As we close in on the end of the seven day challenge, here's my menu from yesterday:
Breakfast -- a bowl of cereal with milk, and a glass of concentrated orange juice.
Lunch -- a turkey sandwich (2 slices of wheat bread with a bit of turkey and gobs of lettuce) and a banana.
Dinner -- spaghetti with sauce, and a glass of milk.
As I mentioned yesterday, my supply of sliced turkey is running dangerously low, so my sandwiches have become thick with lettuce, thin on the meat.
Today I'm on the run, and . . . well, I didn't pack a lunch this morning, so I'm going to have to wing it. Perhaps the $1.12 I had left over from my grocery shopping can be put to use today. I'll let you know.
The final day of the Food Stamp Challenge is tomorrow. On Monday, I'll let you know what I ate, and give you some final thoughts on the challenge.
Have a good weekend.
Showing posts with label Breakfast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Breakfast. Show all posts
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Food Stamp Challenge, Day 4
Here's the menu for yesterday.
Breakfast -- a bowl of cereal with milk, and a glass of concentrated orange juice.
Lunch -- a turkey sandwich (2 slices of wheat bread with a few slices of turkey and lettuce) and a banana.
Dinner -- scrambled eggs and toast, with a glass of orange juice.
Because of last night's Town Hall meeting, I once again didn't make it home for dinner until after 10:00 p.m. Rather than eat an egg sandwich, as I had planned, I decided instead to have scrambled eggs with toast. Same ingredients, different format, I suppose.
Anyway, here's what's left in my pantry for the remaining three days (that's today, tomorrow, and Saturday): I've got seven eggs left, 2/3 of a box of spaghetti, half a can of sauce, and half a loaf of bread. I made my first can of frozen juice last until yesterday, and opened the second (and last) can for dinner last night.
That's not too bad, I suppose -- but my milk is almost gone, my remaining bananas are going brown, and I've only got a bit of sliced turkey left, which means my lunch sandwiches for the rest of the week will be heavy on the lettuce, light on the meat.
We'll see how I do. Stay tuned.
Breakfast -- a bowl of cereal with milk, and a glass of concentrated orange juice.
Lunch -- a turkey sandwich (2 slices of wheat bread with a few slices of turkey and lettuce) and a banana.
Dinner -- scrambled eggs and toast, with a glass of orange juice.
Because of last night's Town Hall meeting, I once again didn't make it home for dinner until after 10:00 p.m. Rather than eat an egg sandwich, as I had planned, I decided instead to have scrambled eggs with toast. Same ingredients, different format, I suppose.
Anyway, here's what's left in my pantry for the remaining three days (that's today, tomorrow, and Saturday): I've got seven eggs left, 2/3 of a box of spaghetti, half a can of sauce, and half a loaf of bread. I made my first can of frozen juice last until yesterday, and opened the second (and last) can for dinner last night.
That's not too bad, I suppose -- but my milk is almost gone, my remaining bananas are going brown, and I've only got a bit of sliced turkey left, which means my lunch sandwiches for the rest of the week will be heavy on the lettuce, light on the meat.
We'll see how I do. Stay tuned.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Food Stamp Challenge, Day 1
After a much too long hiatus, I am back in the blogosphere. This week, I'm undertaking an activity that I hope will bring attention to an issue that we're all dealing with during this difficult economy: how to feed yourself and your family while food prices continue to rise and your income doesn't.
Manna Food Center is sponsoring the Food Stamp Challenge and asking people to see what it's like to live on food purchased for no more than $25 a week, which is roughly the equivalent of what an individual who is eligible for food stamps receives each week. I'll try to provide an update each day and let you know how I am doing -- although as you'll see, the menu won't vary much from day to day.
On Sunday morning, my two daughters and I went shopping to see if we could at least accomplish the first part of the challenge -- to get groceries for the week for less than $25. Here's our list:
16oz can of Hunt's Meat Spaghetti Sauce - $1.20
2 cans of Dole frozen orange/pineapple juice -$1.69 each
Malt O' Meal Raisin Bran - $2.50
1 loaf of wheat bread - $2.39
1 dozen eggs - $1.89
1/2 lb. smoked turkey breast - $3.17
1 head of iceberg lettuce - $1.79
1 gallon skim milk - $3.99
7 bananas at .58/lb. - $1.48
1 16oz box thin spaghetti - $1.00
1 can bean with bacon soup - $1.09
Total: $23.88
This leaves me $1.12 in case of an emergency as the week progresses.
Sunday's meals consisted of,
Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs and 1 piece of toast and juice
Dinner - Spaghetti, two pieces of bread, a small salad of iceberg lettuce, and a glass of milk
By way of just a little background on Food Stamps and Manna Food Center.
