Real life intrudes on my plans to plan.
Originally I wanted to get organized the weekend before (March 19-20) the 2011 Hunger Challenge by putting together menus, assembling a spreadsheet shopping list and actually doing most of the shopping. Then Monday morning I’d be set to cook and blog. It was not to be.
Gripped by the grippe, plus a rant
Friday night I was feeling a little funky and by Saturday I was laid low by the grippe (former name of the flu). My major shopping trip across town to Fred Meyer (FM) had to be postponed, but I was able to make a small fill-in trip to my neighborhood Safeway, even though it is more expensive. I’d read the grocery ads and knew FM offered sale prices and coupons I could really do something with, as well as their bulk foods, but a trip to FM called for more energy than I could muster.
Food Stamp cooking makes no allowance for illness. Cough drops, Kleenex, and analgesic remedies certainly can’t be purchased with Food Stamps. How do people manage if they get sick? If you’re feeling too ill to put in the extra effort that the cheaper, basic ingredient shopping requires, and can’t do the necessary cooking-from-scratch…good luck. Convenience foods, which let you rest and recuperate, don’t fit easily into a budget for two of $12/day.
Grocery shopping for two core meals
After a slow start, I’m surviving and gaining ground. By Tuesday I felt better and made it to FM for my major shopping trip. The meals for the week are organized around two core dinners, black beans and roast chicken. A variety of other meals can be made from the leftovers of these two meals. Both are genuine Home Foods!
Core meal #1 Black beans
My fast-prep, go-to dinner is a big pot of beans. Easy to make, tasty, filling and they go a long way. The ingredients for a batch of black beans are what I picked up at my neighborhood Safeway as well as a few breakfast/lunch items. Also got one coupon score at Safeway, a bottle of Roquefort salad dressing for $.99. This was a dubious accomplishment, because to use Safeway ad coupons you must spend a minimum of $10.00. Not helpful to a limited income.
I spent nearly three hours shopping at FM on Tuesday; bulk foods take time, grab and go is not possible.
Core meal #2: Roast chicken
In honor of my case of the grippe, I planned several meals around FM’s sale on whole chickens ($.88/lb). Perfect for a roast chicken, followed later with that miracle cure…chicken soup! I feel better just looking forward to it. A roast chicken really stretches; after a roast dinner and pot of soup, there will also be meat for sandwiches.
