Monday, October 31, 2011
Summarizing Two Weeks of Food Desert Eating
Once again - technology has triumphed - I have no idea why this is publishin as a giant chunk of words instead of the beautiful paragraphs that I typed in the draft.
When I began this experiment, I thought I'd be somewhat miserable, hungry, and very sad about not having high quality olive oil and vinegar on my salads. Fortunately, those things did not happen.
I ate 37 meals at home at an average of $.98/meal. At the end of week two, my remaining inventory of food purchased in just the two weeks of shopping is: 1/2 gallon milk, 1 apple, 8 oz. of cheese, 3 cans of tomato soup, 1 can diced tomatoes, over half the bottle of olive oil blend and 1 pound of pork that I put in the freezer.
Nutritionally, food tracked revealed I stayed within range for healthy portions of fat, calories, carbs and protein. The exception to this would be the day I ate a ton of the pork/carrot sloppy joe mix with a load of cheese (I missed cheese!). That day I went over my fat grams.
The total cost of the meals I ate at home added up to $36.10.
What does this mean?
In this rural county, access to a grocery store where affordable healthy foods are available is NOT an issue. Since these are the fundamental definitions of "Food Desert," I believe the term doesn't apply for this particular area.
My experiment doesn't reveal what the obstacles to healthy eating really are. A normal family is busy so often fast food is a choice of CONVENIENCE. A family in poverty operates at a level of CRISIS as well. In both of these areas, managing a food budget by careful, strategic planning doesn't occur. It's also been suggested to me that many people truly do not know how to COOK. When I turned my carrot soup into sloppy joe with leftover pork, this wouldn't be something that would be easily done.
Certainly COST of food goes up and takes a big chunk out of a budget. Healthy food can also be pricey. However, healthy food generally keeps a person more satisfied than "junk" food or food that is centered around a lot of carbohydrates. If more food is eaten in those scenarios, then healthy food is still less expensive.
Since I have a significant amount of leftovers and feel that the point of access and affordability have been made, I'm going to end this portion of the food desert. However, I am interested in learning more about the issues of hunger in this county, as well in other areas.
I'd like to end with a story that first impacted me on kids and healthy eating, families in crisis, and how to address these problems effectively and accurately.
A local church was having their annual Vacation Bible School. Any child in the area was welcome to participate and since it was almost a full day's schedule, lots of parents took advantage of "free child care" by sending their kids. The kids brought their own lunches. The group I'd been assigned were 7-9 year olds (I think). During the lunch break the first day, one little boy unpacked his "lunch" which consisted of ten colored candy canes. Keep in mind, this was in June. I dug around the church kitchen and managed to get the kid a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The next day, his lunch had three tiny Jimmy Dean sausage sandwiches. Later that day, something happened and the child became completely hysterical. It was awful. He had to be sent home and he wasn't back for a few days.
Later I learned this child's story. His mother was dying. There were four other boys in the trailer in which they lived, brothers and half brothers. The dying mother also had her brother and boyfriend living there. It was chaos on a whole different level. The mom died not too long after VBS ended. I went to the funeral and sat by this little boy. I had no words, I just held his hand.
No local farmers market will solve this problem. Lower produce costs won't and neither will having free fresh veggies at the local food pantry.
How does this problem of poor nutrition and subsequent health problems get solved? I don't know but it looks like getting "our hands dirty" by talking to people we want to avoid may be part of it. And I'm not sure how to even do some of those things, let alone do a blog experiment on it.
I'll continue to update this blog periodically as I read and ask questions.
As always, your comments are welcome.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Days Eight-Ten; Sharing My Feelings
If you've ever been on a diet, you know that when you pass a restaurant, donut shop, or coffee house, you take an inventory of what you want to get there. Even if you don't normally go there, suddenly you WANT a pumpkin donut (oh, I want a pumpkin donut).
Even though I have not been hungry, knowing I'm staying strictly on what I have purchased makes me want everything else.
Isn't being human wonderful?
