the food stamp experiment

first things first...

happy october

fall > all other seasons

october > all other months

so go outside and enjoy the crisp air and changing leaves!

october in mexico. (photo cred: pat may)

anyway...i'm doing an experiment.  i'm finishing up my last political science class tomorrow, and one of the last things i studied was social policy.  in that chapter i learned that for those on welfare, the average amount people receive for food stamps is $90 a month per person.  i don't know what all your grocery budgets are, but mine was significantly higher than that.  so, i decided to do an experiment.  for one month, i would only allot myself the amount of money we'd receive through food stamps if we were receiving them.  the experiment is pretty simple (based on SNAP rules):

• September 22 - October 19
• 2 people in my household = $180
• this budget only counts for food.  you cannot buy toiletries, paper products, or cleaning products with food stamps.  

here is the catch to make it a little more challenging.  our meals have to meet the myplate requirements (the food pyramid).  that means 2 cups of fruit per person per day, 2 1/2 cups veggies for me and 3 for brennan each day,  6 oz. grains for me, 8 for brennan, etc...tedious, i know.  that's why we're 2 weeks in and i haven't been tracking our servings at all.  so help!  

do you have awesome, cheap, healthy recipes? 

 we've probably done pretty well for the most part cause i do cook a lot of veggies, but fruits sometimes get ignored. any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.  

peace+love