Day 2 Wrap-Up

Let's dive right in, shall we?

Breakfast -
organic rolled oats with peanut butter, honey, sliced banana, and a few chocolate chips, $0.63
Lunch -
Ramrong Over Noodles (Food for All recipe, leftovers from last night), $1.62
Snack -
mini Equal Exchange chocolate $0.13
4 org corn chips and 2 T homemade salsa, guessing around $0.40
small handful raw almonds $0.22
Dinner -
Yam covered in black bean stew $1.10
Dessert -
made up rice pudding thingee $0.35
TOTAL for Day 2: $4.45

I was hungry when I woke today, and I was crabby about anything that got between me and getting breakfast made, fast. I again found it very satisfying and again craved a mid-morning snack and skipped it due to lack of funds. Today was the annual meeting of owners at Common Ground and it was, as always, a potluck. Man, do co-opers know how to potluck, so much good food was there! But I brought my leftovers from yesterday's dinner and stuck to them, other than the tad of salsa and chips I just couldn't resist that Blue Moon Farm brought to the party. I estimated the cost of that fabulous homemade salsa and the chips and put them in the budget.

Dinner was divine! A whole medium yam came to $0.90 at the co-op. While it was baking, I took 1/2 a cup black beans from my freezer that I had cooked from their dried state, which are immensely cheaper than canned beans. I went out to my trusty, messy garden again and picked what you see below:

Yes, that is two lovely red bell peppers and . . . dandelion greens! I just picked them out of my sidewalk. They are nutritionally terrific and, if picked when small, have a very mild flavor that blends in well with soups and stews. They are a free way to get some great nutrition, no need to go to the store. I also used an onion from my garden and added some fresh garlic, a tad of veggie bullion, a smidge of canola oil, and some spices (cumin and cinnamon.) When the yam was done I split it down the middle and smothered it in my simple black bean stew. Soooo filling, I almost didn't want to finish it, but I knew I'd be hungry later if I didn't, so I found room.

I had some change left for today so I put together a plan to defrost a small amount of free service berries from my freezer, mush them up, then mix them with 1 T half and half I had in the fridge, a pinch of sugar, and some leftover brown rice that needs using up. It'll be a very purple rice-pudding-ish kinda deal with lots of fruity antioxidants to round out my day.

I was tempted when I realized I'd be at this terrific potluck today to put aside the SNAP Challenge rules for one meal. Friends even asked me, "can't you just put aside the rules for one meal?" But that didn't feel right so I instead pulled out those leftovers and braved it through. Luckily some people there already knew why I wasn't eating with everyone else, but I found myself trying to hide what I was eating to a degree so I didn't have to explain over and over again and then take time making everyone else feel okay about it. I remember doing something similar with coworkers years and years ago. They would come back from lunch with gyros and fries (which I use to go get with them before a change of fortunes) and I'd be eating my PB&J and I'd have to make sure it seemed I was just fine with it, that it was no big deal, so they could be comfortable eating their more sumptuous meal in front of me. And I'd know they really didn't get it, that they had no idea what it was like to live as tight as I was then, and I'd feel our worlds pulling away from each other. Food is such a powerful cultural force, not being able to share in it together can create real distance.

I was asked the other day how it was economical how to use just a 1/4 cup of coconut milk in my ramrong over noodles recipe because they you had to find another use for the rest of that costly can quick or waste it. Ah ha, not so! I found this easy solution out of need one day.

Pour the leftover coconut milk into ice cube trays! Trays vary in size so you'll want to measure yours, but mine hold exactly 2 T of fluid per cube. I pour the milk into the ice cube tray, freeze it over night, then pop out the cubes the next day and put them in a zip lock freezer bag. Tada! No wasted coconut milk and a pre-measured amount of coconut milk available in seconds whenever I want to add a bit to a recipe.

My dad is visiting tomorrow and Tuesday. Do I send my partner, son, and dad out to eat without me or do I come up with such a great tasting cheap meal that they join me at the SNAP Challenge dinner table? I really don't know yet myself, off to plan. See you tomorrow!