Author Topic: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"  (Read 27502 times)

Roland of Gilead

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #50 on: April 15, 2015, 08:34:40 AM »
I can blow the entire $29 on one meal.  Top that Gwyneth!


RootofGood

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #51 on: April 15, 2015, 11:52:38 AM »
Just go to the dollar store and get 23 boxes of cereal. 

The other $6 is for a few 40 oz of beer.  A man gets thirstay after all. 

Hunny156

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #52 on: April 15, 2015, 11:57:25 AM »
Just an FYI to those folks who donate to food banks.  As several people mentioned here, one of the biggest drawbacks to the food stamp budget is living in a place that does not have access to a kitchen.  One of the things I do now is donate slow cookers to the food bank.  Every so often you can score them for $5-$10 each, and around the holidays Kohls has several small electrics that come out free after rebate, if you can act fast enough.

The slow cookers go a long way towards getting a healthier meal than fast food, and with minimal prep time.  Chili is a perfect example of that, toss some cans of corn, beans and tomatoes into the pot along with some spices and let it simmer all day while at school or work.  Anyone can do that, even in a motel room.

mm1970

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #53 on: April 15, 2015, 02:40:19 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.
YMMV (and it obviously does), but I totaled up how much your list would cost here and I got $42.  And I'm pretty good at shopping.

Of course there would be some leftover food like flour, etc.  Because I'd get my potatoes at the dollar store for 10 lbs = $1

RootofGood

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #54 on: April 15, 2015, 02:47:32 PM »
YMMV (and it obviously does), but I totaled up how much your list would cost here and I got $42.  And I'm pretty good at shopping.

Of course there would be some leftover food like flour, etc.  Because I'd get my potatoes at the dollar store for 10 lbs = $1

I'm pretty good at grocery shopping too and came up with ~$25+tax plus whatever the spices might be (I can get ~1.5 lb of curry for $4 for example).  $29 for that list is pretty spot on as far as prices here in Raleigh. 

wild wendella

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #55 on: April 15, 2015, 02:59:13 PM »
I'll need some sources about canned vegetables being bad for you...

Hey - google 'canned food' + BPA.  If that's something you're not concerned about, then don't worry about it, but that's the primary reason I don't eat canned food.

Travis

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #56 on: April 15, 2015, 03:26:06 PM »
YMMV (and it obviously does), but I totaled up how much your list would cost here and I got $42.  And I'm pretty good at shopping.

Of course there would be some leftover food like flour, etc.  Because I'd get my potatoes at the dollar store for 10 lbs = $1

I'm pretty good at grocery shopping too and came up with ~$25+tax plus whatever the spices might be (I can get ~1.5 lb of curry for $4 for example).  $29 for that list is pretty spot on as far as prices here in Raleigh.

I'm not a grocery hacker, but it seems like while the first week might be slightly over $29, you've bought supplies that will carry over for several weeks.

mm1970

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #57 on: April 15, 2015, 03:38:27 PM »
YMMV (and it obviously does), but I totaled up how much your list would cost here and I got $42.  And I'm pretty good at shopping.

Of course there would be some leftover food like flour, etc.  Because I'd get my potatoes at the dollar store for 10 lbs = $1

I'm pretty good at grocery shopping too and came up with ~$25+tax plus whatever the spices might be (I can get ~1.5 lb of curry for $4 for example).  $29 for that list is pretty spot on as far as prices here in Raleigh.
Ah just another wonder of California. You'd think cheaper, because much of it is grown here.  But nope, high overhead kills you every time.

Elliot

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #58 on: April 15, 2015, 05:03:43 PM »
Just an FYI to those folks who donate to food banks.  As several people mentioned here, one of the biggest drawbacks to the food stamp budget is living in a place that does not have access to a kitchen.  One of the things I do now is donate slow cookers to the food bank.  Every so often you can score them for $5-$10 each, and around the holidays Kohls has several small electrics that come out free after rebate, if you can act fast enough.

The slow cookers go a long way towards getting a healthier meal than fast food, and with minimal prep time.  Chili is a perfect example of that, toss some cans of corn, beans and tomatoes into the pot along with some spices and let it simmer all day while at school or work.  Anyone can do that, even in a motel room.

That is BRILLIANT.

MoneyCat

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #59 on: April 15, 2015, 07:19:00 PM »
Just an FYI to those folks who donate to food banks.  As several people mentioned here, one of the biggest drawbacks to the food stamp budget is living in a place that does not have access to a kitchen.  One of the things I do now is donate slow cookers to the food bank.  Every so often you can score them for $5-$10 each, and around the holidays Kohls has several small electrics that come out free after rebate, if you can act fast enough.

