SNAP benefits the economy. SNAP can be a powerful source of economic stimulus. USDA research shows that for every $5 in new SNAP benefits, $9 of economic activity is generated. When families receive their benefits, they use them to purchase groceries and necessities for their family, which not only meets family food needs but also keeps local businesses running smoothly.
Day 3 brought about a few changes to my original plan, nothing extravagant just a few changes to keep things interesting.
Breakfast- Oatmeal (with peanut butter and sliced banana), Coffee (splenda and half & half)
Lunch- Salad (Romaine*, tomatoes**, 2 hard boiled eggs, leftover grilled chicken from Monday, onions, peppers, frozen corn and croutons made from leftover garlic bread). I used oil and pepper as a dressing.
Snack- Banana smoothie (1 frozen banana, skim milk and peanut butter blended)
Dinner- Broiled tilapia, lentils and onions, green beans and skim milk
*FINALLY finished the romaine from last week ($.33 portion)
** Tomato from our plant
Grains- 4 servings
Fruits/Vegetables- 9 servings
Protein- 4 servings
Dairy- 2 servings
What did I learn today?
- I am getting tired of oatmeal. I miss variety in my breakfast.
- The weekly ads changed today listing all of the awesome sales for the week to come. I love to stock up on things that are on sale. If I was dependent on SNAP for all of my food purchases and I was out of money for the month I would miss the sales and not be able to stock up.
- I miss baking. I love to bake! Baking is a way for me to use up brown bananas, milk that is going bad or to satisfy my sweet tooth. With a limited budget the other items needed to bake, butter, sugar, etc. would not be around.
- It can be fun to get creative with what you have! Instead of having a sandwich as planned for lunch I threw a bunch of items together and made a really delicious salad. Instead of wasting bananas that were going bad I froze them and made milk shakes!
FRUGAL TIP OF THE DAY:
Sales ads are your best friend when it comes to frugal meal planning! Each week stores advertise their sales of the week and often include "loss leaders", products that they sell for very little profit if any to get consumers into the store.
With a little planning you can stock up on items that are on sale and keep your grocery costs low.
Most items are on a 6-week cycle. For example last week my grocery store had peanut butter for $.99 which is a GREAT price and I love peanut butter. Knowing that I can go through about a jar a week and that it goes on sale for $.99 every 6 weeks I bought 6 jars to tide me over until the next sale.
Most items are on a 6-week cycle. For example last week my grocery store had peanut butter for $.99 which is a GREAT price and I love peanut butter. Knowing that I can go through about a jar a week and that it goes on sale for $.99 every 6 weeks I bought 6 jars to tide me over until the next sale.
Your meals look good though. . . took a lot of planning!
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy. Yes, there was a bit of planning but that extra hour at the beginning is saving me time over and over again. Having a meal plan allows me to know what I am making for meals each day and not having to think about it each time the next meal comes. The other nice thing about meal planning is that it can be repeated over and over. While I wouldn't want to make the same meals each week planning helps me to create a "database" if you will of go-to meals. When I can't think of what to make I go to one of my pre-planned old standbys :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment!
Hi fellas,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this wonderful article really!
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