Challenge Accepted: Eating on $28 for a Week

[Pages:4]PLAN .... Reduce your food expenses by planning before you shop. SHOP .... Get tips to find nutritious items and save at the grocery store. EAT .... Save time and money when eating out or at home.

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Buchanan County ISU Extension and Outreach 2600 Swan Lake Blvd., Suite A, Independence, IA 50644 (319) 334-7161 extension.iastate.edu/buchanan

Challenge Accepted: Eating on $28 for a Week

Occasionally I see articles on the news or social media about a politician or celebrity taking "the SNAP challenge." It sounds like a new reality show, but it's actually a fascinating process. During the SNAP challenge participants limit their food budget to what they would receive if they participated in SNAP (formerly known as food stamps). I've always been interested in people's motivations for doing this and the realizations they come to while trying to eat well on a very tight budget.

I coordinate two nutrition education programs for Iowa families who are trying to eat well and stick to their budget. The programs are called EFNEP and FNP. We help families build their knowledge and skills so they can make the most of limited food dollars. You can find more information about these programs on our website ().

I decided to turn my curiosity into action and take the challenge myself. As a single person, my budget for the week was approximately $28. SNAP is meant to be supplemental, but for many low-income families it is their primary source of food dollars so I limited myself to the $28 amount. My goal was to buy seven days' worth of healthy meals, snacks, and beverages for that price. I have spent several years working to understand the needs and desires of the families we serve and going into this I felt pretty confident that I had a good handle on what eating well on a budget was like.

I came to understand that the knowledge and skills we teach are vital, but knowing what to do and how to do it are not enough. Time became the most important piece of the puzzle for me. In order to stay within my budget and eat healthy, I had to commit significantly more time to planning my meals, shopping, and preparing food from scratch than I would typically do. I did this for a week and I recognize it doesn't compare to families who do it on a continuous basis. As I wrapped up my challenge, I reflected on the experience and a few realizations rose to the top for me.

1. Cooking is a critical skill. I could not have done this if I was dependent on

convenience foods. It's as simple as that. I had to cook and I had to get creative about meals. If I did not feel confident to prep food myself and make the most of ingredients, I would have gotten far less for my money. I had to stretch my more expensive ingredients like meat and vegetables with less expensive ones like brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and beans.

2. Shopping smart takes skill, time, and strategy. I started my shopping trip with a rough

plan for what I wanted to buy, but I had to stay flexible at the store as I saw prices and sales. I figured unit prices for items sold in different forms (fresh/frozen/canned) and calculated my total as I moved through the store.

3. Food nourishes our bodies, but it does more than that. It tends to be central to our

family traditions and a huge part of our routines and lifestyles. I did not go hungry during this challenge, but I did find myself fixated on the foods I could not afford and the things I couldn't do because of my limited

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For more information on nutrition and health, contact Cindy Baumgartner at cbaum@iastate.edu or (563) 927-4201

BUCHANAN

budget. I worried about running out of food and found myself referencing my meal plan regularly to make sure I was covered for the rest of the week. I can see this stress being magnified if I was responsible for feeding a family.

The SNAP challenge is an eye-opening experience. As I planned, shopped and prepared meals on a limited income, I fully appreciated the resources we make available on the Spend Smart. Eat Smart website ( foodsavings).

Try the challenge yourself; you can find more information at the Feeding America website( hunger-action-month/snap-challenge.aspx).

Christine Hradek--State Nutrition Specialist

Meals in 30 Minutes Featuring Sweet and Sour Rice

I like to make "all in one meals" on the stove that are quick and healthy. The recipes I look for include three or four food groups all in one dish. Most of the time I have enough left over to take for lunch the next day. This saves me money and time!

Sweet and Sour Rice allows you to use one pan to cook the chicken, vegetables and sauce. The sweet and sour sauce is super easy and economical. I hate buying a sauce, using it once and then watching it spoil in the fridge. My family liked this sauce better than bottled!

The Spend Smart Eat Smart () web site has many more recipes that are quick and only use a pan or two so clean up is quick. Fiesta Skillet Dinner (another quick meal) is featured in our UKnow (? v=d_MraiRudnQ&feature=youtu.be) video series. Other quick meals on our website include ? Ham & Brown Rice (http:// extension.iastate.edu/foodsavings/recipes/ham-brown-rice) and Tasty Taco Salad ( foodsavings/recipes/tasty-taco-rice-salad).

Sweet and Sour Rice

Serving Size: 2/3 cup rice and 1 1/4 cup topping Serves: 5 Cost Per Serving: $1.26

Ingredients:

16 ounces chicken (skinless, boneless) 1 bag (16-ounce) frozen stir-fry veggies 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 2 cups instant uncooked brown rice 1/4 cup sweet and sour sauce (make your own or use prepared sauce)* 1 can (8-ounce) pineapple chunks with juice

Sauce:

1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/4 cup water 1 1/2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce 2 tablespoons vinegar 1 teaspoon ketchup

Instructions:

1. Cut chicken into 3/4 inch pieces. Wash your hands thoroughly. 2. Remove stir-fry veggies from freezer to thaw.

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3. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add chicken and cook until done. Remove chicken to a bowl and set aside. Set frying pan aside.

4. Heat water for rice to boiling. Add rice. Let rice cook according to the package directions. 5. Return skillet (used to cook chicken) to the stove. Add sauce ingredients. Cook over medium high heat. Bring to a boil,

stirring constantly, or add the prepared sweet and sour sauce. 6. Stir in the pineapple (un-drained), vegetables, and chicken. Reduce heat to medium low. Cook about 5 minutes. 7. Serve chicken and veggie mixture on top of the rice.

