April Challenge: Food Stamp Budget

The less said about being gluten-free the better. Neither of us liked it. We felt irritated a lot. We cheated (and it was worth it). I did enjoy experimenting with gluten-free flours (and adapted a kick-ass muffin recipe) but I'm glad to be done.

Which brings us into April.

Alex and I shop at Whole Foods. We indulge in exotic spices. We thoroughly enjoy eating out. We [unintentionally] waste food.

Not this month.

In April (starting on Saturday, to give us four full weeks, Saturday-Friday) we will be eating on a food stamp budget. The maximum benefit for a family of two in King County is $12/day or $84/week.

This was a blogger challenge back in January but I found out about it too late to join in. So we're doing it for a full month.

The challenge said you couldn't use any pantry items, couldn't accept food from anyone, and the only "free" spices were salt and pepper.

We're fudging that a bit, because, while it's fine for a week challenge, I think it's unreasonable for a month.

We will use pantry items on a case by case basis. AP flour, sugar, and white vinegar are some examples of what we have that we will continue to use. Our "fancy" flours and our extensive spice cabinet are off-limits.

We will accept food when it's offered. Easter dinner, for example, will be eaten at my dad's house.

We have pre-determined exceptions:
-April 23rd we're having an Iron Chef dinner. It's been planned for months. That dinner is exempt from the budget. (Meaning we only have $72 that week for food).
-If I get into graduate school, we are celebrating.
-I make cakes for people, for money and as gifts. If I need to exempt those ingredients, I will. But whenever possible I will include them in the budget. (I have two coworker birthdays, a baby shower, and Easter to supply baked goods for).

Everything else falls into the purview of the budget. We will eat breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks on $12/day. If I get ambitious, I'll scan in our receipts for each week.

So that's the deal.

Cravings, lessons learned

Dairy-free month is coming to a close. We've been remarkably good, and frankly it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. There were a couple of things I really wanted but couldn't have, but for the most part, I hardly missed dairy at all. Which is remarkable.

That being said, as we're getting ready to transition into our new challenge (March: gluten free) I find myself craving things I can't have.

I want tiramisu. I want buttered popcorn. And, for the second month in a row, I want a grilled ham and cheese sandwich like nobody's business.

Since Alex and I technically cheated on Valentine's Day, we forfeit our amnesty day. Which means we transition directly from dairy-free to gluten free with no free day in between.

I'm planning on trying my hand at gluten free sandwich bread, but I don't know how well it'll turn out.

For the most part I'm not worried about being without gluten. Gluten is Alex's downfall, not mine.

I survived dairy-free. And I learned something very important - I can do without. I didn't miss cheese with a passion. I couldn't have cared less about not having milk. Butter is well loved, but not needed.

I plan on cutting down on my dairy intake from here on out. I'm still going to eat cheese because I love it, but I'm downgrading it from a necessity to a treat. I'm switching to almond milk lattes (less than 40 calories a serving!).

So, wish us luck as we transition, and if you know of any tried and true gluten-free sandwich breads, please let me know. I've got a hankering for a good grilled cheese sandwich.

The second challenge: dairy-free

Well, we were successful. Vegetarian month came to a close with both of us feeling good about our progress.

During the course of the month, we decided that each month we would have one amnesty day. This, of course, is dependent on our adherence to the monthly challenge. Our amnesty day for vegetarianism was the 31st and we reintroduced ourselves to land animals and said goodbye to dairy.

Alex and I both agreed that we would return to vegetarianism later in the year and give it our full effort. In January, we were helped along by eating fish. When we return, we will be completely animal-free.

This month we're dairy-free. My hardest vice to give up will definitely be cheese, but I'll be strong. We even found a restaurant willing to make us a dairy-free dinner on Valentine's Day. Lucky us! (More on that later in the month).

The first challenge: vegetarianism

Alex and I are avid meat-eaters. Sometimes I flirt with vegetarianism, but then I remember how much I love carpaccio (this one is from Seasons in the Park in Vancouver, BC) and t-bone steaks. And chorizo. And salami. And, well, a lot of things. And Alex? Well, he loves steak and hamburgers as much as the next guy.

And don't get me started on bacon.

But I digress.

This month we are eating vegetarian only.

We'll see how it goes. If you know of any good recipes, please send them along!