Saturday, September 19, 2015

SNAP Challenege Day 5 in Review

In Illinois, over 200,000 seniors are using ‪#‎SNAP‬. However, 3 out of 5 seniors who qualify for SNAP do not participate, and 44,983 seniors in Suburban Cook County are food insecure.



As we come to the final day of the challenge I realize that 5 days is not nearly enough time to truly experience what it would be like to live on $4 a day.  What has been an eye opening and fun experience for my family and I is everyday life for someone living on SNAP dollars day in and day out.  Tomorrow we will go back to eating whatever we want whereas families that are truly food insecure may be wondering if their SNAP dollars will stretch to the end of the month.  

How can we help?  Getting the word out there that SNAP dollar amounts may not be enough is certainly a start.  Donating food to your local food pantry, bringing a meal to a family in need or donating time to organize a food drive are just a few ideas.

Day 5:

Breakfast- Coffee (splenda/ half & half), Banana Pancakes (see recipe below).



Lunch- Peanut butter and banana sandwich on homemade bread, glass of skim milk

Snack- Homemade salsa (chopped onions, tomatoes, green peppers) with baked tortilla chips

Dinner- Fritata (eggs baked with tomatoes, onions, green peppers and a little half & half) with homemade bread.



Banana Pancakes- 1/4 cup cooked oatmeal, 2 tbsp milk, 1 egg, 2 tbsp flour.  Mix all items together and cook like a pancake.  I have also made a gluten free version using just 2 eggs and 1 mashed banana.  Note- This may seem odd but I am not a big syrup fan, in fact I eat most of my pancake/waffle/french toast items plain.  This worked for the SNAP challenge since I didn't budget for any syrup.

Grains- 6 servings
Fruit/Vegetable- 5 servings
Protein- 3 servings
Dairy- 2 servings



What I Learned Today:

- I am looking forward to eating whatever I want tomorrow

FRUGAL TIP OF THE DAY:

Finding an item on sale is great!  Not using all of that item and throwing it away is not.  I can usually go through a gallon of milk pretty easily if I am eating cereal.  Since this week oatmeal was my go-to breakfast I have more milk left than I had planned for.
Looking for a way to use up leftover milk?  Try one of these tips!

- Freeze the milk in ice cube trays and use in smoothies
- Have bread and eggs?  Make a large batch of french toast, freeze and pop in the toaster for a quick and healthy breakfast
- Make instant pudding
- If the milk has not gone bad but is slightly sour use in recipes as buttermilk
- Milk actually freezes nicely and can be used later for baking. Freezing tends to make the fat separate from the milk once thawed, so stick with just using frozen milk in your cooking.

5 comments:

  1. I see you were able to make breakfast other than oatmeal. Frittata is a good idea. You've done well.

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