By Food stamp standards a veritable fortune.
My yesterday of light eating and napping worked. (maybe it was the vitamin c) and I woke up today feeling like a million bucks.
I have a renewed sense of energy and purpose and am ready to rock and roll.
2 small oranges and 2 doughnuts with coffee and cream. It was a fast breakfast and I was hungry. Afterwards I thought it might drive my carbs over the top, but surprisingly it did not.
Oranges .50
Doughnuts Free
Coffee/cream .15
Total .65
The even cheaper coffee I got (I also use less) has a lot of acid but the doughnuts sucked it up. So no problem with the combo.
I was meeting with someone on the UWS and intended to stay in that area, but when I looked at my sunflower seeds and dried cranberries I just could not take it. I grabbed the express train home for lunch and finally put brown rice to good use.
I had cooked some a couple of nights ago but ended up with a mess.
I took the rice and pulverized it in the food processor hoping that by disconnecting some of the outer bran (not discarding it, it got cooked as well) I might get a more palatable product.
It was a sodden mess. It stuck together like rice is supposed to but I could not eat it.
I put it in the refrigerator uncovered determined not to waste food.
It got a little dry and hard so I decided to try it fried. Success at last!
1/2 cup Brown Rice .09
1 Bok choy .25
Iced Tea .03
Total 1.18
I fried it in bacon fat leftover the the bacon the other day. My percentage of calories from fat is too high and I am aware of that.
I must make tonight vegetarian for both my health and to increase my fiber intake.
I went out in search of broccoli, I was craving broccoli with my 1/5 ounces of pasta, garlic and oil.
3.49 for a pretty sad head was the best price I could find in Harlem and I went to 4 stores.
So I am going to go scrounge dinner.
While dinner did not live up to my broccoli, it was pretty darn good.
I took half my Chinatown zucchini and dipped it in egg and sauteed it and made tiny anchovy sandwiches as an antipasti.
Then my 1.5 ounces of pasta along with 1/2 cup frozen spinach, onion, garlic and the rest of the zucchini sliced very thinly and a touch of olive oil tossed in my pasta and topped with my canned cheese.
For me, pasta with vegetables, tomatoes, egg or almost anything is the most satisfying meal there is. I am even getting used to my tiny portion. As much as I would like more I am making it work and the zucchini sauteed really bolstered the volume.
Zucchini .95
Spinach (from frozen). 12
1 small onion .10
Garlic 6 cloves .06
Butter 1/2 tablespoon .08
Cheese .10
Iced Tea .03
Egg .21
Anchovies .35
Total 2.12, a total made possible only by the lack in other meals.
Day Total 3.95
The longer I do this the more I realize how much the fear of overspending has impacted me.
I could eat more.
I could eat better.
My fear of killing and even going over my surplus like I did earlier in the month has me fearful of coming to the end of February and eating only the last remnants of the frozen empanadas.
I totally get why people on assistance eat so much Ramen and cheap .99 frozen meals. They do it to assure they won't go hungry at the end of the month.
Food Banks kick in as much as possible to supplement both those on assistance who can't make it stretch and those who do not qualify for assistance but still do not have enough in wages to afford a full diet.
If If I go hungry or get worn out, it is just me. I can't imagine how I would feel if I had kids.
My mother at one long point in her life worked 3 jobs to make sure her children were fed. I have enormous respect for her, but the trade off was that we saw her very little during those years. She had reserves of strength I did not know a human being could call upon.
NO child of hers would ever go to bed hungry.
I carry 3.25 into tomorrow (almost enough for that head of broccoli I have been craving)
2 comments:
What do you suggest for dessert if you have trouble with a budget.
I notice you never eat dessert and my family asks first what's for dinner then what's for dessert and I can't afford to make a lot of what I used to since my husband lost his jog.
Normally I would say, don't have dessert, but once having been a kid I remember asking the same question.
My mother was an expert baker and when she made pie it was a thrill.
It is also a pretty good value. Look for unbleached flour on sale, butter on sale and either fresh or frozen fruit on sale.
Learn to bake a pie, you can get 8 to 10 pieces out of one pie and cost wise it is a pretty practical dessert.
You also get fiber and nutrition from the fruit.
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