Author Topic: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"  (Read 27507 times)

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« on: April 11, 2015, 06:41:41 PM »
Here's what she bought.



1. Why did you buy the smallest bags of rice, beans, and peas?
2. One corn cob? Huh? Canned corn is great.
3. On that note, why one of so many things? Chili pepper? That is a spice. There's a reason "spices" are a luxury in Civilization games. They're not cheap. Yam? Fine food, I guess.
4. Two different kinds of lettuce? That is not $/calorie efficient food. I buy fresh spinach sometimes, but I'm rich.
5. One of many things, but seven limes?
6. If you like green onions, you better plant those bases.

Pooplips

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2015, 06:49:01 PM »
Not a really well thought out shopping cart.

EngineerMum

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2015, 06:49:31 PM »
How many people is she meant to feed and for how long?

ender

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2015, 06:50:21 PM »
Frankly this is considerably better value food than I saw in 90%+ of the people who used food stamps when I worked as a grocery store cashier...

Kriegsspiel

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2015, 06:53:31 PM »
The last I checked into it, Paltrow was one of those raw vegetable-only detox smoothie freaks. Good to see she's eating some protein now.

Maya

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2015, 06:55:07 PM »
She's definitely got a meal in mind. Enchiladas anyone?

Kriegsspiel

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2015, 06:59:00 PM »
I think Enchilada is her third child's name.

kathrynd

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #7 on: April 11, 2015, 07:01:15 PM »
Interesting groceries.

I'd love to see her menu plan for the week.

$29 is more than I spend on food for myself, so I know it is very easy to do.
I also eat a wide range of foods.

good on Gwyneth

horsepoor

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #8 on: April 11, 2015, 07:04:09 PM »
I believe the green on the upper right is kale, not lettuce.  Kale is probably the better nutritional bang for the buck than the Romaine lettuce, and I think it's a good idea to not totally nix greens on this budget.  Frozen spinach would probably be cheapest..  The cilantro seems like more of a spendypants luxury than the pepper.  Jalapenos are often like 99 cents a pound, and one would weigh what?  Less than 1/10 of a pound, so like 10 cents?  Corn on the cob is probably a good deal in season.  Not terrible, but not quite optimal.  Instead of the fresh seasonings, on a budget I'd go to the bulk section for dried oregano, cumin, chile flakes and granulated garlic - cheap and they will keep longer, so no need to buy them every week.

kathrynd

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #9 on: April 11, 2015, 07:07:04 PM »
I believe the green on the upper right is kale, not lettuce.  Kale is probably the better nutritional bang for the buck than the Romaine lettuce, and I think it's a good idea to not totally nix greens on this budget.  Frozen spinach would probably be cheapest..  The cilantro seems like more of a spendypants luxury than the pepper.  Jalapenos are often like 99 cents a pound, and one would weigh what?  Less than 1/10 of a pound, so like 10 cents?  Corn on the cob is probably a good deal in season.  Not terrible, but not quite optimal.  Instead of the fresh seasonings, on a budget I'd go to the bulk section for dried oregano, cumin, chile flakes and granulated garlic - cheap and they will keep longer, so no need to buy them every week.

I agree frozen products may be cheaper, but we also rarely buy anything canned or frozen.
Prefer fresh,even though we may need to buy more often.
For us, that isn't a problem.

horsepoor

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #10 on: April 11, 2015, 07:22:16 PM »
I prefer fresh stuff too.  Obviously you can't make a salad out of frozen spinach.  However, from the pure economy standpoint, it will usually win.  When kale is in season, it's probably a good bet - even the organic stuff will go on sale for $1-1.50/bunch, and keeps longer and is more versatile than lettuce.  I was just making the point that this shopping basket could be further optimized without sacrificing nutrition.

kathrynd

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #11 on: April 11, 2015, 07:59:20 PM »
I prefer fresh stuff too.  Obviously you can't make a salad out of frozen spinach.  However, from the pure economy standpoint, it will usually win.  When kale is in season, it's probably a good bet - even the organic stuff will go on sale for $1-1.50/bunch, and keeps longer and is more versatile than lettuce.  I was just making the point that this shopping basket could be further optimized without sacrificing nutrition.

Absolutely.
You are probably like me..I buy fresh baby spinach, and what isn't used in a salad, is cooked ..this way nothing is wasted?

mjb

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #12 on: April 11, 2015, 08:19:33 PM »
Rice, beans, and mostly vegetables -- this is what your average low-income Mexican lives off of. Looks great to me.

