Not getting to eat whenever I’m hungry or until I’m full is not fun. And it’s only the first day.
Breakfast wasn’t too bad, as hot oatmeal is often my breakfast of choice on cold mornings. I usually make it with milk so that it’s heartier and more nutritious, but I couldn’t afford to buy milk, and water is free.
I got hungry again as I was packing my lunch. After carefully counting my bread, I decided I could afford to snack on a slice of toast. Right now, I’m glad I sprung for the multigrain bread, even though it was $0.50 more and contained fewer slices than white or wheat loaves, as it tasted good. If I end up running out of bread, however, I’ll probably wish that I’d sacrificed taste and health for volume.
I was supposed to give blood at 5:30, so at 4:30, I made myself another snack, hoping that it would help me resist the temptation of the free post-donation cookies. When I got to the blood drive site, they’d already packed up for the day (even though I had an appointment, and they were supposed to be going for another hour), so I crankily left with all the blood I arrived with. I was annoyed, but I suppose it was better that I didn’t give blood while I’m on a limited diet.
Dinner was two beaten eggs with water and salt, cooked in a bowl in a water bath until it solidified. The direct translation from its Chinese name is Egg Soup. Back home (where it’s just a course, not the whole meal), we add chicken broth for flavor.
I have some chicken bouillon in the pantry but decided not to use it. It seemed like cheating. I also keep green scallions growing in a little pot on my window sill (you can plant the white ends, and the green parts just keep growing) that would’ve added a nice touch of color and flavor. But they weren’t in my budget, so I just admired them in their pot while I ate.
My egg dinner was surprisingly filling with all that extra water to flesh it out. Or, at least, it feels filling now, half an hour after I just ate it. I’m glad I decided to buy eggs to supplement the peanut butter for protein.
Day 1 food log:
8:00 AM breakfast: 1/2 cup oatmeal ($0.08), 1 tbsp brown sugar ($0.02), a sprinkle of cinnamon (not counted).
11:00 AM snack: 1 slice of toast ($0.15) with 1 tbsp strawberry preserves ($0.10)
1:00 PM lunch: 2 slices toast ($0.30), 0.75 oz. peanut butter ($0.06), 2 tbsp strawberry preserves ($0.20) and 1 apple ($0.33)
4:30 PM snack: 1/2 cup oatmeal ($0.08), 1/2 tbsp brown sugar ($0.01)
6:30 PM dinner: 2 eggs ($0.30), salt and pepper to taste (not counted), 1 apple ($0.33)
Day 1 total: $1.96
Taking the Food Stamp Challenge 