A Cyclist on Food Stamps for a Week!
Happy 2013! I can't think of a better way to kick off the new year than to focus myself on the Food Stamp Challenge for a week. Shopping day has arrived, and I headed to Bottom Dollar Food with my $30 budget. I figured with a name like Bottom Dollar, they must be onto something, and I enjoy their piglet mascot.
I went to the Bottom Dollar Foods with a small but not concrete plan. I knew types of food I wanted. On my list were budget staples, but also things I enjoy to eat every day. Peanut butter, eggs, apples, bananas, potatoes, rice, beans, oatmeal, tuna fish. By now you may have realized that I am a also vegetarian (I eat fish though). I have been raised this way, and as an athlete am pretty good an making sure I get the nutritional values I need sans meat. I must admit, this challenge may be a little easier on me than others. I generally use portion control and weigh my food. I eat pretty bland staples every day like oatmeal, potatoes, beans (I will miss my Greek Yogurt though!) I never go out for lunch, and rarely get dinner out. I also prep a lot in order to make sure my breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks are available and premade. I think the biggest thing in my end purchase that I don't usually eat is rice. I bought it because I got nervous and felt like I needed it because everyone kept preaching 'rice and beans!' to me.
Everything that I will be eating this week is from Bottom Dollar Foods, excepts for oatmeal from Shoprite, which was a steal.
Cycling: I am lucky that I was off work the past two days, so got some of my bigger rides out of the way. These longer rides usually make me more ravenous, where I find myself trying to eat the entire contents of my fridge. Stay tuned this week to see how I fare juggling the food I purchased with my workout routine. I feel confident with my grub, and that I will be able to use the tortillas, pancakes, oatmeal, peanut butter, and granola bars to fuel me during rides.
Bottom Dollar Foods: $24.26
ShopRite: $1.99 (OAMEAL!)
Total Spent: $26.25Money Left: $3.74 - I got really nervous and wanted to have some change left, I think this will end up as coffee money
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| From a week of Holiday Cookies ... |
Chewy Granola Bars: $1.58 (for riding or a snack before the gym or at the office)
12 whole wheat tortillas: $3.16
2 bags of brown rice $1.54
2 cans of tuna: $1.28
2 cans of black beans $1.90
on sale Can of Corn $.49
on sale Can of Corn $.49
Chick Peas, 3 cans: $1.90 (I love chick peas!)
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| ...To $30/week (missing oatmeal) |
Can of sweet potatoes (this was cheaper than the fresh) $1.79
6 Bananas $1.18
3 Apples $2.26 (a bit of a splurge, but I have been on an apple kick lately)
Pancake mix $.69 (looking back I should have gotten another of these, only add water)
Eggs came up as $.81 and $.31, I am not sure what happened there, but I got 6. I eat a lot of eggs so these will go quick.
Popcorn: $2.18 (this was one of my splurges but is a great snack for lunch and night time)
Peanut Butter: $2.29.
Oatmeal $1.99
Things I wanted but couldn't get:
-Spaghetti Squash: I really wanted this Squash, but in the end couldn't make him work.
-More fresh fruit
-Healthier items.
-Coffee k cups and hot chocolate
Splurges:
Peanut Butter, Apples, Microwave Popcorn. I made the cashier ring up my total before these items were added, they were my splurges. We just bought a microwave for our house for the first time, and I have been craving microwave popcorn forever, so I am glad it made the cut. I think the peanut butter will be helpful to add to oatmeal, pancake batter, and in tortillas as a sandwich. I was bummed by how expensive the apples were and only got three, but I cut them up and baked them, so they will last me a few days as a topping in my oatmeal.
The shopping experience:
There was a lot more math involved than I was ready for. I kept having to stop and take out my calculator and note pad to make sure I was on the right track and within budget. I also had to think a lot more about actual meals, and what they are going to look like. There is no point buying a stand alone item, you want to be able to incorporate it into a meal. For example, if I buy peanut butter but have nothing to put it on or in, it doesn't really make sense.
Noticeable:
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| Wheat vs. White |
- Wheat bread is way more expensive than white, so I stuck with whole wheat tortillas. Tortillas were about the same in price as the whole wheat bread, but more versatile in meals.
- Cereal is a bank buster.
- It is easy when you are only thinking about your diet, but if you have to shop for others, I feel like some decisions are harder to make. I can go with out peanut butter, but could a kid if that is their favorite food?
