I don't want to eat anymore Ramen!!!

Many of our faithful Challengers have "hit the wall" so to speak and are ready to be done with the Challenge... Luckily for all of us, we can go back to raspberries and coffee after tomorrow, but for 240,000 San Diego County residents the Challenge continues.  

Well here I am on day five. I have to admit it's getting harder to keep it up. Especially when you don't have time to be creative with the meals and with less than five dollars a day you have to be creative. For breakfast today I had some vanilla yogurt and a banana. Good thing that for the rest of the morning I was in school, so I did not have time to think about being hungry. Even though by 11am my stomach was starting to make grumbling noises. I had some left over spaghetti from yesterdays dinner so I had that for lunch. For dinner I had a chicken breast and some vegetables. I have to admit that I can't wait till this is over. Even though I am saving money it takes some effort to plan your meals with you can only spend $4.90 a day.

-Submitted by a CalFresh Challenger

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Today is day 5 of the challenge.  Another busy day at school as always.  I woke up early and left my house earlier than normal so I didn't get a chance eat a real breakfast.  I found a jello pudding in my backpack. That was my breakfast. Since i didn't remember how much I had left to spend, I didn't buy anything to eat.  I definitely was hungry throughout the day.  I arrived at my house and decided to cook my left over grocery food.  I still have lots of eggs, so i had an scrambled eggs with half of the green bell peppers over a toast.  I had another toast with strawberry jam.  Its still good! After taking an afternoon nap, I had ramen and eggs! No matter how bad that food is, I still can say its cheap and it fills you up! I didn't have any veggies available so I couldn't add any to my ramen.  For dinner, I had cup noodles.  I needed to switch it up a little, so I went for the other noodles. This really is such a horrible diet.  This will definitely add to the 30 lb gained during nursing school.  I can't wait until its over.

-Submitted by a CalFresh Challenger

Unfortunately this isn’t Weightwatchers

 A few Challengers are finding they are gaining weight, even though they might be eating less this week. This is an unfortunate reality for CalFresh Recipients and one we are actively working to overcome by providing healthy AND budget-friendly options. The Hunger-Obesity paradox highlights the often misunderstood discrepancy between having enough to eat and having enough of the right things to eat to keep us healthy.  

Why haven't I lost weight? Oh, I know... because I have had five Top Ramens today. One for breakfast, one for lunch, and two as a snack. I wonder if there's a correlation between childhood diabetes and living off of less than five dollars a day for food? It's really hard to eat healthy this way. I mean if we already subsidize the farmers, I'm sure we can cut a deal at the grocery store for veggies for those on stamps. I mean the grocery store will carry them anyways for "cash-paying" people and just have to give x amount for a penny if you prove you receive food stamps.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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I'm so grateful there is a lot to do for school this week. It keeps me busy, leaving me with no time for a quick break in the kitchen. So I kind of cheated today. Instead of going to the grocery store, I rummaged through the pantry.

I deducted what I would have spent from my weekly total. I found an asparagus soup packet (it's usually less than $1.50 at the Asian stores so I'll round off and say its $2 just in case). I remember my mom making that when I was young and she would add egg to make it like an egg drop soup.  It's still as yummy as I remember it to be. So today I ate 1 scrambled egg, 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 toast with strawberry jam (I definitely will be sick of that when I am done with this challenge), asparagus egg drop soup. I used my left over ingredients so today I spent $2 on the asparagus soup mix. I definitely think I've gained weight in the last 4 days. With the small amount of money to use on food, a person definitely can't make healthy choices. Atleast i didn't eat cup noodles today!

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

The ordinary and the outlandish. Halibut we show you

While most Challengers are feeling the lack of variety reverberate through their day, others are literally catching 15 pounds of delicious fish to spice up their week. Snagging a Halibut for your CalFresh week is fortunate, but using basic ingredients to make the same meal is economical. We celebrate a fishing success and applaud our Challenger for making smart decisions within her budget.  

In the attempt to get my family yo join in on the CalFresh action, I wanted to share this great photo of my husband's catch yesterday- 15lb Halibut, which became today's ceviche lunch/dinner (which should last the rest of the week). Although it may not count during the challenge (?) - because he caught it VS bought it, I think it's still a great way to have some fresh seafood... for free! :) Happy Wednesday!

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

Trying to keep your head above healthy water

Eating healthfully can be difficult in general, but feedback from our Challengers has indicated an increased difficulty in getting amount and frequency of nutrients they need this week. Some have experienced negative physical and mental affects, making us reflect on how months or years incomplete nutrition might affect an individual, or a growing child? CalFresh Challenge DAY 4-Wow!!!

Its coming along, but getting a little more difficult each day as now I have to think out ahead of time of what to eat that will not go over my budget. I have to double check the end date for this challenge. But I'm still being very cautious as to not spend or eat any more than $4.90 of food for the day. This is difficult for me because I have a busy week in school. I do have to admit it has been very insightful at the same time.  Again I had a $1.00 power bar this morning (good thing I like those things, but they starting to all taste the same)  and a peach on the way to clinical. And by the way my fruit still needed a little ripening, but I ate it anyway. And tonight I had a can of refried black beans that were on sale for $1.00 and sliced tomato. And now I'm super thirsty due to all the sodium in the can of beans. I do like beans but I feel my diet at the moment is lacking protein and leafy greens. I miss eating chicken, fish and salads. This is much harder than I thought it was going to be and am actually surprised at the small amount of money that is given for food. I think as a population we are becoming more aware of healthy eating and the benefits it provides. But whether or not people choose to eat that way is a different story. The limited income puts people at risk for for malnourishment. They can also become deficient in certain essential nutrients such as vitamins which serve as important co-factors for enzymatic cellular reactions in our body. People may even be at increased risk for electrolyte imbalances which can actually provoke seizures activity in some cases. I guess what I'm getting at is that a healthy diet is the best fuel for our bodies. And I see it being very difficult with what I have at the moment.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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I woke up hungry this morning. So for breakfast I had a some vanilla yogurt with some pieces of apple in it. I had clinical rotation this morning so that's all I had time to make, which was also good since I did not have time all morning long to think about being hungry and wanting a snack. For lunch I made myself another turkey sandwich. I have to say I am getting tired of eating the same thing for lunch everyday, but have to use up my bread and turkey meat that I bought early on this week. For dinner I bought some pasta and spaghetti sauce and made myself some spaghetti. I would of usually added some ground beef but I did not have the money for it. I had a couple of slices of toasted bread with it. It sure is hard to eat healthy with less than five dollars a day. You don't have much money left for fruits and vegetables. Will see how day number 5 goes.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

