United Way Hunger Challenge Day 2 : $22.43 for a family of 5.

Today is Day 2 of the United Way Hunger Challenge.  Already I am about a latte’s worth away from maxing out our food budget.  However I am wishfully hoping I won’t go to the store anymore and that we will be able to enjoy the food we have without feeling deprived.  Variety is important to me and my kids haven’t noticed much of a difference of the types of food we usually eat.

This morning my daughter asked for a plain egg and cheese breakfast burrito ($.57) with a glass of orange juice ($.16).  My other daughter had a glass of oj ($.16) and a 1/2 cup bowl of home made granola ($.60) and milk ($.11).  My son had a pear ($.50) and a half cup of Cheerios ($.11).  My husband and I together had 2 cups of coffee ($.50), a glass of oj ($.16) and 2 super delux breakfast wraps ($1.31×2=$2.62).  Total for breakfast was $5.33.

For lunch my husband had a PBJ ($1.00), an apple ($.10), grapes ($.30), carrots ($.20), chips ($.30), granola bar ($.25), 2 cookies ($.32), and a cheese stick ($.29).  His lunch was $2.76.  Both of my daughters each had a Peanut Butter Sandwich ($.70×2=$1.40), an apple ($.10×2=$.20), cheese sticks ($.29×2=$.58), chips ($.30×2=$.60, and 2 juice boxes ($.25×2=$.50).  My son had a cup of milk ($.11), cheese stick ($.29), and yogurt ($.31).  Their total for lunch was $3.99.  For my lunch..well today I splurged on some sushi.. a Las Vegas Roll to be exact.  I spend $2.74 on the roll, $.30 grapes and $.20 for Edamame.  I also had a lemon ($.10) with water throughout the day.  Total for lunch today was $10.09.

After school snack was Edamame ($.50) and grapes ($.60).  Snack tally is $1.10.

For dinner we ended up eating cheeseburgers, french fries, and apple slices.  We also had 1 dinner guest.  I ended up making my own hamburger buns and mayonnaise.   I would love to report that my children had vegetables on their burgers but they just had plain cheeseburgers with ketchup.  Anyone surprised by this?  They also had a friend over for dinner and they scarfed all the food down.  The delux burgers were $1.19×2=$2.38 and the kids burgers were $.80×3=$2.40. French fries were $.50 and apple slices were $.20.  3 glasses of milk ($.33) were consumed and 4 glasses lemon water ($.10).  The dinner total was $5.91.  Total food consumed for the day was $22.43.

I realize that for many people reading this blog that they will see I’m working my butt off trying to prepare everything myself.  That’s because I am.  Our family is on a single income and my job is not only to stretch every dollar my husband brings home, but also to be as creative as possible without compromising taste, variety, and flavor.  Shopping, cooking, and preparing meals is time consuming but the rewards are invaluable… especially for our children.  I hope my children develope a palette for un processed foods and an appreciation for cooking for oneself.  As you can see from the past 2 days is that you can eat pretty well if you are willing to put in the time to prepare your own meals and shop the best deals.

I noticed Eric Rivera also posted a Mayonaise recipe in his Hunger Blog report.  Here is mine which costs $.40 a cup.

Alice’s Mayonnaise Recipe

1 egg

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp of white vinegar

1/4 tsp of prepared mustard

1/4 salt

Place all the ingredients in a bowl or blender.  Mix using a hand blender or table top blender for 3-5 minutes until everything has emmulsified.   Use of refridgerate immediately.  The mayonnaise will be good for upto 5 days.  Enjoy!