SNAP Challenge: Week 4 Summary
Description: A summary of the final week of the SNAP Challenge, detailing groceries purchased, meals made, and daily eating experiences, along with reflections on the emotional and practical impacts of living on a limited food budget.
Ingredients
- Rotisserie chicken
- Tortillas
- Diced tomatoes
- Cream cheese
- Beans
- Cilantro
- Lime
- White rice
- Garlic
- Salt
- Water
- Vegetable oil
- Onion
- Celery
- Parsley
- Noodles
- Carrots
- Apples
- Shredded cheese
- Pita
- Eggs
- Cajun seasoning
- Coffee
- Powerade
- Chips
- Yogurt
- Honey
- Donut
- Oat bran
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Sausage
- Biscuit
Instructions
- Based the week's meal plan off a single rotisserie chicken (note: hot rotisserie chickens are generally not SNAP eligible, but cold, next-day ones are).
- Purchased items for enchiladas: tortillas, diced tomatoes, cream cheese, beans.
- Utilized a BOGO deal on tortillas, using extra for cheese quesadillas.
- Bought cilantro and a lime for cilantro lime rice to serve with enchiladas.
- Used the other half of the chicken for chicken noodle soup, purchasing onion, celery, parsley, and noodles. Used leftover carrots from the previous week.
- Purchased a single onion instead of a larger bag, finding it more expensive per unit.
- Forgot celery and lime, requiring a second grocery trip.
- Bought fresh fall apples.
- Purchased shredded cheese, which was on sale.
- Made Creamy Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas.
- Made a quick cilantro lime rice by cooking white rice with minced garlic, salt, and water, then pureeing cilantro with vegetable oil, lime juice, and zest, and folding it into the cooked rice.
- Made homemade chicken noodle soup using homemade slow cooker chicken broth and a basic homemade chicken noodle soup recipe (minus garlic).
- Documented daily food intake and costs, noting deviations from the SNAP budget due to stress and necessity (e.g., coffee, Powerade, chips, cafeteria meals).
- Reflected on the impact of stress on eating habits and willpower.
- Noted the importance of impulse buys on mood and energy levels.
- Considered the difficulty of maintaining a positive outlook when food is scarce long-term.
- Realized the challenge of monotony in meals by the end of the week.
- Calculated total consumed costs ($30.23), grocery total ($28.50), and total cost of non-grocery foods ($7.17).
- Concluded that small impulse buys can significantly alter mood and energy, and suggested trying a period without snacks or impulse buys to understand food's impact.