And now I've found myself defending Gwyneth Paltrow on the internet. Thanks...

lise

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #13 on: April 11, 2015, 09:17:22 PM »
I'm also going to defend Gwenyth (she normally makes me cringe).

Of course it's cheaper to buy in bulk but the point is to show what can be purchased for $29.  And it's useful to show you can buy many things.

I often buy one jalepeno and it costs me 5c.  Canned corn is gross to me (although I'm ok with frozen). 

I'm glad she's showing fresh food along with pantry staples that aren't processed (like canned corn). The only processed item I think are the tortillas. 

agent_clone

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #14 on: April 11, 2015, 09:40:31 PM »
In response to the question of 'why one of many things', to provide variety for the week I would say... Also, for a lot of what she bought one is all that is required.  As an example of the vegetables that I regularly cook, 1 onion, 2 carrots, 4 cup mushrooms (not tiny, not large), and two celery sticks, plus some flavouring, serve with rice will get me dinner for 3 days.

In regards to the smallest bags of rice and beans, I would say that she was purchasing to the budget, and realistically its unlikely that you would get through the whole bag in a week.

S.S.

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #15 on: April 12, 2015, 01:01:28 AM »
I think it's worth stating that Gwyneth's point is how LITTLE can be bought for $29 (per person, not for the whole family).  She is not in any way worthy of your praise and admiration.  She is being a typical elitist a-hole and saying that horror of horrors, no one could POSSIBLY subsist on $29 for the week ($116 for a family of 4), although most of us probably do it without batting an eye.

And yes, indeed it was a stupidly thought-out cart.  As my sharp and frugal MIL pointed out when she saw this, why does she need 7 limes??  Nix the expensive and somewhat useless limes and buy something smart that will be filling and last several meals, such as chicken.

kathrynd

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #16 on: April 12, 2015, 05:54:15 AM »
I entered the food purchased into my Cron-o-meter, and it averages 752 cals a day.
Not enough calories, unless she added some olive oils or some extra  fats somewhere..

I'm not a fan of Gwyneth either, but her diet is a lot better, than most.

Joshin

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #17 on: April 12, 2015, 04:02:38 PM »
The main mistake she made was shopping at Safeway. Most expensive grocery store in most areas that have them. I only stop in there when there's a freebie on their app, and I'm always hit by sticker shock.

Canned veg is gross, in flavor and for you. It's usually high sodium and nutritionally void (due to the heat used in the canning process) compared to fresh or frozen. We spend $50 to $60 a week for a family of four, but it's mainly fresh veg and protein sources. The trick for fresh veg is to buy in season, which means no tomatoes in December.

gimp

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #18 on: April 12, 2015, 04:20:38 PM »
I'll need some sources about canned vegetables being bad for you...

Also, this is pretty unimpressive. I can feed myself for $30/month, and I don't shop at expensive grocery stores.

Also, I dunno where she lives; around here it's more like $150/month per person.

Davin

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #19 on: April 12, 2015, 08:42:32 PM »
My girlfriend says she is famous, but I don't know her. I think the food looks alright. I can't stand eggs myself, so I'd skip that and double the yam and avocado, but to each his/her own. I get my rice and beans in bulk, but then I'm not rich and famous either. I've known a lot of people who do worse for their $.

Cpa Cat

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #20 on: April 12, 2015, 08:59:12 PM »
She clearly plans on eating black bean burritos with brown rice for seven days straight (hence 7 limes - one for each day to season the burritos). She'll eat the lettuce on the side or on top.

Eggs for breakfast each day - accompanied by the leftover ingredients.

Jalapeno is probably 20c. Maybe just one corn because she had 25c left.

$29 per person is the challenge. She is feeding only one person with this food.

Seems fine to me. I'd say boring, but I ate variations of black bean burritos every day for lunch when I was working due to the cheapness factor.

I can't imagine what she bought the peas for. I guess maybe she just likes peas.

She'd have been better off leaving off the tortillas - they're pretty nutritionally empty and not necessary to complete her rice+beans meal. She'd be better spending that money on bananas or an extra sweet potato or another bunch of kale.
« Last Edit: April 12, 2015, 09:03:06 PM by Cpa Cat »

mjb

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #21 on: April 12, 2015, 09:45:29 PM »
She'd have been better off leaving off the tortillas - they're pretty nutritionally empty and not necessary to complete her rice+beans meal.

Gotta disagree...

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/baked-products/5183/2

Roland of Gilead

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #22 on: April 12, 2015, 10:18:16 PM »
Where are the fucking potatoes?   A 5 pound bag is like a buck.