Practices makes palate pleasing dinner

It’s easy to get stuck in the endless loop of repetitious meals this week, but some Challengers have made their way out and on to more delicious things. This week forces participants to dig deep and muster culinary creativity, we’d say they’ve done a fine job.

Tonight I made cheese enchiladas.  I knew it would be an inexpensive meal, but I did not truly realize how economical it was until I calculated everything.  The bag of corn tortillas was $0.99 (a local company), and I only used about half.  The sauce was $1.99, and I didn’t use all of it.  The cheese was on sale for $2.50 (I could have gotten this cheaper if I bought a larger amount, but $7 did not fit into the budget this week.  In all, a serving of enchiladas comes to about $0.66.  I rounded out the meal with a fried egg (I think this is a New Mexico thing), beans, and a salad for a relatively protein filled meal without meat.  Luckily I made enough to use as leftovers for lunch for several more days.  Enchiladas are a fairly easy and quick meal to make, and it can easily make several servings.  Even if you are strapped for time, you can simply make what I call enchilada lasagna.  Or as it is also known in our household, lazy!

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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Way to go Wednesday, it's Taco Night....

This morning I went to work and packed my action packed lunch: cup-o-noodles, muffin and a snack bar.  Lunch was not bad at all considering I was stuffed by the time I was done.  After work I headed to Panera Bread to study and brought my snacks along.  Along with my books I had a water and the rest of my muffin to keep me company.  I ended the night with carne asada tacos and it was delicious.  I will be packing these for lunch tomorrow as well.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

The TIPS of the iceberg lettuce

We’re thankful that Challengers are willing to reflect on their experience and derive helpful tips that apply to this week and beyond. Check out some of this Challenger’s tips for leftovers, DIY breadcrumbs and perusing different stores for the best deals.  

This week my family is participating in the CalFresh Challenge, where folks like me who care about food and  issues of hunger and food justice restrict themselves to the $4.91 per person, per day budget allotted by the great state of California to food stamp recipients. There are many lessons anyone can learn from this exercise, I'm sure: I've become more aware of how lazy I am in my shopping habits, how fortunate I am to have the time, energy, and expertise to manage the week with enough food for my houseful of boys, and how easily one misstep--such as buying prepared foods or eating out--can set back the budget for days to come.

Some people believe that food stamp programs in our country are misused, and that the adults receiving the benefits aren't using them for healthy meals, so some of you may be interested to read this recent study indicating otherwise. Regardless, I don't feel that it's my place to tell a struggling family how to spend their meager food dollars, and it literally brings to tears to my eyes every time I look at my children and remember that 1 in 5 American children are food insecure. It's something we should all keep in mind before deciding not to eat that tub of leftover chicken for lunch, or throwing away the bruised fruit: food isn't a luxury item for so many of our neighbors.

Okay, enough with the Debbie Downer portion of this post! In strategizing for the week, I've come up with a few tips I wanted to pass along in case any of you are interested in taking on this challenge in your own households:

•  Anything already packaged at the grocery store is likely to be more expensive--I was shocked to find that even the prebagged onions cost more than if I'd thrown the same weight into a bag myself. And the difference between bagged salad mix and a head of actual lettuce is INSANE.

•  In-season fruits and vegetables are obviously cheaper (and tastier!) than the stuff you thrown into your cart every week out of habit. We bought twice as many servings of bananas, grapes, and apples for probably half of what we normally spend on mangoes and berries and stonefruits.

•  If you're making a dish with a new spice and don't want to commit to that $5 jar you may never use again, try your local health food store--they often have bulk bins that allow you to buy a spoonful for a few pennies. I recently used this strategy when I needed xanthan gum for a cold soup, and it saved me $12!

•  You will never buy breadcrumbs again if you save the heels from all of your loaves of bread (in an airtight container or bag) in the freezer. It doesn't matter of half of them are wheat and half are white, just chuck 'em in there and prepare yourself for some excellent meatballs a few weeks (or months) down the road.

•  Some proteins are cheaper than others (duh). Personally, I like chicken thighs better than breasts, so it's a nice bonus for me that they're also way less expensive, especially in the bulk pack. It's easy to soak a big pot of beans, too, for use throughout the week. Eggs are quick to cook any time of day, and you get a dozen for just a couple of dollars. And if you're really craving something more expensive, think of a way to streeeetch it out: this week we're having short ribs one night, but I diced them up into a stir fry that's otherwise veggies and noodles.

•  A surprise in the world of canned tomatoes: at my store, the big (28 oz) can of diced was far cheaper than the "whole peeled" or "crushed" varieties--this was true across the brands--and organic tomatoes were only a tiny bit more than Hunt's.

•  Shopping in a "foreign" market is guaranteed to net you some great deals. My local Asian supermarket sells huge bags of shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, and exotic greens for just a couple of dollars. The meat and seafood selection is all beautifully prepared, fresh, and affordable. And those huge bags of rice could see you through an ice age!

