Family SNAP Hunger Challenge: Day 4

Up at 5:30 this morning. To make tortillas. Which is great, you know, that they loved them so much that they requested them for breakfast...and lunch. But it's a time-consuming task. And I'm not really a morning person. And had I just thought about it last night (here's the planning issue rearing its ugly head again) while I was already making a batch, I could've just doubled it and been ready. So this was very much a labor of love. Or something.

Homemade flour tortillas

BREAKFAST: Taquitos de papas con huevo

• a dozen homemade flour tortillas
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 small diced russet potato
• 1/4 c diced yellow onion
• re-use fat rendered from pork sausage yesterday to saute potatoes and onion

Total for Breakfast: $1.43

A dozen goes a looong way

LUNCH: Burritos de frijoles refrito y queso

• 6 homemade flour torillas (2 for each of us)
• 1 c refried beans (from earlier this week)
• 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Total for Lunch: $1.12

SNACKS: Morning and After School

• 2 baggies of chex cereal
• 2 carrots sliced down to sticks
• 2 tbsp of peanut butter for dipping
• 3 graham cracker sheets (1 for each of us)
• 1 cup of work coffee for mama (yay!)

Total for Snacks: $1.57

DINNER: Grilled Chicken Spaghetti

• 1 pkg whole wheat thin spaghetti (generic brand)
• 1 lg chicken breast
• 1 sm lemon
• 1/2 c chopped kale
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pkg frozen corn (generic brand)

Total for Dinner: $6.43

DESSERT: 2 Scoops Vanilla Ice Cream = $0.28

2 Flintstones Vitamins: $0.20

GRAND TOTAL: $11.03

OBSERVATIONS

• Too much flour, shortening, and beans in little bodies that aren't getting as many fresh veggies and fruit as they're used to, begins to take its toll...


• Feeling much less annoyed today, and more into the routine of things. Whatever the kids don't finish for snacks, they have to move to lunch or the next day's snack. Although no one particularly loves this plan, it really shed some unflattering light on how much food we let go to waste just because it didn't get "chosen" out of the snack bag that day.


• Although I accounted for the lemon in our total, I actually picked it from our lemon tree. It occurred to me that I'm not doing enough home gardening, even with the small side yard that we have, and even though it's a rental. The kids and I will likely plant some herbs, tomatoes, onions, and leafy greens in the spring as a direct result of my realizing we're underutilizing the things we actually do have and can control. I acknowledge that many people won't have a lot of room to plant, but small urban gardens in pots and bowls can yield at least some injection of freshness into otherwise potentially lifeless meals. And community gardens, especially in cities with so many food deserts, should really be supported and encouraged at the local, state, and federal levels.


• Finally, realizing that I'm not only counting the days until this challenge is over, but I'm now counting the hours. And then immediately grateful that I can say at least that.

For more details, to join the challenge, or to follow other participants' posts, please visit Project Open Hand SNAP Hunger Challenge.