Is this better Sue?

Two Fridays ago during our SNAPpy diet, we fixed a yummy, inexpensive but carb-loaded tuna casserole, which brought some gentle chiding from Sue.

Tonight we decided to try something that wouldn't cause an immediate run on the nation's supply of insulin. We fixed the White Bean and Tuna Salad with Radicchio from this month's bon appétit; photos are shown on the right.

The cost is similar, but the carb count is less than half the number of the casserole. Another advantage is that the salad doesn't require any cooking, so you don't have to wait for your tuna.

The only practical problem--how to supply a subscription to bon appétit for every family on SNAP. I guess that's what individual mandates are for.

SNAP Wrap-up

Dinners 6 and 7 this weekend were leftovers. On Saturday, we made chili-mac from the vegetarian chili and part of a box of elbow noodles, and on Sunday, we fixed a new batch of pomodoro sauce and spaghetti, reheated the meatballs and celebrated UNC's and NC State's NCAA tournament wins.

We've got partial nutrition figures for the spaghetti, sauce and meatballs. Per serving there were 829 calories, 41 grams of fat, and 142 milligrams of cholesterol. We don't have carbs. or protein figures for the meatballs, but there were 63 grams of carbs from the spaghetti and sauce (and probably a few more from the meatballs).

Our total bill for the week came out to about $110, just below the Thrifty Food Plan budget of 123.79 and the SNAP budget of $121.48. We were probably right on target if we had counted some of the spices, coffee, tea, etc. that we consumed but did not need to purchase this week.

As Sue has mentioned in some comments, the dinners that we chose were high in carbohydrates, so the next time we try this we will try to do better in that regard.

Now it's time to write the check to World Vision and to root for UNC and NC State.

SNAP Dinner #5: Tuna Casserole

For dinner on night #5, tuna casserole with french green beans.

Recipe for the tuna casserole.

Ingredients:
1 lb. package egg noodles
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion
2 15-oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup low-fat milk1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbs. dried parsley flakes
2 5-oz. cans of tuna in water
3 oz. cheddar cheese grated 

Directions: In a large pot over high heat, boil water. Pre-heat over to 350^o F. When water is boiling, put in egg noodles, cook until 1 minute underdone (about 7 minutes). Drain. While noodles are cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over a medium-low heat. When the oil is heated, cook the onion until just soft, about 5 minutes. Add mushroom soup, milk (use the milk to rinse out the mushroom soup cans), pepper, and parsley. When soup mixture starts to boil, add tuna. Heat through, and add noodles. Mix thoroughly, pour into a baking dish. Put dish in oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the casserole is bubbly. Remove from oven; add cheese, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Our estimate is that the casserole will serve six, with the following nutrients per serving: 613 calories, 24 grams of fat, 148 grams of cholesterol, 66 grams of carbs, and 34 grams of protein (thank Sue for prompting the nutritional info.).

The adults liked their servings and half of the teenagers did (five nights of SNAPpy dinners will do that to a teenager).

SNAP Dinner #4: Cream of Potato Soup with Ham and Salad

Dinner for night #4 is Cream of Potato Soup with Ham and Salad.

For the Cream of Potato Soup
Ingredients:
2 Tbs. butter
1 medium onion diced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
3 large potatoes diced bite size
1 15-oz. can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 Tbs. flour

Directions: Heat butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. When the butter is melted, cook the onion and bay leaf until soft (about 5-10 minutes). Add spices and cook for 1 minute. Add potatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add broth, bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove bay leaf. Whisk the milk and flour together; add to soup and heat through. Remove from heat and puree half of the mixture in a food processor. Re-combine and cook over a low heat until the soup thickens.

With this, we cooked ham slices and served a salad.

SNAP Dinner #3: Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches

Dinner for night number three was grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, rice with onions and carrots, and a salad.

For the rice...
Ingredients:
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 of a medium onion chopped
1 carrot diced
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup rice (rinsed and drained)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups chicken broth

Directions: Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Cook the onion and carrot until the onion starts to soften (5-10 minutes). Add the pepper and cook for one more minute. Add the rice and cook until the rice just starts to brown. Add the broth and salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low and cook until the broth disappears (15-20 minutes). Let stand covered for 5 additional minutes; fluff with a fork.

The whole thing took just under 30 minutes. Fast, cheap, and what kid passes up a grilled cheese sandwich?