•  If you have a meal that's likely to give you leftovers, cook it early in the week. A few days later, when you get home late and in no mood to cook, there's a lot less temptation to order takeout if there's something homemade and healthy waiting for you in the fridge.

I hope some of you will take on the challenge in your own homes, and post your tips on how to eat well on a budget. I know I still have a lot to learn!

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

Gourmet on $4.91 a day

This Challenger veteran took his experience from 2 years ago and applied it beautifully for our challenge. We are amazed (and to be honest, getting hungry) at the pictures of his meals. We understand that some people do not have time to make as many meals from scratch as they like this week, but for the ones that do, this is an excellent example of using your resources to the fullest and making the healthiest meal you can under $4.91 a day. Great work, Challenger!

Having completed the challenge two years ago I at least had some idea of what to expect this time around.  Last time my wife had a severe cold and chose not to participate with me, so I completed the week with the benefit allotment for one and ended up losing 20 pounds in the process.

This time my wife is participating with me and I have doubled the amount to spend for the week ($68).  So far, I feel as if we have more than enough.

 Our food purchases

Early Sunday (day one) we took a list and walked to two local markets and gathered our first items for the week. Here is a summary list:

Flour tortillas, dry black beans, cream cheese, Oaxaca cheese, mozzarella cheese, ham hocks, chicken breast, bread, lemons, limes, blueberries, bananas, avocado, cilantro, green onion, tomatillos, apples, spinach, 10 grain cereal, corn chips, flour, dry active yeast, spaghetti, sour cream, eggs, croutons, club soda, coffee, chips -  All this for a total of $53.48 by using coupons that saved us $8.29. On Monday we took another walk and picked up some butter, leeks, a potato, and some French bread for an additional $7.74. Our weekly total so far - $61.22 leaving about $7.50 left in our benefit allotment for the week.

Like the last time I went through the challenge, we quickly discovered how focused you become on how much food you have in the house. You also become acutely aware of food costs. Since I completed the challenge in 2010, I estimate costs have increased by as much as 20 percent for some items, yet the food stamp benefit has remained the same.

Blessings from the garden

In 2010 I used items from my patio garden and commented that I hoped to teach others to grow some of their own food to supplement what they purchase. That dream has since been realized in part with the creation of a regional garden education center at a ½ acre site in Oceanside. I’ll save that for another blog however and stick to the challenge for the week. Just know that we are supplementing what we purchased with items from the garden – zucchini squash, butternut squash, tomatoes, roasted tomato sauce, a variety of peppers, onions, garlic, raspberries, and cape gooseberries.

The strategy

Rather than plan an entire week’s menu this time around we just shopped for what we like but items that could be used for multiple meals. For many, shopping that way is not something easy to do, i.e. they are not accustomed to planning meals or scratch cooking anything.

I always like to say that hunger in San Diego County is not caused by a lack of food, but an access problem. Part of that access issue involves knowing what to do with food once you get it. Just as important - knowing how to choose foods that will keep you and your family healthy.

I was raised on a farm in rural West Texas and always grew up with a huge garden that sustained us through the winter months with vegetables we canned or preserved during the summer harvest. I learned to cook from my mother who learned from her mom, etc. etc. I am encouraged to see a number of cooking programs accompanying many Calfresh outreach efforts in San Diego County that teach families how to make the most of the food they purchase with an eye towards improving health as well. Just as exciting is the fact that Calfresh benefits can be used to purchase seeds or plant starts to grow some of your own food.

 

Here are some of the meals we consumed the first three days:

Grilled chicken breast and spinach salad, fire roasted and fresh salsa, black beans with ham hocks, spaghetti  with butter lemon sauce, home-made pizza with tomatoes and basil, and chilies relleno pizza.

                                                              

-Submitted by: Stan Miller, Executive Director of North County Community Services

Don't have the time, but have the itch? Scratch cooking.

Even if they know how to cook, Challengers are finding that their lack of time inhibits their ability to do so. Cheaper, basic ingredients and knowledge aren't very much use when there is no time to utilize them. Imagine the frustration of wonderful CalFresh recipient cooks who are forced by their situation to opt for the cheap, faster food. Today, we took a tip from a previous challenger and ate breakfast for dinner.  We didn’t plan on it, but after getting home late, it was too late to cook a traditional meal.  Earlier in the day I made some breakfast burritos to have on hand for a quick and inexpensive breakfast.  I ended up eating two this morning because I was so hungry, but then we needed to eat the remaining burritos this evening with some leftover rice.  Unfortunately this means that we did not have any veggies for dinner! We technically have some leftover roasted broccoli, but I completely forgot about it.  At least we were under budget today at a total of $8.13.  However, now we don’t have a ready made breakfast for tomorrow, and I will have to get up early again.

I find myself reflecting on the difficulties of cooking in advance.  I normally have a few frozen meals that I have made up for days like today.  However, with a limited budget, it is difficult to buy food in bulk to be able to cook in advance.  Additionally, if you are working more than one job, it may be impossible to find the time to make a large batch of meals.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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Today as I was preparing breakfasts and school lunches and reflecting on the past couple of days of the challenge, it struck me that my family have some pretty important advantages that many CalFresh recipients may not: someone with the time, experience, and energy to prepare all our meals from scratch (aka, me). There's no way we could make it through the week with enough food for 5 people if we bought much of anything prepared (even something relatively healthy like a pre-roasted chicken is double the price of a raw one). What it would be like if I was a single mom with my same three kids, coming home from my job or jobs, and knowing that I had to spend the next hour cooking, rather than helping kids with homework or doing laundry or chatting with friends or even sitting down for a few minutes of quiet? It's easy to see that there would be a huge temptation to swing by fast food on my way home, even knowing that it would consume the entirety of our food budget for two days.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

Appreciating that this only lasts a week

These four Challengers seem to be fairing well under the budget, but the halfway point of this week is clearly taking a toll. Sacrifices are made on little luxuries (and free food!), with this experience bringing forth an appreciation for the life Challenger's lead, not on CalFresh.  Three days down.