Manna Food Center (and many other similar organizations) provide food for the hungry in Montgomery County. Each month Manna feeds 2,400 hungry families in our County and each week provides meals for 600 elementary school children. Manna's website is www.mannafood.org.
Food stamps are a supplemental food program for low-income persons and families. You can find information on the Manna Food Center website, but generally to be eligible an individual's gross monthly income cannot exceed $1,037 or $12,444 per year, and a family of four's gross monthly income cannot exceed $2,097 or $25,164. If you meet this criteria, then a single is eligible for $152 per month, and a family of four can receive $506 per month.
The first observations that I would make are that it is very time consuming to try and figure out what you can purchase for $25 that can provide enough for food for the week, but even harder is trying to do it in a way that is healthy. My youngest daughter is concerned about what happens if I run out of food mid-week, and has offered to sneak me some food if it becomes a desperate situation. It's good to have someone looking out for me - everyone should be so lucky.
Manna Food Center is sponsoring the Food Stamp Challenge and asking people to see what it's like to live on food purchased for no more than $25 a week, which is roughly the equivalent of what an individual who is eligible for food stamps receives each week. I'll try to provide an update each day and let you know how I am doing -- although as you'll see, the menu won't vary much from day to day.
On Sunday morning, my two daughters and I went shopping to see if we could at least accomplish the first part of the challenge -- to get groceries for the week for less than $25. Here's our list:
16oz can of Hunt's Meat Spaghetti Sauce - $1.20
2 cans of Dole frozen orange/pineapple juice -$1.69 each
Malt O' Meal Raisin Bran - $2.50
1 loaf of wheat bread - $2.39
1 dozen eggs - $1.89
1/2 lb. smoked turkey breast - $3.17
1 head of iceberg lettuce - $1.79
1 gallon skim milk - $3.99
7 bananas at .58/lb. - $1.48
1 16oz box thin spaghetti - $1.00
1 can bean with bacon soup - $1.09
Total: $23.88
This leaves me $1.12 in case of an emergency as the week progresses.
Sunday's meals consisted of,
Breakfast - 2 scrambled eggs and 1 piece of toast and juice
Dinner - Spaghetti, two pieces of bread, a small salad of iceberg lettuce, and a glass of milk
By way of just a little background on Food Stamps and Manna Food Center.
Manna Food Center (and many other similar organizations) provide food for the hungry in Montgomery County. Each month Manna feeds 2,400 hungry families in our County and each week provides meals for 600 elementary school children. Manna's website is www.mannafood.org.
Food stamps are a supplemental food program for low-income persons and families. You can find information on the Manna Food Center website, but generally to be eligible an individual's gross monthly income cannot exceed $1,037 or $12,444 per year, and a family of four's gross monthly income cannot exceed $2,097 or $25,164. If you meet this criteria, then a single is eligible for $152 per month, and a family of four can receive $506 per month.
The first observations that I would make are that it is very time consuming to try and figure out what you can purchase for $25 that can provide enough for food for the week, but even harder is trying to do it in a way that is healthy. My youngest daughter is concerned about what happens if I run out of food mid-week, and has offered to sneak me some food if it becomes a desperate situation. It's good to have someone looking out for me - everyone should be so lucky.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Whirlwind
Well. I've been called out by some bloggers for not being informal enough. It would seem that some in the blogsphere want to really know what's really going on behind the scenes -- so far behind the scenes, in fact, that apparently my breakfast choices are of interest to some. So, here goes...
Typically, my day begins at 6:00 a.m. with about an hour of exercise -- weight-lifting or some type aerobic activity, such as running or the elliptical trainer. Afterwards, I either have breakfast at home (cereal with fruit, juice and a vitamin pill), or at a meeting with constituents or community leaders, usually at the Panera Bread at Falls Grove or the Broadway Diner. I generally arrive at the office between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. to attend a morning meeting, or to make some constituent calls.
If it's Monday or Thursday, there’s usually a committee meeting from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. -- and on Mondays I also have a weekly press briefing at 11:30 a.m., which can last 30 minutes to an hour. During the months when the General Assembly is meeting, the County Council attends a State Legislative update from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. This leaves time for another quick meeting, then it’s back to committee meetings from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. or so. If the committee session doesn't go too long, we'll squeeze in a quick staff meeting. Then it’s one more meeting in the office, then home for a quick dinner before heading out for a community meeting by 7:00 p.m. or so. And it’s still only Monday.