I forgot to mention that I weighed myself on Monday and I was at 141.0, so I've lost a bit more than a pound. I also did 7 hours of Zumba last week.
Sorry to keep you hanging as to what I purchased with my $25. I took advantage of sales on cheese and milk, tuna, tomato sauce, apples and red potatoes. I spent a total of $21.98. The cashier probably thought I was deranged when I got a big smile on my face.
The big purchase was pork loin. It was a bit confusing to read the label. On one end, it said "Certified Angus Beef" and the other read "Pork Loin."
Of course, this is a different issue here in the food desert.
Sunday I made a rather pathetic attempt at carrot soup. Fortunately, the addition of cheese made it rather good.
Monday's menu was oatmeal, salad that was the last of the lettuce and chicken from the previous week and a smoothie - $2.28
Tuesday - oatmeal, carrot soup with cheese and a roll, pork loin with roasted carrots and red potatoes. (sadly, I ate the rest of the potatos when I came back from Zumba) - 2.55
Wednesday - oatmeal (and extra milk, because I miss drinking coffee), a salad with pork and apple and a smoothie - 3.52
From the number crunching, the cost of the cheese and pork is the same per ounce (.19). I made some sloppy joe today with the leftover pork, adding shredded carrot and the leftover carrot soup (I'm weird that way). That on a bun will be about $1 each. If I had beans (and there are some in my pantry, but I am ignoring thme), I'd add those too.
Other things that could be made with what I've got: tomato soup and toasted cheese ($1.36), tuna on salad, tuna salad on bun (.87), salad with cheese and apple, etc. There's about 12 ounces of pork leftover and I'll freeze it and use eggs for salad. There's really a lot to choose from this week with our good friend fromage on the menu.
Even though I have not been hungry, knowing I'm staying strictly on what I have purchased makes me want everything else.
Isn't being human wonderful?
I forgot to mention that I weighed myself on Monday and I was at 141.0, so I've lost a bit more than a pound. I also did 7 hours of Zumba last week.
Sorry to keep you hanging as to what I purchased with my $25. I took advantage of sales on cheese and milk, tuna, tomato sauce, apples and red potatoes. I spent a total of $21.98. The cashier probably thought I was deranged when I got a big smile on my face.
The big purchase was pork loin. It was a bit confusing to read the label. On one end, it said "Certified Angus Beef" and the other read "Pork Loin."
Sunday I made a rather pathetic attempt at carrot soup. Fortunately, the addition of cheese made it rather good.
Monday's menu was oatmeal, salad that was the last of the lettuce and chicken from the previous week and a smoothie - $2.28
Tuesday - oatmeal, carrot soup with cheese and a roll, pork loin with roasted carrots and red potatoes. (sadly, I ate the rest of the potatos when I came back from Zumba) - 2.55
Wednesday - oatmeal (and extra milk, because I miss drinking coffee), a salad with pork and apple and a smoothie - 3.52
From the number crunching, the cost of the cheese and pork is the same per ounce (.19). I made some sloppy joe today with the leftover pork, adding shredded carrot and the leftover carrot soup (I'm weird that way). That on a bun will be about $1 each. If I had beans (and there are some in my pantry, but I am ignoring thme), I'd add those too.
Other things that could be made with what I've got: tomato soup and toasted cheese ($1.36), tuna on salad, tuna salad on bun (.87), salad with cheese and apple, etc. There's about 12 ounces of pork leftover and I'll freeze it and use eggs for salad. There's really a lot to choose from this week with our good friend fromage on the menu.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Food Desert - Week One Report
With the help of oasis, I made it through the first week of the food desert. The total I spent on groceries were just over $33. Breaking down and estimating each meal and totalling it reveals I spent $16.39 on 19 meals for an average of .86 per meal.
While it may be considered a "cheat", I met family for dinner Saturday night and had the leftovers for lunch Sunday. While someone else paid, I'm subtracting $10 from this week's grocery budget. And while my salad was delicious, it was not a decadent meal.