Breakfast- same as always > Bagel and peanut butter Lunch- Bean and Cheese burrito Snack- Banana and some broccoli Dinner- Peanut butter sandwich and grapes

The challenge is going pretty good.  My groceries are diminishing some, but I am fine for a couple of more days I think.  I will probably shop tomorrow with the balance of my allotment.

Some of the things that have to be given up in order to function within a limited budget: eating out convenience packaging junk food- including my bad favorite- soda luxury food items with high price tags

Looking forward to tomorrow being the half way point.  I am missing some of my usual treats.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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Its day 3 of the challenge.  I have no school today, and the only thing I am doing today is studying.  Ahh the life of a student. Lol.  For breakfast, I had 1 sunny-side up egg. Then I went grocery shopping again! This time I went to Fresh and Easy and bought those $1 pack vegetables.  Sad part was that I only bought 1 item, a 2 pack of green bell peppers.  I probably wasted more money on gas then the food itself.  I really need to manage my grocery list more, but since it was near a starbucks (where I studied today), so I just stopped by.  I saw this pinterest picture of a sunny side up egg that was paced inside a sliced bell pepper I wanted to give it a try.  However, on my way home, I fell prey to Chinese fast food.  Since I haven’t spent all my weekly allowance yet and I fell short of my daily expense these past two days, I bought a 2 combo plate.  I figured it would last me the entire day! If it didn’t, I told myself I could eat another strawberry jam sandwich or cup noodles or try to make that egg inside a bell pepper. The combo plate did last me the entire day.  I had orange chicken, black bean fish, fried rice, and noodles. So far in this challenge, I have spent $16.72 (I have $17.59 left to spend for the next 4 days and extra groceries at home).  I can’t believe I am actually keeping track of every penny I have spent!  I’m not spoiled but this entire challenge makes me realize that I should really appreciate everything and the fact that I do not having to worry about how much money I have left to spend on food.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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Day 3: Keep going...

Day three was a blur.  On my way to my early clinical, I packed my lunch pail for the worst case scenario.  On the road I had a muffin and water on my way down South San Diego.  During lunch I was invited to a potluck at VITAS but kindly declined and ate my ham and cheese sandwich outside.  For the rest of the day I had to ignore the free yummy food that was being offered and stayed strong!  For dinner I had my favorite... Sinigang leftovers.

-Submitted by CalFresh Challenger

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Day #3 of CalFresh challenge. Trying not to go over my $4.90 budget for the day I consumed a small amount of food today. This morning I had a banana, and another power bar. I find that I'm hungry a few hours later. I had a busy day today, so that's probably why. For dinner I  had a $2.99 bag of southwestern chopped salad that I purchased from Henry's and the avocado I got the night prior that I didn't use. The salad tasted good! This is difficult and really have to be conscious of what I buy.  I will go to the store again tomorrow. And see what  food option I come up with.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

Coffee is a drug...that I can't afford

We don't mean to insinuate an addiction, but it seems that the simple act of having a cup of coffee every morning matters quite a bit to your body as well as your wallet. As you'll read, some challengers have found it incredibly hard to give up their daily dose.

So at this point the biggest problem for me is I love coffee.   I didn’t figure my budget allowed for coffee, but I’m wondering how much coffee I could buy for $3.  Would that much coffee get me through the week or will I need food at the end of the week and regret buying coffee?

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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I woke up with a terrible migraine at 3:00 a.m. Now, I get migraines once in a while, but they usually hit mid-afternoon and are triggered by stress. I don’t know for sure, but I would suspect that my sudden reliance on Ramen, which has MSG, and so much sodium might be the culprit. I took medicine and tried to pull myself together for work. I ate a cup of yogurt and drank a cup of green tea at 8:00 a.m. and tried to ignore my migraine because I had a meeting I couldn’t miss. As sometimes happens with my worst migraines, I threw up everything by 10:00 a.m. Now, I had a headache and was throwing up my breakfast, without a replacement option. Sickness of any kind and no expendable income for “sick food” was a problem I hadn’t really thought about before. I would wait for lunch to replenish.

The medicine kicked in and I decided to splurge on a $.99 coffee refill at 7-11. I usually take my coffee with milk and splenda. But all the fixings looked like a dessert heaven to me. I quickly drank half the cup of coffee standing at the counter, so I could refill my cup without an extra charge. The cashier nastily stared me down, but I just shrugged my shoulders. What’s a girl with coffee deprivation to do? I am usually so polite and thankful to every worker, but I found myself becoming resentful as she judged me. Nonetheless, I refilled my cup and added every extra they had: caramel, little marshmellows, whipped cream. I knew this was the first nutrients I would keep down for the day, and that I was making a poor drinking decision worse by adding so much sugar. But, I was just desperate for something that tasted good.

I ate a lunch of Progresso Lentil Soup. Disgusting in taste, but healthier than many of my options. It was a steal of a deal – on sale at my union CVS for $.97, but with a coupon $.75. It was more filling and better for me than Ramen, so I feel like I am making progress on food decisions.

I really wanted something fresh for dinner. So, I reached into my $9.00 kitty and spent $.50 on an avocado. I sliced half of it, cooked an ear of corn and made a fried egg sandwich. I don’t think I have ever eaten a fried egg sandwich in my life. Not an ideal dinner (cholesterol anyone?) but at least it wasn’t processed. At roughly the halfway point, I am hopeful I can do this… if they will let me return my unused Ramen to the store.

