Food Stamp Challenge, week 22
By Milehimama on Jun 1, 2009 in Food Stamp Challenge
(Sorry this post ended up so chatty, I had a lot of randomness I wanted to say and this seemed like a good post to do it!)
Still counting down for baby! I’m looking for ideas for easy, postpartum meals that do not require using an oven. My “usuals” for giving to other mommies are lasagna, chicken enchiladas, and meatloaf – which are easy freezer meals. However, you have to bake them for quite a while and our AC bill is already climbing! If you have any meals that are easy for a non-cook to make (on the stove), leave them in the comments!
I had to close comments on the last Food Stamp Challenge post, although comments are ongoing in the “Playground Bullies” post (who knew a dinner menu would be so controversial?), but would like to address some things that came up. Feeding children vegetarian meals does not cause them to be malnourished.
Dried beans are excellent sources of protein and fiber (and I don’t believe most children get enough fiber if their meals are mostly white rice, white bread, white pasta, and meat.) According to the National Institutes for Health, children need a minimum of their age + 5 grams of fiber; age + 10 grams is better. A 9 year old boy would need 14-19 grams of fiber. Beans also contain calcium, iron, and many phytonutrients.
Nutritional requirements for children:
Protein: (according to the CDC) 34 grams daily for boys, age 9-13 (less for younger children)
Sources: 3 oz. boneless beef chuck steak = 22 g.
1 c. cooked chickpeas = 14.5 g.
8 oz. whole milk = 7.9 g.
1 c. cooked brown rice = 5 grams
2 Tbsp. peanut butter = 8 g.
2 slices whole wheat bread = 7.2 grams
Fiber – 19 grams daily for a 9 year old boy
Sources: 1 c. cooked chickpeas = 12.5 grams
1 c. cooked brown rice = 3.5 grams
1/2 c. uncooked old fashioned oats = 4.1 grams
2 slices whole wheat bread = 3.8 g.
A 9 year old child who eats 1/2 oats cooked in 1 c. water for breakfast, 1 peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread for lunch, and 1 c. chickpeas, 1 c. brown rice, and 1/2 c. cooked spinach for dinner (plus a glass of milk with each meal) gets more than the RDA of protein and fiber, consumes adequate calories, and meets the calcium needs as well. All without meat, and that’s not even taking snacks into consideration! (Although my 9 year old boy eats far more than that! Two sandwiches are a more typical lunch, plus more fruit for snacks throughout the day and seconds for dinner, too!)
We do not eat meat for every meal, but our children get adequate protein and are not anemic, at least according to the pediatrician who tests them at their yearly checkup.
And yes, we did feed our children hot dogs on Memorial Day. And they liked ‘em. And I can pretty much guarantee we’ll have more hotdogs throughout the summer, particularly around 4th of July. We might even cook them on the carcinogenic BBQ grill, if we’re feeling sassy.
I wonder if I should clarify amounts? Perhaps some readers are confused, because they don’t realize how much food we cook each evening?
For example, when I make stove top mac and cheese for lunch, I use 2 boxes whole wheat elbows (26.5 oz. dried pasta), 2# frozen vegetables (usually broccoli, or peas and carrots), 3/4-1 c. of milk, and 12 oz. of cheese. I can understand how someone who *in their mind* thinks stovetop mac = a 7 oz. blue box would misunderstand and think that no one was getting enough to eat. On the other hand, the box of pasta claims there are 7 servings in each box; 2 boxes would be 14 servings of pasta, more than one serving per person. A serving of cheese is 1 oz.; my stovetop mac and cheese contains more than 1 serving per person.
Also, most of my food values are for raw ingredients. 3 c. of raw rice = 9 c. cooked rice, or a cup of cooked rice per person (although the little ones eat less, and the big ones eat more.) 1/2 uncooked oatmeal becomes 1 1/2 c. of cooked cereal. Grains and beans expand when cooked (while meat shrinks, generally)
Okay, on with the meal plan!
We spent: $85.14 (mostly because I didn’t make it to the last grocery store this weekend but I’m going to try to make it before the loss leaders change on Wednesday). Expenditures are for Monday, May 25 – Sunday, May 31)
Total spent this year: $2663.53
Average weekly spent: $121.07
We got:
4# white onions, 5.25# fresh green beans, 4 cucumbers, 2.4# tomatoes, 2 heads Romaine lettuce, 15# granny smith apples, 16 oranges, 4 pts. raspberries, 9# frozen veggies
9 cans of hominy, 6 cans of pinto beans, 4 cans of Ranch Style beans (all 15 oz.), 3 large cans peaches, 1 can Country Time lemonade mix
12# white rice (husband dear will eat brown rice, but he won’t cook it!), 200 corn tortillas, 24 oz. Mrs Baird’s extra fiber bread, 24 oz. Sara Lee ww bread, 2 donuts, 1 Mtn Dew Volt
3# boneless chicken breasts, 24 oz. bacon, 2 rotisserie chickens, 4.5 dozen eggs, 36 oz. sliced American cheese, 6 oz. colby jack cheese, 8 oz. Cool Whip, 4 cans lemonade concentrate, 2 cans frozen limeade concentrate, 24# ice
(And I let the children buy some candy with their allowance, which is not part of our grocery budget.)