Affordability report for week one - pretty darn affordable. Nutritionally - I neither fell under or exceeded my limits for protein, calories, fat and carbs except for Friday when I met with friends.
I'm very surprised at what I had leftover at the end of the week.
There's also a whole bag of carrots (plus a couple more in the first week), a whole container of orange juice, milk for 2-3 more days, lettuce for today's salad, yogurt for 2-3 smoothies, 3 bananas (which I sliced and froze for smoothies), 3 cans of tomato soup, 1 can of diced tomatoes, half bag of raisins, and about 7/8 box of oatmeal.
This is probably sufficient to keep me going, that wouldn't be very interesting for this experiment. Friday I received this week's food circular (I've never been so excited to get it!) and am trying to decide between ground beef, which is on sale, or the pork sirloin roast, which is a better deal.
I know, the suspense is killing me too.
While it may be considered a "cheat", I met family for dinner Saturday night and had the leftovers for lunch Sunday. While someone else paid, I'm subtracting $10 from this week's grocery budget. And while my salad was delicious, it was not a decadent meal.
Affordability report for week one - pretty darn affordable. Nutritionally - I neither fell under or exceeded my limits for protein, calories, fat and carbs except for Friday when I met with friends.
I'm very surprised at what I had leftover at the end of the week.
This is probably sufficient to keep me going, that wouldn't be very interesting for this experiment. Friday I received this week's food circular (I've never been so excited to get it!) and am trying to decide between ground beef, which is on sale, or the pork sirloin roast, which is a better deal.
I know, the suspense is killing me too.
Comment Response
It's truly humbly that I can't respond directly to a comment within the comments.
Bean asked in the last post why it was okay for me to accept tomatoes and not leftovers or eggs.
Good question.
While there is no official method to my madness, I thought out the following.
1) Nearly every person in this rural community has access to fresh tomatoes. They are so plentiful (even in bad years, which this one was), that they are left in public places and are "fair game."
2) It was the night before our first frost and the thought of not having a fresh, delicious tomato until next summer was sad.
3) I only took two red and they were small (I picked the remaining green for the future).
Also, it's a bit more unusual for a person to get fresh eggs (though not that hard) from a friend (and my friend doesn't charge me). Taking leftovers from a party seemed tacky (though normally that doesn't stop me) and also didn't seem fair for this experiment.
Further, the tomatoes, while healthy, aren't a significant portion of a day's nutritional needs.
I did however, take the leftover Greek salad from dinner Saturday night and had it for lunch Sunday. But more on that later.
Thanks for asking!
Bean asked in the last post why it was okay for me to accept tomatoes and not leftovers or eggs.
Good question.
While there is no official method to my madness, I thought out the following.
1) Nearly every person in this rural community has access to fresh tomatoes. They are so plentiful (even in bad years, which this one was), that they are left in public places and are "fair game."
2) It was the night before our first frost and the thought of not having a fresh, delicious tomato until next summer was sad.
3) I only took two red and they were small (I picked the remaining green for the future).
Also, it's a bit more unusual for a person to get fresh eggs (though not that hard) from a friend (and my friend doesn't charge me). Taking leftovers from a party seemed tacky (though normally that doesn't stop me) and also didn't seem fair for this experiment.
Further, the tomatoes, while healthy, aren't a significant portion of a day's nutritional needs.
I did however, take the leftover Greek salad from dinner Saturday night and had it for lunch Sunday. But more on that later.
Thanks for asking!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Food Desert - Importance of Community - Days Five and Six
Friday I went to a party. There's a group of us who gets together for monthly "Fun Fridays" where we eat, drink and be merry (though there is no one there by that name). Sometimes, if we're really forward thinking, we have a theme. This month, not surprisingly, it was something along the lines of "pumpkin" and "harvest."
What a feast - pumpkin soup, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin bread, pumpkin chocolate chip pie (uh-yum!). There was cider to drink (along with Skinny Girl Margarita-the best dressed at the party). And Carrot, Pumpkin's skinny triangular cousin, made an appearance as the token fresh vegetable. The theme could actually have been "Carbohydrates on Parade."
