On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:23:46 -0600, Christine Dabney
> wrote:

>Heya folks,
>
>I just found out, via various food blogs, that last week was Hunger
>Challenge week. Whereby folks would live on a food stamp budget, of
>$4/day. Which equals out to $28/week.
>
>Now, I read several food blogs in this arena....on this very
>challenge. It really astounded me..to say the least. Most had a
>difficult time with the challenge..and some had an extremely difficult
>time.
>
>I have to say that some qualified that they had never had to deal with
>anything like this in real life....
>
>One thing I found extraordinary, was that some shopped at Whole Foods
>for their food..and that was their main grocery store. I don't know
>exactly why, other than maybe they wanted to stay as organic as
>possible in their food supply.
>
>But it truly strikes me as being very unrealistic, in trying to
>stretch their food dollars as far as possible. Maybe they don;t know
>any better..maybe they just want to stay as close to organic as
>possible.
>
>For me..I would want to get as much value as I can for my dollar. That
>would mean shopping the sales at the stores, shopping at ethnic
>markets..and generally avoiding the high end markets..whatever they
>might be. I probably would avoid Whole Foods or similar stores...for
>the time being... even if I really wanted to be organic. That could
>go by the wayside for the time being, if my tummy was growling.
>
>And I would shop for the month..not the day.
>
>Am I totally off on this? What would you all do? If you wanted to
>stay organic, would you still shop at places like Whole Foods? Or
>would you compromise to save money? Would you compromise, to feed
>yourself and your family..or would you short them and yourself, cause
>you felt you needed to stay organic and pay top dollar?
>
>Just curious
>
>Mind you..this would be if you only had a set amount coming if for the
>whole month. What would you do???
>
>Christine, who is venting on this in a blog post.

I don't think most of the responses have been about organic. For most
of the people who are thrown into that situation what they need most
is education. They need to be taught basic nutrition, how to shop and
what to buy to get the most food value for their money. They need to
know how to prepare and store what they buy.

I can remember a friend whose husband gave her the grocery money each
week. It seemed that she could never stock up on sale items. If I
were on that kind of leash I would try to show Scrooge how much better
I could do If I had at least one month's money at a time. So you
spend more this week but then you don't have to buy laundry detergent
every time you go.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:46:24 -0400, The Cook >
wrote:

>On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:23:46 -0600, Christine Dabney
> wrote:
>
>>Heya folks,
>>
>>I just found out, via various food blogs, that last week was Hunger
>>Challenge week. Whereby folks would live on a food stamp budget, of
>>$4/day. Which equals out to $28/week.
snippage

>I can remember a friend whose husband gave her the grocery money each
>week. It seemed that she could never stock up on sale items. If I
>were on that kind of leash I would try to show Scrooge how much better
>I could do If I had at least one month's money at a time.

If I were on that kind of a leash, I would show Scrooge how much
better I could do without him.
As a matter of fact at one time I was, and did.

koko
--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 09/23

On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:23:05 -0700, koko > wrote:

>On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:46:24 -0400, The Cook >
>wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:23:46 -0600, Christine Dabney
> wrote:
>>
>>>Heya folks,
>>>
>>>I just found out, via various food blogs, that last week was Hunger
>>>Challenge week. Whereby folks would live on a food stamp budget, of
>>>$4/day. Which equals out to $28/week.
>snippage
>
>>I can remember a friend whose husband gave her the grocery money each
>>week. It seemed that she could never stock up on sale items. If I
>>were on that kind of leash I would try to show Scrooge how much better
>>I could do If I had at least one month's money at a time.
>
>If I were on that kind of a leash, I would show Scrooge how much
>better I could do without him.
>As a matter of fact at one time I was, and did.
>
>koko