Breakfast: Yogurt ($.60), Green Tea

Lunch: Coffee!!! ($1.00), Lentil Soup ($.75)

Dinner: ½ of an Avocado ($.25), Ear of Corn ($.50), two pieces of bread ($.25), one egg ($.25)

Money left: $8.50

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

The littlest things have the biggest impact

Our good friends at SuperFood Drive made some healthy and inexpensive dishes for this week and missed luxuries like other Challengers such as tea and chocolate. Ruthi makes a great point about eating alone more often, as there isn't enough to share with someone else. Since eating is such a bonding and social event in our society, this is sad that people would have to isolate themselves in the name of self-preservation. 

At a recent board meeting, we discussed meal planning, how to budget shopping for healthy foods, and tips for maintaining freshness, nutrient density and flavor. 3 days in, I am doing well, and I met with a board member this morning who would be making one of our simple, whole grain and bean dishes for she and her husband tonight.

For me, a key has been to make a large amount of whole grain (brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat pasta) that is enough for dinner night of, lunch the following day, and in certain cases, breakfast the following morning. For example, I made brown rice night one, which was combined with black beans and veggies for dinner and lunch, then I used that brown rice for breakfast the next morning (combine with cinnamon, honey, nuts, banana).

I have attached two pics of meals (one is black beans, brown rice, sweet potato, onion and spinach; the other is whole wheat pasta with finely chopped spinach, spices, pine nuts)...

Where I am struggling is I had totally underestimated the amount of time I spent in coffee shops. I have a lot of meetings out in the community so often, between meetings, I will get work done in a coffee shop. I am a tea drinker, so even without buying fancy coffee drinks, I still average $2/tea. Well, on a CalFresh budget, this is almost half my daily food allotment!! So this week, I have been looking for parks, libraries, and one day, I even parked outside of a Starbucks with my windows down so I could access internet, but not go inside and purchase a tea. I know this is a small 'struggle' yet it is in these daily routines that I am noticing the biggest awareness coming through for me this year. That, and the fact that I don't get my daily dark chocolate square. Again, something small, and one that I readily give up, but a small comfort that I enjoy most days. But dark chocolate didn't make it into my CalFresh shopping list...

So far, the meals are going well. I am not feeling too hungry, although I definitely am aware of when I want an extra serving and I have to do quick calculations to make sure there will be enough for the remaining days/meals. And lastly, I seem to eat alone more. Typically, not only would I share a meal out here and there, but I also love to invite neighbors and friends over for dinner. This week, I don't dare invite anyone else over since I am worried about having enough for the rest of the week.

Thank you for sharing the other participants' stories. It helps to know that around the county, we are all sharing in this 'challenge' together.

I will update later in the week as the cupboards become more empty.

-Submitted by: SuperFood Drive Founder, Ruthie Solari

It starts with a banana

One of the interesting and most compelling things about this challenge is how quickly a Challenger's viewpoint becomes survivalist. People who generally are very giving and generous are now hesitant to part with any food, fearful that letting any go might mean they will lack later. These decisions are an act of self-preservation, as Jenn mentions, and shows how hunger can supersede our desire to share food with others.

A friend stopped by tonight for a visit. Before leaving he asked if he could have a banana. I had to really think about my answer. I said yes partly because I couldn’t think of a hospitable way to say no, even under the current CalFresh Challenge circumstances, and partly because I wanted to be able to share. Hospitality is a part of what enacts our humanity and I didn’t want to say no. As he was eating, I found myself looking wistfully at the three bananas that remained on the countertop, hoping they will be enough.

I don’t know what sort of profound message might be rooted in this 90 second experience, if any. I’ve tried to write about it but nothing sounds quite right. I was taken aback at my initial resistance to sharing something as small as a banana.

 Thinking about it now, I realize that if I was truly living at the poverty line I likely would have said no. It would have been a choice of self-preservation for me or my family, even if it meant missing out on the gift of participating in the exceptionally human act of sharing food.

 I can’t help but ask myself, What does it mean for our society when people are forced to live so close to the bone that they have to make choices about which loved ones they can feed in the economy of scarcity?

Challenger wonders what it's like to feed kids this week, family of 5 has game plan

A college student challenger reflects on how hard it might be to satisfy a child or even children on a budget like this. Luckily, we have a mom of 3 that is documenting her experiences and shows how economies of scale work in her favor. Going back to our post on insecure living situations, buying in bulk still wouldn't work for a family constantly moving, with no place to store their extra food. Something to think about. Day #2 of Cal Fresh challenge. It's doing pretty well. Just trying to manage my budget and eats foods  that will sustain me throughout the day. It's kind of hard as a student when food is the fuel that keeps you going.  Today, I had my second protein bar this morning on my way to clinical. I didn't get to eat again until later in the morning which was when I had an apple. I had only water today. After clinical today, I stopped at the store again and purchased my dinner for the night. This consisted of 2 heads of broccoli, tofu and an avocado. I sauteed the tofu and broccoli but didn't eat the avocado. Its kinda of crazy and hard to be able to have only $4 worth of food for the entire day!  I cant imagine trying to feed growing children. They're always hungry. It would be difficult.  This does make me aware of the things that we often take for granted such as having a nice warm healthy meal.  But I have learned as an adult,  to not waste food as I do think of those who have it harder.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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I'm starting the challenge a day late...oops.

This morning I went to the commissary (lucky to have access, I know) and the two things that immediately struck me were: 1) I'm glad we're a family of 5, because there are some definite economies of scale; 2) I have become a horribly lazy shopper sometime over the past decade. Don't get me wrong, I buy tons of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains every week, and we cook at home nearly every night--but I don't compare prices as I shop the way I used to. I was shocked at how much money I'm likely throwing away each week, even on "healthy" foods.