SNAP Dinner #2: Spaghetti with meatballs and sauce

Dinner for night number two...

Baked USDA meatballs, adapted to be edible from Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals.This was one of our favorites from the USDA cookbook. The main problem with the cookbook version is that the directions call for baking the meatballs for only 15 minutes--45 minutes works much better and results in better colon health. We also substituted garlic for garlic powder.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 lbs. lean ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 medium onion minced or put through a food processor
2 garlic cloves pressed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions: Preheat oven to 400^oF. Use the vegetable oil to grease a deep baking pan. Beat eggs with milk, pour into a large bowl. Add the ground beef and other ingredients. Combine ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Form 1-1/2 to 2 inch meatballs by taking a large pinch of the meatball mixture and rolling in your hands. Place meatballs in pan. You should get about 30 meatballs. Place in oven and bake for about 45 minutes, turning the meatballs over about halfway through.

We had half the meatballs with pomodoro sauce, adapted from the May 2011 Bon Appétit. The dish is even better if you have fresh herbs available, but we were trying to save money.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 medium onion minced
4 garlic cloves minced
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil flakes
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
30-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 Tbs. dried parsley flakes 

Directions: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft (about 10 minutes). Add garlic and cook for another 2-4 minutes. Add the spices and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes. Cook for at least 20 minutes for the mixture to blend.

We served half of the meatballs (15) with all of the sauce and with the cooked spaghetti.

This remains a family favorite, at least when the meatballs are cooked. In fact, we had it a week earlier with no leftovers when number-1-son was home on his college break.

By the way, the meatballs look less like turds in real life (they taste less like turds, or so I've read from The Help).

Oh SNAP! The thrifty meals are back

It's been a while, but the Ribars are going back on a thrifty diet.

Back in 2009, we spent two weeks eating meals that had been recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program). The goal of our "diet" then was to test whether the recipes could actually be fixed within a SNAP budget; it turned out that we came out a little over-budget. Another goal was to see whether the meals were edible. Some of the dishes were surprisingly good (at least to one Ribar); others were barely edible; still others ended up having bad recipes that would have left people sick.

For the 2012 version, we're doing something different. We're going to start with a one-week Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) budget and cook meals that we like that fit within that budget.

For our family, which now consists of two 18-50 year-old adults and one 17 year-old son (a son has left the nest along the way and will be following with amusement from Chapel Hill), the TFP budget is $123.79. The goals of this week's diet are to stay within budget and to contribute some inexpensive recipes that we like (one later this week will be the correct and edible version of an incorrect USDA recipe).

Breakfast this morning (and until Friday) was cereal, juice, and milk. Lunch this afternoon (and until Thursday) was cold-cut sandwiches, fruit, and store-bought cookies.

For the rest of the week, I'll be blogging and showing SNAPshots of the dinner recipes. Dinner tonight was vegetarian chili with rice and cheese accompanied by a tossed salad.

The nice thing about a vegetarian recipe is that it doesn't run afoul of most people's religious or dietary preferences. The not-so-nice thing is that it's a lot of beans to consume in one sitting. Don't fix this before a long car ride with the in-laws. More than that, don't fix this for the in-laws before a long car ride with them.

The recipe for vegetarian chili is adapted from the October 1990 Consumer Reports.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 large onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 clove garlic minced
4 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 Tbs. Worcester sauce
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 15-oz. can red kidney beans with liquid
1 15-oz. can pinto beans with liquid
1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans with liquid
water

Directions: Heat oil in a large pot over a medium heat, add onions, peppers, and garlic, and saute until they start to soften (about 5 minutes). Add spices and saute until spices are heated (about 1 minute). Add diced tomatoes (keep cans); cook until spices and oil start to run clear of the tomatoes. Add remaining ingredients; use a little bit of water in each can to get the remaining bits out. Continue cooking over a medium heat until the chili starts to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 30 minutes.

For dinner, we used half of the chili; the other half will be used later this week.

For the rice...

Ingredients:
1 cup white rice rinsed and drained
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups hot water

Directions: Heat the oil in a small sauce pan over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and fry for 15-30 seconds until you can smell the cumin. Add the rice and saute, stirring often until the rice just starts to brown. Add the hot water and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the water is just gone (about 15-20 minutes). Let sit for 5 additional minutes covered. Fluff with a fork.