I could go to the meat counter and spend the entire $29 on 1.5 pounds of top grade rib eye steak....the horror!  That is only three meals for a week!

Alternatively, a half ham was recently $1.09 a pound after Easter (only $1.59 a pound before though).   $9 for a eight pound ham which is enough meat for two people for a week (make soup with the bone too).   $1 for the 5 pounds of potatoes and you have a good ham and potato soup (or ham and lentils).   Carrots are pretty cheap too.

Typical celebrity pointing out that you can't possibly feed someone in the USA for two to ten times the amount people in other countries live on.   She probably spends $29 on a latte.

cerebus

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #23 on: April 13, 2015, 07:06:26 AM »
It's kind of admirable I guess, in a celeb-slumming gesture kind of way, but it's not a shopping basket that shows evidence of the kinds of strategic thinking that people do when they really have to make hard choices on what to buy in a grocery store with their money. She prioritized taste over nutrition, and nobody with $29/week food budget can ever do that. At that level you're buying bulk frozen chicken, store-brand 5kg bags of mielie (here in South Africa that's the staple for the poorer people), potatoes, beans, milk, bags of stewing beef, carrots, bulk Canola oil, onions, etc. She would do much better to have eaten the groceries of a real person on a food stamp budget and letting them eat from her fridge for a week.

Joshin

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #24 on: April 13, 2015, 09:18:54 AM »
I'll need some sources about canned vegetables being bad for you...

Also, this is pretty unimpressive. I can feed myself for $30/month, and I don't shop at expensive grocery stores.

Also, I dunno where she lives; around here it's more like $150/month per person.

Hmm, thought this was common knowledge. Heat + Most (not all) nutrients = bad
Maybe it's just something that those of use that frequent extension service home canning sites know, I dunno. A quick Google will give you plenty of sources. Here's one to get you started:

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/fresh_vs_frozen_vegetables_are_we_giving_up_nutrition_fo

As for sodium, look at the back of a can, then compare it to a frozen bag of the same veg.


merula

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #25 on: April 13, 2015, 09:53:58 AM »
Hmm, thought this was common knowledge. Heat + Most (not all) nutrients = bad
Maybe it's just something that those of use that frequent extension service home canning sites know, I dunno. A quick Google will give you plenty of sources. Here's one to get you started:

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/nutrition_news_information/fresh_vs_frozen_vegetables_are_we_giving_up_nutrition_fo

As for sodium, look at the back of a can, then compare it to a frozen bag of the same veg.

A quick Google search will give you plenty of sources saying that raw is more nutritious. Unfortunately, Google is not a replacement for scientific analysis, and places that are trying to sell you something are generally not to be trusted.

Here's one reputable source: "Fact or Fiction: Raw veggies are healthier than cooked ones" http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/raw-veggies-are-healthier/

If you're up for a more in-depth analysis, I highly suggest Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human by Richard Wrangman. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catching_Fire:_How_Cooking_Made_Us_Human. In short, some nutrients are reduced by cooking, some are enhanced, but cooking allows us to eat a lot things that would otherwise be indigestible, which overall provides more nutrients. By cooking, we can extract more food from our environment and more easily feed infants, which improves individual and species survival. Cooking is a human universal* for a reason.

*There arguably isn't a human universal in the sense of "every single human culture does this worldwide and no other species do", but the vast majority of human cultures make fire to cook, and no other species is known to. So cooking is pretty much as close as it gets.

Kaspian

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #26 on: April 13, 2015, 10:43:35 AM »
Where are the fucking potatoes?   A 5 pound bag is like a buck.

Hahaha...  They're replaced with a shit-ton of expensive limes!  Which I'm not sure what you do with that many.  A few Mexican dishes,  add them to the juicer, and a garnish for rum & Coke or tequila shots? 

Of course we all like "fresh" better people!  I think pretty much everybody does.  Unless you have problems with your teeth, like mushy canned stuff, or enjoy the salty brine.  But we can't always buy it.  Especially in the dead of winter.  Frozen and canned can be decent cost-efficient alternatives when required.  ("But I like fresh better!!"  "Yes, you do.  We all do. That's normal.")
« Last Edit: April 13, 2015, 10:47:27 AM by Kaspian »

lise

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #27 on: April 13, 2015, 11:01:09 AM »
Where are the fucking potatoes?   A 5 pound bag is like a buck.

