Food Stamps Challenge, Canadian Edition: Day 3

Day 3, almost halfway through!

Weight: Still 148

Meals:
Breakfast: medium bowl of Mini Wheats and banana

Work snack: granola bar and cookie

Lunch: 2 scrambled eggs, medium bowl of pasta with tomato sauce and apple

Dinner:  piece of toast (wasn't very hungry)

Today was okay.  The main thing was the lack of coffee.  I got 9 hours of sleep today but I felt weak and lethargic all day and I think it was maybe coffee or alcohol withdrawal (these are things I have every day, but usually just one serving of each each day).  I also noticed that I've been having a headache every day so far which is not normal for me.  If I had decided Advil and toiletries were part of the challenge and Advil was too expensive, I would be in agony.  It was bad enough doing a shift with a headache that didn't go away, knowing I didn't have any Advil on me and my break wasn't long enough for me to buy some and also be able to sit down for a while.

I had my dad's girlfriend look at the food I bought for the challenge and she said I did quite well except for the cookies and mac and cheese, which I could have substituted for some cheese or some beans so that I have more protein and that I should have bought a larger amount of butter if I were doing the month challenge, since buying in bulk is always going to save you money.

I didn't know this but there is a documentary on this challenge called Food Stamped.  I also found an interesting take on the challenge from Rebecca Vipond Brink, a nutrition writer from The Frisky, who weighed in on Gwyneth Paltrow's food haul:  "Nutritionally speaking, this is a vitamin bonanza. But people who live on SNAP benefits don’t just have to get nutrients, they have to get actual calories, because they tend to have very physical lives, doing service labor and taking care of children and not necessarily being able to afford a car and so forth." 

Wikipedia paraphrases Brink: "It was estimated that Paltrow's food totaled 7,059 calories, or only about 1,000 calories per day. It was also pointed out that instead of the seven limes that she bought, she could have gotten four pounds of pasta for less money, and that such a substitution would have provided her with substantially more calories. Brink also suggested a completely different set of food items for the same amount of money, which would have yielded 2,530 calories per day: five pounds of potatoes, two dozen eggs, five pounds of flash-frozen chicken breasts, a block of cheese, a gallon of whole milk, four pounds of apples, three pounds of oatmeal, a bag of celery, 16 ounces of peanut butter, 15 ounces of raisins, one pound of carrots, and 28 ounces of rice. Brink also pointed out that such a shopping list was only realistic for someone who did not live in a food desert."

Even so, this is 2,530 per day to feed 3 people.  How do you feed everyone in your family, even with Brink's suggestions?  It seems impossible.

On that pleasant note, goodnight and I will be back tomorrow to report on day 4.

Food Stamps Challenge, Canadian Edition!

Hello again!  It's been about a year since I've posted on this blog but I've found something inspiring to write about here.  Like my last series on reviewing food while stoned, it does involve food, but less... and not as expensive or appetizing.  This week, starting tomorrow, I will undertake the Food Stamps Challenge.  I decided to do this after watching Dose of Buckley's video concerning Gwyneth Paltrow's attempt at the Food Stamps Challenge.

If you would like to watch it, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLjRf8wcvPo

(This image is created by Rob Rogers and it belongs to Rob Rogers. 

Source: http://robrogers.com/2013/09/10/food-stamps/)

Looking at Paltrow's blog (http://goop.com/my-29-food-stamp-challenge-and-the-recipes-brouhaha-that-ensued/) it seems like she did actually try to do the challenge or she at least had her staff try to do it, but midway through the challenge she was found eating at an expensive restaurant and she admitted that she failed after 4 days.  Whether her tastes were too expensive (or healthy, which is expensive as well) or she understandably had trouble feeding herself and her two children, she did try and she did make a donation to the food bank so I can respect that.  Not to mention the fact that she did raise some awareness and people are at least talking about the issue.

However, as a Canadian, twenty-something and former college student I am not above things like Kraft Dinner, ramen and canned food!  Therefore, I accept the challenge that no one challenged me to!

What I hope to gain from this is an understanding of budgeting and what it is like to live on just the essentials (no coffee, alcohol or expensive condiments like Parmesan cheese or olive oil - my bread and butter) and, admittedly, I wonder if I will lose any weight from this as it is a rather drastic lifestyle change.  Since I'm only one person, I'm hopeful that the food will last me a week, but I won't rule out the possibility that I'll run out.  Honestly, the most offensive thing about Gwyneth's food stamps challenge was the fact that she blew money on an avocado and 7 limes!  So I hope to be a bit more strategic when I am spending; no drinks, no unnecessary condiments or overly expensive items, etc.

Because I am Canadian, I have converted the $29 allotted for the challenge to Canadian currency (so it's fair), which adds up to $35.25.  I also will include reasonable things as freebies; spices, salt, cooking spray and water because those are one or two times a year types of purchases.  You might wonder why I don't follow the food stamps budget of my own country, but we don't have a program like that.  In Canada, the homeless or financially disadvantaged only rely on welfare and various food banks so I have decided to see what it is like to survive as an American living on food stamps.

I went shopping at No Frills this evening and tomorrow I will show you what I got for $35.  See you then!