Take fruit, for instance. We normally buy berries and peaches and apples this time of year, but today I opted for grapes and bananas and apples instead, for far more servings at far less cost. And the bread I normally buy? Twice as expensive as a loaf with very similar specs from a different company. Yikes.Our menu for the week:

Breakfasts: cold cereal with milk OR egg/cheese quesadillas, orange or apple juice, coffee with milk

Lunches: PBJ on wheat, apples, yogurt, tap water (in reusable bottles)

Dinners: chicken (thigh) curry with broccoli & rice, milk

                 spaghetti & turkey meatballs with green salad, milk

                 vegetable enchiladas with avocado salad, milk

                  korean short ribs with stir fried vegetables, milk

                  TBD (I still have just over $30 in my budget of $122.50 for 5 people/5 days)

Snacks:  grapes, bananas, popcorn, graham crackers

I'll follow up soon with how the family takes to the new "regime", and the challenges I'm sure we'll face...

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

PB&J stuck on repeat; It's not just Milli Vanilli anymore.

Peanut butter and Jelly, pasta and sauce, bean and cheese. Clearly timeless combinations are making a comeback this week for our Challengers. Items that can be used over and over again for meals means getting the most bang for your buck. Eating PB&J everyday for lunch isn't that bad, ask any 7 year old. Also, thanks for the great tips, CalFresh Challenger!

Day two down.  I am continuing to work from the supply of groceries that I bought on Sunday.  Here is what I had to eat today:

Breakfast- Bagel and peanut butter

Snack- banana

Lunch- Broccoli wrap and grapes

Dinner- bean and cheese burrito

Feeling good and not deprived.

Some tips for eating well on a budget include:

            Be smart about where you shop, some grocery stores are just more expensive

            Go for inexpensive proteins such as eggs, peanut butter and beans.

Go for fresh produce that is in season.  Not only is it tastier, it is more often on sale because it is more plentiful at the time and the store needs to move it out faster.

Shop sales.  Look at the grocery circular that comes in the mail and see what is a good deal that week, you can save a lot of money this way.

Plan, Plan, Plan!!!!  Don’t go to the store without a list!  You will buy stuff you don’t need if you don’t have a list.

Use coupons.  I don’t because it is so time consuming, but if you have the time it is really amazing what you can do.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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I went shopping Sunday to get my basic food together, and it’s an interesting situation.  I spent $22.95 and am pretty well set for lunch and breakfast.  Toast and fruit for breakfast (I bought bananas and apples).  Lunch all week will be yogurt, fruit and a carrot.  I only bought a quart of yogurt, so I may need to buy more yogurt or fruit as the week goes on. The $10 I have left will be needed.

Dinner is where I will really need the help. I bought eggs for Sunday dinner (toast was my side dish), so that may be repeated for another night or more.  In addition I have pasta and marinara sauce, and tortillas, black beans and jack cheese (cheaper than cheddar).  I bought some mixed lettuce ($1.99) to go with the burritos, or maybe a salad one day.

So it looks like I’m headed for a boring and repetitive week, hoping that the budget will hold.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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Day two

For breakfast I had some toasted bread, an apple and a cup of coffee. For lunch I made myself a turkey sandwich (again)from the food I had left over from yesterday and for dinner I made myself some flour breaded chicken and some white rice. I bought one small skinless chicken breast, so I cut it up in strips and then dipped it in flour and fried it and then made some white rice to go with it. It was easier today since I was at work most of the day. I do have to say it is hard going grocery shopping and having to look at the price first to see if I can afford it. For example, when I bought the chicken I had to made sure it did not go over $2.00. I also bought a couple of apples and a small bag of rice. The lady at the meat counter must of thought I was weird when I kept telling her it could not be more than two dollars. Well, will see how day three goes.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

It's hard to say "Na" to Sodium this week

With Top Ramen selections and back-to-basic foods being bland by our society's standards, we've noticed some heavy Sodium laden items being eaten this week. For our Challengers, this extra intake will only last a week and won't do much harm. We can't help but think of the ramifications of consuming extra sodium on a daily basis for months or even years. This Challenger also brought up a great observation of her obsession over food during this week. 

CalFresh Challenge Day 2:

I woke up hungry and desperately wanting a big cup of coffee. I settled for a cup of green tea. I was proud of my breakfast: yogurt and a piece of toast with peanut butter. I did drop the bread on the floor on accident. Normally, I would just toss it in the trash. But, looking at my sad little loaf of bread, I just blew on it and claimed the 3 second rule.   Still, I couldn’t help but stare at my daughter’s fresh mango. Not being able to eat what I want is tough.

By the time I made it in to work, I was afraid I would start snapping at folks thanks to my lack of coffee. I just used one green tea bag (over and over) and kept convincing myself it was “almost as good.” I actually had an internal debate with myself over whether I should just go to 7-11 and buy a cup of coffee. But, I was afraid if I used a dollar today, I may need it later in the week. I only have $10 left and I know I have to do one meal out, so I stopped myself. The insecurity over “how much money is left” is starting to weigh on me and dictates every decision I make.

I notice I think about food a lot more now. This is the opposite of a diet, it is becoming a food obsession. I keep looking at my bag of food and wonder if it will last the week. Lunch was Ramen again.  There are many days when I work through lunch, but today I sat with my Ramen and plotted stealing my assistant’s fruit. I think about how I could scam or steal food all the time. Seriously. I have come to the conclusion that if I had to live on food stamps for my life, I probably would do some pretty unethical things for a good meal.

I rushed home from work at an early hour (for me) because I was so excited about my dinner. I knew I would have enough time (rare) to actually cook. I steamed half a pound of broccoli, boiled 1/3 a box of pasta and cooked a single piece of chicken. What I would normally look down upon as a subpar dinner, was absolutely delicious. I didn’t have sauce for the pasta, so I drenched it in Tapatio hot sauce and put garlic salt over everything. I am a little concerned about my sodium levels… but, I am full and happy. So, who cares for today?

