Food Stamps and picky eaters:( HELP!

LLkupcake89

I have a couple of problems with trying to eat healthy.

#1. We are on food stamps, therefore we have a limited amount spend on food.
#2. My husband and 2 year old daughter are very picky. They don't like anything green except for green beans. No salads or anything like that. My husband does not like seafood either:(

Please help me figure out some sort of healthy budget conscious meal plan that I can lose weight on and my family will enjoy too so I won't have to make 2 different meals for everyone.

Thanks!

weaklink109

How about some baked chicken, with steamed carrots? (You can buy a whole chicken for less per pound than a cut up one.) Maybe sliced tomatoes in lieu of a salad. If they aren't big on whole grain, whole wheat bread, maybe try the Flat-Out flat breads, as you can use them to make wraps with the left over chicken. For dessert, fresh fruit or berries. When the season changes, you can do frozen fruit and berries instead. Be sure to read the label and get the type without sugar.

If you do a whole chicken, when you have had a meal off of it, and maybe some wraps, you can take the remaining carcass and put it in a large pot with onions, some garlic and other spices and low sodium chicken broth. After you cook it a bit, the remaining meat will fall right off the bones and you have the makings of a soup. Get the bones out of the pot, add some sliced carrots, celery, potatoes or rice, and add seasonings as needed.

Good luck.

joshsamuelson

I've noticed that a lot of farmers' markets accept food stamps these days. You might look into that. I don't know if it will make a difference for your picky eaters, but fresh produce is always better. Also, you since you have a 2 year old, you should check out the WIC (women, infants, and children) program to see if you might qualify for more benefits.

I just started keeping track of what I eat again a few weeks ago and coincidentally I'm also on a very limited budget at the moment. As a single guy with no kids, I don't qualify for much in the way of food stamps (I think the website estimated $35/month) so I haven't tried that yet, but I have found a few things that might help.

Dried beans are really cheap and really healthy. The trick is that it takes time to prepare them because you have to soak them in advance. I was lucky enough to find a pressure cooker at a thrift store a few years ago and it makes cooking dried beans a snap (about an hour total from dried beans to ready to eat). This time of year, corn on the cob is also a great deal. Just stick the cobs in the husk in the oven right on the rack @350 for 30 min. I may be wrong on this, but I've heard that bean and corn make a complete protein, so for very little money you've the start of a meal loaded with fiber and protein.

The other thing I've realized since I started counting calories is that I used to spend a lot of calories for little enjoyment. Pasta, cheese, rice, bread, etc. were my staples but I've found that I can often leave them out and I don't really miss them. Instead of the usually starch heavy meal, I bought a bunch of corn tortillas at a local mexican grocery store. They are dirt cheap (I think I paid $2 for 90) and have about 55 calories each. You just have to warm them up in a dry pan, microwave, or right on the stove element if you're feeling brave. I have also noticed that the "ethnic" grocery stores tend to have way cheaper produce, where I live now that means the Mexican/Latino stores, but when I lived in Seattle it was the Asian markets. It's worth shopping around to a couple of grocery stores to find the best prices, some will have great deals on meat and at the same time have terrible prices on produce. If you're lucky enough to have some options close by, you can save a bundle by making two stops when you get your groceries.

I will often have a dinner of a small amount of browned ground beef mixed up with beans, sauteed onions, and some corn tortillas with a bunch of shredded lettuce and tomatoes. I add several dashes of chili powder and hot sauce (I like it spicy) which don't really contribute any calories. Tonight I mixed it up by adding some shredded cabbage to the onions and it ended up being a ton of food, even though the calorie count was still pretty low.

I hope that helps. I am a recovering picky eater, so I feel for your husband and daughter. I think the real trick is just to use the foods they love in different proportions and maybe introduce a new ingredient now and then to see how it goes over.

Good Luck.