Assessing what I had from my week's shopping to take, I considered taking my carrots, and trying to come up with a dip related to the yogurt (plain). I was hesitant to use the yogurt because it's both expensive and something I use for a protein source (my ability to make a dip is also questionable). The other thought was to boil up the last six eggs and make deviled eggs - again with the yogurt. This would deplete most of my protein sources until shopping day (Sunday). Since pantry staples are fair game, a friend suggested I make crackers (for the pumpkin soup).
Dough and my arthritic hands are not good friends. However, I tried the food processor (also suggested by friend) and low and behold it worked! Here's the recipe that I used:
1 c. flour 1/2 t. salt 2 T. butter 3 T. water - Put all in the processor and let it whirl. Roll them out super thin and put on a floured baking sheet. You can add herbs and Kosher salt on top but adding it to the dough may be a better idea. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes. Let cool and break into pieces.
Easy right? It was! Except I sort of burned them. Fortunately, I could crumble off those edges and the rest looked sort of funky in an earth-muffiny, "I-sell-these-at-the-local-farmers-market-to-yuppies-for-big-bucks" kind of way.
Cost? Um...practically nothing, save the butter. I'm not sure if anyone ate them, though. They tasted okay, but look at the competition:
What a feast - pumpkin soup, pumpkin rolls, pumpkin bread, pumpkin chocolate chip pie (uh-yum!). There was cider to drink (along with Skinny Girl Margarita-the best dressed at the party). And Carrot, Pumpkin's skinny triangular cousin, made an appearance as the token fresh vegetable. The theme could actually have been "Carbohydrates on Parade."
Assessing what I had from my week's shopping to take, I considered taking my carrots, and trying to come up with a dip related to the yogurt (plain). I was hesitant to use the yogurt because it's both expensive and something I use for a protein source (my ability to make a dip is also questionable). The other thought was to boil up the last six eggs and make deviled eggs - again with the yogurt. This would deplete most of my protein sources until shopping day (Sunday). Since pantry staples are fair game, a friend suggested I make crackers (for the pumpkin soup).
Dough and my arthritic hands are not good friends. However, I tried the food processor (also suggested by friend) and low and behold it worked! Here's the recipe that I used:
1 c. flour 1/2 t. salt 2 T. butter 3 T. water - Put all in the processor and let it whirl. Roll them out super thin and put on a floured baking sheet. You can add herbs and Kosher salt on top but adding it to the dough may be a better idea. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes. Let cool and break into pieces.
Easy right? It was! Except I sort of burned them. Fortunately, I could crumble off those edges and the rest looked sort of funky in an earth-muffiny, "I-sell-these-at-the-local-farmers-market-to-yuppies-for-big-bucks" kind of way.
Cost? Um...practically nothing, save the butter. I'm not sure if anyone ate them, though. They tasted okay, but look at the competition:
Yeah.
Total cost for the whole day's meals totalled about $2 (oatmeal and salad with chicken). I ate darn well at the party, I can tell you that.
Today I had an orange juice/yogurt/banana smoothie (.79). It tasted very good after too many carbs and sugar of last night. Lunch will be a boiled egg and carrots (.35). Tonight I'm meeting family for dinner at a Greek restaurant. This obviously will be the biggest splurge, and I'll shop with $10 less in my budget in order to do this.
The bigger point in all of this is having friends and family gives a person more options. Community is important for every person. And that means face-to-face, not virtual, community. One of my friend's from last night gave me the last of her red and green tomatoes before our frost today. I thought these were fair game. However, I had to say a very painful no to the offer of some of another friend's fresh eggs. Leftovers from last night were also declined.
Having other people to share costs with stretches a tight budget. Bulk items are often expensive and a person or family that lives week to week can't always buy cheaper meat, olive oil, apples in bulk to save money. If there are friends and family to share costs, everyone wins.
Community is a commodity in short supply these days.