Serve chili and rice with cheese to teenager and gauge reaction; if suitable, consume it yourself. (Note: very hungry teenagers may fake stomach distress to get the whole pot themselves).

Some heartfelt economic news...

Yes, I'll fess up that after a couple-month hiatus, I did pay a "few" visits to McDonalds last month, but I didn't think I ate that much

Sales rose 6.5 percent at McDonald’s stores in the U.S. and also 6.5 percent in Europe. Analysts were expecting growth of 5 percent in the U.S. and 4.3 percent in Europe.

Thank goodness that Donut World doesn't have to report its sales figures.

Buy 'em by the sack

In a sure sign that the apocalypse is nigh, White Castle is selling a new scented candle.

What better way to celebrate National Hamburger Month than with the aroma of a greasy White Castle burger? With the fast food chain's new scented candle, burger lovers can now enjoy the smell of sliders and onions all day long.

The candle's "steam grilled on a bed of onions" scent was created by Nest Fragrances, and the limited-edition candle comes in a ceramic holder designed to mimic White Castle's hamburger packaging, the fast food chain said this week.

Thank goodness it's the burger scent and not the smell-in-the-closed-car-during-the-drive-home scent.

Surprising follow up to Thrifty Diet

During the first two weeks of March, we followed a diet of meals that were supposed to be affordable under the U.S. Department of Agriculture "Thrifty Food Plan."

At the end of those two weeks, we calculated that our food costs were $383, about 20 percent over the Thrifty Food Plan amount. I also wrote that we would continue tracking our food costs and that the difference between those food costs and the diet costs of $383 would be sent to World Vision.

We kept the receipts for March, but it's taken me a while to go through them. I can now report that our total food costs for the rest of March were a surprisingly low $543.71. This amount includes grocery costs of $437.79, which on a prorated basis is almost the same as our grocery costs under the diet. It also includes restaurant costs of $105.92.

The costs were much lower than we expected. In part, the low costs reflect some travel in the last two weeks of March where my meals were provided by the hosting organizations. The low costs also reflect our family taking it easy on restaurant meals during Lent. Even so, we were surprised at how modest the bills were.

$161 is on its way to World Vision.

2nd week Thrifty diet SNAPshots

The second week of the diet, like the first, had some notable hits and misses. The week started out really well with stir-fried pork, pot roast left-overs (not shown), and spicy baked fish. Thursday and Friday, however, were the dark days, with tasteless turkey chili and then a gag-inducing Spanish baked fish. Saturday's baked meatballs would have been an undercooked disaster if we had followed the directions, but with a longer cooking time, they turned out well. Tonight we're revisiting the turkey-cabbage casserole (hopefully, it won't return the favor and revisit us).

stir-fried pork	baked spicy fish
Lots of good vegetables and easy to fix. Cut up pork pieces would have been better than ground pork.	We lucked out with this--it was also a tasty and easy-to-fix dish.
turkey chili	spanish baked fish
This has to be the least flavorful chili that we've ever tasted. Think about what a book looks like after it's fallen in a puddle and then dried. That's how this chili tastes. To compound the misery, the recipe calls for mustard, which turns the glop an unnatural orange.	Hands-down, this dish, with its gag-inducing sauce, was the worst meal that we had during the two weeks, though the saucy noodle bake comes in a close second (to last). Whoever thought to desecrate a perfectly good fish filet with this glop has issues, very serious issues.
baked meatballs
It's hard to go wrong with spaghetti and meatballs; they were a big hit with the boys. Be careful though with the recipe. The meatballs should bake for 25-30 minutes, not the 10-12 in the directions. Hamburger tartar is seldom a good idea.

In addition to the dishes shown, we took advantage of the available ingredients to fix an apple crisp and banana-nut bread.

How thrifty was the Thrifty diet?

Today is the end of our Thrifty diet. This and the next few posts will run through some of the information that we've collected.

An immediate initial question is, "how thrifty were we?" Our goal was to follow the USDA recipe guide, Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals, for our major meals and see where we ended up budget-wise.

Since Feb. 28 (our first shopping day for the diet), we have spent $480.28 on groceries. Besides the groceries for the diet, this figure includes groceries that were purchased for the weekend before the diet, for the upcoming week, and for a Greensboro Urban Ministry food drive. If we subtract those foods from the total, the grocery bill comes out to $383.11. That figure is closer to a half-month total because we have unused food that will be available for upcoming meals.