Hahaha...  They're replaced with a shit-ton of expensive limes!  Which I'm not sure what you do with that many.  A few Mexican dishes,  add them to the juicer, and a garnish for rum & Coke or tequila shots? 

Of course we all like "fresh" better people!  I think pretty much everybody does.  Unless you have problems with your teeth, like mushy canned stuff, or enjoy the salty brine.  But we can't always buy it.  Especially in the dead of winter.  Frozen and canned can be decent cost-efficient alternatives when required.  ("But I like fresh better!!"  "Yes, you do.  We all do. That's normal.")

But a couple of us are pointing out that frozen is better than canned nutrient wise (not cost wise - nutrient wise).

Joshin

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #28 on: April 13, 2015, 12:06:55 PM »
The point with canned isn't that cooking is bad -- some heat is good, it makes it so we can break it down. Canned food is processed under pressure at high heat, which destroys a lot of nutrients (vitamin C especially. UC Davis did a study on it some years ago). Even frozen food is lightly cooked.

Google searches are great if you go for trust-worthy sources, but not going to waste my break time on in-depth research.

r3dt4rget

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #29 on: April 13, 2015, 07:34:43 PM »
Pretty epic fail if you ask me. As someone already pointed out there are not enough calories here. The people eating this diet would rapidly lose weight if the posters calculation of ~800/calories per day was correct. Poor people like boxed, processed foods because it's simple to prepare and full of calories. Carbs are cheap. Fat is cheap. Protein is expensive.

My $29 list would include some of these staples:

1. Eggs < $1
2. Bread < $1
3. Peanut Butter < $2
4. Rice < $1
5. Potatoes < $2
6. Beans < $1
7. Oatmeal < $1
8. Bags of mixed veggies $1-$2

Rice, beans, and potatoes are the "meat and potatoes" of the diet in terms of energy. High calories for the volume, high calorie to price ratio. Not to mention potatoes are a great source of vitamins and dirt cheap. Eggs for some protein and a very cheap, versatile food. Bread because it's cheap and can be used in many ways. Peanut butter is tasty and extremely high energy for the volume. The frozen mixed veggies provide just about all the nutrients you need in a convenient, cheap, and long lasting format. Meat is generally pretty cheap if you stick with turkey, chicken, and tuna. I would only have it a couple meals a week though as it's generally more expensive and not as filling as the shear volume you get from rice & potatoes.

socaso

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #30 on: April 13, 2015, 07:36:23 PM »
The thing that confuses me about these food stamp challenges is that they seem to break down the budget by the weekly allotment per person but don't food stamps get paid as a monthly lump sum? I've done the math and I would have a hard time getting just $29 worth of food but if I got to spend $29 x 4= 116 then I'd be fine. That's only slightly less than what I currently spend per month. My best record was $40 per month when I was single, that was the average for the year.

kathrynd

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #31 on: April 13, 2015, 08:40:50 PM »
The thing that confuses me about these food stamp challenges is that they seem to break down the budget by the weekly allotment per person but don't food stamps get paid as a monthly lump sum? I've done the math and I would have a hard time getting just $29 worth of food but if I got to spend $29 x 4= 116 then I'd be fine. That's only slightly less than what I currently spend per month. My best record was $40 per month when I was single, that was the average for the year.

That is an excellent point.
My husband and I already eat for an average of $50 week, and it is because we take advantage of reduced food prices on fresh fruit/vegs, and reduced meat and the fact we average it over a month..which is available for SNAP (USA people) or welfare (Canada) population.

Our grocery receipts will show very little canned or frozen foods...or packaged or boxed foods

fartface

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #32 on: April 13, 2015, 08:54:47 PM »
My family is technically living below the American SNAP "dream" diet. If we qualified, $29/person/week for my family of five would be $580. Plus my kids would get free HOT lunch at school every day.

We spent $570 last month.

Breakfast: frozen waffles, pancake mix, cereal, oatmeal, organic eggs

Cold lunches: Nitrate free turkey lunchmeat, bread, PB&J, string cheese, yogurt, bananas, oranges, almonds

Dinners: lots of chicken -- rotisserie, wings, leg quarters, breasts, etc. More fish than usual (lent).
Rice. Pasta. Vegetables.

Some hamburger...maybe 3lbs total for the month. We're not huge red meat lovers.

Organic milk, eggs, apples, carrots, celery, beets, and spinach courtesy Aldi or Costco. We juice a few times/week.

cerebus

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #33 on: April 14, 2015, 12:23:07 AM »
My family is technically living below the American SNAP "dream" diet. If we qualified, $29/person/week for my family of five would be $580. Plus my kids would get free HOT lunch at school every day.