Lack of community is not access nor is it affordability, though both can be eased by being in community.
Comment on Comments
Thank you for the comments. For some reason, I'm unable to respond through posting my own comments. It is some mysterious technical issue that is obviously beyond me to repair (despite my feeble efforts).
I'm sorry I'm not savvy enough to fix this. Nergh!
Jennifer - thanks for bringing up a good point about the ability to do long term thinking. When a person is tired and stressed, considering the future implications of food decisions made in the heat of the moment are not always good ones. (The same could be said of other decisions made in the heat of the moment)
Szecua- you've said something I've often thought - eating seasonally is more affordable and certainly more delicious. Eating a tomato in January is always a bad idea.
I'm sorry I'm not savvy enough to fix this. Nergh!
Jennifer - thanks for bringing up a good point about the ability to do long term thinking. When a person is tired and stressed, considering the future implications of food decisions made in the heat of the moment are not always good ones. (The same could be said of other decisions made in the heat of the moment)
Szecua- you've said something I've often thought - eating seasonally is more affordable and certainly more delicious. Eating a tomato in January is always a bad idea.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Days Three and Four - Monotony
It's no secret that I'm not great at boiling eggs. Years ago when we had a big Easter Egg hunt here, I had to call everyone and tell them not to eat the semi-boiled eggs I'd made and colored.
Now when I peel a boiled egg for my salad or an egg salad sandwich, this is costing me plenty. When the egg white comes off with the shell, I've actually dug it off. Hey, I need every bit of protein!
Day Three eating was oatmeal, salad and a chicken sandwich. The total cost was a whopping $3.99. This is the most expensive day yet, but still under budget. Calories were 1400, 66 grams of protein, 41 of fat and 210 of carbs. With this, I did my regular Zumba class then went to a Zumbathon for 2 hours. That minimally was 700 calories burned. I drank a lot of water. And I felt good.
Today, I wasn't super hungry until mid-morning. I've had the usual oatmeal for breakfast and an egg salad sandwich for lunch. I'll have a smoothie for a snack then tomato soup for dinner (with as many carrots as I want through the day). Today's total is $2.39 and I again was within the recommended range for calories, carbs, fat and protein. Another Zumba class tonight.
It's not great to feel like I don't have a lot of options of what to eat. On the other hand, it's still healthy food. I'm really looking forward to shopping for next week - the ad comes tomorrow and I'm ridiculously excited about it. A lot of what I bought this week I'll still have on hand next - milk, orange juice, carrots, oatmeal and raisins.
Variety is nice, even if it's just one meal. My cost average for the first four days of eating is $3. Variety is something I crave. But variety is not accessibility. Variety is not affordability. Variety is a luxury.
Now when I peel a boiled egg for my salad or an egg salad sandwich, this is costing me plenty. When the egg white comes off with the shell, I've actually dug it off. Hey, I need every bit of protein!
Day Three eating was oatmeal, salad and a chicken sandwich. The total cost was a whopping $3.99. This is the most expensive day yet, but still under budget. Calories were 1400, 66 grams of protein, 41 of fat and 210 of carbs. With this, I did my regular Zumba class then went to a Zumbathon for 2 hours. That minimally was 700 calories burned. I drank a lot of water. And I felt good.
Today, I wasn't super hungry until mid-morning. I've had the usual oatmeal for breakfast and an egg salad sandwich for lunch. I'll have a smoothie for a snack then tomato soup for dinner (with as many carrots as I want through the day). Today's total is $2.39 and I again was within the recommended range for calories, carbs, fat and protein. Another Zumba class tonight.
It's not great to feel like I don't have a lot of options of what to eat. On the other hand, it's still healthy food. I'm really looking forward to shopping for next week - the ad comes tomorrow and I'm ridiculously excited about it. A lot of what I bought this week I'll still have on hand next - milk, orange juice, carrots, oatmeal and raisins.
