Healthy Food Project
Day 1
Today I woke up at 8AM and went to Russell’s Garden Center,
where I work, without having breakfast. (The Salvation Army would not have opened for breakfast until 9AM.) At Russell’s I moved and priced plants
from 9AM to noon. Since I usually have a bowl of cereal or a small breakfast
before going to work, I felt myself feeling more tired at Russell’s, having not
had anything to eat. I also found myself thinking frequently about food and
when I would be able to eat.
At noon I drove to the Day Center and I took my backpack and
started walking to find where most guests of the Day Center are going to buy
food. I spotted Tedeschi’s (where many guests go) and decided to check it out.
Tedeschi’s is a convenient store, a block away from the Day Center, so they had
all sorts of snacks, food, drinks, magazines, lottery tickets, etc. I asked the
lady at the cash register if they accepted food stamps for all food, including
the pre-made sandwiches. With a smile on her face, she kindly and in a
judgmental way replied, “Yes, we do.” So, I started searching for cheap,
filling, healthy foods. I found that Bananas are .99 cents per pound, a small
coffee is $1.39 plus tax, a cheese stick is .99 cents, a cup of peaches or a
cup of tropical fruit or a cup of mandarin oranges (pineapple and mango) is
$1.59, a Yoplait Yogurt is $1.19, but a Chobani Yogurt, which comes in a
slightly bigger package and contains 26% of protein compared to the 10% of
protein in the Yoplait Yogurt, is $1.69. All of these products are great
healthy, filling and cheap snacks!
Then there are various types of sandwiches including, egg
salad on country white for $3.99, chicken cheddar pesto on country white for
$4.29 and bologne with American cheese for $3.99. Tedeschi’s also had New
England Potato salad for $2.49, a garden salad for $3.99 and a package of three
muffins for $1.49. There were various healthy cereals like, a box of Honey
Bunches of Oats for $4.39, a box of Raisin Bran for $4.69 and a box of Cherrios
for $4.59. Peanut butter sandwiches are also a healthy, filling and cheap
snack. At Tedeschi’s there are very healthy loafs of 12 grain bread that cost
$2.99 each and peanut butter for $3.59. These choices would not have been
practical. I couldn’t have finished the food in one seating nor did I want to carry bread, peanut butter nor cereal box around. These purchases would also have
taken a healthy chunk of my money, leaving me with little left in case I needed to buy food for
dinner. Food at larger grocery stores would have been cheaper, but the nearest Hannaford's was over one mile away.
After looking around for about 30 minutes, I remembered that
the Day Center was serving a meat lasagna for lunch, and since I am a
vegetarian I thought that I should get a few snacks. In only being able to
spend $6.00 each day on food, I looked around for some cheap, filling, healthy
snacks. Besides the yogurt, fruit and cheese sticks, I found trail mix, power
bars and peanut butter crackers. So, I bought Tedeschi’s Fruit and Nut Mix
($2.19).
So, it’s pretty healthy! A good source of energy! I also purchased an Oatmeal
Raisin Walnut Cliff Bar for $1.69, which is a healthy, filling and cheap snack. That
bar is great because it has everything! Lastly, I bought a package of Austin’s
peanut butter crackers (49 cents), which contained 6 crackers. So, I went to the cash register, paid for my snacks (the total
was $4.33), asked for no bag and started on my 4 minute walk back to the Day
Center while eating my peanut butter crackers. I found the peanut butter
crackers to be a great snack. And they are less expensive and more healthy than
a package of three cookies (79 cents)!(See below for nutritional information.)
When I returned to the Day Center it was about 1:30PM. There
was a salad and some bread along with the lasagna, so I had a salad and a piece
of cheese bread.
The Day Center also had woopie pies, pieces of coffee cake,
packages of mini cookies and crackers, coffee, water, small pies, etc. for
snacks. (All the snacks were donated.)
So, I realized that maybe I didn’t need to buy those snacks
at Tedeschi’s. However, the trail mix, peanut butter crackers and power bar are
more healthy than a piece of coffee cake, pie and a woopie pie. So, it was
either spend my own money for healthier snacks that day, or save money and eat
the sweeter snacks provided for me at the Day Center.
(Apples, brownies, pies, candies, muffins, pretzels and cake at the Soup Kitchen).
For dinner tonight at the Soup Kitchen, they served rice and
chicken curry and leftover beef and beans. Being a vegetarian, I had some rice,
so I found myself eating my bag of trail mix later.
So, today I spent $4.33 on food, which means I did not go
over my limit of $6.00 per day! Excect
for the morning, I did not feel hungry throughout the day. I did not feel full
during the day, but I felt sustained and with enough energy to go about my day.
Since I still have my power bar, I will eat that for breakfast tomorrow.
Instead of buying my own snacks, tomorrow I will eat the snacks at the Center
and Soup Kitchen and see how that goes!
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Fruit and Nut Mix : The
nutrition facts were as follows: 110 calories, 35 calories from fat, 7% total
fat, 0% saturated and trans fat, 0% cholesterol, 1% sodium, 7% carbohydrates,
10% fiber, 18g of sugars, 1g of protein, 11% Vitamin A, 2% Vitamin C, 5% Iron.
Oatmeal Raison Walnut Cliff Bar:
containing 240 calories, 8% totally fat, 3% saturated fat, 7% sodium, 7%
potassium, 14% carbohydrates, 20% fiber, 22g of sugar and 20% of protein.
Peanut Butter Crackers: including 190
calories, 14% total fat, 8% saturated fat, 13% sodium, 8% carbohydrates, 5%
fiber, 5g sugars and 5% protein. (Percents for each food are all based on a
daily value).
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