We spent $570 last month.

Yeah our monthly food budget for a family of 5 is around $400-500 all-inclusive. We eat very well on that and even have fresh limes in our fridge. :D

merja

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #34 on: April 14, 2015, 12:56:10 AM »
I am sure she uses the limes to flavor tap water. She did not buy anything to drink.

kathrynd

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #35 on: April 14, 2015, 03:22:54 AM »
and keeping the avocado from oxidizing

mm1970

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #36 on: April 14, 2015, 10:54:08 AM »
I entered the food purchased into my Cron-o-meter, and it averages 752 cals a day.
Not enough calories, unless she added some olive oils or some extra  fats somewhere..

I'm not a fan of Gwyneth either, but her diet is a lot better, than most.
Someone else did that too online (cannot remember where), and they got 1000 calories.  Which is fine for a woman who isn't active, but not so good for people with physical jobs.

mm1970

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #37 on: April 14, 2015, 11:07:28 AM »
My family is technically living below the American SNAP "dream" diet. If we qualified, $29/person/week for my family of five would be $580. Plus my kids would get free HOT lunch at school every day.

We spent $570 last month.

Breakfast: frozen waffles, pancake mix, cereal, oatmeal, organic eggs

Cold lunches: Nitrate free turkey lunchmeat, bread, PB&J, string cheese, yogurt, bananas, oranges, almonds

Dinners: lots of chicken -- rotisserie, wings, leg quarters, breasts, etc. More fish than usual (lent).
Rice. Pasta. Vegetables.

Some hamburger...maybe 3lbs total for the month. We're not huge red meat lovers.

Organic milk, eggs, apples, carrots, celery, beets, and spinach courtesy Aldi or Costco. We juice a few times/week.
I think the average is 1/2 that though.

My current budget is $80 week, not including the pre-paid CSA (which is $950 a year), so my annual budget will be $5200, so let's call it $100 a week, though I only get to "play" with $80.  For a family of four.

A more realistic challenge would be to feed four people for a month on $275.

TrMama

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #38 on: April 14, 2015, 11:08:22 AM »
I entered the food purchased into my Cron-o-meter, and it averages 752 cals a day.
Not enough calories, unless she added some olive oils or some extra  fats somewhere..

I'm not a fan of Gwyneth either, but her diet is a lot better, than most.
Someone else did that too online (cannot remember where), and they got 1000 calories.  Which is fine for a woman who isn't active, but not so good for people with physical jobs.

Well, Gwenyth doesn't look like she eats very much anyway, so this is probably just fine for her.

Hunny156

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #39 on: April 14, 2015, 12:20:45 PM »
I once read an article where she said she sometimes eats half an avocado for lunch and feels very full until dinner.  I stopped reading at that point.

AH013

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #40 on: April 14, 2015, 12:29:32 PM »
Like many others here, $29/person/week is more than my food budget.  Like twice my food budget.  And I predominately eat fresh produce, whole grains, and lean meats using made from scratch recipes that can be cooked in big batches and reheated over the following days.

If I took a picture of my "$29/week food stamp" haul, it would probably be:
  • 5lb sack of flour
  • 5lb sack of sugar
  • 2lb box of oats
  • 5lb sack of potatoes
  • 5lb sack of carrots
  • 5lbs of assorted greens
  • 5lbs of assorted fruits
  • 3lb pack of chicken (quarters, split breast, etc.)
  • bag of lentils
  • loaf of whole wheat bread
  • block of cheese
  • different containers of spices & kitchen goods (thyme, oregano, cinnamon, garlic, baking powder, jug of oil, etc.)
Even with all that food I'd have to unfurl a few $1 bills among the groceries to be able to honestly take a picture with a caption of "What you can get with a week of food stamp funds".  And I'd have to footnote that caption with "...and look, I'll have a TON of leftover flour, sugar, oats, spices, and oil for next month too!...Probably some extra of everything else to start off next week as well."

I guess $29 doesn't go too far at the 7-11 down the street, when you buy the smallest sizes of packaged items, or when you walk into a grocery store with a specific idea in your head of what you want to eat for the week, rather than letting what's on sales at the store guide you into what's going to give you the most bang for your grocery buck.