Variety is nice, even if it's just one meal. My cost average for the first four days of eating is $3. Variety is something I crave. But variety is not accessibility. Variety is not affordability. Variety is a luxury.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Food Desert Day Two and My Personal Advantages
Today's meals were: the same oatmeal breakfast, chicken and carrots for lunch and tomato soup and bread for dinner. The total is $2.45 and my amount of calories is about 1200. Oh, I did have chocolate milk for a snack. Today I met my goal for protein.
One of the things I've heard as to why people do not eat healthy is the amount of time it takes to prepare the food. This morning while my oatmeal was nuking in the microwave, I tossed three chicken breasts in the crockpot (on sale for .99/pound). I had time to take the skin off and everything and still had them salted and peppered by the time the micro "dinged." So, no more than three minutes. Making my salad took a little longer, tearing up lettuce, opening a can of tomatoes and pouring oil and vinegar on the salad. I mean, that was at least as long as it takes to place an order and wait for food at the drive-thru.
Planning is a different matter all together. It does take time to plan the meals for the week as well as the day. Many busy families with hungry kids simply don't have this time. Or do they? Do they have the time and don't do it? Is long-term, or even short-term, planning too difficult for people in poverty?
I was fortunate that I had a mother who cooked and we ate a variety of foods (even as a picky eater), most of them very healthy. Now I have time to plan, think through the strategy and shop purposefully.
Planning may be an obstacle to healthy eating. Planning is not the same issue as accessibility or affordability.
One of the things I've heard as to why people do not eat healthy is the amount of time it takes to prepare the food. This morning while my oatmeal was nuking in the microwave, I tossed three chicken breasts in the crockpot (on sale for .99/pound). I had time to take the skin off and everything and still had them salted and peppered by the time the micro "dinged." So, no more than three minutes. Making my salad took a little longer, tearing up lettuce, opening a can of tomatoes and pouring oil and vinegar on the salad. I mean, that was at least as long as it takes to place an order and wait for food at the drive-thru.
I was fortunate that I had a mother who cooked and we ate a variety of foods (even as a picky eater), most of them very healthy. Now I have time to plan, think through the strategy and shop purposefully.
Planning may be an obstacle to healthy eating. Planning is not the same issue as accessibility or affordability.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Day One - Made it Through!
Breakfast: oatmeal with raisins
4 oz. of 1% milk at .02/ounce = .08
6 oz. of orange juice at .04/oz = .24
1 oz. of raisins at .12/oz = .12
1 oz. of oatmeal at .10/oz = .10
total: .54
Morning snack: one egg (.15) and half a carrot (.10) = .25
Lunch: salad
1/5 head of romaine lettuce (1.95) = .20
1/5 can of diced tomatos (1) = .20
1 egg ($1.09/dozen) = .15
one thick slice of bread (1.29) = .15
Oil and vinegar (?!) overest. = .25
4 oz. milk = .08
total 1.13
Afternoon snack: other half of carrot (.10) and 1 oz. raisins (.12) = .22
Dinner: banana smoothie
8 oz. milk = .16
4 oz. yogurt (.10 oz) = .40
1 banana (1.60 for 7) = .22
total .78
Grand total for Monday: $2.92
According to the nutrition tracker on Spark, the day's totals were as follow:
1250 calories
209 grams carbs
33 grams of fat
48 grams of protein (12 short)
I drank about 20 glasses of water today. To be fair, this is about a typical day's menu for me. I could eat this same thing day after day (though I would have loved some peanut butter in my smoothie!).
And I'm not hungry.
On another note, I went back to the grocery store because I was overcharged on the bananas, so I have an extra dollar. It's sort of sad how happy I was to see that one dollar bill.
