The Beginning

For years and years and years I have been saying that it’s healthier and less expensive (nevermind more fun/more satisfying/tastier) to cook from scratch and that even those on a very low income can (and should) cook at home rather than eat fast food or buy prepared meals.

I have started this blog to put my ideas to the test. My first challenge is: can I survive, or rather, cook and eat well for a month, on a very restricted SNAP budget?

A little bit about my eating habits/food quirks:

I grew up in NYC where there were no fast food “restaurants” (the first McDonald's opened a few months after I left for college). By the time I got to the hippyland of Boulder, CO, I had already been a vegetarian for four years and intended to stay one: McDonald's and its ilk held absolutely no allure for me and although there was probably fast food in my neighborhood I don’t recall seeing any. Additionally, I grew up in a household where my my 9-5 working mother cooked everything from scratch and where an 8-ounce glass bottle of Coke was a rare treat that pleased my two brothers but positively disgusted me. I had nothing against soda philosophically: I just hated the syrupy fizzy-ness of it and averaged a glass of ginger ale once a year (usually because my grandmother suggested it as a remedy for an upset stomach). Like my mother, I have cooked everything from scratch my entire adult life and literally never buy a prepared meal. I love to eat out but am no longer a vegetarian. I think nothing of eating a whole head of roasted cauliflower for dinner. I like plain, unflavored yogurt but I also like very highly flavored, often spicy food. I still don't like soda, gave up refined sugar just over two years ago (as a way to ward off migraines) and I don't drink alcohol (again, migraines). I share all this to let you know that I don’t have a lot of “bad” habits I have to give up that might present a problem for anyone with a more conventional American diet. 

Additionally I have written a lot of cookbooks, most of which you can see here and am now the Founder/President of ChopChop Kids www.chopchopmag.org.

The first seven ChopChop covers.

Basically, I think about, shop, cook, eat and write about food for a living.

SNAP and My Challenge:
SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly Food Stamps, has a long, complicated and interesting history, which you can read about here but briefly, it's purpose is to help low-income individuals and families buy enough food to stay healthy. Eligibility is primarily based on income and expenses. SNAP benefits are meant to be used for food and seeds/plants to grow food. It is not supposed to be used for ready-to-eat foods, ready-to-heat foods, pet food, non-food items, vitamins, alcohol, tobacco, etc..

My friend Verdi challenged me to live on a SNAP budget. He’d been reading about SNAP and came to the same conclusion that I had: that you could cook and eat well on the money I would get. Verdi is an accountant and probably thinks about numbers much of the time, but he is also a serious and attentive cook. 

Neither of us had heard of the SNAP Challenge, which varies a bit from state to state and organization to organization but is basically a week -long challenge with these rules: spend $30- $45 per week for food and beverages (the amount depends upon what state you live in); keep track of all expenses and all meals; if you eat out, take it out of your SNAP budget; and don’t eat anything already in your pantry or refrigerator (excluding spices and condiments).

I calculated my SNAP benefit and for the sake of my challenge, considered myself a person with no income and no expenses. My amount, according to the calculator, is $200./month. Unlike the official SNAP challenge, I made my own rules: I could use up what was in my fridge (it just didn’t seem right to throw it all away or let it rot), but no spices or condiments from my pantry and refrigerator other than salt, pepper and three spices (curry powder, basil and red pepper flakes). 

The day before I started I had a dinner party where I used up every possible perishable ingredient I had in my fridge.

Here is what was left in my fridge:

10 large eggs

a few leaves spinach

1 16 ounce container Cabot cottage cheese

1 lemon

½ quart plain low fat Stonyfield yogurt

½ head purple cabbage

1 bunch flat leaf parsley

small bit of Dijon mustard

6 apples 

6 radishes

½ cooked chicken breast (from the night before)

1 Spanish onion

1 head garlic

about ¼ cup wheat germ

about ¼- 1/3 cup ground Starbucks decaf coffee (enough for 4-5 cups?)
1/2 can anchovies
Tiny bit of Parmesan cheese (maybe 2 ounces?)

Here is what I purchased at Shaw's Market on Day 1:

Goya lentils $1.99/lb

4 cans Bumble Bee white tuna in water $5.00 on sale

8 ounces Cabot cheddar cheese $2.99 on sale (Had seen the day before for $2.74 at Target not on sale)

1 pound ground turkey $5.29

1 bunch celery $2.49

3 pounds carrots $2.99

1 head cauliflower $3.99

1 Spanish onion $.92

Simply Smart milk $3.49 on sale

Awake tea bags 20 for $3.00 on sale

2 boxes chicken stock ($2.99 each)  $5.98

1 bottle (17 oz) olive oil $5.49 on sale

Total=$43.62

I brought a shopping list with me to the grocery store- not really thinking about meals but rather about the kinds of foods I thought I should be eating. I was most worried about getting enough protein.

