Day 3 $25 Food Challenge

Before I get into Day Three, I have to say something about the comments I've gotten from this blog: Thank you, they are great comments. The comments made me think about this challenge in a different way. I have to admit my wife Karen does most of the shopping, but when we were living in two different cities (for nearly 3 years) I did my own shopping.

When I did my own shopping, I picked up things that were pre-packaged and easy to make. Of course it wasn't cheap, but it worked with my schedule. At the time I worked at night (2pm to 11pm) and I lived 45 minutes from work. Taking time to prepare a meal wasn't always easy but not impossible.

Since Karen and I work in TV, we have crazy schedules. This challenge has helped me (us) re-examine how we shop on a weekly basis, so again thank you for the comments.

As far as what I ate today: This time I got some eggs, so I had one for breakfast, along with a banana and an english muffin not bad. For lunch, I went "old school" and I had Peanut Butter and Jelly. For Dinner, I picked up ground beef (20% fat; had to buy it was cheaper than the lean meat) with a can of collard greens I picked from Aldi. Missed out on snacking and a lot of fruit. I was a little hungry when I went to bed.

End of Day 2 on the $25 Dollar Challenge

Sorry for the delay, but I ended day two, September 23rd, by eating Black Beans and Rice. I actually like it, but of course these weren't brands I was used to eating. I can't complain, it was pretty good.

I had my last meal of the day, after I did an interview with Kate Maehr, the Executive Director of the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Phil Ponce did the interview. Following the interview we received e-mails questioning the reason why were doing this challenge. At least one person felt that what we were doing was misleading.

Of course living off of $25 per week per person would be easier if Kate and I were buying in bulk (i.e. buying for a family instead of just one person). $25 is an average. There are some families living on less than $25 per person per week. Makes you think.

Day Two $25 Illinois Food Bank Challenge

I woke up a little hungry this morning, but this time I was better prepared. I went to Aldi and purchased nearly Ten Dollars worth of food, that hopefully will carry me halfway through this challenge. For Breakfast, I had an english muffin and a banana. Unfortunately I missed out on any sort of protein, so tomorrow I will probably have some scrambled eggs. For Lunch, I had Peanut Butter and Jelly on Oat Bran bread. I might eat this for lunch the rest of the week. Now I have to admit that I had a salad (just a few bites!) at an event that I hosted this afternoon. Now I did avoid the delicious looking desert (and it was delicious looking), but it wasn't easy to resist. Since it is only 6pm right now, I haven't had dinner just yet. I will probably have beans and rice again. I have another shopping excursion planned for Thursday so I can get some eggs, and meat for the 12 to 13 dollars I have left. This is not an easy assignment. It makes you truly realize the tough times some families are living in right now. For me it will end in a week, but for others it's a reality that probably won't end anytime soon. This is eye-opening.

Day One of the $25 Illinois Food Bank Challenge

It has been challenging from Day One. When I woke up this morning I only had water for Breakfast because I hadn't shopped for the week. For lunch I had a Cup of Noodles which I purchased for a $1 at a local 7-11, and for Dinner I had Black Beans and Rice. It filled me up, but I still felt hungry for the rest of the evening. I didn't have any green vegetables, which is unusual for me. I tend to eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fresh fruit throughout the day, but I knew those two things would fall outside of my budget. For the rest of the evening I felt tired, hungry but I fell right to sleep.