4 oz. of 1% milk at .02/ounce = .08
6 oz. of orange juice at .04/oz = .24
1 oz. of raisins at .12/oz = .12
1 oz. of oatmeal at .10/oz = .10
total: .54
Morning snack: one egg (.15) and half a carrot (.10) = .25
Lunch: salad
1/5 head of romaine lettuce (1.95) = .20
1/5 can of diced tomatos (1) = .20
1 egg ($1.09/dozen) = .15
one thick slice of bread (1.29) = .15
Oil and vinegar (?!) overest. = .25
4 oz. milk = .08
total 1.13
Afternoon snack: other half of carrot (.10) and 1 oz. raisins (.12) = .22
Dinner: banana smoothie
8 oz. milk = .16
4 oz. yogurt (.10 oz) = .40
1 banana (1.60 for 7) = .22
total .78
Grand total for Monday: $2.92
According to the nutrition tracker on Spark, the day's totals were as follow:
1250 calories
209 grams carbs
33 grams of fat
48 grams of protein (12 short)
I drank about 20 glasses of water today. To be fair, this is about a typical day's menu for me. I could eat this same thing day after day (though I would have loved some peanut butter in my smoothie!).
And I'm not hungry.
On another note, I went back to the grocery store because I was overcharged on the bananas, so I have an extra dollar. It's sort of sad how happy I was to see that one dollar bill.
Shopping Done, Eating Begun - Day One
Hey, that rhymes!
Yesterday, with money and weekly circular in hand, I went to the grocery store.
I took my friend Pat along. Pat's known me for over twenty years, but she's still an enforcer of integrity. Know that episode when Kramer tells Jerry he'd turn Jerry in to the police if Jerry committed a crime? That's Pat. And I wouldn't have it any other way. She would not let me cheat. In fact, she directed me to the dollar shelves where I saved over $3 on olive oil. Of course, it's a blend, so I hope I can choke it down.
I spent a total of $33.43 and it felt like I bought a ton of food. While it was not necessary to buy everything in this one trip, I wanted to get it out of the way so I could plan my options.
For people who may have to walk to the grocery, multiple trips may be necessary unless they have one of those wheelie carts. This is an aspect of accessibility. I will discuss this matter specific to my area later this week.
This morning, I got up, eager to begin the day. In all fairness, I thought I should record my weight. Publicly. It was 142.4 (?!). It's probably all muscle. Ahem.
So far today, I've had orange juice and oatmeal (made with milk) with raisins. I've had a snack of a boiled egg and half of a large carrot. I'm keeping careful notes on how much the meals are costing per item. Breakfast was .54 and the snack was .25. The nutritional information I am tracking using the Spark People nutrition tracker on Sparkpeople.com. So far, I've consumed 325 calories, 75 carbs, 7 grams of fat and 16 grams of protein.
Lunch is looming, and it will be a salad with another hard boiled egg, tomato, and oil and vinegar. It will be tough since I'll be using inferior vinegar.
Also today, I'm going to walk my dogs, attend a toning class, and instruct an hour long Zumba class. According to Spark People's fitness tracker, that will exceed 500 calories burned.
I think I'm going to be hungry today.
Yesterday, with money and weekly circular in hand, I went to the grocery store.
For people who may have to walk to the grocery, multiple trips may be necessary unless they have one of those wheelie carts. This is an aspect of accessibility. I will discuss this matter specific to my area later this week.
This morning, I got up, eager to begin the day. In all fairness, I thought I should record my weight. Publicly. It was 142.4 (?!). It's probably all muscle. Ahem.
So far today, I've had orange juice and oatmeal (made with milk) with raisins. I've had a snack of a boiled egg and half of a large carrot. I'm keeping careful notes on how much the meals are costing per item. Breakfast was .54 and the snack was .25. The nutritional information I am tracking using the Spark People nutrition tracker on Sparkpeople.com. So far, I've consumed 325 calories, 75 carbs, 7 grams of fat and 16 grams of protein.
Lunch is looming, and it will be a salad with another hard boiled egg, tomato, and oil and vinegar. It will be tough since I'll be using inferior vinegar.
Also today, I'm going to walk my dogs, attend a toning class, and instruct an hour long Zumba class. According to Spark People's fitness tracker, that will exceed 500 calories burned.
I think I'm going to be hungry today.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Food Desert Preparation
Hunger has been an issue of great interest for me for a long time. Probably all my life. I hate being hungry.