We’re eating easy pantry/freezer meals this week: Brown items are in the pantry, and green are in the freezer pantry (ladies your fridge and freezer are part of your pantry and food stock! I realized I have way too many bags of pepper blend so I’m going to try to use those up this week, too.)
Sunday: Rotisserie chickens from the deli, frozen veggies, rice
Monday: Ham,barley and peppers, frozen veggies (11# shank ham, 4# russet potatoes, 32 oz. California blend frozen veggies) (updated June 1: Went to the store today and bought potatoes, so we had mashed taters instead of barley. I think the barley scared my husband, anyway.)
Tuesday: Pomodoro Pasta, chard (fresh tomatoes, 26.5 oz. whole wheat penne, 15 oz. canned olives, 16 oz. dried navy beans, 16 oz. 3 pepper blend; basil and chard from the garden)
Wednesday: crockpot blackeyed peas and ham, corncakes or cornbread, frozen veggies (16 oz. dried peas, 3 c. dry brown rice, leftover ham, 9×13″ pan cornbread made with cornmeal, baking powder, etc. from the pantry)
Thursday: chicken tacos, charro beans (2 chickens in freezer; 32 oz. pintos, 14.5 oz picante, 2 poblano peppers, and corn tortillas; cheese) (let’s hope I remember to cook up the chickens! Otherwise, we’ll be having bean burritos, and I’ll probably make some spanish rice.)
Friday: red beans and rice (16 oz. okra and 16 oz. 3 Pepper Blend from the freezer, 28 oz. canned tomatoes, 16 oz. red beans, 3 c. dry rice, white onion, celery and carrots from the fridge), frozen spinach
Saturday: tortilla soup (leftover beans and taco chicken from the fridge, 15 oz. can hominy, 14.5 oz. picante, corn tortillas, carrots, onions)
For more menus, check out Laura at OrgJunkie!
For more shopping lists and receipts, check out Gayle at Grocery Cart Challenge!
***Note – I got my archives of old Food Stamp Challenge posts moved over, if you click the link on the navbar. I consolidated them by month, but if my readers think it’s too confusing, I might break it down into individual weeks again. Let me know!***
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Wow some how I missed your post last week. Sounds interesting. I love your meals and I would think that anyone with basic knowledge would see that it is healthier than others (like mine).
I thought that you might like to know that I have just been approved for food stamps (in KY) I am a single mom who works full time and my income is around $21,000.00 a year. For a family of 4 I was approved for $190.00 a month. I know that some of my food budget should come from my income but right now that is just not doable. So I will be trying to stay within the $190.00.
Michele | Jun 1, 2009 | Reply
Great work!
Birdie | Jun 1, 2009 | Reply
Wow, $190 a month? That’s TOUGH!
Does the local school still give free lunches/breakfasts in the summer? Some do if you are on the free lunch program (which you should qualify for if you are on FS.)
I really recommend scoping out the dollar store and/or bread outlets. My 99 Cent Plus store has loaves of Sara Lee or Mrs Baird whole wheat bread for 99 cents, and they stock fruit and veg, too.
Here are a couple of links that might inspire you:
$45 Emergency Menu for 6 people
$30 a week feeds 2 people for $30 in New York City
I’d love to see how you handle the challenge – come back and keep us posted!
Milehimama | Jun 1, 2009 | Reply
I am still amazed, even after all this time, how you do it. I have two options for groceries and although I have become obsessed with cutting the budget, I went shopping last Friday – just for me – and spent $55. Of course, I don’t have the pantry or stock of most things anymore given my current living situation, but still…I had sticker shock. The only actual meal I purchased for was – interestingly enough – your hamburger helper. Otherwise it was things like bagels and bread and cereal and frozen veggies and fresh fruit.
I’m jealous.
tia | Jun 1, 2009 | Reply
Ooh, that cereal will get ya everytime! I love cereal. I could eat it for every meal.
I buy a LOT of generics and store brands, that’s the only way we could eat as many frozen veggies as we do. Also, I found a store that carries canned goods for 3/$1 so that helped a ton.
Milehimama | Jun 1, 2009 | Reply
Alright, I decided to throw this out after reading this post. I have a youtube channel where I vlogged my weight loss, before I lost my way…I did what is called a grocery haul video of what I bought to eat on my ‘diet’ or lifestyle change.
I would love to see what you buy. I know with a new baby that would be tough and might not work out, but it might actually be easier than typing everything out that you bought for the week.