Besides the ingredients for the diet, the $383 grocery figure includes things like sodas, bottled water, paper napkins, chips, snacks, etc. However, it omits one lunch that Cathy was served at work and three lunches that the boys had on school trips. There were no other restaurant meals or other meals out.

We can compare the expenditures to what SNAP families receive and to the USDA food cost amounts. Recall that the maximum SNAP allotment for a household of our size would only be $588, or $294 for half a month. So, our spending ran 30 percent over the prorated SNAP allotment. SNAP benefits follow the June 2008 Thrifty Food Plan figures, rather that the most recent figures. The SNAP allotment is also based on the TFP for a particular type of family (two adults ages 19-50, one child 6-8, and one child 9-11). In our case, the TFP has to be adjusted for two voracious teenagers of the male variety, making the half-month TFP figure for our household $318. So, even there, our spending was 20 percent over the TFP.

The half-month budget amount for our household under USDA's second least expensive food plan, its "Low-Cost Food Plan," is $427. The USDA reports that the Low-Cost plan is often used in bankruptcy cases to set household budgets. Our two-week spending was 90 percent of that amount. So, by USDA standards and apparently bankruptcy standards, our spending was very modest.

We should point out that following the menu for dinners as closely as we did actually cost us extra money. The portion sizes were different from what we would have eaten, and we didn't make as complete a use of left-overs as we normally would. More generally, the meals weren't as coordinated as a regular two weeks of shopping. So, with more flexibility in the menu, we could have brought the food costs down.

Also, all but one of our purchases were made at the Harris Teeter at the nearby Friendly Center, which is convenient but pricey. We could have done better if we had taken advantage of our Costco membership or shopped more at Food Lion.

We're going to continue to track food costs, including meals out, through the end of the month. The difference between those costs and the $383 will indicate our savings. A donation in that amount will go to World Vision.

Pot roast (night #7)

We're on a three dinner winning streak--the baked fish, baked chicken, and now the pot roast (USDA guide, p. 21) were all great. Egg noodles, peas and carrots, orange slices, and left-over peach cake accompanied tonight's dinner.

Everything tonight was easy to make. The chuck roast for the pot roast got browned and then simmered for two and a half hours. The egg noodles were boiled for ten minutes; the peas and carrots were microwaved for about three, and did I mention that we had left-over peach cake.

We'll get left-over pot roast for the upcoming week. The rest of the menu is as follows:

Menu for week 2

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday	orange juice; cereal; English muffins; milk	cold cut sandwiches; apples; store cookies; carrots	stir-fried pork and vegetables; rolls; orange slices; milk
Tuesday	orange juice; cereal; English muffins; milk	cold cut sandwiches; apples; store; carrots	pot roast left-overs; noodles; green beans; lettuce; milk
Wednesday	orange juice; cereal; English muffins; milk	cold cut sandwiches; apples; store cookies; carrots	baked spicy fish; noodles; peas & carrots; milk
Thursday	orange juice; cereal; bagels; milk	cold cut sandwiches; apples; store cookies; carrots	turkey chili; macaroni; peach-apple crisp; milk
Friday	orange juice; cereal; toast; milk	peanut butter & jelly sandwiches; apples; store cookies; carrots	spanish baked fish; rice; peas; peach-apple crisp; milk
Saturday	orange juice; scrambled eggs; turkey ham; bagels; milk	chicken noodle soup; crackers; orange slices; oatmeal cookies; milk	baked meatballs; spaghetti sauce; lettuce; bread; milk
Sunday	orange juice; scrambled eggs; hash browns; milk	tuna pasta salad; crackers; orange slices; oatmeal cookies; milk	turkey cabbage casserole; orange slices; crackers; chickpea dip; milk

We'll end the menu the way it started with the turkey cabbage casserole.

Baked chicken (night #6)

Dinner #6 on the thrifty food plan menu was baked chicken, mashed potatoes, green beens, and peach cake (USDA guide, p. 66). White bread (what else) was also initially on the menu, but there was enough other food that we decided to skip the bread.

The USDA guide didn't include instructions on how to bake the chicken, so we were on our own (baked with rosemary from the garden, Montreal seasoning and butter).

