The more reading and research I do the more I get excited about our My Earth Garden October Food Challenge.  The numbers out there are not looking good at all which just tells me that there is no better time than now to bring the issue of food insecurity to the forefront of our minds.  The USDA estimates that the cost of food is going to increase by 3-4% in 2011 and that’s a problem that doesn’t seem to be alarming the public as much as it should.

The Government Says We’re Gonna Starve

According to this chart, the average cost of food at home for males between the ages of 19 & 50 in 2011 ranges between $176 (Thrifty plan) and $347.70 (Liberal plan). The same chart says that the monthly cost of a Thrifty meal plan for a household of two adults in the same age range would be $366. Unfortunately John & I have chosen to live on the amount of the average SNAP / Food Stamps an Alabama resident would receive, so we will be creating the “Really Really Thrifty plan” while living on just $126.90 each for the month of October. That’s $4 per person, per day, or $112.20 less than what the data suggests that we should have for the lowest cost meal plan.

I’m a lifelong gardener, so I know how to grow my own food.  John & I live on rural land, so we have the room to grow our own food. To fully embrace this challenge we are putting that all aside and striving to eat the best diet we can on the amount of money we are allowed.  As one friend pointed out, the real challenge is not eating on that amount of money, it is eating a reasonably nutritious diet on such a restricted budget.

To make this work we are going to have to be creative and we’re going to have to be prepared to compromise on some of the things we enjoy and take for granted.  We will have to embrace portion control (not our strong suit, I assure you) as a way to keep costs in check and to accurately account for the price of any given meal. 

I don’t foresee going without food at any point but I’m willing to do so for the sake of this challenge if I have to.  It is even possible that we may have to purchase so-called convenience and prepackaged foods to make our budget limits work and though I do not and will not recommend it, it will be worth it for the illustrative value of this challenge.

The Light At the End of the Tunnel Is an Oncoming Train

Whatever the outcome of the October Challenge, the point is for it to be as true-to-life as possible- an accurate depiction of the struggle to feed yourself on low income. When the month is over and we can look back on what happened, we will also be in a better position to illustrate the value of growing and preserving your own food, and that will be the subject of a future challenge project.

TELL US!
What do you think is a reasonable amount of money for a monthly food budget? Do you have any experiences to share? Leave a comment below.

Everyone knows that we should eat food that is good for us, but sometimes a body just needs a little comfort food.  My homemade cheeseburger macaroni was born years ago out of necessity – I was hungry and only had a few ingredients on hand at the time. The process is simple and can be made in 20 minutes. This is how it is done:

Brown 1 pound of ground beef and drain well, returning to skillet.

Add the following:

• 3 Tablespoons of Michael’s Taco Seasoning* (you can use a packet if you have it, but we’ll laugh at you)
• 1 1/2 cups of diced tomatoes (or a can of Rotel, blah blah blah)
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup of macaroni noodles

Stir it up.

If you happen to have that boxed macaroni & cheese crap on hand, this is a great way to use it.  The contents equal about a cup of macaroni. If you use the powdered cheese packet, you’re on your own.

Bring this mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover, simmering for 12-15 minutes until the macaroni is done and it looks like this:

Now we’re gonna work a little magic. I hope you’re  ready. Since we don’t use that chemical-and-salt cheese flavored powdery junk, we are gonna need some serious cheesy goodness up in here. 

Grab a small saucepan and add a little butter. A Tablespoon will do, but 2 Tablespoons will do twice as good. Heat the butter until melted and bubbling, then add a couple of Tablespoons of flour and whisk it up good.  Keep it moving so it doesn’t scorch, but just cook it until the flour gets a little color on it, usually about 2 minutes or so.

Add 1/2 cup of milk and whisk it well until the mixture boils.

Take the sauce pan off the heat (or just turn off the stove eye, genius) and whisk about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Keep whisking until the cheese is completely melted, resisting the urge to stick your face in the pan and eat it right then and there.

Pour that cheesy deliciousness into the skillet over the beefy macaroni goodness as illustrated here:

Stir everything together and let it sit for 5 minutes to mix the flavors together. I know you’re hungry, so to kill time during that five minutes, might I suggest:

• getting out the plates and utensils
• updating your Facebook status with a link to this recipe so your friends know how awesome you are
• deleting all the forwarded emails your mother sends every day
• recreating Lady Gaga’s latest hairstyle with soap suds from the sink

See there? 5 minutes goes by in a flash!  Dinner is served!