I would have too. He was at the time an Air Force Captain on flying
status. He made good money.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

koko wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:46:24 -0400, The Cook >
> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:23:46 -0600, Christine Dabney
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Heya folks,
>>>
>>> I just found out, via various food blogs, that last week was Hunger
>>> Challenge week. Whereby folks would live on a food stamp budget, of
>>> $4/day. Which equals out to $28/week.
> snippage
>
>> I can remember a friend whose husband gave her the grocery money each
>> week. It seemed that she could never stock up on sale items. If I
>> were on that kind of leash I would try to show Scrooge how much better
>> I could do If I had at least one month's money at a time.
>
> If I were on that kind of a leash, I would show Scrooge how much
> better I could do without him.
> As a matter of fact at one time I was, and did.
>
> koko
> --


I would show Scrooge what it's like to live on a starvation budget/diet
or perhaps take Koko's path depending on all the circumstances.

I do think that many of us could live on a less expensive food budget if
we had to.

gloria p

Gloria P said...

> koko wrote:
>> On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:46:24 -0400, The Cook >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:23:46 -0600, Christine Dabney
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Heya folks,
>>>>
>>>> I just found out, via various food blogs, that last week was Hunger
>>>> Challenge week. Whereby folks would live on a food stamp budget, of
>>>> $4/day. Which equals out to $28/week.
>> snippage
>>
>>> I can remember a friend whose husband gave her the grocery money each
>>> week. It seemed that she could never stock up on sale items. If I
>>> were on that kind of leash I would try to show Scrooge how much better
>>> I could do If I had at least one month's money at a time.
>>
>> If I were on that kind of a leash, I would show Scrooge how much
>> better I could do without him.
>> As a matter of fact at one time I was, and did.
>>
>> koko
>> --
>
>
> I would show Scrooge what it's like to live on a starvation budget/diet
> or perhaps take Koko's path depending on all the circumstances.
>
> I do think that many of us could live on a less expensive food budget if
> we had to.
>
> gloria p


Definitely not playing Scrooge, I remember one of the first times in a
wholesale club, I convinced myself I needed to buy a gallon tub of
mayonnaise, thinking I was being thrifty.

I probably used a couple cups over a couple months before throwing the rest
away.

Andy <-- KICK ME!!!

"Gloria P" wrote

> I would show Scrooge what it's like to live on a starvation budget/diet or
> perhaps take Koko's path depending on all the circumstances.
>
> I do think that many of us could live on a less expensive food budget if
> we had to.

Smile, it's all relative. My family happens to like scratch cooking and as
we all know, that's less cost.

cshenk said...

> Smile, it's all relative. My family happens to like scratch cooking and as
> we all know, that's less cost.


cshenk,

Reminds me of Thanksgiving, where cooking is all relatives! ))

<G>

Best,

Andy

"Andy" wrote
> cshenk said...

>> Smile, it's all relative. My family happens to like scratch cooking and
>> as
>> we all know, that's less cost.

> cshenk,
> Reminds me of Thanksgiving, where cooking is all relatives! ))

Long as you aint cooking the relatives, works for me!

Meantime, dinner was great! We couldnt eat it all, but that is normal.
It's a planned leftover for my work lunch. Should have made more udon duck
soup though as there isnt enough left to fill my small thermos. Ah well,
Hon-dashi if I wish (soup).

On 2009-09-27, cshenk > wrote:

> My family happens to like scratch cooking......

I never knew how much better it was till now. Mom has plenty of food.
So much so, even some of the dry goods have aged beyond edible. She
lives on canned goods, frozen veggies, tv dinners, and boxed instant
everything and has multiple pantries of the stuff. She has problems
with prepping fresh foods, which I understand. Even though all this
food is free to me, I finally could stand it no longer.

Despite my very fixed income, I've started buying my own real food and
cooking again from scratch. Cooked up a pot of beans n hocks,
Thur. A batch of fried rice on Tue. I'm making minestrone from
scratch, tonight. Will cook up a mess o' fresh greens n hocks on Tue.
It's simple fare, nothing fancy, but lordy oh lordy, what a
difference!

nb

"notbob" wrote
> cshenk wrote:

>> My family happens to like scratch cooking......

