Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of this works when the stove in your crappy apartment breaks and you’re scared to tell the landlord because if he comes in he’ll know you have more than the allowed number of occupants in your place.

Or when you have a slumlord who won’t deal with the mouse and/or roach infestation so you can’t store any food in bulk.

What? Focus. Poor people can eat healthy cheaply. They just don’t want to. Hence why they are poor.

I killed the mice in my apartment and decimated the roaches when they appeared. I didn't wait for a landlord nor hired an exterminator. I just made traps and used boric acid.
I get the OP. There are so many people, including the poster above, who accept being hapless and helpless. Moreover, they have it in their head that it is someone else's responsibility.
My parents fed our family of 7 on $60/week back in the 1980s. My Chinese mom cooked every single night, we could not afford to eat out. Our meals were cooked from scratch and nutritious with plenty of greens because she loved veggies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You seem to have little or no empathy OP. Why judge people so harshly? It sounds like your mom did what she could, but that food does not seem healthy. Have you been to a store lately? Fruits and vegetables are very expensive. The only thing that isn't is Trader Joes pasta and pasta sauce. It wouldn't be healthy to eat that for long. Also, since you're so judgey, why was your mom a single mom? Why no man in the picture? She could have afforded more for you with a man in the pic.

Seriously?

Organic black Lentils are $2.99. Carrots are $3.00. Celery $2.99. Make a soup in a pot that will feed you for a week. So many excuses.

How many true blood, “North American” bred and raised people have ever eaten a lentil, much less knowing how to prepare a dried one?

And are you really making soup with only lentils, carrots, celery, water? Seems like it would taste awful. You aren’t adding flavor. You aren’t skimming. What else is being used as an adjunct? People forget about the other things that make food palatable, or a meal - spices, broth, etc. those things cost money, need storage, and need some element to skill to use. I could do it, but I know what to do. It’s like saying bread and water are a meal.

DP here. Buy a rotisserie chicken for $5 and pick all the chicken off and chop/shred it. Divide it in two. Use one batch to make a casserole with frozen broccoli (microwaved), a can of cream of chicken, a can of cream of celery, sprinkle shredded cheese on top and bake. Serve over instant white rice. This feeds our family of four (with leftovers) for $10. Use the other half of the chicken to make a soup or stew (like chicken noodle or chicken tortilla, chicken rice, so many choices online with simple ingredients.) Also a $10 meal. Eating healthy dinners for $70/week for a family of four is pretty straightforward. Oatmeal or store brand cereal, milk, and bananas for breakfast. Tuna, PB, or Turkey sandwiches for lunch with sliced apples bought in bulk (or other in season produce on a good sale.) Supplement with canned/frozen fruit and veggies. Yes, you need more than what I've listed (spices, condiments, etc. but you don't go through those every time you use them.) You are making this much harder than it needs to be.

Curious, where are your costs for the soups, the cheese, and rice? Where is this magical $5 chicken coming from daily, because food safety would dictate it shouldn’t be around more than a day or two. Depending on the size of the chicken, I wouldn’t expect it to fill a family for more than a night, and if two, it needs a bit of support. What re the other ingredients for this mysterious stew?

It sounds straightforward until you have to do it. Try it. But try it without any of your “stock” items - vegetables like mirepoix, spices, broth, condiments, etc.

Yes, you can eat cheaply when you “have to”. I was homeless and lived off off 0.33 ramen (cold, because I didn’t have a way to boil water) and bacon but with ketchup sandwiches (a luxury), It’s not a life in a way that is hard in the way many people here this is hard. And it’s not a life to give children.

Boiling organic lentils and make them taste good? Well, considering half the people here talk about what their kids will or won’t eat… empathy seems scarce.

I gave you recipes I make on a regular basis. And yes, a single rotisserie chicken is good for two dinners for my family of four, including two teens. The half we don't use right away gets frozen in a ziplock bag. The soup has a carton of chicken broth (2.50?) plus two cans of black beans ($3) plus 1 can of diced tomatoes and a small chopped onion. I always buy store brand. Yes I add spices but I buy them store brand and they last a long time, even with regular home cooking like I do.

You honestly just sound like you don't cook much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was a single mom, DD and I fed ourselves off $750 monthly of food stamps. We were able to do grass-fed/organic meat & eggs, too. What I did:

Breakfast was always oatmeal + pastured eggs + fruit on sale.

Lunch/Dinner was one of these rotating items:
Chuck roast
Pork Chops
Burger patties
Tilapia
Chicken Thighs

Served with either rice, potatoes, or egg noodles.

Veggies were carrots, celery, onions, sometimes mushroom and peppers, collard greens.

I'd also rotate in in spaghetti with meat sauce, stuffed peppers, tacos, homemade chicken noodle soup.

If we had extra food stamps at the end of the month, I'd get steaks or shrimp.

Honestly, I would still eat this way if H didn't complain. I was in fantastic shape.

$750 for 1 adult and 1 child? Yeah, I'd think you would be eating pretty well on that, especially if it was a 5-10 years ago. Prices have gone up, wages haven't kept up. I still don't spend $750 to feed 2 people.

Anonymous wrote:Wow PP…

In what state/city were you allocated $750 per month in food stamps??! 😲

That is a very large amount for only two people.

Bragging about having enough left over to purchase steaks + shrimp though makes it look bad for those depending on food stamps because this is rarely the case for most families who receive assistance.

Most people get enough food stamps to purchase food for their families for about 1/2 the month…..then the rest of the month they may have to scrimp or visit food banks, churches, etc. in order to eat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you made a great point how growing up, your Mother didn’t have much yet prioritized good nutrition for you growing up.