Substitution: You can substitute 2 cups cooked chicken in this recipe. Just add it at step six. Cook for about 5 minutes to heat it through.

Peggy Martin--Registered Dietitian

A Week in Someone Else's Shoes

Earlier I wrote about my experience with the SNAP Challenge. I limited my food budget to what I would receive if I participated in SNAP (formerly known as food stamps). I learned a lot and put my cooking and shopping skills to the test! Dr. Ruth Litchfield is a friend and colleague of mine who is a dietitian and teaches nutrition courses at our university. She took the SNAP challenge as well. I was fascinated to learn about her family's experience.

Ruth is married with two children. Her daughter is away at school and her son is at home, so her budget for the week was for three ($84). Ruth teaches college courses about nutrition including food assistance programs but has never "lived it" herself. This gave her the opportunity to practice some of what she teaches.

Given Ruth's extensive knowledge and background in nutrition, she was able to approach the week with a lot of strategy and planning. Ruth also had the advantage of being an experienced cook. So with all of this knowledge you might wonder what she chose to buy.

Breakfast

Ruth described breakfast as a challenge, "We are accustomed to more convenience items for breakfast including cereal and instant oatmeal." Those foods didn't fit in the overall budget so they stuck with toast, canister oatmeal, and pancakes.

Lunch

Typically Ruth packs sack lunches for everyone in her house. If her family actually qualified for SNAP, her son would receive free lunch at school. As part of this experience, he ate school lunch for the week. He enjoyed the lunch provided at school, but the weather threw the whole family a curve ball. Winter weather meant one day of no school, two early dismissals and one late start. Ruth described how this unexpected change created some problems with her plan. "That meant two additional noon meals at home that I had not planned on, if I had been really depending on the school meals that would have been a big issue," she said.

Dinner

Chicken hindquarters were on sale at Ruth's grocery store, so she purchased a large bag and built several meals around using this chicken. She chose meals that would stretch the meat as much as possible like chicken noodle soup and wild rice soup with chicken. In addition, she planned some meatless meals like egg casserole and pasta with tomato sauce.

Ruth's experience was similar to mine in that she had to fall back on her cooking and meal-planning skills in order to make the budget work and feed her family nutritious meals. They also had to make a few changes to their usual habits.

She reduced their usual variety of fruits and vegetables. They ate a mix of fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and veggies

throughout the week based on what was available at a good price.

She avoided convenience foods and replaced them with less-expensive options. She built meals around items that were on sale and stretched more expensive items like meat as much as possible. Her son ate school lunch instead of his usual sack lunch.

Though Ruth's family had enough food to get through the week without going hungry, Ruth shared that she was preoccupied with thoughts about food during the week. "I was thinking about food much more that week than I typically would, it was surprising how much food occupied my thoughts."

Later, look for another SNAP challenge story. We'll hear how Vickie and Paul Rhoads as well as their teenage son Wyatt took on the challenge.

Christine Hradek--State Nutrition Specialist

Label Claims: What They Mean

Various labels and health claims cover food packaging these days. Some labels and health claims are regulated by the FDA, while others are simply advertising. Deciphering labels can be confusing and the laws and regulations behind them are even more confusing. After completing a course in Food Law this summer I thought I would try to simplify and clear up some confusion about "organic" versus "natural" labeled products.

Organic: Definition:"foods that are grown and processed with minimal synthetic materials" Regulated by the USDA. There are regulated synthetic substances that may be used as well as nonsynthetic substances that cannot be used in the production of "organic" products. 100% Organic: In order for a product to be labeled "100% organic" it must be grown and handed in an establishment that has been certified by the National Organic Program. Made with organic ingredients: For a product to be labeled as "made with organic ingredients" it must contain at least 70% organically produced ingredients. Only certain ingredients produced organically: May not display the USDA seal shown below, but may identify individual ingredients that were produced organically. For example, " Made with organic carrots."

Natural: Definition: By law, there is not one! This label is not regulated. There are no limitations to using the term "natural" if the food "does not contain added color, artificial flavors or synthetic substances".

Understanding what these labels mean can help you be a savvy shopper and avoid getting tricked by misleading labels. The most important thing is to eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean protein. It is a personal choice whether eating organic is important to you. Keep in mind that there are many foods that are high in fat, sodium and sugar that are also certified organic. Reading the nutrition facts label is the only way to really know how healthy a food is for you and your family.

Sweet Potato Fries

Great fiber and Vitamin A, making sweet potato fries can be tricky. Even restaurants that deep fry them have a hard time getting them crispy and not mushy in the middle. Our recipe doesn't add a lot of fat by frying them and they have a nice texture, just don't expect that they will be super crispy and brown.

One of the keys for making this recipe successfully is making sure the potato is sliced evenly. Because raw potatoes are so hard, we suggest that you cut the potatoes lengthwise and then put the cut side down on the cutting board and slice them crosswise. This will give you a flat, stable surface when you're cutting. Sometimes my store sells yams and sometimes sweet potatoes. I use them both in recipes like this, but if you are curious about the difference this article is helpful.

Sweet Potato Fries

Serving Size: about 1/2 c fries and 1 T dip | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes) 1 T vegetable oil 1/8 tsp salt

DIP:

1/4 c light mayo 1 T ketchup 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, chili powder, or paprika

Instructions

1. Rinse potatoes under running water. Peel if desired or just scrub potatoes well. Cut the potatoes

in half lengthwise. Lay each potato half flat and cut into half-moon shapes.

2. Combine potatoes, oil, and salt in a bowl. Stir so potatoes are covered with oil. 3. Grease cookie sheet with cooking spray or vegetable oil and lay potatoes in a single layer. 4. Bake at 425 degrees F for about 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes. 5. While potatoes are baking, mix the dip ingredients. Serve immediately.

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