Week 2 update and a great website for meal planning

Well, I have made it through almost 2 weeks of trying to feed my family on a food stamp budget.  We have eaten out a few times and STILL MANAGED to stay within the weekly amount you would get for food stamps-- if you divide the average monthly amount by 4 for a family of 4.We ate all whole grain breads and cereals and plenty of fruits and vegetables.  I haven't even been doing well at planning my meals this week and it was still possible.

I also was introduced to a GREAT resource for working moms and dads this week.  Of course there is a subscription fee but I think that the small cost would be worth the time it could save you.  A co-worker of mine uses emeals.com for her weekly menus.  THEY PLAN THE MEALS FOR YOU!  They send you the recipes and a grocery list for the week! AND, they give you the choice of what types of meals you would like-low-fat, low-carb, clean eating, classic, gluten free,  even paleo for those of you on that kick!  They will even give you an approximate cost for some grocery stores which appears for many of the meal plans to be about 80-90 dollars per week! If you feel like you don't have time to figure out what to cook, make your list, grocery shop and fit in everything else in your life, you might want to check it out. I am still debating whether I am going to subscribe but I definitely think it is worth consideration.  I'll let you know my decision.

I will also keep you posted on my budget-Steeler game tomorrow so I am not sure I can stick to it!

Grocery Trip and misc spending :)

So I headed to the grocery store for meal items including fruits and veggies for my meals and found some great deals. My store total was 33.89-Score!!! Unfortunately I did terribly with my lunches this week and will ultimately have spent 12 dollars extra for the week on my lunch. Overall I am doing well though. The average amount for SNAP participants is about 500 a month so I still have money to play with. I am trying to save some so I can make some fun snacks for Halloween. I'll write more after my next store trip!

Day 1 Food stamp challenge

So today was an easy way to start- grab leftover pork from my fridge and 2.39 pack of whole grain buns and some BBQ sauce and I made some sandwiches with veggies I had in the fridge. We also had some macaroni I had in the pantry that I bought on sale months ago.

I really should have gone to the grocery store but I figured if I was going to eat on a budget I should probably not waste food :)

It also gave me a little extra time to hang out with my girls after work and Exercise.

Hopefully the rest of the month is as simple as today!

Eating on a SNAP (food stamp) budget!

With the election approaching soon, we all know a big part of the debate is the economy and as part of that "entitlement" programs. I used to work at a food bank and truly understand the issue of food insecurity. I have seen a man working 3 jobs not have enough to feed his family due to medical bills as his family did not have health insurance. On the other hand, I also cringe when I see people buy Mt Dew and chips with their food stamps.

Instead of judging, I decided that starting Monday I am going to see how hard or easy it is to feed my family (hopefully healthfully) on the avg SNAP (food stamp) benefit for the next month. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

FYI I am not going to include school lunch as if I were getting food stamps I would get free lunches for my kids too :)