I think your Mother sounds very resourceful & I am glad that your family was able to enjoy a healthy diet in spite of not having much $$.

However your post comes across as a little tone deaf 🧏‍♂️ in my opinion.
Perhaps that is just my interpretation of what you wrote - but I feel as if subliminally you are calling out poor families who make excuses for not eating healthy meals.

Each + EVERY family situation is so different in so many unique ways that it is simply unfair to judge the actions of others.

Op here. Thank you for this post. I should have been more careful in my wording. Of course there are reasonable causes for people not eating healthy. My point was only that in can be done, even under not ideal circumstances.

Saying that something can be done does not mean that if people don't do it they are defective. It is possible for me to train harder to swim 3k in open water. The fact that I can't do it does not mean I am defective.

Anonymous wrote:OP, you made a great point how growing up, your Mother didn’t have much yet prioritized good nutrition for you growing up.

I think your Mother sounds very resourceful & I am glad that your family was able to enjoy a healthy diet in spite of not having much $$.

However your post comes across as a little tone deaf 🧏‍♂️ in my opinion.
Perhaps that is just my interpretation of what you wrote - but I feel as if subliminally you are calling out poor families who make excuses for not eating healthy meals.

Each + EVERY family situation is so different in so many unique ways that it is simply unfair to judge the actions of others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was a single mom, DD and I fed ourselves off $750 monthly of food stamps. We were able to do grass-fed/organic meat & eggs, too. What I did:

Breakfast was always oatmeal + pastured eggs + fruit on sale.

Lunch/Dinner was one of these rotating items:
Chuck roast
Pork Chops
Burger patties
Tilapia
Chicken Thighs

Served with either rice, potatoes, or egg noodles.

Veggies were carrots, celery, onions, sometimes mushroom and peppers, collard greens.

I'd also rotate in in spaghetti with meat sauce, stuffed peppers, tacos, homemade chicken noodle soup.

If we had extra food stamps at the end of the month, I'd get steaks or shrimp.

Honestly, I would still eat this way if H didn't complain. I was in fantastic shape.

Wait, did you really get $750 a month for just the two of you?!

She also apparently didn’t work since she was making chuck roast and tilapia for lunch every day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was a single mom, DD and I fed ourselves off $750 monthly of food stamps. We were able to do grass-fed/organic meat & eggs, too. What I did:

Breakfast was always oatmeal + pastured eggs + fruit on sale.

Lunch/Dinner was one of these rotating items:
Chuck roast
Pork Chops
Burger patties
Tilapia
Chicken Thighs

Served with either rice, potatoes, or egg noodles.

Veggies were carrots, celery, onions, sometimes mushroom and peppers, collard greens.

I'd also rotate in in spaghetti with meat sauce, stuffed peppers, tacos, homemade chicken noodle soup.

If we had extra food stamps at the end of the month, I'd get steaks or shrimp.

Honestly, I would still eat this way if H didn't complain. I was in fantastic shape.

Wait, did you really get $750 a month for just the two of you?!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was a single mom, DD and I fed ourselves off $750 monthly of food stamps. We were able to do grass-fed/organic meat & eggs, too. What I did:

Breakfast was always oatmeal + pastured eggs + fruit on sale.

Lunch/Dinner was one of these rotating items:
Chuck roast
Pork Chops
Burger patties
Tilapia
Chicken Thighs

Served with either rice, potatoes, or egg noodles.

Veggies were carrots, celery, onions, sometimes mushroom and peppers, collard greens.

I'd also rotate in in spaghetti with meat sauce, stuffed peppers, tacos, homemade chicken noodle soup.

If we had extra food stamps at the end of the month, I'd get steaks or shrimp.

Honestly, I would still eat this way if H didn't complain. I was in fantastic shape.

$750 for 1 adult and 1 child? Yeah, I'd think you would be eating pretty well on that, especially if it was a 5-10 years ago. Prices have gone up, wages haven't kept up. I still don't spend $750 to feed 2 people.

Anonymous wrote:When I was a single mom, DD and I fed ourselves off $750 monthly of food stamps. We were able to do grass-fed/organic meat & eggs, too. What I did:

Breakfast was always oatmeal + pastured eggs + fruit on sale.

Lunch/Dinner was one of these rotating items:
Chuck roast
Pork Chops
Burger patties
Tilapia
Chicken Thighs

Served with either rice, potatoes, or egg noodles.

Veggies were carrots, celery, onions, sometimes mushroom and peppers, collard greens.

I'd also rotate in in spaghetti with meat sauce, stuffed peppers, tacos, homemade chicken noodle soup.

If we had extra food stamps at the end of the month, I'd get steaks or shrimp.

Honestly, I would still eat this way if H didn't complain. I was in fantastic shape.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I replied on the first or second page, Latina, and immigrant, etc., blah blah blah. I think a lot of it really is cultural. Cooking from scratch is something my family always did in the home country and taught me. I could also live off the same meal for a week.

My husband, although he grew up poor, his parents didn’t cook and he ate mostly microwave meals. He can’t eat the same me for more than two days and so a lot of that trace is back to childhood.

+1. Same. I know how/where to buy cheap filling foods, how to season and cook, and have no issue eating the same thing for days. DH is SO bad at price shopping (idk how he somehow manages to find the most expensive variation of whatever he’s buying every time) and hates leftovers.

We both grew up without a ton of money (me lmc him very poor) but our families approach cooking and food differently. A lot of what OP is describing is based on family of origin norms