*Michael’s Taco Seasoning

• 5 T chili powder
• 1 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 7 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 3 tsp corn starch

To every pound of ground meat, add 3 Tablespoons of seasoning mix and 2/3 cup water.

What we have come up with for October’s challenge is off the beaten path, but it is topical and fits well with my work as a food advocate. John & I have been talking for months about how much we enjoyed the April Food Challenge and ever since, we’ve considered options for a new challenge that was similar.

For the month of October, we will eat on an amount that equals what the average Alabama resident receives as part of the food stamp benefit program.  Based on data from this table,  the average Alabama food stamp recipient in fiscal year 2010 received $126.90 per month in assistance.  As there are two of us, we will double that amount to $253.80.

Because this is such an unusual challenge, we sat down and came up with a few rules to keep things as realistic as possible.

The Rules

1. A Visa gift card will be purchased before the start of the challenge for the full amount of the money allotted for the challenge.  All purchases will be made with this gift card and all receipts will be kept and logged. Food purchases will be treated as though they are being made with food stamps. This means that no taxes will be counted. In order to account for the difference, 10% (local tax rate) will be added to the total Visa gift card amount, making the total starting amount $279.18.
2. Basic pantry staples that are found in the average household such as salt, seasonings, tea, sugar, etc. will not be purchased until needed.
3. The menu for the month will include only those items available from grocers in the local area and only items that may be purchased using food stamps.
4. Menus and recipes will be posted for all meals eaten during the challenge.
5. Coupons may be used, but as per tax laws, we will pay taxes on the amount of the coupon.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

• While the majority of meals will be made at home, we want to acknowledge and illustrate that it is possible to dine out even on a fixed income. For that reason we are not ruling out an occasional meal outside the home.
• Food already on hand may be used and will be charged to the monthly budget based on the amount actually paid for the item (s). When the amount paid for an item is not known, the current price at a local market will be applied.
• In the event of an invitation to eat at someone’s home, a dish will be prepared at home that will be taken along. The cost of the prepared dish will be counted toward the month’s total.  Additionally, any houseguests will be fed without increasing the budget amount.
• As John works outside the home, his lunch meals and snacks will be brought from home for the duration of the challenge.
• EDITED TO ADD: We will not rely primarily on our homegrown and home canned goods during this challenge. When any home canned products are used they will be charged at market value.

THE GOALS

Because of my work bringing to light the ongoing food insecurity problems that so many suffer from in this country, I hope that this challenge will cause people to look more closely at both the quality and amount of what they eat as well as what we waste, often without a thought.

We also want to illustrate that it is entirely possible to eat and eat well on a small amount of money. That’s why our shopping lists and receipts will be displayed for the world to see during the challenge.  By following along, even those with severely limited kitchen or budgeting skills will be better able to feed themselves great food without breaking the bank.

What do you think? Do you have any suggestions on how to stretch our food stamp money for the month of October? Recipes? Other thoughts? We welcome your comments below.

On September 17, 2011 at 3:30pm I will be speaking on food issues with author Robyn O’Brien at the Eat Drink Read Write Festival in Birmingham, Alabama.

Robyn is the author of Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It as well as being founder of the Allergy Kids Foundation.

The event is free but reservations are required. I hope to see you at the talk!

According to the latest data released by the USDA Economic Research Service, nearly 15% of households in the United States were classified as “food insecure” in 2010, and that number barely budged from the previous year.  The definition according to ERS is:

Food insecure—At times during the year, these households were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had insufficient money or other resources for food. Food-insecure households include those with low food security and very low food security. *

The classification is further broken down into two sub-groups, low food security and very low food security, defined as follows:

Low food security—These food-insecure households obtained enough food to avoid substantially disrupting their eating patterns or reducing food intake by using a variety of coping strategies, such as eating less varied diets, participating in Federal food assistance programs, or getting emergency food from community food pantries.*

Very low food security—In these food-insecure households, normal eating patterns of one or more household members were disrupted and food intake was reduced at times during the year because they had insufficient money or other resources for food. In reports prior to 2006, these households were described as “food insecure with hunger.” For a description of the change in food security labels, see “Definitions of Hunger and Food Security.”*

In other words, 15% of our households are going hungry at least part of the time. Of that percentage, 96% stated that they had skipped meals because they could not afford to eat.

*source: Food Security in the United States: Definitions of Hunger and Food Security, USDA Economic Research Service, September 7, 2011

Are you one of those people who are afraid to cook with dried beans because you are never quite sure how to do it? Not only are dried beans nutrition dense, they are inexpensive, easy to store and they taste great!

