Cheap & Nutritious recipes

[Sarah in SC]

I was perusing my Heifer Int'l magazine the other day and saw this link. The idea is to create healthy recipes for food stamp participants that have $25 a week allocated for food purchases.

Food Stamp Nutrition Connection: Recipes Finder

The recipes are varied, fairly healthy overall, and have the cost per serving plus nutritional information. Very nice use of our tax dollars, if you ask me. Of course I'm not sure how many of the targeted folks will actually get to the site, but it is a start. I know I'm not the only one dismayed that the cheapest food in the grocery store is often the least nutritious.

[simple girl]

Hey Sarah, thanks for posting - that's a really cool site! I really like how they list the cost per recipe and cost per serving.

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC I know I'm not the only one dismayed that the cheapest food in the grocery store is often the least nutritious.

The least nutritious ingedients are the cheapest cost, but it is a scam by the food processing companies,and until the American public gets feisty about it, not about to change anytime soon..........

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC I know I'm not the only one dismayed that the cheapest food in the grocery store is often the least nutritious.

If you are OK with lots of starch, and can do some gardening/canning I think healthy food can be had very cheaply. Costco and many Co-op type food stores sell 25# sacks of rice and beans, big bags of whole wheat flower, huge plastic bottles of salsa. All this stuff is cheap, tasty, and again, if you are OK with starch reputedly quite healthy.

Evening without gardening, frozen vegetables, or fresh in summer, are reasonably cheap if used in moderate quantities. One problem is that poorer people are often lazy, drug impaired, time constrained, or otherwise not likely to cook from bulk commodities.

Ha

[lazygood4nothinbum]

hey, mallowmars are over four bucks a box; nothing cheap about that. so if you know what you're doing you can both spend too much and eat badly. so there.

[MikeD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum hey, mallowmars are over four bucks a box; nothing cheap about that. so if you know what you're doing you can both spend too much and eat badly. so there.

Mallomars are the world's best store-bought cookie. They are only available during the cold months around here.

Mike D.

[starter82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha One problem is that poorer people are often lazy, drug impaired, time constrained, or otherwise not likely to cook from bulk commodities.

I think that's absolutely ridiculous. Time constrained perhaps, but lazy or drug -impaired? Often, often, often. Still sounds like a stereotype to me.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by starter82 I think that's absolutely ridiculous. Time constrained perhaps, but lazy or drug -impaired? Often, often, often. Still sounds like a stereotype to me.

Perhaps you are short on logic training. Did you notice the -OR- construction?

Ha

[starter82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Perhaps you are short on logic training. Did you notice the -OR- construction? Ha

I did, but I'm also a firm believer that we don't express what's not on our mind.

[Rambler]

My Dad worked with some folks receiving public assistance a while back, making the same money, and similar family size etc. While Dad ate his PBJ for lunch, the other guy got in his brand new truck and went to the burger shack for a McTriple, a quart of fries and half gallon of coke. It always made my Dad angry that even though they were both in the same income situation, his tax dollars went to buy the other guy's truck and daily cholesterol fix.

I don't like to stereotype, but a few years back, I had some renters who were also on public assistance (welfare check and housing), and it always ate me up that they could eat out every day of the week (taco bell around the corner took food stamps), had enough money for caseloads of beer, and drank the brand name sodas, but could not afford to pay their own rent....all the while I was drinking water or perhaps on a splurge would have a store-brand soda.

When it comes to eating, people CAN get by on a lot less than they are used to...but our gov't does not want to shame them by telling them to cook their own tacos (or hamburgers or whatever). By the way, beans are extremely nutritious, and can be used creatively in a lot of cooking. No time? Turn off the tube, or get a crock-pot...

R

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by starter82 I did, but I'm also a firm believer that we don't express what's not on our mind.

I still think you should bone up on logic, particularly the meaning of the -OR- operator. And leave the amateur psychology to someone better educated in that area too.

Ha

[Martha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rambler My Dad worked with some folks receiving public assistance a while back, making the same money, and similar family size etc. While Dad ate his PBJ for lunch, the other guy got in his brand new truck and went to the burger shack for a McTriple, a quart of fries and half gallon of coke. It always made my Dad angry that even though they were both in the same income situation, his tax dollars went to buy the other guy's truck and daily cholesterol fix.

What kind of public assistance? Not many programs would yield the money to put someone in the same income situation as a worker. Social security disability is probably the most generous. SSI barely gives someone enough to live on, and they will need subsidized housing. Cash assistance for families is temporary and average TANF family assistance is about $420 a month. (And BTW, families on "welfare" are no larger on average than other families.) Not a lot of people driving new vehicles on these kind of benefits.

[Martha]

Our city has a program where poor people can get a free community garden plot, and classes are taught on food prep. There also is a community kitchen where canning is taught and you can do your canning. The program is always full and there is always a waiting list for garden plots.

On the other hand, I know some very poor people who make a lot of really bad money and health decisions with food purchases as well as "sin" purchases like smokes, drugs, a booze.

I understand the "sin" decisions: addictions, depression, feeling that these things are the only things that give pleasure. Once you start human nature makes it easy to continue to justify the use.

The bad food decisions are made by all sorts of people, poor and not poor, for different reasons. It is easy to get fast food or prepared food. Not planning ahead. Not knowing how to cook. Feeling the need for a "treat." Habit. Incessant advertising. Justification.