Potluck Woes

We went to a potluck tonight. Or should I say, our son went to a potluck. He took crackers and cheese because we couldn't face cooking a dish and we didn't think that anyone would mind a six year old snatching a little free food. We brought some of our pasta tossed with a little canned, stewed tomatoes and our daily allotment of two wieners. No one ate our dish. Maybe they felt sorry for us and didn't want to decrease our portions or quite possibly it was the steaming lasagna on the one side and the delicious sweet and sour chicken on the other side. And the dessert...chocolate cheesecake with a pecan caramel crust. We made it through without trying any.

The reason that we went was to spend some fun time with friends. We talked a little about the challenge but were really preaching to the converted - I met these friends while volunteering at the Elgin Street Mission. The really sad thing is that if we were truly relying on the food bank for food we definitely wouldn't have even gone to the potluck. How humiliating it would be to bring our makeshift casserole and expect other people to eat it. No wonder depression and social isolation is high in low-income populations. Not only are you missing the extra money needed for a night out but you don't even have the means to enjoy a free Saturday night hanging out with friends.

I do have one small confession: we have two pieces of cheesecake in the freezer waiting for Friday night!

IS IT FRIDAY YET????

Well I have to say I was excited about the challenge....but that was yesterday. Today is another story. Having picked up my box of food was an experience I would not want to have to do every week, and I was very humbled by the experience of going to the Salvation Army depot to ask for food. Seeing a young couple with an infant baby registering for food, how sad is that? Waiting my turn allowed to me take notice of the process of filling out an application for food entitlement...all very disturbing, so many of us don't even realize how fortunate we are to grocery shop and buy what we want whenever we want....

Walking out with my food supply made me start thinking about how I was going to stretch 3 days of emergency food into 7 days of meals. How many meals can you make with a litre of milk, one pack of No Name weiners, one box of KD, one sandwich bag full of pasta noodles, and one of rice, one tin of Spagetti sauce, one can of green beans, one tin of No Name tuna, one can of brown beans, one loaf of bread, 6 eggs, one bag of shreddies, one box of Ritz crackers, a container of Becel, coffee, tea, sugar, and a package of cookies. While it sounds like a lot of food, trust me it all fit into one little box! No creamer for coffee, no ketchup for KD, no peanut butter, no fresh meat, or perishable fruits or veggies and dip! And since I exercise daily, I try to have carbs/proteins at every meal to maintain good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. This is going to be a challenge!

MEAL DAY ONE - Since I had yogurt before leaving home to pick up my food package, I ended up with a bottle of water for lunch, and saved my pasta and sauce for dinner. Turns out a friend dropped by and of course, I made a small dinner for the two of us. No salad or garlic bread. Because I was hungry it tasted good, and we wanted more but I had to think ahead and managed to have keep leftovers for one maybe two smaller meals for later this week. For the rest of the evening I drank water, and went to bed early to avoid thinking about the popcorn or chips sitting in the cupboard.

MEALS DAY TWO - This morning I was starving when I got up. OK bottle of water, off to the gym, back home near lunchtime,there I saved a meal by not having breakfast. So for my lunch it was one boiled egg and one slice of toast (which I have cut into several slices for the week and put it in the freezer to keep it fresh). More water.... Supper time arrives, ok, how about Kraft Dinner, and weiners (carbs and protein remember?), would you believe another friend drops in to say hello, but fortunately for me, she didn't want to stay for dinner...great! there is some KD for another meal. More water, mix a tea bag and a bit of sugar for an iced tea drink...ugh! not quite Nestea! Saved my cookie for bedtime! Hopefully, I don't wake up with a headache or hunger pangs. Tomorrow will be interesting....need some energy before the 5K Run for the Cure...I know I will be famished by lunchtime...more water....stay tuned...

Liz Spooner-Young

Proud of myself.

I made crackers from scratch :) flour, water, a bit of salt and oil and voilà! Still have a terrible headache. Not sure if it's from barely eating or part of the cold going around work.

