Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Do you have a Food Budget?


I don't cook much, if at all. The last time I did was about three weeks ago. I normally buy fruit, OJ, milk, cereal and bread. Most of the other times I order out and I know that's expensive. I'd love to cook, but when I get in from work I just get on the computer, read or do whatever it is I want to. Yeah, I'm lazy.

I found this story at the NY Times. It's about an experiment with Congressmen testing to see if they could survive on the amount of money given by the Food Stamp program. Check to see how much you can get for $120 a week. This is what I spend a day on food.

$1.75 - Bagel and coffee
$7.10 - Salad and water
$3.00 - Green grapes
$10.00 - Dinner & misc.

That's $21.85 a day. That's five days a week for a total of $109.25. That's just while I'm at work. I still need to buy milk, etc. Enjoy the article and if you have any easy quick recipes, let me know.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

For Summer:
A couple of quick salads are good.

1 bad of mixed salads/greens.
a handful combination of nuts...pepitas, pine nuts etc.
A mandarin - in segments
Some spring onions or spanish sliced.
You can add cucumber or corn kernels as well.
A tomato if you're inclined sliced or small whole ones.

Dressing:
Microwave a small portion of mixed berries. We have a brand called Sara Lee. They're quite decently priced.
A dash of cummin.
A splash of orange juice.
A splash of balsamic vinegar.


As for a meal:
A small portion of brown rice (cooked and cooled). The bigger the portion, the more you can freeze.
Some shredded roasted Chicken.(equivalent - if you like I think you can switch this for beef but Chicken is best).
A handful of Sultanas and the like.
Grapes (reg Globes or green)
Celery in small portions.
Brown onion in small portions.

Tossed in there (dressing):
A tablespoon of curry powder.
A equivalent portion of mayonaise (low fat).

This meal will taste even better after a day or two and when you want to eat it, just throw them in the microwave. Sorry Kevin can't sent this across by snail mail - won't get through customs!

Goes well with a shiraz or beer! A gin and tonic or a vodka lime + frozen margaritas in Summer.