To clarify, and all joking aside, I do believe there are hungry people in my community. Five years ago, a group of my friends and I began a community Thanksgiving dinner at our brand new community center. I learned a great deal of people who struggle with eating properly. The center still holds a weekly free meal.
However, I'm not sure if the definition of "food desert" is accurate for exactly where I live. It may very well be accurate in cities, even in the one ten miles from me. This experiment is specific to where I live. Food deserts claim two things that I wish to experience myself - access and affordability - to healthy food.
Today, I'm preparing my fridge for this venture. I've given away my leftover perishables (because I don't want to waste them!). I've spent the last three days making apple sauce from scratch, so I'm going to take that to a friend's freezer. Then, I'm going to take out this week's grocery store ad and make my list (and check it twice to make Santa proud).
Can you feel that? No? It's suspense!
To clarify, and all joking aside, I do believe there are hungry people in my community. Five years ago, a group of my friends and I began a community Thanksgiving dinner at our brand new community center. I learned a great deal of people who struggle with eating properly. The center still holds a weekly free meal.
However, I'm not sure if the definition of "food desert" is accurate for exactly where I live. It may very well be accurate in cities, even in the one ten miles from me. This experiment is specific to where I live. Food deserts claim two things that I wish to experience myself - access and affordability - to healthy food.
Today, I'm preparing my fridge for this venture. I've given away my leftover perishables (because I don't want to waste them!). I've spent the last three days making apple sauce from scratch, so I'm going to take that to a friend's freezer. Then, I'm going to take out this week's grocery store ad and make my list (and check it twice to make Santa proud).
Can you feel that? No? It's suspense!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Food Desert Experiment: Introduction
About a month ago, I learned I live in a desert. This was shocking to me because I'm surrounded by soybean fields, not sand. Further reading revealed I live in a FOOD desert. Still, a sea of soybeans and a cache of corn is everywhere I look. That's food.
You can see why I was confused.
According to a web search, the most basic definition of a food desert is an area in an industrialized country where "healthy, affordable food is difficult to obtain." A recent article in "Country Living" magazine revealed that the area in which I live in Ohio is such an area.
Of course I've noticed that the closest grocery store is seven and a half miles from my home. Of course I noticed that the produce there isn't the best. However, the term "desert" seemed a bit harsh. I've often heard that eating healthy food on a budget is more difficult than eating cheap, processed food.
Obviously, every food desert will have its own challenges and differences. I'd like to know just how difficult it is where I live. My plan is as follow:
On a weekly budget of $28-$35 a week ($4-5/day), I will attempt to eat three healthy meals a day, for seven days, for a total of two weeks. From there, I will reassess and adjust my experiment.
This experiment begins Monday, October 17th.
Everything must be purchased with the exception of flour, sugar, and basic spices as staples. Oh, and those random condiments in the fridge.
We'll see how this goes....I hope I can make it til Wednesday.
Are you in a desert? Share your own stories.
You can see why I was confused.
According to a web search, the most basic definition of a food desert is an area in an industrialized country where "healthy, affordable food is difficult to obtain." A recent article in "Country Living" magazine revealed that the area in which I live in Ohio is such an area.
Of course I've noticed that the closest grocery store is seven and a half miles from my home. Of course I noticed that the produce there isn't the best. However, the term "desert" seemed a bit harsh. I've often heard that eating healthy food on a budget is more difficult than eating cheap, processed food.
Obviously, every food desert will have its own challenges and differences. I'd like to know just how difficult it is where I live. My plan is as follow:
On a weekly budget of $28-$35 a week ($4-5/day), I will attempt to eat three healthy meals a day, for seven days, for a total of two weeks. From there, I will reassess and adjust my experiment.
This experiment begins Monday, October 17th.
Everything must be purchased with the exception of flour, sugar, and basic spices as staples. Oh, and those random condiments in the fridge.
We'll see how this goes....I hope I can make it til Wednesday.
Are you in a desert? Share your own stories.
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