Don't have the cash for a Prius? Don't have a house to insulate? Want to make a difference starting today? Why not Cook for Good?
You can now eat well for just $1.12 a meal by using the Cook for Good shopping lists, menus, and recipes, down from $1.25 in January. Go green by using mostly organic and sustainably raised ingredients for just $1.88 a meal, up from $1.78 last month. The maximum food-stamp allowance for a family of four in North Carolina is $1.61 a meal, 48 cents more a meal than the Cook for Good regular plan. See the details on the Cook for Good savings page.
It's not just about money or delicious food, although you will save the first and enjoy the second. You'll be doing good, too: good for your health, good for your family, and good for your community and your planet. I'm starting a regular diary on DailyKos because I believe that voting with your food dollars is one of the most direct way to influence the world around you. And if you use my thrifty method, you'll have more money left to donate to other progressive causes (or to keep the wolf from your door).
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I've been working on this shopping, cooking, and eating plan for nearly two years. This experiment in thrifty, delicious eating was born when the philosophy of food ran smack into the politics of food in the summer of 2007.
On the philosophical side, Michael Pollan declared in The Omnivores’ Dilemma that the only rational plan for people of limited means was to wallow in the center section of the grocery store, buying as many calories as possible with their limited funds. On the political side, Congressman Ryan did just that when he tried to live on the food-stamp allowance of a dollar a meal. His solution was a slap-dash, center-aisle approach, with his aides throwing in two-ounce bags of coffee into his cart. When airport security seized his stash of peanut butter and jelly, he was looking at thirty-six hours with nothing but corn meal. He wound up cheating by eating bags of airline peanuts.
Nonsense, I thought, reading both of these accounts. These men must not be cooks. A dollar a meal is tight, but it doesn’t mean you have to pick Cheetoes over carrots. The goal should not be maximum calories but maximum nutrition. The maximum-calories idea had been around for years, supporting the idea that poor people were often fat because they didn’t have the money to eat food that would allow them to be thin. But you get fat by eating too many calories. Surely buying better food to move closer to the ideal number of calories and nutrients would be both possible and desirable.
My husband and I embarked on a trial of variations on the Food Stamp Diet for more than three months. By the end of that test period, we'd decided to permanently change the way we cook and eat. That's because of the benefits that I think of as the Seven Lively Savings:
- Save money – Eat well on an average of $1.12 a meal for the regular plan and only $1.88 for the "green" plan which uses mostly organic or sustainably raised ingredients. Save hundreds of dollars or even thousands of dollars a year compared to the USDA's food plans. And by eating such a healthy diet, you’ll save money on medical costs too.
- Save time – Cook for Good in about the same amount of time as you'd spend eating out and less time than with typical, loosely planned cooking (at least the way I used to cook). Reuse pots several times in one cooking session to cut down on washing dishes. And cooking in batches means that you cook once and clean once but eat several times.
- Save your mind – Get rid of the daily stress of "what’s for dinner?" Eating less sugar and processed foods will make you and your kids less jumpy. Saving money now and learning how to cook on a very low budget will give you confidence in tough times.
- Save your family – Create good memories for your kids by filling your home with the delicious smells of baking and cooking. Give them a chance to talk with you while you cook. (It’s easier to have a heart-to-heart talk at home than at McBurger.) And let them help! Even young children can scrub potatoes. Teens can take over making bread or yogurt. You’ll be teaching them skills to help them when they have their own kitchens.
- Save your community – Have enough food to join celebrations and bring comfort to your family, friends, and neighbors. Support your local farmers so that good food is produced near you.
- Save the planet – Cut back on your use of oil by cutting back on the transportation costs of your food, the amount of meat you eat, and packaging you buy. You'll help slow global warming and reduce the suffering of animals too. Buy organic or sustainably-raised food when you can to reduce pollution and support good farming practices.
- Savor your food – The meals are simply delicious. Start today with the recipe of the week: Tomato sauce with collards and onions. Enjoy!
For more information, including the shopping lists, menu plans, and more recipes, visit the Cook for Good site.