil & lemon dressing
Snack- Apple slices with peanut butter (I was
really struggling in the morning and my coworker gave me some popcorn)
Dinner- Brown rice with black beans, red pepper,
salsa verde (homemade with tomatillos & jalapenos from garden) and cheese
Snack 5 strawberries and 1 carrot
Lots of Water
Did you do all of your shopping for the 5 days? Yes
What is your strategy (did you meal plan, use coupons, consult other
SNAP challenge websites?) meal planning, sale flyer shopping, compared
pricing using King Soopers website, used my Target Red Card to get %5 off plus
brought my own bags to get $.10 off at Target and Sprouts. Bought all store
brand items. Unfortunately, you can’t find coupons for fresh produce.
Were you hungry at the end of the day? I was extremely hungry at
dinner. Felt full after dinner/snack, but woke up really, really hungry.
Do you think you will succeed? Not sure.
 |
| Lauren's Food for the Week. |
Breakfast- Oatmeal (Ok, it was horrible, bland, nothing to
add to it. I really don’t love oatmeal.
Lunch- The chili powder covered chicken thigh, about 2 cups
of salad, and a small handful of the fried potatoes all with my homemade salad
dressing.
Dinner- Pasta and Marinara with fresh onions on top for a
texture, Salad with Green Pepper added.
The green peppers moved to the pasta after I started to eat it.
Snack- Quesadilla with cheddar, pulled chicken, and
cilantro.
I think I am going to make it but I will be sick of chicken.
Breakfast: Overnight
Oats
-
1 cup of plain quick oats with a dash of
cinnamon
-
1 cup Milk
-
1 banana
Prep: Combined quick oats, milk, and cinnamon in a bowl.
Sliced banana and set on top of oats. Let oatmeal sit overnight and eat chilled
or warm up in the microwave.
Taste: The bananas added a little bit of sweetness to the
oatmeal, but it was not quite sweet enough. I may have to add a little sugar
next time.
 |
| Megan's Oats |
Lunch: Bean and
Cheese Burrito with Roasted Corn and Black Beans
-
1 whole wheat tortilla
-
¼ + 1/8 cup shredded cheese
-
1 1/8 cup black beans, no salt added
-
1/8 cup chopped bell pepper
-
1/8 cup chopped onion
-
1 cup corn
Prep: Sautéed peppers and onions with 1tsp olive oil. Added
1 cup mashed black beans and ½tsp of black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder,
cumin, and a pinch of salt. Wrapped bean mixture in tortilla with all of cheese
to reheat later. Placed corn and 1/8 cup black beans on a baking sheet. Sprayed
mixture and tossed with a pinch of salt and pepper. Broiled in the oven for
about 5 minutes.
Taste: The roasted corn and black beans was very good. The
burrito was good as well with the exception that the beans were a little bit
dry. This is a meal I would make in the future.
Dinner: Healthy ‘Fried’ Rice
-
1
cup brown rice
-
¼
cup corn
-
½
cup sliced carrots
-
¼
cup onion
-
¼
cup bell pepper
-
1
egg
Prep: Scrambled
egg in a small skillet, then set aside. Sautéed corn, carrots, onions, and bell
peppers in 1tbsp olive oil until soft. Added rice, ¼tsp garlic powder, ¼tsp
onion powder, and 2tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce. Cooked until thoroughly
heated, then added in scrambled egg before serving.
Taste: This meal
was not only healthy, but it was very tasty too! I think it rivaled take-out
fried rice and it was much healthier. I will make this again after SNAP
challenge is over.
Did you do all of your shopping for the 5
days? Yes- I thought
that it would allow more buying power to buy more food at once.
What is your strategy (did you meal plan,
use coupons, consult other SNAP challenge websites?) My strategy was intensive meal planning.
I started planning a couple weeks before the challenge and spent more time
planning my daily menus once the food was bought. I spent a lot of time making
sure that I was meeting the USDA recommendations for each food group each day.
Were you hungry at the end of the day? I was not hungry during the day, but
after dinner I was very hungry and ended up going to bed hungry. I will be
honest I was tempted to cheat, but then I remembered those who do not have
extra food to eat.
|
 |
| Roasted Corn and Black Beans |
 |
| A healthy burrito with no cheese! |
No comments:
Post a Comment