Tuesdays have a rhythm of their own, since it’s the day the Council meets as a full body. Once a month we begin at 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. with a breakfast meeting with the County Executive so we can swap notes about what's going on. The council then goes into session at 9:30 a.m. and the morning session usually concludes at about 12:30 p.m., at which time I meet with the council scheduler to review the schedule for the remainder of the week, as well as next week's agenda. We're then back in session at 1:30 p.m. for public hearings, and we resume full council session from about 2:00 until 4:30 p.m., depending upon what's on the agenda. This leaves a little time for some quick meetings until about 5:30 p.m., when I leave to take my daughter to swim team practice. I have to get back to the council for evening public hearings which begin at 7:30 p.m., and are usually on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
Wednesdays have a high degree of variability, since there is usually nothing formally scheduled for the council on this day except during our budget deliberations. This is the day I try to get in some hours for my biotech consulting practice, but I find that often doesn’t happen because there are many other informal council activities that occur. The council staff meets at 9:00 a.m. and I try to attend those meetings at least a few times each month. The Council of Governments (that I chair this year) and the Transportation Planning Board also meet in DC that day. It can also be a good day to go to Annapolis to check in with our delegates and senators about legislation affecting our county. That makes Wednesday one of the craziest days of the week, but I still make every effort to have a quick dinner with my family, attend an evening meeting, and coach my daughter's third grade basketball team.
As for Thursday . . . well, see my description of Monday, just above. It's pretty much the same.
Friday is the catch all day -- it includes cleaning up what didn't get done earlier in the week, and attempting to get in those hours at my other job that I didn't get done on Wednesday. It’s also another good day to visit Annapolis, and there are usually a number of meetings that didn't fit in earlier in the week that I try to get to on Friday afternoons.
As for my weekends . . . well, they’ve actually been fairly quiet so far this year, with only a couple of events each on Saturdays and Sundays. For the most part, these are the best times for me to attend my daughters' swim meets, soccer games, and basketball games. I even get to do a little yard work.
I don't know if this is the type of peek I'm supposed to be providing, but as a novice blogger, I welcome your feedback and hope that at the end of the day this makes a part of your government and community a little more accessible.
Typically, my day begins at 6:00 a.m. with about an hour of exercise -- weight-lifting or some type aerobic activity, such as running or the elliptical trainer. Afterwards, I either have breakfast at home (cereal with fruit, juice and a vitamin pill), or at a meeting with constituents or community leaders, usually at the Panera Bread at Falls Grove or the Broadway Diner. I generally arrive at the office between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. to attend a morning meeting, or to make some constituent calls.
If it's Monday or Thursday, there’s usually a committee meeting from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. -- and on Mondays I also have a weekly press briefing at 11:30 a.m., which can last 30 minutes to an hour. During the months when the General Assembly is meeting, the County Council attends a State Legislative update from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. This leaves time for another quick meeting, then it’s back to committee meetings from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. or so. If the committee session doesn't go too long, we'll squeeze in a quick staff meeting. Then it’s one more meeting in the office, then home for a quick dinner before heading out for a community meeting by 7:00 p.m. or so. And it’s still only Monday.
Tuesdays have a rhythm of their own, since it’s the day the Council meets as a full body. Once a month we begin at 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. with a breakfast meeting with the County Executive so we can swap notes about what's going on. The council then goes into session at 9:30 a.m. and the morning session usually concludes at about 12:30 p.m., at which time I meet with the council scheduler to review the schedule for the remainder of the week, as well as next week's agenda. We're then back in session at 1:30 p.m. for public hearings, and we resume full council session from about 2:00 until 4:30 p.m., depending upon what's on the agenda. This leaves a little time for some quick meetings until about 5:30 p.m., when I leave to take my daughter to swim team practice. I have to get back to the council for evening public hearings which begin at 7:30 p.m., and are usually on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
Wednesdays have a high degree of variability, since there is usually nothing formally scheduled for the council on this day except during our budget deliberations. This is the day I try to get in some hours for my biotech consulting practice, but I find that often doesn’t happen because there are many other informal council activities that occur. The council staff meets at 9:00 a.m. and I try to attend those meetings at least a few times each month. The Council of Governments (that I chair this year) and the Transportation Planning Board also meet in DC that day. It can also be a good day to go to Annapolis to check in with our delegates and senators about legislation affecting our county. That makes Wednesday one of the craziest days of the week, but I still make every effort to have a quick dinner with my family, attend an evening meeting, and coach my daughter's third grade basketball team.
As for Thursday . . . well, see my description of Monday, just above. It's pretty much the same.
Friday is the catch all day -- it includes cleaning up what didn't get done earlier in the week, and attempting to get in those hours at my other job that I didn't get done on Wednesday. It’s also another good day to visit Annapolis, and there are usually a number of meetings that didn't fit in earlier in the week that I try to get to on Friday afternoons.
As for my weekends . . . well, they’ve actually been fairly quiet so far this year, with only a couple of events each on Saturdays and Sundays. For the most part, these are the best times for me to attend my daughters' swim meets, soccer games, and basketball games. I even get to do a little yard work.
I don't know if this is the type of peek I'm supposed to be providing, but as a novice blogger, I welcome your feedback and hope that at the end of the day this makes a part of your government and community a little more accessible.
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