- You have to think a lot when shopping! It is no longer you stomach driving you, it is your income and how far you can stretch it.
- A little extra work in cooking and prep in the kitchen can save you a substantial amount.
- I only have one thing than needs to be in the fridge, eggs, and a lot of non-perishables.
-Now is the time to really pay attention when you cook. Burnt food is wasted food that you can't get back. Same goes for your dog trying to steal one of your precious apples. (While writing this post I definitely got some rice stuck to a pan, an dropped chick peas on the floor!)
Problems... COFFEE!
I still haven't figured coffee out. I am hoping that there is coffee brewing at work when I get there tomorrow.
Stay Tuned. With Breakfast and Lunch ready to go for tomorrow, I am going to pay attention to the caloric intake of foods, run in with foods I want but cant have, and what I end up doing about my caffeine problem. I'll report back!
This is cool. Is it $30 a person, or $30 a family? A few suggestions:
ReplyDeleteDried beans instead of canned. Wayyyyy cheaper and less/no sodium.
Instead of buying pancake mix, buy flour. I'm guessing you could count baking soda, baking powder, yeast, and oil as 'free' items as those will all last months. This also adds a lot of variety to what you could make. You could make waffles, bread, biscuits, pie crusts, etc instead of just pancakes.
No milk (or cheese)? It's relatively expensive, but a gallon of milk goes a long ways in making meals (I don't drink milk straight anymore). Same thing with cheese ($3 a pound generally at Aldi)
Popcorn - Kernels are much cheaper and much healthier - just cook them in a large pot with some oil if you don't have a dedicated popper.
I'm pretty sure you can buy certain frozen fish cheaper than canned tuna.
Frozen veggies are usually very inexpensive (usually cheaper than canned). Not a lot of calories, but a lot of vitamins and minerals.
A bread machine is an added up front cost, but saves a lot of money in the long run and you never have to worry about running out or having too much bread and it going stale. You can make it by hand as well, but it's a lot more effort. Fresh bread is so much better than sandwich wheat/white bread!
If you really want to skimp, forget buying small bags of brown rice and buy giant 20+ pound bags of white rice. Not as healthy, and it might not fit into the one week challenge aspect that you're trying to test out, but it's definitely cheaper on a per-week basis than purchasing small 1-2 pound bags of rice.
Also, I've only been to Bottom Dollar once (last week!) and it did seem very comparable to Aldi, but certain items may be cheaper at Aldi - between the two stores I'm sure you would find the cheapest prices on the things you would purchase with your restricted budget. It's worth checking out. There's one in Norristown in the shopping center at DeKalb Pike and Germantown Pike. There's also one in Maple Shade.
Also, what about potatoes and onions? Those are both cheap staples of many meals and can be used for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
ReplyDeleteHey Brett! I figures I would hear form you here :) The Bottom Dollar is right by my house, next to the Cherry Hill Mall. I am happy for your feedback. To answer a few of your questions/comments...
ReplyDelete-I don't generally eat cheese or milk. I use half and half in coffee and almond milk if I need it for a smoothie. I am not a cereal person. I figured since these aren't staples in my diet, no need to spend money on them. I may be cheating a little, but am still taking all of my vitamins.
- Many of your suggestions about the dry food and popcorn are right on, and if I were to be eating like this for more than one week it would make more sense to buy dry beans and larger bags of rice, as they are cheaper per pound. However, I would have to blow half of my budget to buy that big bag of rice, even though in the end it is cheaper. This is one of the issues with just doing this for a week, I could save more money in the long term and stretch my budget more if I were to do this for a month.
-Baking makes sense, but I don't think I can use any of my older products like flour, only condiments.
- I am not sure about the fish, I didn't look into it....
-Bread making. I hadn't thought of this. I do have a bread maker. Good suggestion.
Thanks Brett!
Hey Victoria, it's great that you are trying this challenge. It seems like you're getting a bit of insight into some of the issues many low-income people face when it comes to food access (mainly quality).
ReplyDeleteOne thing to keep in mind is that you have much easier access to food. BDF is right by your house. If it wasn't, you have access to a car. There are many people in North Philly who have neither. Imagine trying to carry your groceries on the bus for a half-hour. It's no wonder why people just resort to what's easiest to obtain.
Best of luck through the rest of the week. I'll be interested to keep reading your posts.
All the best,
Javier