LLkupcake89

How about some baked chicken, with steamed carrots? (You can buy a whole chicken for less per pound than a cut up one.) Maybe sliced tomatoes in lieu of a salad. If they aren't big on whole grain, whole wheat bread, maybe try the Flat-Out flat breads, as you can use them to make wraps with the left over chicken. For dessert, fresh fruit or berries. When the season changes, you can do frozen fruit and berries instead. Be sure to read the label and get the type without sugar.

If you do a whole chicken, when you have had a meal off of it, and maybe some wraps, you can take the remaining carcass and put it in a large pot with onions, some garlic and other spices and low sodium chicken broth. After you cook it a bit, the remaining meat will fall right off the bones and you have the makings of a soup. Get the bones out of the pot, add some sliced carrots, celery, potatoes or rice, and add seasonings as needed.

Good luck.

Thank you! That actually sounds like something they would eat!! Except for the tomatoes lol. Hubby doesn't like those but I do and so does my daughter! We have been talking about getting fresh/frozen fruits and making smoothies out of them. Thanks for the response!

melodyg

You can definitely eat well on food stamps. Stock up on low priced healthy items -- dried beans, brown rice, lean meat when it is on sale (chicken breasts, ground turkey, lean ground beef). Buy frozen vegetables, or fresh when they are on sale. Make your own marinades/rubs/seasonings (look on allrecipes.com or some similar site for easy recipes for items like sloppy joes or taco seasoning or hundreds of marinades for chicken). Buy generic unless you have a coupon that makes name brand cheaper.

Some inexpensive meals we like (some of which have been made over into healthier options!)
Tacos/Taco Salad (easy to make tacos for those who aren't so into green and taco salad for yourself)
Fajitas (chicken breast, peppers, onions, flour tortillas)
Grilled Chicken with vegetables
Pinto Beans or White Beans (dried beans cooked in the crockpot all day), with other veggies sometimes
Taco Soup (made with ground turkey or good without meat as well)
Chili (make with leftover dried beans or stock up on canned beans when they go on sale cheap... which they should be soon)
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Spaghetti (you can hide a lot of veggies in homemade sauce!)
Breakfast for dinner (eggs and biscuits or whole wheat waffles/pancakes)
Homemade Sloppy Joes (sloppy joes ii on allrecipes)
Campbell's Chicken and Rice Bake (on Campell's website)
Stirfry (Chicken and whatever veggies your family will eat) over brown rice

I've been slacking on menu planning, eating out way too much, and on vacation over the past few weeks, so you might have to look back to July or so for ideas from my food diary. It is public though, so you are welcome to check it out. For a while I was linking to recipes in the notes section, but I have to admit I've been slacking on that lately too.

LLkupcake89

I've noticed that a lot of farmers' markets accept food stamps these days. You might look into that. I don't know if it will make a difference for your picky eaters, but fresh produce is always better. Also, you since you have a 2 year old, you should check out the WIC (women, infants, and children) program to see if you might qualify for more benefits.

I just started keeping track of what I eat again a few weeks ago and coincidentally I'm also on a very limited budget at the moment. As a single guy with no kids, I don't qualify for much in the way of food stamps (I think the website estimated $35/month) so I haven't tried that yet, but I have found a few things that might help.

Dried beans are really cheap and really healthy. The trick is that it takes time to prepare them because you have to soak them in advance. I was lucky enough to find a pressure cooker at a thrift store a few years ago and it makes cooking dried beans a snap (about an hour total from dried beans to ready to eat). This time of year, corn on the cob is also a great deal. Just stick the cobs in the husk in the oven right on the rack @350 for 30 min. I may be wrong on this, but I've heard that bean and corn make a complete protein, so for very little money you've the start of a meal loaded with fiber and protein.