Here is one of the easiest recipes I’ve come up with for cooking dried pinto beans and it is so tasty that everyone will want to know how you did it.

You’ll Need:

• 1 1/2 cups dried pinto beans
• 6 cups water
• 3 Tablespoons dehydrated minced onion
• 1 Tablespoon sea salt
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, sliced (optional)

What to Do:

1. Rinse and sort the dried beans, removing any debris and broken beans.
2. In a large saucepan, add all ingredients and bring to the boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Notes:

• Add water 1 cup at a time as needed to avoiding scorching the beans. Ideally, there should be enough liquid to have a gravy-like consistency but not so much that it appears soupy.
• You can use fresh onion in the place of dehydrated. 1 cup of fresh diced onion is equal to 3 Tablespoons of dehydrated minced onion.
•  

This recipe results in perfectly cooked pinto beans every single time no matter how much (or how little) experience you have in the kitchen.

I am always on the lookout for ways to make some of my favorite indulgent treats at home for less.  One of those treats happens to be expensive frozen coffee drinks from a particular coffee shop lovingly referred to by some as FourBucks, because that’s the average price for a coffee when you visit. I love my frozen coffee but the cost is just too much for me to justify on a regular basis. That’s why I devoted time to figuring out just how to make my own perfect frozen coffee drink at home.

Step 1:  The Coffee Base

The most important thing I have learned in trying to replicate the taste that I so enjoy is that you can’t use regular leftover coffee as I have seen some sites recommend.  The taste will be just as bitter as the reheated cup from yesterday that you struggle through when you realize that you woke up late, you are out of coffee and you only have 10 minutes to get to work. In fact, you don’t want to use standard brewed coffee at all for that very reason.

I start with a pound of ground coffee. It doesn’t have to be expensive coffee, in fact I used coffee that we had put aside because we didn’t like it.  I was experimenting after all, and good coffee isn’t cheap.

Put the ground coffee into a large container and add 1 gallon of cool water (filtered is best).  Stir to thoroughly wet all of the coffee and cover the container.  You can either leave this on the counter or refrigerate for 12 hours (or more if you like).  After the time has passed, strain the coffee through a fine mesh strainer or several thicknesses of cheesecloth and refrigerate.

NOTES: I used a fine mesh strainer because I tend to like the finer coffee sediment in my drink – it makes it stronger and daddy loves him some strong coffee. This coffee base should keep in the fridge for about 3-4 weeks if kept well sealed. Adjust the amount of base you make to match how much you’ll use in a month.

Step 2:  The Drink

Here’s where individual taste will come into play, but the general premise will remain the same.

• Fill a glass with ice
• Add coffee base to the halfway point
• Add your sweetener of choice
• Add flavored syrup if desired.
• Add milk or half & half to fill
• For iced coffee, just stir and enjoy
• For frozen coffee, pour into a blender, whirrrr and enjoy.

That’s the general idea.  For my perfect frozen caramel coffee drink, this was my recipe:

• Start with a 16 oz glass and fill it with ice.
• Add coffee base to fill halfway.
• Add 2 teaspoons of sugar
• Add 1 Tablespoon of caramel syrup
• Add milk to fill.
• Blend until smooth.

Adjust the amounts to suit your taste and replace the sugar with whatever strikes your fancy. The possibilities are endless.  Want a mocha?  Add chocolate syrup.  Hell, you could even make a chocolate cherry drink with the juice from a jar of maraschinos, unless you were industrious enough to make your own homemade cherry limeade jelly like we did last week and have cherry syrup on hand.

The most important part of the process is to have a good coffee base to work with. From that point you can do whatever you like.  Don’t be afraid to experiment and try something new, after all, it won’t cost you four bucks a glass at home!

We’re all familiar with banana bread, but did you know that you can make a delicious and sweet bread using apples? Most recipes call for applesauce or shredded apples but when I was making apple juice in my juicer a few years ago and thought that the pulp that was left behind would be perfect.  As it turns out, I was right, and my homemade apple bread recipe was born.

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees and creaming 1/2 cup (or a stick) of butter or margarine in a mixer with 3/4 cup of sugar.

You could do this by hand, but I’m lazy and there’s a perfectly good stand mixer on the counter so I’ll be doing it the easy way this time around, mmmkay?

Once the butter and sugar are properly creamed and crumbly, add 2 eggs and 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.