Tonight I am heading to a friend’s birthday at a bar. I have decided that since the challenge does not speak to alcohol (and you CAN’T purchase it with food stamps), I will only drink if someone pays for it. Or, maybe I will drink out of other people’s glasses. (I am joking of course)…

Breakfast: Peach Yogurt ($.60), bread w/ peanut butter (roughly $.75), Green Tea

Lunch: Ramen ($.25), Green Tea

Dinner: ½ lb Broccoli ($.75), 1/3 box of pasta ($.35), chicken breast ($1.00), Green Tea

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

Lead me not into Dollar Menu temptation...

The ease and seemingly cheap option of ordering something from a fast food dollar menu is cropping up in some of our entries. We're very proud of our Challengers for resisting this temptation, amidst being tired, cranky and hungry. This Challenge isn't just about how cheaply you can eat, but how healthy you can eat under fiscal restraint. We believe in you, Challengers! Today gave me a chance to reflect on the necessity of making meals.  You can’t possibly eat out or grab take out on this type of budget.  This meant that I needed to wake up earlier to make breakfast and prepare lunch.  Then when I got home this evening, I did not want to make dinner.   I was exhausted and had a headache.  Normally, I would order take out or eat a meal that I had frozen previously.  It seems silly to comment on having to wake up earlier and make dinner when I was tired.  However, I can imagine how difficult this would be on an every day/week/month basis.  It would be so easy to just buy something off of the dollar menu at some fast food restaurant or eat some other inexpensive processed food.

Personally, we did much better today than yesterday in staying within our budget, even if we were still a little bit over.  Between the two of us, my husband and I ate two eggs, a Cliff bar, a banana, and two cans of diet soda for breakfast for a total of $2.01.  We ate quite a bit more for lunch and snacks: apples, grapes, baby carrots, graham crackers, wheat thins, and leftovers from dinner for a total of $4.58.  For dinner we (three of us) had bone in and skin on chicken breasts, diced tomatoes, rice, salsa, and broccoli for a total of $3.17.  We shared two servings of ice cream for an after dinner snack for $0.50.  This brings us to a total of $10.26 for the day, which is slightly above our daily budget but much better than yesterday.

We were lucky this week because there were many great deals at the grocery store.  Bone in skin on chicken breasts were on sale for $0.99/lb and most of the fruits and veggies that we bought were $0.99/lb.  It was even a little disappointing knowing that I wouldn’t be able to stock up on the sales due to the limited budget.  I always thought that if people would just stock up during sales, they would be able to eat on a low budget.  However, I realized that stocking up can be very difficult on a fixed budget.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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Okay, so today was able to go from 5am until 1pm without eating. Is that what I would do if on food stamps? Had a banging lunch that I spent what I didn't spend yesterday on. I think the secret is to keep yourself so busy that you "forget to eat." I thought that people who said that were ridiculous, but now I know it works. I'm starting to suspect that anyone who says that is on a very limited income and that's their coping mechanism. I really want a little dinner but I don't have any money. Is panhandling allowed in this challenge? I don't think I saw a rule on that?

So I'm hungry. Gonna fill up on ice water, read, and hit the bed early. Would do something fun but energy is a little short today. I do have a 99 cent bag of carrots that I could use sparingly throughout the week? Gosh, this would be so easy if I allowed myself to eat off of the McDonald's dollar menu, but NO! That is so unhealthy and then I would have medical bills.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

College students and noodles in cups, it's real

College students get a bad rep for staying up all night, sleeping excessively and eating noodles in cups too often. But on a budget of $34.31 for a week, we can recognize their pragmatic approach to saving money. Juggling school, work and trying to eat on  a small budget is no easy task and we're glad we have a few student Challengers to represent the percentage of CalFresh recipients who are students as well. CalFRESH!  Today is the first day of my week of eating on the proposed budget of $34!  My family is visiting in town so by the time I woke up, it was too late for breakfast.  I finally managed my way to the grocery store to make my purchases.  I first made a list of potential dishes that include soup, tacos, chicken and my favorite, Sinigang.  Buying the bare necessities for all dishes, I was able to make the cut.  My ultimate buy – 12 Cup of Noodles for $2.50!

Day 2

Today was my clinical day at the hospital and brought lunch there for the first time.  I packed a Cup of Noodles, half a muffin and pudding.  After a few hours of work, I enjoyed my lunch and felt good not spending money at the cafeteria.  For the ride home and rest of the day I had some cheddar cheese to keep me company until dinner.  For dinner I made Sinigang which will be lasting me for a whopping three days!  Making a list of meals for the week has definitely made it easier to stick to the budget.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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Today I didn’t really have chance to eat much today.  I’m actually thankful that my schedule was full, if not I know I would have been hungry.  My breakfast consisted of just a banana (29Ȼeach) while I headed to school.  I had a chocolate jello pudding, strawberry jam sandwich with 1 slice of bread.  For my afternoon snack, I had a banana and another strawberry jam sandwich with 1 slice of bread. For dinner (thankfully its late at night, 9pm) I am having top ramen with an egg.

My grocery list for today is 18 eggs ($2.78), 1 loaf of bread with 18 slices ($2.28), and strawberry jam ($2.78).  Since Sunday I have spent a total of $9.84, but I still have some extra supplies left.

Since I don't have school or work tomorrow, I will try to eat something more extraordinary than cup noodles! But its definitely helps when you're too busy to think about food.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

"this really isn't a good time, Hunger..."

Jennifer speaks to a larger point about hunger being inconvenient this week. Her situation mirrors that of individuals and families with an unstable living situation, constantly moving locations. We can speculate that a portion of these people might want to make home cooked meals, but don't have to facilities to do so. That seems like the meaning of frustration to us. Thanks for the great perspective, Jennifer.