The slow cookers go a long way towards getting a healthier meal than fast food, and with minimal prep time.  Chili is a perfect example of that, toss some cans of corn, beans and tomatoes into the pot along with some spices and let it simmer all day while at school or work.  Anyone can do that, even in a motel room.

That is a wonderful idea.  A slow cooker would have done wonders for me during the days I was trying to cook my own meals with a hotplate and an immersion water heater. 

RootofGood

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #60 on: April 15, 2015, 08:36:06 PM »
Ah just another wonder of California. You'd think cheaper, because much of it is grown here.  But nope, high overhead kills you every time.

Ouch.  The California tax.  :)


Spondulix

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #61 on: April 15, 2015, 09:06:21 PM »
In her defense, limes in Los Angeles can sometimes get down to like 5 cents each.

But it's not really Gwenyth's defense, cause I'm sure it was her chef/assistant/social media intern who did it all.

Cpa Cat

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #62 on: April 15, 2015, 09:22:51 PM »
YMMV (and it obviously does), but I totaled up how much your list would cost here and I got $42.  And I'm pretty good at shopping.

Of course there would be some leftover food like flour, etc.  Because I'd get my potatoes at the dollar store for 10 lbs = $1

I'm pretty good at grocery shopping too and came up with ~$25+tax plus whatever the spices might be (I can get ~1.5 lb of curry for $4 for example).  $29 for that list is pretty spot on as far as prices here in Raleigh.

I was all ready to challenge this, but when I added it up, I was also spot on $29. The spices were a stretch - I had room for one spice. And they tax SNAP? Geez, now I'm like $3 over budget.

But I can't get potatoes for $1 unless they're on super duper sale. My 5lb bag of potatoes was $3. Damn. Sales tax cost me my potatoes.

RootofGood

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #63 on: April 16, 2015, 07:23:57 AM »
I was all ready to challenge this, but when I added it up, I was also spot on $29. The spices were a stretch - I had room for one spice. And they tax SNAP? Geez, now I'm like $3 over budget.

But I can't get potatoes for $1 unless they're on super duper sale. My 5lb bag of potatoes was $3. Damn. Sales tax cost me my potatoes.

I've never had the fortune/misfortune of receiving SNAP benefits, but I figure they tax it.  Maybe not?  Our food tax in NC is only 2% so only $0.58 on a $29 purchase. 

I put potatoes in at $2 in my estimate since that's the cheapest I see them at Aldi and I usually get a 10 pound sack whenever they are on sale.  My kids think potatoes (baked, mashed, baked fries, etc) are luxury items though they are one of the cheaper veggies per pound. 

I also wish my local dollar tree had fresh produce.  They have $1 wheat (real wheat with actual fiber in it) bread and lots of frozen stuff plus staples like eggs and milk, but other than the bread, cereals, and spices, not much else is a good deal.  $1 produce (like bags of apples, oranges, or potatoes) would be killer.

As for the other comments on 5 cent limes, I see limes consistently at or under 10 cents here in NC at Mexican grocery stores.  Limes really aren't much of a luxury item since they are cheap and the flavor goes a long way.  I can get enough limes for an entire month's worth of seasoning for less than the price of a small bag of potato chips. 

CheapskateWife

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #64 on: April 16, 2015, 08:26:04 AM »
I would really prefer that celebrities work to bring awareness to "food desert" scenarios than to the supposed paltry coverage that SNAP benefits offer.  I am one of those heartless folks that believe the first word of that acronym is intentional.  It is a supplement.

Go ahead and throw rotten fruit at me now...

Any way, having worked in public housing in a huge city, the issue that I really saw that needed attention was the idea that SNAP benefits were available, but there were no markets with fresh food within a reasonable walking/biking/bus distance.  The mayor's answer to that, rather than create incentives to move a big name grocery into the area, was to bus the residents out...once a month...to a WALMART where they could get access to fresh food.

SNAP doesn't help anybody if real food isn't available.

Now, I don't know if this is national, but in TX, the WIC program has opened up to more than just milk, beans, and cheese.  It is wonderful to see all the green and healthy options available for struggling families with young children. 

AH013

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #65 on: April 16, 2015, 08:44:56 AM »
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.
....
People on snap may also may live in a tiny apartment and don't have the storage space. 

Usually I haul my weekly groceries (~20-30lbs) back by hand, in a combination of taking public transit and walking.  If I were physically incapable of that, I'd probably use a folding cart like the older shoppers I see.  Granted I'm buying for 1 -- if I were buying for say 4 I'd absolutely need a folding cart.