When thinking about what I am going to cook, and since most flavor is amplified by spices, condiments, all the little things I don't have access to, I am already frustrated and worried that everything I eat will be bland.

About olive oil:

Although olive oil is more expensive than canola or vegetable oil, it's healthier and more flavorful so I go with olive oil, particularly because I think I'm going to eat lots of salads. It’s clear I can only buy the smallest bottle, which is of course the most expensive per ounce.My frustration continues: some bottles/ cans are priced by the quart, others by the pound, still others by the gallon. I can do the math but resent that I have to and what if I couldn’t do it or didn’t understand? By law, it should be consistent. Also, there’s good olive oil on sale by the gallon. It's only $20., which is a fantastic deal, ½ price, but I can't blow such a large percentage of my budget to take advantage of the savings. Again, this seems crazy: you have to have money to to save money. I end up buying the smallest bottle of the store brand, which is the best deal. 

The can on the right is pure olive oil and the can on the left is extra 
virgin and though the pic I took doesn't show it, it's $19.99.

I pretty much stick to my list but don’t buy any of the almond butter options. I love almond butter and think it will be a great addition to my diet mostly for snacks but don't for two reasons: 1) it's way too expensive and 2) it has sugar in it. Why in the world does almond butter need sugar? 

I go the register having calculated that I’ve spent about $35.00 with the assurance that I’ll be back later in the week for more. Wrong. My actual total is $43.62. I had been thinking that my budget was $50/wk but I ridiculously just realize that one month is not 4 weeks but rather 4 1/2. My budget is therefore $44.44. I don’t feel I have to stick exactly to that for my first shop because I’m assuming the beginning is going to the most expensive. $200/month /31 days= $6.45/day. Yikes.

Recipe: Lacey Edged Fried Eggs

This is the only way I like fried eggs so I never eat them in restaurants. It's helpful if you have a pan small enough to just accommodate the two eggs. I am a big fan of cast iron, especially this one but also relatively easy to find at yard sales and thrift shops). Common wisdom is that when you cook eggs over high heat they get rubbery although I have never found that to be the case.

Yield: one serving 

2 large eggs

1 – 2 teaspoons olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper

Crack the eggs into a small bowl or glass.

Place a small skillet on the stove and set the heat to high. When it is hot, add the oil. Quickly add the eggs and cook until the edges are lacey and brown, 4-5 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the eggs over (it will likely have formed into one piece), lower the heat to medium low and cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks are intact but not solid, about 2 minutes.  Serve right away. 

After breakfast I make lentil soup and prep different items I've purchased. I cut the cheddar cheese into the portion size stated on the wrapper (1 ounce) so that it will last. I mostly eat cheese as a snack rather than as an ingredient and what is considered a portion size is an amount so small to me I would normally eat it without giving it a thought at all. This is like being on a diet on top of everything else. I can't begin to imagine how awful and scary this must be if it's your real life. 

I cut the cheddar cheese into portion sizes so that it will last. 

Recipe: Lentil Soup 

If you have raw rice or barley add them at the beginning.

If you have leftover rice, barley, potatoes, chicken or beef add them just before refrigerating.

If you have any fresh herb, especially cilantro, basil or parsley, add them just before serving.

Yield: about 14 cups

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, sliced, diced or chopped

2 carrots, sliced, diced or chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 pound lentils, rinsed and picked over for stones

8 cups chicken stock

2- 4 cups water

Handful spinach

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (or vinegar) 

Kosher salt and black pepper

Place a soup pot on the stove and set the heat to medium. When it is hot, add the oil. Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, curry powder and basil and cook until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes. Add the lentils and the chicken stock and bring to a boil. 

Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook one hour. Add the additional water as necessary. 

Remove the cover and cook another hour. 

Add the spinach. Cover and refrigerate at least overnight and up to five days. 

Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper just before serving. 

If you have the containers and the foresight, divide into portions (probably 7) and freeze some of them. 

Day 1 Meals: 
Breakfast: Coffee w/milk; ½ cup yogurt with 1 apple, shredded
Lunch: 2 Lacey Edged Fried Eggs

Snack: 1 carrot and 1 ounce cheddar cheese

Dinner: Turkey burger (1/4 #), 2 large carrots, roasted
Snack: Apple

I delayed eating dinner as long as I could so I wouldn’t go to bed hungry.