By Jon Stemmle
I’ll admit my first instinct was to run for the hills when my HCRC colleagues brought up the idea of the SNAP challenge. However, I decided to be a team player and give it a shot.
So there I was on Tuesday morning, walking through the aisles of HyVee doing my grocery shopping. Since I’m the one who does all the shopping for my family, I had to sort out what I was going to eat for the week with what I needed to buy for my wife and kids. As I piled items into the cart, I started calculating how much my share was costing. Knowing I had to stay under $28, I was convinced I could eat ALMOST my normal meals without much difference.
By the time I checked out, I was pretty happy with my haul. I knew my meals were going to be simple, but I had bought the brands I normally went with and kept under the limit with $1.50 to spare.
HyVee Skim Milk $2.19
Barilla rigatoni $1.29
Barilla angel hair pasta $1.29
Kashi Blueberry Cluster cereal $3.99
Nature Sweet Cherry tomatoes $3.99
Kraft 16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese $2.69
Kraft 16 oz shredded cheddar cheese $2.69
HyVee tortilla chips $1.50
HyVee whole wheat tortillas (10) $1.78
Pint of blueberries $2.50
Low-fat refried beans $1.49
$25.40 x 4.35% ($1.10) tax = $26.50
So I was home free, right? Uh, no.
To make everything on the up and up (and in order to finish up the leftovers that had to be eaten in the fridge) I decided to start the challenge on Wednesday morning.
The experience started out great. I had my cereal with skim milk for breakfast the same as I had for most of the last 30 years and was on the way to work. For lunch, as I had many times in the past, I had made up a burrito using a whole wheat tortilla, the refried beans and some cheddar cheese. I even threw in some cayenne pepper for some kick (Note: I was given dispensation from the rest of the team to use spices, including salt and pepper without buying it for the week).
I was a little hungry as I headed home for dinner, but knew I had some pasta caprese coming my way so it would all be good. As I cut up the tomatoes and fresh basil (I grow that myself, so I’m in the clear on that one) got the rigatoni in the pot I couldn’t wait to eat. It wasn’t until I got it on the plate that I realized I’d have to skip on crucial ingredient – olive oil. I hadn’t bought any for the challenge so I couldn’t use it even though I had it in the house. So as I dribbled that sweet, golden oil on my wife’s meal, I had to abstain for mine. Given that this is a meal I have most nights for dinner, I REALLY missed that olive oil.
With my tortilla chips and blueberries I had a nice nighttime snack – albeit with two foods that really shouldn’t be eaten together.
So day 1 went pretty well and Thursday was basically the same. And that’s when I realized the problem I would have if I did this for more than a week. It would be the same. The same breakfast, lunch and dinner pretty much every day. I didn’t have the luxury of much variety. The budget didn’t allow for it. Breakfast wouldn’t phase me, but having the exact same lunch and dinner (sans olive oil!!!) every day would wear on me. Even if I threw in some excitement – some boxed mac and cheese or a PBJ sandwich – I would need to cut somewhere else. I couldn’t even swing a jar of spaghetti sauce for the angel hair pasta that would be my dinner when the tomatoes were gone (probably about day 4) so it will be some very, plain noodles for me.
Then there was my utter lack of veggies. If I hit the right week, I could probably find some frozen veggies on sale, but fresh would be out of my price range most weeks. Even with fruits I would be limited. An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but it’ll also mean that I go hungry for a few meals. Grapes – forget it!
I know I’ll get through the week. I’m a guy who once had spaghetti for 15 straight meals (yeah, even for breakfast) so repetition doesn’t bother me in the short term. Plus, although I’m not a vegetarian, my family and I don’t eat much meat. But I’m thankful that if I want to make an impulse buy of a steak or chicken, I can do that. If I want to load up on berries or grab some in-season asparagus, it’s no big deal. OK, gotta stop thinking about it since none of that will be happening this week. Also need to stop watching the Food Network!
I’ll check back when the week is over and let you know how it went. Cheers!