Criticisms of how anyone can POSSIBLY eat healthy when they are poor remind me of this clip from Food, Inc.  You're too poor to eat healthy and are constantly left hungry, but you don't find anything wrong spending $11.50 on a single unfilling Burger King meal for your family of 4, especially when $4 of that is spent on soda?  Do that twice a day for a month and you spend $690/month, how is that cheap?  "Not worth" getting fresh pears at the grocer because you'd only get 3 for $1 when you can get a rodeo cheeseburger for that $1 instead? That's funny, because 3 pears are 429 healthy calories, whereas a rodeo cheeseburger is only 380 of saturated fat intense calories.  But keep eating that crap and then be frustrated and confused whether it's cheaper to spend a little more or the same (OR LESS!) to buy healthy food or just eat crap and then spend an extra $260 a month on medicine to counteract your diabetes and other food-related health issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAtYkQh_NqI

I'll concede that some people do have specific circumstances that prohibit them from being able to get by on $29/week, like food conditions (couldn't imagine trying to live with celiac disease or some condition that blocked a staple food), access to reasonably priced grocery locations (thinking inner city), or access to a kitchen (homeless, transient home, room share, etc.).  However most complaints alleging that trying to feed yourself on food stamps only would make you skin & bones is asinine and complainy-pants.

cerebus

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #41 on: April 14, 2015, 12:42:51 PM »
True dat ^^

lise

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #42 on: April 14, 2015, 12:59:45 PM »
Like many others here, $29/person/week is more than my food budget.  Like twice my food budget.  And I predominately eat fresh produce, whole grains, and lean meats using made from scratch recipes that can be cooked in big batches and reheated over the following days.

If I took a picture of my "$29/week food stamp" haul, it would probably be:
  • 5lb sack of flour
  • 5lb sack of sugar
  • 2lb box of oats
  • 5lb sack of potatoes
  • 5lb sack of carrots
  • 5lbs of assorted greens
  • 5lbs of assorted fruits
  • 3lb pack of chicken (quarters, split breast, etc.)
  • bag of lentils
  • loaf of whole wheat bread
  • block of cheese
  • different containers of spices & kitchen goods (thyme, oregano, cinnamon, garlic, baking powder, jug of oil, etc.)
Even with all that food I'd have to unfurl a few $1 bills among the groceries to be able to honestly take a picture with a caption of "What you can get with a week of food stamp funds".  And I'd have to footnote that caption with "...and look, I'll have a TON of leftover flour, sugar, oats, spices, and oil for next month too!...Probably some extra of everything else to start off next week as well."

I guess $29 doesn't go too far at the 7-11 down the street, when you buy the smallest sizes of packaged items, or when you walk into a grocery store with a specific idea in your head of what you want to eat for the week, rather than letting what's on sales at the store guide you into what's going to give you the most bang for your grocery buck.

Criticisms of how anyone can POSSIBLY eat healthy when they are poor remind me of this clip from Food, Inc.  You're too poor to eat healthy and are constantly left hungry, but you don't find anything wrong spending $11.50 on a single unfilling Burger King meal for your family of 4, especially when $4 of that is spent on soda?  Do that twice a day for a month and you spend $690/month, how is that cheap?  "Not worth" getting fresh pears at the grocer because you'd only get 3 for $1 when you can get a rodeo cheeseburger for that $1 instead? That's funny, because 3 pears are 429 healthy calories, whereas a rodeo cheeseburger is only 380 of saturated fat intense calories.  But keep eating that crap and then be frustrated and confused whether it's cheaper to spend a little more or the same (OR LESS!) to buy healthy food or just eat crap and then spend an extra $260 a month on medicine to counteract your diabetes and other food-related health issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAtYkQh_NqI

I'll concede that some people do have specific circumstances that prohibit them from being able to get by on $29/week, like food conditions (couldn't imagine trying to live with celiac disease or some condition that blocked a staple food), access to reasonably priced grocery locations (thinking inner city), or access to a kitchen (homeless, transient home, room share, etc.).  However most complaints alleging that trying to feed yourself on food stamps only would make you skin & bones is asinine and complainy-pants.

I can't shop like you because I don't have a car.  Many people on snap are the same, therefore are reduced to buying smaller sizes of items.
I buy in bulk every 3 months and pay a delivery fee but I doubt delivery services take snap.
People on snap may also may live in a tiny apartment and don't have the storage space. 

