The national week of participation officially began last week, but I was unable to get my act together soon enough, so I'm starting today, Sunday, October 30! As someone who leads an extremely busy life, I tend to eat on the run for most of my meals. Having to think about eating for an entire week at once is definitely a new experience for me. I've certainly tried it in the past, but I have yet to actually stick to my plans. This week, I'll have no choice as I won't have the money to spend to change my mind midstream.
My first major decision was where to shop. I'm lucky in that I have a car and an Albertson's grocery store within about a mile of my house. Safeway and Fry's are about 2-2.5 miles away. For many people in more economically depressed areas, finding a fresh-food grocery store within walking or a reasonable bus-ride distance is difficult, if not impossible. (For more information on food deserts and to find the food desert nearest you, click here.) So, often people receiving SNAP benefits must do the bulk of their shopping at gas stations like Quick Trips and Circle K's or pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens, which generally accept SNAP benefits. I decided to stick with Albertsons, although the most expensive option, because it was the closest to my home, and, therefore, the cheapest to get to.
My next challenge was to shop for the week, but before I could shop, I needed to figure out what I wanted to eat. I figured it would be best to have one staple for the week, like a casserole, and fill in meals around it. After searching around for ideas, I settled on the "Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Bake" from the SNAP recipe finder website. The recipe was large, simple, included a vegetable, and used minimal ingredients, freeing me up to purchase additional food items. With it in mind I set off for the store.
Generally speaking, buying groceries was easier than I had anticipated. On the advice of a friend who had already taken the challenge, I knew I wanted to save about $5 for extras during the week. That way, if I wanted to switch things up or have a treat, I could work it into the budget. I started with the ingredients necessary for the casserole. Many of these items I knew I would be able to use for additional meals. Rather than just get raw chicken, I opted to get a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken because it could provide more meals than just the casserole, and it would be quick to reheat. I used the white meat in the casserole, and I will be able to eat the drumsticks for another meal, if I want something different for dinner. I wanted some other items for meals to intersperse with the casserole, so I picked up a family-size can of tuna, a small can of green beans, potatoes, yogurt, carrots, and bananas. For breakfast, I got oatmeal. I originally had picked out a loaf of bread and a large bag of rice. However, they ended up being too expensive given the other things I wanted, so I put them back. But, I will be able to purchase more rice or bread later in the week if I find that I need it. In the end, I settled on the following grocery list:
1 sm. bag of brown rice - $1.19
1 can cream of mushroom soup - $.77
1 bag frozen broccoli - 1.93
1 block cheese - 2.99
1 onion - $.94
1 garlic head - $.34
1 rotisserie chicken - $5.99
1 qt milk - $1.59
1 sm. can green beans - $.59
1 lg can tuna - $2.19
1 pkg oats - $1.50
4 individual yogurts - $1.20
1 dozen eggs - $1.99
5 bananas - $1.00
2 potatoes - $ 1.45
1 bag carrots - $.89
My grand total was $26.95, leaving me $4.55 for extras during the week.
When I got home from the store, I hard-boiled 6 of the eggs to have for breakfast and/or lunch this week. Of course, when I put them in the freezer to cool down, I forgot about them, and the top of the water had frozen by the time I took them out. Luckily, once I broke the ice, they were actually very easy to peel! For lunch, I had an egg and a banana, which were actually satisfying, although I must admit I had a large breakfast before beginning the challenge.
For dinner I made the casserole, which was very easy to put together. I added some extra garlic to give it more flavor, but it still turned out a little on the bland side. Nonetheless, the rice, broccoli, and chicken were very filling, and there was also the satisfaction of making my own dinner.
On the whole, Day 1 has been a great success! I'm expecting the rest of the week will be more difficult, when I'll be at work and tempted by goodies in the office, the delicious restaurants downtown, and the feeling that I don't have time to cook what I'm going to eat. But I'm looking forward to the challenge, and we'll just have to see how it goes!
Good Luck! I may have to check this challenge out just for the benefit of our pockets.
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