The other thing I've realized since I started counting calories is that I used to spend a lot of calories for little enjoyment. Pasta, cheese, rice, bread, etc. were my staples but I've found that I can often leave them out and I don't really miss them. Instead of the usually starch heavy meal, I bought a bunch of corn tortillas at a local mexican grocery store. They are dirt cheap (I think I paid $2 for 90) and have about 55 calories each. You just have to warm them up in a dry pan, microwave, or right on the stove element if you're feeling brave. I have also noticed that the "ethnic" grocery stores tend to have way cheaper produce, where I live now that means the Mexican/Latino stores, but when I lived in Seattle it was the Asian markets. It's worth shopping around to a couple of grocery stores to find the best prices, some will have great deals on meat and at the same time have terrible prices on produce. If you're lucky enough to have some options close by, you can save a bundle by making two stops when you get your groceries.

I will often have a dinner of a small amount of browned ground beef mixed up with beans, sauteed onions, and some corn tortillas with a bunch of shredded lettuce and tomatoes. I add several dashes of chili powder and hot sauce (I like it spicy) which don't really contribute any calories. Tonight I mixed it up by adding some shredded cabbage to the onions and it ended up being a ton of food, even though the calorie count was still pretty low.

I hope that helps. I am a recovering picky eater, so I feel for your husband and daughter. I think the real trick is just to use the foods they love in different proportions and maybe introduce a new ingredient now and then to see how it goes over.

Good Luck.

We are actually on WIC right now and it does help with the milk, eggs, cheese, cereal, and whole grain products. Even the fresh/frozen fruits and veggies are included now!! The dried beans sounds good and I'm pretty sure my husband likes some beans. I can do those on the crockpot. I think I'm going to try the corn torilla idea too. We love mexican food so I'm sure that won't be a hard transition lol. Thank you so much for you response!! It really helps!

NikkisNewStart

My main advice is to avoid the center section of the grocery store (i.e. the boxed, cheap, processed food). It will wreck your health and diet! I know that is easier said than done. There is a misconception that fresh "real" food has to cost a lot... but it doesn't.

Have you heard of Angel Food Ministries? If you go to their website- you can find a local host site. They provide food boxes at a very discounted rate (but it is not seconds or out of date food) and they also accept food stamps! These are available for ANYONE to purchase, regardless of income. I plan on buying the $23 premium fresh fruit and veggie box. It includes: 3 lb Idaho potatoes, 3 lb sweet potatoes, 3 lb JonaMac Apples, 2 lb yellow onions, 1 lb carrots, 1 head lettuce, 1 head green cabbage, 1 Avocado, 1 large cantaloupe, 1 pineapple, 1 lb bag of kiwi, 4 lemons, 4 navel oranges, and 4 pears. I haven't purchased a box from them in a long time because frankly, I forgot about it until just now... but this is an excellent opportunity for everyone to be able to afford to buy fresh food and produce. Please check out their site.

Here is a recipe I plan on trying with that avocado. This recipe is meatless but you could also cut up a little mock steak (like the cheap cuts of beef) and add it if your hubs must have meat:

Crispy Bean and Rice burritos

1 bag boil-in-bag brown rice

1 cup salsa (sub fresh Pico de Gallo from the produce secton to save over 200 mg of sodium vs using jarred salsa. You can also make your own pico de gallo)

1/3 c chopped cilantro

1 ripe avocado, cut into pieces (a good, healthy fat option- don't be scared!)

1 Tbsp. lime juice

6 soft whole wheat tortillas (Don't be fooled by low carb, low fat, etc. on the front of the packages- check the nutrition lable! A lot of brands make up for this by adding sodium- up to 30% of your daily allowance in 1 tortilla!)

1 c. shredded pepper Jack cheese (you can sub Kraft FF cheddar or FF mozzarella)

1 can (15.5 oz) Goya low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed


1. Prepare rice. Drain, stir in salsa and cilantro. In another bowl mix avocado and lime juice together.

2. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. cheese in center of tortillas. Top with 1/4 c. black beans and 1/3 c. rice mixture. Divide avocado among tortillas. Fold like an envelope.