Yes buying in bulk is cheaper, but it is not always convenient/available to folks. 
« Last Edit: April 14, 2015, 01:01:52 PM by lise »

Logic_Lady

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #43 on: April 14, 2015, 01:36:57 PM »
This whole food stamp challenge trend annoys me because it ignores the real reasons why people on food stamps can't get enough healthy food: lack of access to good markets (aka food deserts), lack of time to cook meals from scratch, lack of knowledge about how to make healthy meals, lack of access to a kitchen. For someone who does have all those advantages it's not hard to live on #29/person/week, but people use the food stamp challenge to say "if I can do it, so can everyone else," ignoring the fact not everyone is in the same situation.

lise

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #44 on: April 14, 2015, 01:57:40 PM »
This whole food stamp challenge trend annoys me because it ignores the real reasons why people on food stamps can't get enough healthy food: lack of access to good markets (aka food deserts), lack of time to cook meals from scratch, lack of knowledge about how to make healthy meals, lack of access to a kitchen. For someone who does have all those advantages it's not hard to live on #29/person/week, but people use the food stamp challenge to say "if I can do it, so can everyone else," ignoring the fact not everyone is in the same situation.

+1

RootofGood

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #45 on: April 14, 2015, 02:23:21 PM »
We spend $23/wk per person so obviously it's not that hard (and I didn't even know we were on the food stamp challenge lol).  We eat like fucking kings (and queens and princesses). 

Our typical cart looks a bit like Ms. Paltrow's plus some meat.  Lunch today was beans from scratch (from the freezer), tortillas, lime, cilantro, iceberg lettuce, chipotles, salsa, onions, carrots, 1.5-2 oz chicken, and 0.5-1 oz spicy white velveeta cheeze plus achiote paste that the chicken was marinated in.  All that stuff is dirt cheap and under a buck a pound except the chicken, cheese, and achiote paste.  And it's not like I'm starving myself since I had 2 burrito sized tortillas full. 

Or I could skip the whole from scratch thing and eat some crappy thing from the freezer section that's way worse for me, not as filling, and costs a lot more. 

The only criticism of her basket would be the fresh vegetables but it's a good mix of dried beans and grains, cheap fresh protein (eggs), frozen veggies (peas, also protein) plus fresh tasty stuff like lime, jalapenos, and cilantro. 


MoneyCat

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #46 on: April 14, 2015, 02:47:34 PM »
This whole food stamp challenge trend annoys me because it ignores the real reasons why people on food stamps can't get enough healthy food: lack of access to good markets (aka food deserts), lack of time to cook meals from scratch, lack of knowledge about how to make healthy meals, lack of access to a kitchen. For someone who does have all those advantages it's not hard to live on #29/person/week, but people use the food stamp challenge to say "if I can do it, so can everyone else," ignoring the fact not everyone is in the same situation.

When I was poor, I usually didn't get fresh foods because I didn't have a refrigerator in the room I was renting in an old motel run by my church group.  I mostly stuck to canned veggies, pasta, rice, bread, some canned chili for some meat, parmalat shelf-stable milk, cereals, that kind of stuff.  I was really lucky too because someone donated an old car for me and it was a Subaru so it ran really well even though it was 11 years old and had a lot of miles on it.  I was able to use that car to drive ten miles to the nearest grocery store, so I didn't have to pay three times the price to buy food from the convenience store/gas station. 

I didn't take food stamps because I felt really badly about myself for being poor.  I believed that would make me a loser like a lot of people on this board seem to think.  Looking back, I wish I had applied for it because I could have saved up the money faster to be able to afford a real apartment with a refrigerator and a stove instead of a hot plate.  Maybe then I wouldn't have felt so sick all the time.

Of course, eventually I did save up enough money to move to a better area where life wasn't as hard, but I had to leave all my family and friends behind.  That's hard for a lot of people to do and luckily I didn't have a wife and children to uproot at the time.

kathrynd

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #47 on: April 14, 2015, 11:18:00 PM »
I posted this on another thread too...but here it is

Here is what we purchased for the past 4 weeks, for my husband and myself.
I keep track it for a different purpose, so the weeks are out of order, in the list below.
As you will see, we do have some   treat food,but  very little canned or frozen food.
For this time period we did have free eggs (have chickens) and able to pick tomatoes & squash in the garden.