> I never knew how much better it was till now. Mom has plenty of food.
> So much so, even some of the dry goods have aged beyond edible. She
> lives on canned goods, frozen veggies, tv dinners, and boxed instant
> everything and has multiple pantries of the stuff. She has problems
> with prepping fresh foods, which I understand. Even though all this
> food is free to me, I finally could stand it no longer.

Grin, my mom is 78. Lovely woman and if she has any failing at all, it's
that she's not much of a cook. Kinda hard for her to start now too. She
hasnt multiple pantries of that stuff, but she normally has lots of it.

> Despite my very fixed income, I've started buying my own real food and
> cooking again from scratch. Cooked up a pot of beans n hocks,
> Thur. A batch of fried rice on Tue. I'm making minestrone from
> scratch, tonight. Will cook up a mess o' fresh greens n hocks on Tue.
> It's simple fare, nothing fancy, but lordy oh lordy, what a
> difference!

Note the cost going down as you get better at this. Take it easy and make
simple. Bacon or sausage fat on cabbage can be a delight!

cshenk wrote:
> "Gloria P" wrote
>
>> I would show Scrooge what it's like to live on a starvation
>> budget/diet or perhaps take Koko's path depending on all the
>> circumstances.
>>
>> I do think that many of us could live on a less expensive food budget
>> if we had to.
>
> Smile, it's all relative. My family happens to like scratch cooking and
> as we all know, that's less cost.
>


I agree, but even scratch cooking can have expensive ingredients
depending on how "gourmet" (aka fancy) you get. Some of the meal menus
folks post on rfc sound like they are in that category.

gloria p

"Gloria P" wrote
> cshenk wrote:

>>> I do think that many of us could live on a less expensive food budget if
>>> we had to.
>>
>> Smile, it's all relative. My family happens to like scratch cooking and
>> as we all know, that's less cost.

> I agree, but even scratch cooking can have expensive ingredients depending
> on how "gourmet" (aka fancy) you get. Some of the meal menus
> folks post on rfc sound like they are in that category.

True but do mine? Yes I do use the expensive sesame oils, but at a few drops
a serving, it's 5cents if that.

Folks tend to post the fancy meals. I tend to post 'what did i just do'.
You won't see shallots, but you may see shiitake. We might pig out on
brussel sprouts and carrot soup one day, and the other will be cherrystone
clams and mushrooms.

The only surity here, is it will vary, almost always come with rice, and
have 2 or more veggies for dinner.

In article >,
Gloria P > wrote:

> cshenk wrote:
> > "Gloria P" wrote
> >
> >> I would show Scrooge what it's like to live on a starvation
> >> budget/diet or perhaps take Koko's path depending on all the
> >> circumstances.
> >>
> >> I do think that many of us could live on a less expensive food budget
> >> if we had to.
> >
> > Smile, it's all relative. My family happens to like scratch cooking and
> > as we all know, that's less cost.
> >
>
>
> I agree, but even scratch cooking can have expensive ingredients
> depending on how "gourmet" (aka fancy) you get. Some of the meal menus
> folks post on rfc sound like they are in that category.
>
> gloria p

We do that for birthdays. <g>
And it's still cheaper than going out to eat!
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein


Subscribe:

Gloria P wrote:
>cshenk wrote:
>> "Gloria P" wrote
>>
>>> I would show Scrooge what it's like to live on a starvation
>>> budget/diet or perhaps take Koko's path depending on all the
>>> circumstances.
>>>
>>> I do think that many of us could live on a less expensive food budget
>>> if we had to.
>>
>> Smile, it's all relative. My family happens to like scratch cooking and
>> as we all know, that's less cost.
>>
>
>
>I agree, but even scratch cooking can have expensive ingredients
>depending on how "gourmet" (aka fancy) you get. Some of the meal menus
>folks post on rfc sound like they are in that category.
>
>
Fancy schmancy is the easiest kind of cooking, when you never have to
show anyone.

Tonight's dinner was fried kielbasa with beans (Hillshire Farms and
generic canned red beans in chili sauce), anyone wants I can post a
pic of the fancy schmancy ingredients... didn't really think so.