This is my second time doing the CalFresh Challenge but this year, the challenge has taken on a completely different form. “There could not be a worse time for me to do the challenge!” I brashly commented to a friend a week ago. The Challenge’s dates just so happened to land on a week that I am floating around, staying at different people’s homes. It’s only 2 weeks as I wait to move into my new studio but it sure is exhausting not having more than a few days’ worth of clothes in my car and sleeping on different friend and family’s couches each night.  The idea of adding huge budget restrictions to my eating and not being able to eat out at my convenience instantly added an enormous feeling of stress. I even contemplated not taking part of the challenge this year.

But, of course, I quickly remembered what the challenge was about and remembered how deeply I empathize with the situation of those I assist with CalFresh applications. Many of my clients are technically homeless, not having a permanent resident for at least 90 days. Some sleep in the streets, some in cars, some in shelters, and some at their brother or aunt’s house until a family member can find work again after being suddenly laid off. These situations are, of course, incredibly stressful. And then, on top of negotiating housing and working or looking for work, there comes the very fundamental need to feed ourselves, to sustain ourselves and our families. Cooking big meals to eat over a few days is a great way to stretch a dollar but can be very difficult to do in transitory times. I found myself bringing home my very well thought-out grocery items from the store last night and as I put them away in small gaps in the fridge and cupboard, I suddenly got nervous and anxious at the idea of the friend I am staying with eating something without knowing what the consequences are for me. Really, I would like to share a meal with her to hank her but with this budget, I simply can’t. Stacking the cans in the kitchen nervously, I remembered a recent client in my office crying. “And then my son comes home to visit and he eats all the pasta I make. And I don’t know how to tell him to stop”.

The CalFresh Challenge is only week. My unstable housing situation is very temporary. Feeling nervous and anxious just for a few moments, however, vividly reminds me of how vital this program is to those who struggle with food insecurity due to a plethora of reasons including high rates of unemployment, an economic recession, low-paying jobs, age, disability and the high cost of living. 76% of SNAP households include a child, an elderly person, or a disabled person. With proposed cuts for this essential nutritional assistance program, our most vulnerable population suffers. Unfortunately, food insecurity isn’t a mere week for them but rather a greater reality that programs such as SNAP aim to solve and are essential as we continue to find solutions to poverty and hunger in our society.

Submitted by: Jennifer Seneor, CalFresh Outreach Manager with Feeding America San Diego

Breakfast for 3 at $4.50 is a great deal...unless it's half your daily budget

This week's challenge is what the name implies: challenging. It requires you to think completely different about food. We applaud this Challenger for sticking to the guidelines, despite accidentally splurging. It only serves to make it a more true to life experience. We are a household of two adults and one toddler.  Our toddler eats half of his meals at daycare, and when at home eats about a quarter to a third of what we eat.  I adjusted the allowance in accordance with this and came up with approximately $73.17 to spend for the week.

Unfortunately this morning we forgot about the challenge and bought doughnuts! This deducted $4.50 from our total weekly budget, which hurt a lot more than I would have thought.  It was a little bit of a shock to realize that such a simple and quick treat (at a seemingly low price point) could have such an effect on our budget.

In addition, I can see how miscommunication can also easily derail a budget.  We have some leftover food (sausage, produce) that must be eaten.  I can’t stand wasting food.  Therefore I had to deduct that amount from our budget as well.  I never would have included pricy Italian sausage, and Cliff bars in this week’s limited budget.

Due to the doughnuts, sausage, and other leftover more expensive food our total for today came to $13.93.  Yikes, well over the average CalFresh SNAP benefit amount.  With these mistakes I need to come up with a meal plan and shopping list that will suit our needs.  Now, the challenge will be to see if we can keep the total for our meals at or under $9.87/day to meet the weekly budget.

It is difficult knowing that I have to stick to a specific amount.  We normally have a budget for food, but not necessarily a strict budget.  This week we will give up our protein powder, individual sized coffee, fresh fish, chocolate, and basically any other luxuries.  I look forward to finding out if a healthy diet can be obtained with such a low budget.

Getting back to the basics, creatively

It seems most Challengers are finding basic foods to be the cheapest and most versatile. Foods like Beans, bread, spaghetti, and peanut butter to name a few. We can't help but notice the lack of meat being bought for this week. Just something to ruminate on...(Pun intended).  I survived my first day! Luckily, I was pretty busy with errands, chores & homework/studying, so it wasn't as difficult as I thought. I'm pretty sure I am going to attempt the same menu today. I'm trying to save my huge batch of spaghetti for later on in the week, but we'll see how that goes.

Flashback: growing up as kid, my parents were working 24/7, so to be honest, I am kind of used to eating soups, pbj's, and oatmeal. They used to call me "Tin-y" because I was so "thin/skinny." I would come home from school and make myself a pbj or ham sandwich. As a child, you don't realize that there are so many people out there who eat like this because they have no other choice. It's an eye-opener & it feels great to be doing this. I think more people should be aware and learn that "wasting" food is literally such a waste! My dad always taught us to finish all the food on our plate, and I am teaching my kids the same lesson. :)

                                  -Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger

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I decided to go grocery shopping yesterday so that I would be prepared for today, since I could not use any of the foods that I had at home. I went ahead and bought a loaf of bread($1.00), a carton of eggs($1.99) and a some turkey deli meat($1.99). So for breakfast I made myself some french toast. I used two pieces of bread and one egg. For lunch I made myself some egg drop soup. All I used was some boiled water, chicken flavor bouillon, some ginger, soy sauce and one egg. For dinner I had a turkey sandwich with some egg drop soup that I had left over from lunch. I found a tomato in my garden, so I cut some up and put it in my sandwich. Today since I was home all day it was harder than I thought. I am used to grabbing snacks throughout the day. Hopefully tomorrow that I am at work it will be easier. I don't tend to snack as much at work as I do at home. I still have some eggs, bread and turkey meat. I will see what I can buy tomorrow for about $4.00 to add to what I had left over today. I will have to be creative with my meals. Will see how day two goes.

-Submitted by: CalFresh Challenger