Sunday, September 11, 2011

Living on a Food Stamp budget with a new Agenda


Dear Readers,

Next week people are being challenged all over the country to live on 4.72 a day. This is the recently adjusted figure that the average food stamp recipient has to live on.

The two months I committed to the original food stamp project were physically and mentally exhausting. Since more than one of you has challenged me to do it again and for only one week I will take it on.

However I won't just list what I eat and nutrition content, I will daily publish a recipe that will attempt to pack as much nutrition into the dish as possible.

Again I will deduct .33 for oil and seasonings in house. This gives me 1.46 per meal. For that extra .23 I am going to look purposefully for foods that will bump up the nutrition content so that what I share can be used by any family or person struggling with balancing $$ and nutrition.

I have regained 3 of the 7 lbs I lost on the original project and I am feeling quite well. I can do this.

I give anyone and everyone permission to re-print or re-blog any recipe I come up with this week if you can share it with someone whom it might help.

For those who want to read the original journey begin at July 1.

I am also going to put a shout out to my big sister who is on a tight budget with her daughter and an excellent chef. Elaine if you have a recipe to share, send it to me and we can add it to the collection.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow...again and so soon. You are really committed.

Elaine said...

He is committed and he's good!

Now, I'm on the spot! And I'm not a big "recipe" person. Mostly I cook and eat!

Chicken and veggies and stuff

Buy chicken parts on sale. 59 cents a pound is about right. Sometimes 20 cents more or less.

Cook the chicken in water with an onion and reserve the juice. Shred and measure the chicken.

Use the broth and cook rice - one cup cooked for ever cup of chicken.

Use the rest of the broth and cook beans. One cup cooked for every cup of chicken.

Grind up some fresh veggies (broc and carrots work great, spinach isn't bad). One cup for every cup of chicken.

Scramble one egg for every cup of chicken.

Cool it all. Mix it all up. Looks good; tastes better.

Recipe #2

Slice a couple of potatoes and place on the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Drizzle with butter or olive oil or something and lightly brown in the oven. Add an onion if you like.

While browning, lightly mix 6 eggs with a dash of cream or milk. Add whatever leftover cheese and veggies you have on hand. Unless it's tomatoes in which case you really need to remove excess water first.

Flip the potato (and onion) mixture so the brown side is up. Pour the egg mixture on top. Bake for 30-45 minutes (until firm but not hard to touch). Let sit for a few minutes. Enjoy!

Oh - recipe #1 was what I had to feed Blossom Dog (in the right proportions for her size and condition), but it tastes good to humans too.

Karl said...

I like recipe 2. I have never browned and flipped and will have to try that.