In article >,
Gloria P > wrote:

> koko wrote:
> > On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:46:24 -0400, The Cook >
> > wrote:
> >
> >> On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:23:46 -0600, Christine Dabney
> >> > wrote:
> >>
> >>> Heya folks,
> >>>
> >>> I just found out, via various food blogs, that last week was Hunger
> >>> Challenge week. Whereby folks would live on a food stamp budget, of
> >>> $4/day. Which equals out to $28/week.
> > snippage
> >
> >> I can remember a friend whose husband gave her the grocery money each
> >> week. It seemed that she could never stock up on sale items. If I
> >> were on that kind of leash I would try to show Scrooge how much better
> >> I could do If I had at least one month's money at a time.
> >
> > If I were on that kind of a leash, I would show Scrooge how much
> > better I could do without him.
> > As a matter of fact at one time I was, and did.
> >
> > koko
> > --
>
>
> I would show Scrooge what it's like to live on a starvation budget/diet
> or perhaps take Koko's path depending on all the circumstances.
>
> I do think that many of us could live on a less expensive food budget if
> we had to.
>
> gloria p

It's possible to live entirely on rice, beans, and tortillas...
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein


Subscribe:

On 2009-09-27, Omelet > wrote:

> It's possible to live entirely on rice, beans, and tortillas...

Not quite

Toss the rice and substitute beer and this will work. I did it.
Lost 50 lbs in 9 mos.

nb

In article >,
notbob > wrote:

> On 2009-09-27, Omelet > wrote:
>
> > It's possible to live entirely on rice, beans, and tortillas...
>
> Not quite
>
> Toss the rice and substitute beer and this will work. I did it.
> Lost 50 lbs in 9 mos.
>
> nb

Beans and beer?

Explosive combination... <g>
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein


Subscribe:

In article >,
koko > wrote:

> On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:46:24 -0400, The Cook >
> wrote:
>
> >On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:23:46 -0600, Christine Dabney
> > wrote:
> >
> >>Heya folks,
> >>
> >>I just found out, via various food blogs, that last week was Hunger
> >>Challenge week. Whereby folks would live on a food stamp budget, of
> >>$4/day. Which equals out to $28/week.
> snippage
>
> >I can remember a friend whose husband gave her the grocery money each
> >week. It seemed that she could never stock up on sale items. If I
> >were on that kind of leash I would try to show Scrooge how much better
> >I could do If I had at least one month's money at a time.
>
> If I were on that kind of a leash, I would show Scrooge how much
> better I could do without him.
> As a matter of fact at one time I was, and did.
>
> koko

Well said Koko! I was thinking the same thing...
She needs a job and a separate checking account if nothing else!
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein


Subscribe:

On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:23:05 -0700, koko wrote:

> On Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:46:24 -0400, The Cook >
> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:23:46 -0600, Christine Dabney
> wrote:
>>
>>>Heya folks,
>>>
>>>I just found out, via various food blogs, that last week was Hunger
>>>Challenge week. Whereby folks would live on a food stamp budget, of
>>>$4/day. Which equals out to $28/week.
> snippage
>
>>I can remember a friend whose husband gave her the grocery money each
>>week. It seemed that she could never stock up on sale items. If I
>>were on that kind of leash I would try to show Scrooge how much better
>>I could do If I had at least one month's money at a time.
>
> If I were on that kind of a leash, I would show Scrooge how much
> better I could do without him.
> As a matter of fact at one time I was, and did.
>
> koko

where did they find his battered corpse?

your pal,
blake

I prefer organic meats. Most of the over the counter meats are not good
for you, as they contain hormones and antibiotics. My grandfather on my
mother's side was a rancher. He died in 1974 and refused to use the
hormones, as he knew even at that time that they hurt little girls. They
actually make them develop earlier. And IMHO - I think it is why so many
men are now on Viagra.


--
Dymphna
Message origin: www.TRAVEL.com