Not eating what I want but probably what I need on the Texas Food Stamp Challenge

I've taken up the Texas Food Stamp Challenge to see if I can make it five days eating on the average daily “benefit” of someone receiving food stamps, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. For the first three days, I have a daily budget of $4.50/day. Because Congress is considering cutting the benefit when they reconvene after the election, my “benefit” reduces to $3.70/day for the last two days. 

After consulting numerous experts – my wife,Keren, who loves to cook, and Jerry, my friend who makes a habit of eating strange things (he's fanatic Irishman, a running fanatic, a fanatic mathematician, and a vegetarian) – about good nutrition on a limited budget, I headed to the grocery store Sunday and purchased the following items spending a mere $15.26 of my $20.90 budget for the week.

Organic Soy Milk (½ gal) $1.98

Peter Pan Peanut Butter (1 lb.) $1.58 (cheaper than the store brand!)

100% Whole Wheat Bread $1.48

Cabbage Head (2.6 lb.) $1.41

Cilantro (a bunch) $0.48

3 Bananas (1.25 lb.) $0.49 (on sale!)

1 Pound bulk rice $0.78

1 Pound Lentils $0.98

1 Pound Pinto Beans $0.68

1 Pound Garden Rotini $1.00

Oatmeal (18 oz) $1.18

Dozen Eggs $0.94

Coffee (11 oz. Grnd) $2.28

At Jerry's suggestion, I spent another $2.78 to buy broccoli, zucchini, some limes and a couple of apples. Apparently he thought a steady diet of beans, rice, and oatmeal might get a little boring.

So far, so good. The biggest problem has been my daughter, Grace, poaching off my plate. Breakfast and lunch have been pretty easy. Either oatmeal and banana (only a half though) or scrambled eggs and dry toast (Keren made some Mixed Berry Jam that I keep eying though.) Lunch has been a peanut butter and banana sandwich. (Today I made a fried egg sandwich... yum.) Add a little coffee and maybe some soy milk, and my meal cost for breakfast and lunch has been less than a dollar a day. Not bad.

Dinners have been fun. First day was lentils and rice topped with sauteed cabbage and onions. Sounds gross but it was actually pretty good. Grace said I should have done more cabbage. (Keren had a different opinion.) Last night was pasta with sauteed broccoli, zucchini and onions topped with some lime juice and some beans. (Is this the same as Cincinnati Chili?)

Someone asked me if I have been eating what I wanted on the Texas Food Stamp Challenge. I replied I had been getting everything I needed but not necessarily what I wanted. Since I'm preparing my meals at home, I'm probably eating a more balanced and healthier diet than I normally do. (Potato chips in my mind fit in nicely with a vegetarian diet, but I can't afford them on the challenge.) I've also cut out between meal snacks and desserts. Extravagances I want but can't afford. Maybe what I want really isn't what I need. I 'm feeling pretty good.

This evening it was beans and rice garnished with cilantro and a side dish of sweet and sour cabbage wedges. My after dinner snack was 8 oz of Soy Milk. I need the calories and protein. 

Grace and Keren decided to go to Thai Pepper (my favorite Thai food place in Lubbock) and bring their meal back so we could eat as a family. Their real motivation I suspect was to see if they could tempt me to cheat by eating off their plates. I offered them some of my cabbage instead.

David Weaver

South Plains Food Bank