In Your Words: I Don't Like This Feeling

Posted by Jessica

I think I'm getting tired of the non variety. I'm also missing my usually snacks throughout the day.  After every meal, I can't wait for the next meal. I don't like this feeling.     One thing I've noticed: I've been so focused on making sure I have enough food for each meal, that I haven't been paying attention to the My Plate guidelines. I am definitely eating more vegetables than usual, but I really would like to focus the guidelines these last couple of days.   And....

Bread. I miss bread.  I didn't buy any bread. Bread, I miss bread.....

I had a meeting on Tuesday night and after the meeting we went to a coffee shop in New London....I sooo wanted to cheat and buy something  because I was craving something sweet.   I looked down into my purse and  had forgotten my wallet. (Not on purpose)  I I think I might have bought something anyway if I did have my wallet. My friend treated me for a hot chocolate.  

Can I tell you please....it was AMAZING.  I felt like it quenched a longing, craving and thirst in my body. I did not buy any dairy during my shopping trip.  As I drank, it felt like my body needed the nutrients from the milk.  I felt so satisfied, that I didn't even eat dinner that night.  I'm still dreaming about that hot chocolate.  

In Your Words: Scarcity Is Taking a Toll

Posted by Amy

Tuesday Menu

Breakfast: Smoothie with blueberries, banana and almond milk, whole wheat toast with butter, coffee (!!!)

Lunch: Peanut butter on whole wheat, carrots

Snack: Apple & Raisins

Dinner: Black bean soup and quesadillas made with corn tortillas, leftover chicken & black beans, cheese and a little bit of salsa I had in the fridge. 

Still looking for a little sweet treat at night but shared some cereal with my son to fill that empty spot. I think the experience is really taking a toll on my husband who is starting to rethink his decision to participate. 

Wednesday's Menu (not such a great day!)

Breakfast: dry cereal I shared with my son.  I'm off work on Wednesdays so we go to the library for Story hour and today there was a party after.  I threw down a blueberry muffin from the party on my way to the store. 

Lunch: just snacked on a few things around the house but had an appointment so was heading out the door.  At this point I am looking for a little more freedom in my choices.  I'm looking at the fridge and it looks pretty scarce, although I do have plenty of staples. 

Dinner: on the go, went to the Zoo with friends to see the Pumpking Spectacular and they picked up pizza we ate in the car. 

Wednesday was ideal for this experience, but I do know that most SNAP recipients still get to eat out or splurge on other items because of additional monies they have.  In reality if my family did receive SNAP we would also benefit from WIC benefits and that would allow for more healthy choices in the household.  So today as I eat my lunch of leftovers and wish I had something other than carrots as a snack I am glad we are coming to an end.  

Sharing the SNAP Experience: Days 2 & 3, To Live and To Eat

Posted by Genevieve

“Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” John Lennon

This is what I’ve been telling myself these past two days. Life happened to me (it’s so hard sticking to dinner plans!) I’ve noticed this theme with others doing the SNAP Experience too. I need to cherish free time in the kitchen to do a lot of bulk preparation and freeze meals. I’m inspired to start doing this in the future. For two nights in a row now, I put off making a stew over last minute plans. On Day 2 an old friend from college was in town and offered to buy me dinner (can’t say no to that!) and Day 3 left me with less time than I thought to pull something together. Anyhow, here’s what I’ve been eating and prepping:

Day 2

Breakfast: Rolled oats with 1/2 an apple, flax seeds, peanut butter, and cinnamon. Prep time: 5 min

Lunch: Leftover Shepherd’s Pie (a la split pea)

Dinner: Outing with an old friend (I had intended to make Moroccan stew, and soaked some chickpeas overnight) Then I came home and cooked those chickpeas (20 min) because I needed something for lunch!

Day 3

Breakfast: Rye toast topped with peanut butter, 1 banana, and cinnamon. Prep time: 5 min

Lunch: Spicy Chickpea & Tuna Salad with rye bread (chickpeas, ½ can tuna, chopped kale, sliced carrot, flax seeds, hot sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, green onion, salt and pepper) Prep time: 7 min

Dinner: (had planned on making stew but instead…) quickly threw together a Sweet Potato Frittata. (I did this without the milk, cheese, or sunflower seeds. I also didn’t do all that baking in the oven stuff and made a less pretty but quicker version). Prep time: 10-15 min

I’d like to note how IMPRESSED I am with these chickpeas. I poured the whole pound of dried chickpeas in a bowl of water overnight. Then the next day just boiled them for 20 minutes and they were done! Now I have 2 lbs of chickpeas, more than I know to do with, all for only $1.79. I decided to freeze some of it. How could I ever pay $1.60 again for such a measly amount of chickpeas in a can?

Overall, planning is the name of the game, but this planning doesn’t leave much room for breathing. It’s hard to have a backup plan with $32.56 in groceries (eggs luckily came to the rescue in the end… cheap cheap). 

In Your Words: Day 1 (Not so bad!)

Posted by Amy

I agree with the other bloggers that this experience has required a little more planning and creativity with menu ideas. Before heading out on my grocery trip I thought more about the staples I knew we used regularly and other items that we could stretch through the week and items that complimented them.  Like I said before I had to eliminate my second trip to a larger grocery store where I had more produce on my list, this included kale, cauliflower, grapes and bibb lettuce for my lettuce wraps later in the week.

First day, not so bad!  I made a roaster chicken in the crockpot along with mashed sweet potatoes and roasted acorn squash.  Some greens would have gone well here, but I'm saving them for later in the week.  Crockpot chicken is so moist and delicious and it seems the boys of the household also agreed.  My two year old wanted seconds and I think my husband was working on his 3rd portion when I reminded him of the experience and how my plan was to stretch the leftover chicken for the week.  I do have ground turkey in the freezer I bought but I'm holding off on using it in hopes that the $2.68 it cost could be used for back up.  I have to admit that for a family of 3 $81 seems to be managable thus far.  I couldn't imagine $32.59 for an individual.

Menu for Monday

Breakfast: small homemade vegan banana muffin (leftover from last week) coffee with small amount of creamer apple (local farmer)

Lunch:  peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread leftover acorn squash from dinner last night

Snack: homemade trail mix-raisins, peanuts and popcorn (popped on stove top)

Dinner: chicken fajitas with onion and green peppers (leftover chicken from last night) black beans corn tortillas shredded cheese The one thing I do seem to be missing is something sweet after dinner.  We don't typically have dessert but I often enjoy a cup of coffee at night.  I think I'm quickly learning that you start to pay more attention to eating and wanting more to eat when you are concerned about having enough food.

News: The SNAP Experience on Public Radio

On Monday, WSHU Public Radio featured Rep Joe Courtney and his family going through the SNAP Experience! If you missed the story, you can listen to it on the WSHU website: 

http://www.wshu.org/news/story.php?ID=9198