dani

The hardest part of this challenge hasn’t been hunger or malnutrition, it’s been eating the same foods that lack variety. I am not one of those people who likes to eat the same thing day after day. I crave variety. I am completely bored with my food choices. I would love to eat sushi, Mexican, Russian, Thai and every food that I can’t eat right now. Getting creative with these foods has been challenging, but in a good way. It’s forced me to come up with more recipes, put more effort into planning and to think critically about the food that is available to me, which is great. Today for lunch I had boiled eggs with salsa and potatoes. I felt like it was an extremely random lunch. I fried the potatoes like potato chips, but by lunch time they were soggy. I love potato products so much that I didn’t even…

Well, I am officially tired of eating the same food repetitively. And I really want some organic wine. Last night’s dinner was pretty good though. I made a variation of my meatloaf recipe. I combined ground beef, tomatoes, onion and basil in ramekins and made mini meatloafs. I served it with broccoli which I am now out of. I had the meatloaf for lunch today along with some sauteed potato. Thank goodness I bought giant bags of onions and potatoes. Otherwise I’d be very low on food. I’m also fortunate that the tomatoes I bought were really large, I’ve been able to ration them pretty well and I think I’ll have enough to last me until Sunday. I’ve only been using a small amount. Tonight for dinner I’m planning on scrambled eggs. I could eat chicken but I just love eggs. I could eat them all the time and have…

The challenge is coming along nicely, even though I’m not in love with the idea of eating more chicken or ground beef. Last night’s dinner was a burger, topped with some of the cheddar, a slice of tomato and a bit of onion. On the side I had broccoli and butter. I doubled both, so it is also my lunch for today. Though I do have two confessions: 1. My boyfriend has been extremely helpful around the house lately. To show him my appreciation, I baked him chocolate chip cookies, and I ate one. I didn’t go out and buy any of the ingredients, it was all stuff we had on hand. But, I still ate a cookie that I did not factor into my budget. Granted, if I did factor it in, it would only be chump change. 2. This weekend is my dad’s birthday. He called me yesterday to…

I know I’m only in my third day, but cooking a limited amount of food in terms of ingredients has not beed terribly difficult. I’m sure by the end of the week I’ll be tired of beef, eggs, onions, broccoli, tomatoes and potatoes, but right now I’m good. The limited ingredients has forced me to become more creative with my meals and I was even able to come up with a new recipe. This is actually turning into something I really enjoy. I love being forced to come up with new meals from the same ingredients. Last night I decided to whip out the stovetop grill. Grilling food always reminds me of summer, and since summer is dwindling and I actually had to wear a coat today, I wanted to get a good grill in before most of my meals turn to hearty soups and stews. Grilling is an easy way to…

I’m well into day two and it’s going well so far. While I haven’t eaten the most exciting meals for the past two days, by no means have they been bad meals. They taste good, they’re nourishing, they provide vitamins and minerals, they work. Last night for dinner I sauteed about a half pound of the ground beef with a little bit of butter. I did add some spices that were around my apartment. I did not factor these into the costs of the week because my spice cabinet was already fully stocked and I probably used about $0.07 worth of spices, if that. I grated a small amount of cheese over the beef and served it with a side of broccoli (also sauteed in a small amount of butter). I topped the beef with homemade pico de gallo. I had some onion and tomato leftover from my lunch earlier…

This morning, before I went grocery shopping, a friend introduced me to the SNAP Challenge. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly the Food Stamp Program. 49% of the participants are children (aged 18 or younger). The majority of these children live in single-parent households. According to snaptohealth.org, In total, 76% of SNAP benefits go towards households with children, 16% go to households with disabled persons, and 9% go to households with senior citizens. The SNAP Challenge encourages people to experience what it’s like for millions of Americans living below the poverty line by spending a max of $4.80 on food per day. I quickly considered how much I spend on food each month. Definitely a lot more than $4.80 per day. And then I remembered that I love a challenge. After doing some more research, I quickly realized that most people were sacrificing nutrition to cut corners. Recommended…

This is the exact food processor I have and I love it. So it’s a perfect prize for a giveaway! Not only does it blend incredibly well, it chops, slices and dices. Do you know how much easier it is now to make sauerkraut? Or salsa? Or shredded carrots? I can now slice an onion without crying hysterically. It’s perfect for a giveaway. This food processor is also durable and has great reviews on Amazon. Need I say more? How To Enter: 1. Click here to check out the food processor. 2. Sign up for my newsletter! I promise not to spam you or sell your email. But you must be subscribed to my newsletter (you can unsubscribe later). If I pick a winner who is not subscribed, that person will not win. You can sign up at the top right of this page or here. 4. Like me on…