My goal throughout this challenge has been to cook the same types of meals I normally prepare for my family. I may have to make adjustments on specific ingredients, but I am trying not to veer to far from what’s comfortable. So far, the easiest dish to cook has been this morning’s oatmeal. I had to substitute cinnamon-sugar for the cinnamon and brown sugar I normally use, and my SNAP budget would not allow me to purchase nutmeg. Since I also enjoy eating oatmeal as a mid-morning snack, I took a small serving to work today. Fortunately, I made a bit more oatmeal than we needed, so there is enough for another snack-sized portion tomorrow. In addition to the oatmeal, our breakfast consisted of sliced apples, turkey deli meat, orange juice, and milk for our children. For lunch, I ate some of my homemade chicken soup and pita bread. I relied on an apple and a pack of gummy fruit snacks to quench my afternoon cravings. My husband took the last of the chili, some cornbread, and a few carrot sticks for his lunch.
My hats go off to the makers of this $1.69 seasoning packet! This particular blend includes some of my favorites—rosemary, thyme, lavender, garlic, etc.—but there are other blends and cheaper prices. While shopping, I noticed that the cheaper packets tend to have more sodium and fewer herbs. Why is that? If the company can make a lower sodium version, why bother making the high sodium one? Why should we be forced to pay extra for the better foods? What does this say about how much our culture values health—everyone’s health? Anyway, I was able to use this one packet to flavor two meals: chicken soup and today’s baked chicken. I baked the legs with sliced onion, potatoes, and mushrooms. This entrée was accompanied by brown rice and mixed veggies. Our children also got a dollop of chocolate-vanilla swirl pudding.
After dinner, I scanned the refrigerator and noticed that we still have remnants of several meals: cornbread that accompanied the now extinct chili, yesterday’s bagel-sausage concoction, chicken “sick soup”, and baked chicken legs. There’s not enough of any one thing to feed the entire family, but there is enough to make an appetizing smorgasbord later this week. The key will be to eat smaller lunches so as not to restrict our dinners. After all, we’ve got two more evenings to think about. Our kids are not soup eaters, so I suspect that my husband and I will be eating chicken soup for lunch for the remainder of this week. Now I just need to figure out how to best use what’s left of our groceries to make meals that will stretch. Between my cooking and our kids’ drinking, we’ve already gone through about ¾ of a gallon of milk. I bought 1.5 gallons, so we’ll need to make wise decisions about our milk use.
My biggest challenge today has been fending off a chocolate craving. Actually, it wasn’t just limited to chocolate. I craved pretty much any sweet treat! I resorted to eating a pack of our kids’ gummy fruit snacks. They taste good, but not exactly what I had in mind. How blessed am I that my biggest food concern of the day deals with chocolate?! It seems unfair that other mothers/wives/caregivers have to struggle with serious food concerns. This reminds me of a conversation I had with my mother recently. She described a senior citizen who, after repeatedly giving money to her grandchildren, is now struggling to afford food. She was once financially comfortable and never needed to rely on Meals on Wheels and other services. So what’s the take home message? Food insecurity is real and it can creep up on anyone of us at any point in our life.
My hats go off to the makers of this $1.69 seasoning packet! This particular blend includes some of my favorites—rosemary, thyme, lavender, garlic, etc.—but there are other blends and cheaper prices. While shopping, I noticed that the cheaper packets tend to have more sodium and fewer herbs. Why is that? If the company can make a lower sodium version, why bother making the high sodium one? Why should we be forced to pay extra for the better foods? What does this say about how much our culture values health—everyone’s health? Anyway, I was able to use this one packet to flavor two meals: chicken soup and today’s baked chicken. I baked the legs with sliced onion, potatoes, and mushrooms. This entrée was accompanied by brown rice and mixed veggies. Our children also got a dollop of chocolate-vanilla swirl pudding.
After dinner, I scanned the refrigerator and noticed that we still have remnants of several meals: cornbread that accompanied the now extinct chili, yesterday’s bagel-sausage concoction, chicken “sick soup”, and baked chicken legs. There’s not enough of any one thing to feed the entire family, but there is enough to make an appetizing smorgasbord later this week. The key will be to eat smaller lunches so as not to restrict our dinners. After all, we’ve got two more evenings to think about. Our kids are not soup eaters, so I suspect that my husband and I will be eating chicken soup for lunch for the remainder of this week. Now I just need to figure out how to best use what’s left of our groceries to make meals that will stretch. Between my cooking and our kids’ drinking, we’ve already gone through about ¾ of a gallon of milk. I bought 1.5 gallons, so we’ll need to make wise decisions about our milk use.
My biggest challenge today has been fending off a chocolate craving. Actually, it wasn’t just limited to chocolate. I craved pretty much any sweet treat! I resorted to eating a pack of our kids’ gummy fruit snacks. They taste good, but not exactly what I had in mind. How blessed am I that my biggest food concern of the day deals with chocolate?! It seems unfair that other mothers/wives/caregivers have to struggle with serious food concerns. This reminds me of a conversation I had with my mother recently. She described a senior citizen who, after repeatedly giving money to her grandchildren, is now struggling to afford food. She was once financially comfortable and never needed to rely on Meals on Wheels and other services. So what’s the take home message? Food insecurity is real and it can creep up on anyone of us at any point in our life.