3. Heat skillet. Coat top and bottom of burritos w/ nonstick cooking spray. Place in skillet, seam-side down. Cook for 1-2 min until lightly browned and crisp

joshsamuelson

weaklink109 has got a good suggestion, I've actually been doing this for a few years. Canned chicken broth is really expensive compared to making it yourself. I just keep a bag in the freezer where I put all of my onion, carrot, and celery stumps and another bag where I keep chicken bones. It's also great to save them if you've got some old carrots or celery that have gotten a little too soft to eat. When you've got enough for a stock you just chuck it all in a pot with some water and leave it on low for an hour or two. I can my stock now, but before I got the canner I would just freeze it, which works fine. Just make sure you portion it up into smaller containers so that you don't have to thaw and refreeze an entire batch of stock. Yogurt or cottage cheese containers make a pretty good size and after they're frozen you can move them to freezer bags.

weaklink109

kupcake..
Regarding the dry beans. If you are not familiar with how to prepare these, just want to mention, be sure to RINSE them well before putting in crockpot. There should be directions on the package.

shintowa

If your husband and kid are willing to try new things, but just are picky because they don't end up liking them, you can try seeing if they will eat things if they are cooked certain ways. For instance, brussel sprouts that are thinly sliced and sauted in a little fat (bacon fat works great for this, and you can use up what you would normally throw away!), they taste much different that just boiled, and are a good source of vitamins. Or split pea soup instead of peas.

The main thing I would say is if you have a library anywhere near you, go to it and look at the recipes. Bring a notebook, or some change if you have it, and just go through many books copying down recipes that look interesting, cheap, good, etc. I did this back when I was a starving college student ($150 a month for food does not go far in California when you have to eat out occasionally for study sessions) and it was one of the best things I could have done to get ideas.

Dried beans, dried mushrooms, rice, corn, flour, these should become staples in your house. Spices, while initially expensive, pay for themselves with the ways they can be used. Beans with chipotle powder taste completely different from beans with basil and rosemary, for instance. Pasta can be made at home, if you have time, and is extremely cheap to make. Bread can also be made at home, again, if you have time.

"The Complete Tightwad Gazette" (a book) is a good read, and has some recipes for tighter budgets. Not everything in the book is a winner, but it can get you thinking, which might lead to a good idea or two. Some libraries might have it, and if not check to see if yours is in a system, so it can be borrowed from another library.

Good luck!

melodyg

Also, if you love Mexican you must try this recipe that someone posted a little while back:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/111809-mexican-lasagna-low-calorie-and-soooo-delicious?hl=mexican+lasagna#posts-1535958

It is SO good! I added about a cup of cheese to the top of mine so my guys would be more likely to eat it but I also think it would have been good without.

Take the remaining corn tortillas and make homemade tortilla chips -- cut into 1/6ths or 1/8ths, spray with cooking spray, sprinkle with salt, cook at 350ish degrees for about 10 minutes or until they are crispy. They are SO good and much better for you than buying bagged tortilla chips. If your 2 year old is like my 4 year old, she will eat anything she can scoop up with chips!

joshsamuelson

Yeah, if your family likes Mexican food I think you're in luck. Traditional Mexican food is actually pretty healthy, especially if you're careful about how much and what kind of fat you use.

If you end up with leftover beans, you can whiz them up with a blender and reheat them in a pan to make refried beans. A little extra fat helps but I don't think it's totally necessary. Refried beans aren't a hard sell compared to horrible cheez whiz dip and way healthier.

I'll have to try Melody's suggestion about baked tortilla chips, but sometimes I'll just use the crunchy parts of a head of romaine lettuce and use them instead of chips. Obviously it's not quite the same, but sometimes I actually prefer having a lighter snack, especially when I'm keeping track and I know that every chip I eat means that I'll get a little less for dinner.

MissyMorganFit

There are so many GREAT replys here that I have nothing more really to add........BUT I did just want to compliment those who took the time to make suggestions to her question. The economy is BAD right now & most are looking for ways to save & still eat healthy.....not just those on assistance. God Bless each of you & your families!