Just a thought, and great job! xoxo
Christi | Jun 1, 2009 | Reply
Christi – that assumes I can *find* the camera AND the batteries work! LOL! ….and that the table is cleared off to stage the groceries…
But that’s a great idea! I’ll see if I can do it in the future.
I do have a pic of some groceries here:
http://www.milehimama.com/2009/05/01/food-stamp-challenge-february-2009-archive/
I also plan to go back to scanning my receipts once my printer makes nice with my computer.
Milehimama | Jun 1, 2009 | Reply
LOL that sounds like me. I 1/2 way stopped making my video’s simply because I didn’t feel like brushing my hair or putting on make-up the days I assigned myself to make them. I always know where my camera is tho…I keep it battery-ed up and ready for any time the kids do something ‘cute’. I can see how it would be hard w/ 7 kids. I wish we lived close to each other cuz I sure would love to help out and learn some tricks from you.
I have yahoo messenger, if anyone wants to add me to theirs it is skinnyb4. Strangely I am not scared of “Susan” adding me, I will just block her if she does. Everyone that I have met here seems really kind, I would love to get to know you all!!
Christi | Jun 1, 2009 | Reply
The cereal is a bite, but I buy the Family Size Special K at Walmart for $3.00; I pretty much live on it because of my current eating issues. I only bought one box, though, and that left $52 for so little, in the grand scheme of things. Not so little I have nothing, but little by comparison and in the big picture. Then again, I’ll eat on the hamburger helper for four meals, at least. The bagels will be five meals – actually 10, I bought two packages. Frozen veggies are 4 meal’s worth…I guess broken down like that it probably isn’t too terribly bad. I certainly don’t eat all of one item or anything in one meal the way a large family does, or any size family for that matter.
I used to buy the Malt 0 Meal bags of cereal but they’re too big for one to get through before they go stale – humidity and food is a huge, huge issue here.
tia | Jun 1, 2009 | Reply
I live out of my pantry and freezer. I am to the point now that I can make all my meals from them and only have to shop the sales to refill it.
Right now I spend about $300 every 2 weeks to refill the pantry. If you all want to see it here is a blog post about my pantry.
http://blasdellzoo.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-do-you-do-it.html
Donna | Jun 1, 2009 | Reply
You are so right. You can get a lot of protein and fiber from beans and other sources too. My son has Cerebral palsy and it is difficult for him to eat most meats unless we put it into a blender. Then he will not eat it at all, and who can blame him, yuck! So I try to add beans and cheese to meals to up his protein consumption, and I’m always looking for more suggestions.
Jennifer | Jun 2, 2009 | Reply
When you receive foodstamps it isn’t meant to cover the entire months worth of food. Some of your own money is expected to be used. I receive 300.00 a month for a family of 4. I don’t work right now. My only income is my child support right now. And that tends to be very sporadic with Briana’s dad! Grr. Anyway, it is hard but there are some really great foodbanks and churches with food pantries around here.
Butterflygirl | Jun 2, 2009 | Reply
Oh, some people are so closed minded. I saw some of the week 21 comments, and they are so silly!
You do NOT have to defend your family’s food choices! With the raging obesity problem we have, including in young chidren, nobody should be faulting someone who cuts back a little on meat and fatty foods, and encourages fruits as snacks!
Lisa, I don’t agree with a lot of your politics, but I admire your ability to care for your family!
Sandwichmom | Jun 2, 2009 | Reply
When we were first married we had to go on foodstamps, We received 180 for 6 of us, one was nursing. I went to the meat market and got their freezer specials, At the time, for an entire months worth of meat, it was $106. The rest went on veggies/fruits and the pasta side stuff.
For the 6 of us now, I spend roughly 100 a week. We eat meat almost every meal, but that is because DH likes us to. If not, I could trim that budget even more. I shop the public market on Saturdays now, That will get us any veggies/fruits we want. I could even get our meat there, I am still trying to see if it would be worth the price. Will figure that out this Saturday. For months, I fed my family on 68 dollars a week. It was not the tastiest menu but it was healthy.
Ginger | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
Hi Milehi– You said >>We might even cook them on the carcinogenic BBQ grill, <<
I read somewhere years ago that if you are direct grilling that you should marinate your meats beforehand. The acidity (wine, lemon juice vinegar etc) in your marinade counteracts the carcinogenic effects of the charcoal grilling. I don’t remember why that is so, some chemical explanation, but for probably over 20 years I have always marinated my beef, chicken, pork etc.
Deeny | Jun 3, 2009 | Reply
I receive $885 for a family of 7 in CA (one is exclusively breastfed). My husband’s hours have been cut down to only 8hrs a week, so we are very careful with our money. I stopped buying cereal for breakfast a long time ago…they now have a choice of oatmeal or malt-o meal. I have found it lasts longer that way. (The kids could go through a box of cereal in one day!) I get WIC for myself, my 2yr old, and my 3 month old. It is a blessing to find services that are willing to help.
Melissa | Jun 13, 2009 | Reply