Take The Hunger Action Challenge
Here's a shocker: one out of every six adults and nearly one out of every four children struggle with hunger. The United Way of King County's Hunger Action Week begins on Monday, and I'm taking the Hunger Action Challenge. Are you up for the challenge too?
For five days, from March 21 to 25, I'll be eating on $7 a day. That's breakfast lunch and dinner, the works. It's a way to walk in someone else's shoes, to learn first-hand how people on food stamps cook and eat. I know I spend a whole lot more than $7 a day on meals. I know people who spend more than that on a coffee run. How much do you spend each day on food?
I'm aware in advance that I buy too much food, I eat too much food, and I waste too much food. The Challenge, I'm hoping, will not only allow me to experience how other people live, but may point me towards better shopping and eating practices of my own as well.
I've already begun to plan out my menu for this challenge, which stipulates:
- Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner spending only $7 ($12 for two, $18 for three, and $22 for four) per day.
- Salt and pepper don't count but all other seasonings, cooking oils, condiments, snacks, drinks, and everything else do.
- Don't use food you already own.
- Don't accept food from family, friends, coworkers and others. Not even the free samples from Costco!
- Try to include fresh produce and healthy protein each day.
What recipes would you pull out to eat healthy and well--and in budget--for a challenge such as this? I'd love to know!
--Tracy Schneider
Samo on March 16, 2011 at 05:12 PM
I've always had a fascination with doing this. Right now though, work provides breakfast and lunch and snacks, so all I have to do is worry about dinner.
Pasta is a great go-to staple. I like to have frozen green beans or peas from TJ's on the side. All ingredients cost about $6 and last 4 nights.
Make-your-own-burritos is also fun. Tortillas and beans and (brown) rice are all fairly cheap. Add a burrito or taco seasoning packet for 50 cents. Also about $6 and lasts for 8 burritos+ Fancy stuff like salsa, cheese, avocado and sour cream cost extra of course, but you could pick one of those to add
The trick is to go to the cheaper versions of each food group (bananas/apples, carrots/cabbage/lettuce, rice/pasta/bread, dried beans, , Then, save up throughout the week and splurge on a fun item or two like cheese, some kind of meat, more expensive fruit or chocolate chips from TJs.
Another trick is to shop and plan your meals around what is on sale. Sales usually go from Wednesday to Tuesday, so you can have two sales to play with each week.
Meat eaters have a much harder time than vegetarians because meat is SO expensive.
Tracy Schneider on March 16, 2011 at 08:00 PM
Samo-thanks for your great suggestions. Pasta, rice, beans are all on my list. Meat is expensive, so I'm planing on giving up red meat to focus on chicken and eggs. You're right about sales. You can mix up your menu every Wednesday based on grocery store sales. I hadn't thought about that. Good idea!
dm on March 17, 2011 at 03:05 AM
roasted veg potatoes, carrots, onions, maybe some squash are reasonable and i don;t miss meat much with them. or you can roast a chicken with them, with different marinades. since the oven is hot make some 5 minute bread, maybe bake some apples.
just some baked potatoes if you're in a hurry maybe started in microwave.
Justin Haupt on March 22, 2011 at 06:04 PM
What's so hard about eating on $7 a day? I can get a can of soup for about a buck, a loaf of bread for another, and a can of peanut butter for two. Rice is only 7-8 cents an ounce, and red meat is $2-3 a pound as long as you're not picky, and can be used for sandwiches as well as dinners (you can make it last longer by eating it with a couple of cups of rice). I eat like a king for only $2-3 dollars a day.