I tried to get fancy with this shot, but cracking an egg with one hand and taking a photo with the other is a bit more complicated than I’d imagined, so there is no action shot here.  Sorry.

In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups all purpose flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon baking soda.

Sure you could skip this step, but it gets the dry ingredients mixed really well before they go into the wet stuff, so just do it.  Trust me, it is the right thing to do.

Also, see the action shot above? I got baking soda all over my camera.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixer along with 3/4 cup orange juice and 1 cup of apple.  Your apples can be in the form of applesauce, chopped apples, reconstituted dried apple or the leavings from your juicer (as shown above).

Don’t discriminate and don’t judge. Use what you got, honey.

Finally, toss in about 1/3 cup of chopped nuts if you want.

Maybe you don’t like nuts. Maybe you like walnuts. It’s your party, you can nut if you want to.

Wait, that came out wrong.

Now that the hard part is over, scrape the mixture into a greased bread pan that’s about 9” x 5” and spread it around until it’s even.  Slide it into the oven and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  When you do it right, your awesomeness will be rewarded with something that looks like this:

Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

For as long as I can remember I have loved pickles.  Sweet, dill, it doesn’t matter so long as I have them around.  Given my penchant for doing things myself I am sure you will understand when I explain that store bought varieties just don’t cut it for me anymore, but at the same time traditional pickling methods are time intensive both for making pickles and for waiting on them to… well, pickle.

A few years ago I came up with a great way to make quick pickles in the refrigerator in about 24 hours and I am finally ready to share it with you.  Bear in mind that any measurements are only going to be estimates as the exact flavors will vary depending on your cucumbers, your vinegar and your personal taste.

Preparing the Cucumbers

Always start with fresh picked cucumbers.  If you are purchasing them, do not go for the large variety with the thick, waxed skins as the flavors will lack the depth that this recipe really calls for.  Wash and cut the cukes into slices of about 1/4 inch each.  Put them into a bowl and sprinkle liberally with sea salt, not that iodized crap.  Leave the cukes to sweat for about 20 minutes while you put together your brine.

The Brine

Here’s where the measurements get estimated, so keep that in mind as we go.  The amount of brine you need is directly related to the amount of cucumber you have to work with and because I often only have 3-4 at a time, it changes. 

The liquid is made up of equal parts apple cider vinegar and water.  To that starter I then add sugar at an approximate rate of 1 Tablespoon per cup of sliced cucumbers. Minced garlic, black pepper and dill are then added to taste.  For 2 cups of brine I will add about 1 Tablespoon of garlic, a few shakes of fresh ground black pepper and 1 teaspoon of dill.  Stir or shake the brine until the sugar is well dissolved.

Place the cucumbers any the liquid they have released into a resealable jar or other container.  Pour the brine over them to cover and then put the lid on the container. 

Refrigerate for at least 24 hours before you give them a taste and then see how long they last!

That’s a wrap!  No seriously, THAT over there on the left, is a delicious turkey wrap. It is also the end of the April Food Challenge.

Oh come on, give me a break! It took me HOURS to come up with that joke , the least you could do is humor me with a giggle or something equally condescending.

With 20 new recipes completed in 30 days, I’m happy to say that the April Food Challenge was a big success.  That’s not to say that every recipe got a glowing review but there were quite a few keepers in the mix.  All in all it was a productive month with a lot of new flavors and best of all was that we spent time together doing something we both truly love to do  – EAT.

Here’s a list of all 20 recipes:

1. BBQ Seasoning (used with Homemade Kettle Chips)
2. Roast Turkey Breast with Zesty Dry Rub
3. Coleslaw
4. Squash Croquettes
5. Mess o’ Greens Salad With Warm Pecan Dressing
6. Coconut Cream Pie
7. Mandarin Chicken
8. Honey Glazed Carrots
9. Bacon Spinach Salad
10. Potato Salmon Patties
11. Black Bean Veggie Burgers
12. Lemon Yogurt Cake
13. Stuffed Peppers
14. Kickin’ Collard Greens
15. Sarita’s Marinara
16. Stuffed Crappie
17. Homemade Poultry Seasoning
18. Potato Gnocchi
19. Spring Rolls / Egg Rolls
20. Cashew Chicken

So there you have it, all twenty of the recipes we were able to accomplish in 30 days, on two very busy schedules.  The reality is that there were 10 days in a row in which we didn’t make a single new recipe and we still finished the challenge.

Michael’s Final Thoughts & Top Picks

This was a kickass challenge and I am so glad we did it.  I am lucky to share a love of cooking and home cooked food with the same person I share my life with.  We tried so many things I may not have ever made quite the same way and it opened my eyes to new ideas and potential.