Cooking for company

Okay, so I can smell the bread baking, (Italian Cheese), I've just pulled the apple crisp out of the oven, and every time I stir the chili I think about stealing just one little peice of red pepper. We have family visiting this weekend, there isn't much we could do that would surprise them, but it is weird cooking for them and then watching them eat. My watery vegetable soup and toast just doesn't compare to what everyone else is eating. Actually I think this is a form of torture, I likely will start watching the food channel soon.

I noticed yesterday after Larry blogged that my kids had fast food for both lunch and supper. For our family that only ever happens if we are travelling, and fast food in general is a rare treat. I'm a 'from scratch' cook and was surprised at what i fed my kids yesterday. I remember the decison to order the pizza had to do with feeling so hungry and overwhelmed at the thought of trying to make food for the kids. I get how being so hungry, tired and overwhelmed can lead poor decisions about food. If I was really hungry and had 50$ to buy food with for a month, I admit it would be tempting to just go buy a burger than think about the million ways to need to make it stretch, knowing I'm likely to fail anyway. Why not just go and enjoy the burger?

Man that apple crisp smells good!
Kathy

I Dreamed of an Orange

Just before I woke up, I dreamed I sliced a huge juicy orange and started eating it. Then within that dream I woke up and felt guilty about cheating on the the Do the Math Challenge. Then I really woke up craving an orange. It's been less than 24 hours and my family and I are obsessing about food.

The trip to get our box of food at the food bank was enlightening. We packed everything up in bags and took the bus home, which was standing-room only. It was fun to unpack the groceries, like opening a parcel. Everything was laid out on the counter, where it will stay for the week. Then reality hit. That's not a lot of food for four people.

Because we're a family, we get a little more than individuals: a dozen eggs instead of six, two loaves of bread instead of one, four litres of milk instead of two. Our family usually goes through sixteen to twenty litres of milk in a week, so we started planning and rationing immediately. The peanut butter is a lifesaver. That was lunch. Peanut butter on bread. We even got a jar of jam, but I have to admit that the prickly pear jam didn't go over well with my 14 year old. (I guess that why it's donated to the food bank)

Supper was Kraft Dinner with one wiener each rolled in slice of bread. The KD was no-name. I have to admit I can eat the occasional KD, but I had a hard time finishing my plate...and the box was split four ways!

The folks at the food bank threw in an extra, which they say they'll do when they have it. So we got a boxed cake mix. Again, no-name. We're a family of snackers, so that cake was whipped up right away, using two precious eggs instead of the three the recipe called for. No frosting. Kind of a weird taste. I'll leave it at that.

We tried to create a menu plan for the week, but have all but given up on keeping the kids in the challenge. There's nothing for school lunches. The can of juice will be gone this weekend. We're already through one loaf of bread. They could take crackers to school, but peanut butter is not allowed. Karen and I will forge through, but at this point we think we're going to have to supplement the kids' lunches next week.

Like I said before, we're obsessing about food and our eyes are already opened. We'll see what we dream about tonight when they close.

Ugh

I woke up with a dreadful headache, definitely inspired by not eating. Since I was babysitting my cousins last night, I never had supper...I brought the box of KD with me but it was simply too much effort. Once they were in bed and sleeping, I passed out with a hungry gnawing tummy.

Right now, I'm having toast with margerine and it's not exciting. Chewing slowly. I don't think I'm going to make it the full week. Once I start running out of the foods I like and face the idea of brown beans and tuna, I think I'm going to crack.

I am also going to fess up - last night I had to drink bottled water. My relatives sink water is currently not fit for drinking so that's all we had. Does that count as cheating?

I Don't Have KD Memories

I may have mentioned, I grew up in a home with a mother obsessed with making the perfect meal. Even when she worked, food was always prepped and on a timer; my father and I never ever went hungry, and everything (aside a a brief sidekick period when they first came out), was always made from scratch - If I wanted Kraft Dinner, I went to my grandmothers for the best homemade Macaroni and Cheese. My life at home, consisted of 3 squares, healthy meals, and low salt....

