Day One

Today was our first full day on the SNAP Challenge.  Last night we went shopping as a family at Aldi's.  We decided to try to stick to a budget of $120 for the week.  We spent some time planning out our meals for the week - and we made a shopping list that was divided into 2 sections: things we needed and things we wanted.  For example, Lila likes to dip her carrots into ranch dressing.  We asked her to think about whether she needed the dressing in order to eat the carrots, or if she could forego the dressing for one week.  She thought about it for a bit and decided that ranch dressing was actually "a want" and not "a need."  As a family, we decided to go ahead and purchase about half of the things (5 items) from our "want" list.  We ended up spending $75.65.  We weren't able to get everything that we needed so I will have to stop at Schnucks or Diergbergs tomorrow.  Knowing that we have money left over to help get us through the week is definitely a comfort ... though I found myself being very careful today with the amount of cereal I put into each bowl, the amount of peanut butter or cheese I used on each sandwich, and how much milk I poured into my coffee.

We felt pretty good about our purchases yesterday - but starting at breakfast I realized that I hadn't been able to think through all the details of a week's worth of meals in one night.  I thought I was pretty smart in deciding to have oatmeal for breakfast each morning of the challenge.  I like oatmeal a lot, and it is economical and relatively healthy so I thought this was a good choice.  However, after making the oatmeal I realized that I did not purchase any brown sugar or raisins (which I normally add to my oatmeal) so my breakfast  this morning was rather bland.  When I shared this information with the kids, Lila made sure I thought about whether brown sugar and raisins were "wants" or "needs" before I went out and bought them for the rest of the week.  (I haven't yet decided about that.)

Everyone had PB&J sandwiches at lunch, along with fruit and chips.  But the kids were not able to have any mid-morning snacks as they are accustomed to on weekend mornings.  It also became clear at lunch that the normal 2 loaves of bread that we purchase each week were not going to cut it this week.  Sandwiches are going to be a big part of our lunches - and we went through half a loaf in one day.

We had cantaloupe, chicken and rice, and broccoli tonight for dinner.  Eli had a friend over and neither one of them particularly liked chicken so I made them grilled cheese.  Those of us who ate the chicken felt full at the end of the meal, and there is enough chicken left over for at least one more meal for 1-2 people later in the week.

I have found myself thinking about food much more than I normally do today - planning what to eat and when to eat, and feeling just a little nervous that there will be enough to eat.  Other than that, I would say that we are all doing pretty well.

Hope those of you taking the Challenge with us also had a good day.  Can't wait to hear from anyone else.
M.A.B.E.L. Goldstein
(Macey, Andrea, Brett, Eli and Lila)