Should also mention...this is in Australia

6-12 april
$10.48

1 kg carrot-$1.49
500 gr mushrooms-$2.99
mango-$1.99
.245kg turnip swede- $1.22
lettuce-$2.79
 
$22.60
2L pineapple juice- $1.79
2kg sugar-$1.65
3L milk- $3.00
1kg cheese- $6.00
300ml sour cream- $1.30
500gr margarine- $1.40
250gr strawberries= $3.99
.761 kg oranges –$4.94 (reduced)=$0.99
500gr blackberry jam-$1.49
1L- dish detergent- $0.99

Week 10-    30March, 2015- 05 April 2015
 $41.11
 
 3L milk- $3.00
750g – Fruit/nut Mix-$7.49 (reduced)=$5.99
450g cheese cake $2.79
396g Lindt choc bar 2@ $2.16 =$4.32 (reduced)= 2.34
5kg potatoes $5.99
3L milk- $3.00
500g margarine- $0.99
425gr baked beans 2 @ $0.69= $1.38
1L UHT milk= $0.99
330ml ranch dressing- $2.99
1 kg- self rising flour- $0.75
2L  milk—$2.19
600 ml- cream – $2.30
1 kg ham/chicken bologna –$2.79
250g strawberries – $3.99
825g peaches = $1.49
 
 $24.89
700g bread 4 @ $0.85 =$3.40
200g coffee 3 @ $3.98= $11.94
1 kg apple/pear pack $$4.48 (reduced) =$2.69
1 kg onions-$1.48
200g mushrooms $3.75 (reduced)=$3.75
50ml deodorant- $2.25
25g garlic pwd- $1.25
 
Week 10-    23-29 March, 2015
$68.54
 
3L milk- $3.00
2L strawberry milk $5.99 (reduced)- $3.99
600 ml cream- $2.30
500g salt- $0.89
500g icing sugar- $1.54
200g tzatziki dip $2.79 (reduced)-$0.99
1 kg basa fish fillets- $6.98
1 kg puff pastry sheets- $2.70
250g strawberries- $2.99
125g x 2 raspberries $6.98 (reduced)-$6.00
mango-$2.49
18g ground cinnamon- $0.99
3L milk-$3.00
750 ml sasparilla- $2.93
750 ml ginger beer- $2.93
1 kg flour-$0.75
1 kg sultanas- $3.99
175gr salt& vinegar chips $2.89 (reduced)- $1.49
384 gr chia wraps $4.79 (reduced)-$2.99
.8 kg green grapes =$2.41
250 g strawberries- $2.99
125g blueberries- $2.99
.61g green peppers $2.56 (reduced)-$1.75
.66g nectarines $4.66 (reduced)- $2.89
half cantaloupe-$1.99 (reduced)-$1.59
.376g yellow pepper $3.76 (reduced)-$0.99



 Week 9-    16-22 March, 2015
 : $18.95

5kg potatoes- $6.99
500g margarine  @$.99 x 2= $1.98
3L milk- $3.00
lettuce-$.99
250g strawberries- $3.99
avocado-$1.99

$1.40
 .75kg bananas- $1.40
 
$6.90
 2kg sweet potatoes-$3.89
500g mushrooms(reduced)-2.99

$48.20
 
crumpets- $1.19
700gr bread @ $.85= $3.40
avocado=$1.99
1 kg carrots-$1.69
1kg margarine- $1.59
1.5 kg whole chicken- $5.49
2.096 kg ground beef- $12.56
3L milk- $2.99
750g corn flakes- $2.69
100g rice crackers 2@ $0.89 = $1.78
320g cranberry chutney =$2.69
500g ginger marmalade= $1.45
425g baked beans 2 @ $0.69 = $1.38
corn starch- $1.39
sesame snaps- $1.49
1L UHT milk-$0.95
250g strawberries- $3.49


=$243.07
=$60.77 week for 2 people
=$30.38 person


this is
26.852 kg of fruits/vegs/nuts
27  L of milk
5.596 kg of fish/meat

boarder42

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #48 on: April 15, 2015, 06:54:37 AM »
lets see i cooked 6lbs of chicken monday cost 1.69/lb good for 7 meals.  thats 10.14.  i cooked 2 heads of cauliflower good for 7 meals thats 3.38.  My chili i made for lunches has lasted almost 2 weeks now

8 cans of beans ~5 bucks
Half a pork butt ~ 5bucks
mustard/tomato paste ~1buck
misc seasonings ~1buck
Total for 2 weeks of chili 12 bucks

so i'm at 6 dollars plus my incredibly luxurious dinners at 14 ... thats 20 bucks... you could even buy a couple bottles of wine and be under 29 bucks.  I eat other things on the weekends but IF i HAD to only spend 29 bucks it wouldnt be hard.  Luckily i got an edumacation and i gots me a good job so i can spend a little more on foods and such .

boarder42

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #49 on: April 15, 2015, 07:50:43 AM »


this is all a person can eat for a week on foodstamps 5 of these.   

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!