I really had a hard time narrowing down my top three favorites:

1. Roast Turkey Breast with Zesty Dry Rub
   I chose this as my number 1 because not only was the flavor delicious and different, the one recipe made enough for four dinner entrée portions and enough leftovers to be frozen and thawed today for the delicious turkey salad that is ensconced in the wrap pictured at the top of this post.
2. Mandarin Chicken
   There was something magical and surreal about this meal. It was delicious and we combined three dishes that just didn’t belong together and yet they blended together beautifully. This meal (with the carrots & bacon spinach salad) was an eye opener for me in that it taught me to go with what I want, not what is expected.
3. Sarita’s Marinara
   As picky as I am about anything tomato-based, this recipe won me over without a doubt. So simple, so inexpensive, so delicious!  Thanks again, Sarita!

John’s Final Thoughts & Top Picks

John says: “When Michael presented this idea to me at the end of March, I was definitely on for it. Where I love to cook and had been bitching about not having time to do so, I knew it would give me the motivation to get home on time, make a meal I would never make at home, or I might make, but would have “modified” it to fit my taste, missing out on the beauty the creator and original cook planned when they made it.”

“I can compare it to walking up to Picasso and adding glitter and some emoticons to make it more appealing. Just like people, it’s good to experience recipes the way they are, if you don’t like it, just don’t eat it and don’t make it again. No one says you have to eat what you cook as an adult.”

“I would say anyone that thinks, “I don’t have time.” Take the time, make the time, and share the time. Let cooking dinner become a romantic occasion. Share the work, the reward and the clean-up. We spent time planning, discussing, at times disagreeing, but we spent time together. It was not always a Kodak® moment, but it was time well spent.”

1. Sarita’s Marinara
   John says: “I chose this as my number 1 based on the factors of flavor, ease of preparation, and flexibility, but the biggest factor to me is the cost. For under $5 there was enough marinara to have the first night and with the gnocchi, and have 32 oz left for another meal. In the summer, it will be revamped to made from fresh herbs and tomatoes. All organic and all chemical and pesticide free.”
2. BBQ Seasoning
   John says: “on a kettle chip, a piece of chicken, beef grilled out, HELL, EVEN THE TIP OF MY FINGER, I would have the BBQ Seasoning any time.”
3. Lemon Yogurt Cake
   John says: “Where the cake was heavy and not like most you would expect to bake, it’s more of a quick bread, but not. Its texture, color and POPPING lemon flavor was the most welcomed part. It was easy to make, easy to ice and verrrrrrrrry easy to eat. There was not a crumb wasted.”

For the final meal of the challenge, John chose the menu.  We both love Asian cuisine and a recent sale meant that we were flush with cashews. What better way to use them than in a delicious homemade cashew chicken?  Because no meal of Asian food is complete without eggrolls or spring rolls, we just had to make some of those too.

(19) Spring Rolls With Soy-Ginger Dipping Sauce
Originally appeared in Bon Appetit Magazine, September 1996
see link for recipe source

John swears that he wasn’t trying to kill me by ending the challenge with a ginger recipe.  That’s why we skipped the dipping sauce altogether on this recipe.  Plus, it gave him a chance to show off his mad roll wrapping skills.

Verdict:  Having made eggrolls myself in the past, I had hope for this one but in the end, these were a non-starter for both of us.  The fish sauce is entirely uncalled for, making us feel like we should have rinsed it out of the filling before rolling the eggrolls.  Next time we will go veggie only, and no fish sauce.

(20) Chicken And Cashew Stir-Fry
Originally appeared in Gourmet Magazine, May 2007
see link for recipe source

John’s primary reason for choosing this recipe over others was that it seemed to be a good blend of health conscious eating and flavor variety.  The recipe was quite accurate with regard to prep and cook time which was much appreciated because we (well, John) were cooking pretty late that night.

Verdict:  Spot on.  This is a hearty – but not too hearty – delicious meal that is full of color and flavor.  We will make this again to be sure.

And with that, dear friends, we have met the April Food Challenge head on and completed it with time to spare.  Thankfully we had this meal prior to the onset of the bad weather that plagued the state because life has understandably been a bit chaotic since.

If you take anything away from our food challenge of 20 recipes in 30 days, I’d like for you to challenge yourself to trying just one new recipe each week.  It will help you to break out of the same old, same old and you just might find that you enjoy things you never thought you would.