I was a very lucky girl

As I got older, and ventured off to take on the big bad world myself, I still never wanted or needed anything food wise. My mother was always worried I'd go hungry; so on Sunday's when I made the pilgrimage from my downtown apartment to the Valley, I always left with bags of meat, cheese, pasta, and veggies.... I very rarely have experience a tough time food wise.

Until dinner last night

I'm one of those people who get excited from time to time about a little KD; never having it as a child, and actually being able to count on two hands the amount of times I've eaten it since those youthful days I crave it, need it, and occasionally want it....so dinner last night was going to be the highlight of my day, especially because I was going to add hot dogs.... SO many people in my life have talked about KD and hot dogs, and tonight I was going to find out why.

I don't get it

Salty, starchy, and the "meal" left me feeling quite like Morgan Spurlock on day 5 of his MacDonalds challenge I was left feeling lethargic and sick.... Sure I was full, but it was far from a good satisfied feeling. The hot dogs (and I love a good hot dog) were the saltiest I have ever eaten, and I don't eat a lot of salt (although I did miss it in the Becel).

So of course, as I ponder the meal I had just finished, I again thought of individuals who rely on these resources to get them through even the most simplest of days.... How do they do it? Do many of the clients of local food banks ever get veggies and fresh food? Do their meals consist of starches and salts, and how long do they go before they become incredibly sick? I for one could not go long on this "diet" and do not believe anyone should.

Kraft Dinner and hot dogs (KD), may be a nice snack to travel back in time with, but it should not be the food families are raised on.

My list of what I should be eternally grateful for is starting to pile up.

Who has time for poverty?

Well, after investing 2 hours in the round trip from home to the food bank I am wondering who has time to be on a low-income? I can drive to the grocery store, drop $150, and be home with the goods all put away within an hour and a half. The plus side is that it doesn't take long to microwave a can of beans.

Two things surprised me about the basket. Firstly, no peanut butter. I've had a scenario in my mind of me in to my elbow, scraping out the remnants of the peanut butter jar on day six. Now it seems that I am actually going to have to add margarine to all of my starches. Ironically it is salt-free margarine. One person out there is looking out for my health. I guess this is going to make up for all of the processed food I'll be eating this week. I agree with Penny, after this is all over I'll be taking a load of healthy food choices - whole grains, vegetables and fruits - over to the food bank.

The second surprise was the 2 cups of sugar. I'm not sure what we will do with this as we also received Lucky Charms and I'm quite sure that there will be no need to add sugar to these. I do not add sugar to tea or coffee so I guess I'll just be using it as a quick pick me up. Here's a new scenario: Day six, eating sugar with a spoon. I guess we'll see how desperate I get.

Does anyone want to trade for a can on no-name tuna?

So how does one act when walking in to a food bank for the first time?  I don't really need to be here but hey?  Eyes downcast?  Eyes up?  False and nervous smile?
These were my thoughts as I walked through the doors, but in the end I was just awkward. Probably what I would be like if this was for real.

Awkwardness gone when  I saw my friend Sterling and the warm smile from Jennifer who took my information.  Worse than awkwardness back when the box of food was delivered and right on top, staring me right in the eye was a round yellow tin of tuna.  no-name tuna.  Anyone remember Starkist?  I had opened one of those and never never since!  So if theres 3 days to go and if thats all I have left, well people an survive on just water for a few days right?
Kraft dinner for supper was superb and always brings back memories of university; 2 am with beer and friends.  Damm! Beer isn't on that "pantry" list.

Group support

When I came back to work with my box of food everyone was eagerly awaiting my arrival to see what would be inside. A few of my co-workers immediately spread out the contents of my box and started breaking it up into day groups, telling me to use the KD and a couple of wieners as two meals, giving me little tips here and there. I was extremely lucky to have a friend who is a nutritionist present to help me plan out my week, reminding me to try to eat the same amount of calories every day (to make sure i don't have a "crash day")

this will be one crazy week

Thanks Yves