All of the baking (the cake, then the chicken) took a while. As you can see in the picture, one of the diners was a tad impatient.

Besides skipping the bread, we also managed to down just half of the cake, so we've got dessert leftovers for tomorrow.

Two weeks is enough thank you

CNN reporter Sean Calebs has just finished following a food stamp diet for a month. You can read his blog about the experience. Sadly, the blog doesn't have any yummy pictures.

Baked fish with cheese (night #5)

Lots of baking tonight. We had scalloped potatoes that we baked, along with the baked fish (it was supposed to be cod but we went with haddock that was a little cheaper, er, I mean more economical; actually SNAPper would have been more appropriate, if it fit in the budget). The dinner also had fresh spinach and orange slices. Mercifully, we got a reprieve from the white bread.

The potatoes took a few extra minutes to prep; otherwise it was relatively easy. Start to finish, dinner took an hour to prepare with most of that time spent cooking the potatoes.

The only mishap was that the potatoes boiled over in the oven, but that was okay as it was time to clean the oven anyway.

The kids seemed to like everything; they thought that the salad was a treat. Although Cathy and I had to steel ourselves for the fish with cheese, the dish actually worked.

I bet Kim Jung Il wished he ate with us.

Turkey stir fry (night #4)

Tonight's dinner, shown on the right, was turkey stir fry (USDA guide, p. 40), white rice, and the ubiquitous white bread. The stir fry, with carrots, onions, and zucchini, had more vegetables than the last two dinners combined. It also used fresh vegetables, which was also a nice change from the last two dinners.

Dessert (not shown) was a peach-apple crisp (USDA guide, p. 65). The crisp was good, but not especially crispy. The crumb mixture didn't completely cook--the recipe calls for 20 minutes of baking but most crisps call for 40-50 minutes (we actually left it in the oven for 40 minutes). Also, most crisp recipes have you put something crunchier in the topping like oats or nuts. That said, the kids devoured it. Normally, that would rate as a success, but as it turns out, the crisp was supposed to last for two meals.

The prep time and cooking time for this meal were longer than the guide suggested. The cooking was also substantially more involved. There wasn't anything that really went beyond what we would normally prepare. But with a lot of chopping and with three hot dishes going at once, it might be more than a parent with active little kids might want to take on.

Saucy beef pasta

I do not propose to write an ode to dejection, but to brag as lustily as chanticleer in the morning, standing on his roost, if only to wake my neighbors up -- and all the better if it be a chanticleer casserole. (with apologies to H. D. Thoreau)

Tonight's dinner is shown in all its glory on the left: saucy beef pasta (USDA guide, p. 24), canned pears, and white bread toast.

Fixing time was the shortest so far, a total of 30 minutes. For all intents and purposes, the meal is homemade Hamburger Helper ® ("beef pasta" flavor), with frozen green beans thrown in.

I liked it and would fix it again; the other three Ribars were neutral. Just so you know, I like Helper, too, and I think I like ®.

One warning for those of you who try this at home, the recipe calls for 6 3/4 cups of egg noodles, or about an entire one pound bag; half a bag was more than enough. Also, the recipe calls for cooking the green beans before putting everything in the oven; I'd recommend just putting them in frozen and letting the oven do the work (they'll come out a little crunchier and a deeper green). Better yet, use frozen peas.

The casserole that taste forgot

Tonight's dinner, shown on the right, was beef noodle casserole (USDA guide, p. 22) with black beans and a medley of orange and banana slices. The cooking time was quicker than last night--15 minutes to prep and 30 minutes more to cook.

The kids liked the beans (the dish that didn't come from the guide) and the medley. The casserole, not so much, though with two teenage boys at the table, it all got finished. If we make the dish, again, we'd do it without the bread crumbs (and better yet without the beef, noodles and sauce).

A lot of my research over the last few years has focused on ways to incentivize work and economic self-sufficiency among food stamp households. We may have hit upon the casserole that would do it.

Turkey cabbage casserole

Pictured to the left is tonight's SNAPpy dinner--turkey cabbage casserole, white bread, orange slices, chick pea dip, and milk. Mmm.

While the presentation suffered from too many red- and brown-hued foods, it wasn't too bad and didn't take too long to fix (about 15 minutes to prep and one hour to cook in the oven).

I'd also post pictures of breakfast and lunch, but you probably already know what cereal and sandwiches look like.