My "pantry" is also 12 cubic feet, coupled with about 6 cubic feet of combined fridge/freezer space (roommates sharing 1 fridge)...extremely tiny by most standards.  It's manageable if you're not expecting to have dozens of meal options at your disposal, or if you get more basic items that offer more flexibility (it's amazing how versatile flour is).

If I took a picture of my "$29/week food stamp" haul, it would probably be:
  • 5lb sack of flour -- $1.75
  • 5lb sack of sugar -- $2
  • 2lb box of oats -- $1.50
  • 5lb sack of potatoes -- $1
  • 5lb sack of carrots -- $1
  • 5lbs of assorted greens -- $2
  • 5lbs of assorted fruits -- $2
  • 3lb pack of chicken (quarters, split breast, etc.) -- $3
  • bag of lentils -- $0.75 (1lb)
  • loaf of whole wheat bread -- $1
  • block of cheese -- $1.50 (8oz)
  • different containers of spices & kitchen goods (thyme, oregano, cinnamon, garlic, baking powder, jug of oil, etc.) -- 3 shakers @ $0.75/each + $1 for baking powder, $4 for 96oz of veggie oil
Provided some basis on my math in my list above.  Rings up at <$25.  Granted I have access to a wholesalers' produce market that sells week-old produce at steeply discounted prices, but that's also freely available to everyone else in the city (Boston).  I guess the argument could be made that the wholesalers' market is cash only, so SNAP wouldn't be accepted, but I frequently pick up discounted produce at grocery stores too for similar prices where SNAP would be accepted.

And honestly (this isn't directed at anyone on the thread, just a vent at liberal media pundits), "food stamps" (SNAP) is a Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program -- Supplemental being the operative word.  $29 isn't enough money and it actually costs you $40 a week for food?  GFY -- It's not supposed to fully cover your food costs, it's supposed to help you to cover your own food costs in addition to you paying for your own damn food!  Be happy you only have to pay 30% of your total food expenses instead of 100% of them.  Nobody said you're entitled to fresh squeezed orange juice, prime beef, lucky charms, organic milk, Doritos, coca-cola, candy or any other GD thing that causes the average American's weekly grocery bill to be $76/person, but honest to God I see at least one of those items on the conveyor belt every time I see someone whip out an EBT card in this city and it just makes me want to scream "put that shit back right now, you haven't earned those luxuries!"

Cpa Cat

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #66 on: April 16, 2015, 09:22:29 AM »
The thing about the food stamp challenge is that it seems to me that it actually does the opposite of what it's intended to. Frankly, I look at Gwyneth Paltrow's photo and I think, "Hey, that's not bad for a week of food. There's a lot there." Imagine adding Gwyneth's groceries to a photo of AH013's list and saying "Look what SNAP gets me for a family of 2!" Imagine adding two more $29 lists from Mustachians to the haul.

Now we have more food than a family of four can even eat in a week.

It's just not a particularly genuine challenge, is it? It kind of accomplishes the opposite of what it's meant to.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #67 on: April 16, 2015, 09:31:01 AM »
The thing about the food stamp challenge is that it seems to me that it actually does the opposite of what it's intended to. Frankly, I look at Gwyneth Paltrow's photo and I think, "Hey, that's not bad for a week of food. There's a lot there." Imagine adding Gwyneth's groceries to a photo of AH013's list and saying "Look what SNAP gets me for a family of 2!" Imagine adding two more $29 lists from Mustachians to the haul.

Now we have more food than a family of four can even eat in a week.

It's just not a particularly genuine challenge, is it? It kind of accomplishes the opposite of what it's meant to.

A year or so ago there was some "#LivetheWage" crap where congress members pretended to live like they were making minimum wage. Their diet included such horrors as - tuna sandwiches! Oh no!

RootofGood

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #68 on: April 16, 2015, 02:13:37 PM »
A year or so ago there was some "#LivetheWage" crap where congress members pretended to live like they were making minimum wage. Their diet included such horrors as - tuna sandwiches! Oh no!

A buddy picked up lunch for his kid while we were at a science competition this past weekend.  Tuna salad sandwich which I would bet my mustache included tuna from a can.  $11 for a tuna salad sandwich and bag of chips at a fancy pants sandwich shop.  It's what fancy people eat now I guess. 

It's actually pretty good nutritionally (check on mercury content and maybe skip it if you're pregnant or nursing).  And at $2 for roughly a pound ready to eat, not a bad deal especially for fish.  But ewwww tuna fish from a can ewww that's what poor people eat! 

TheAnonOne

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #69 on: April 16, 2015, 02:47:28 PM »
Not to be a "evil" person here but generally I think SNAP is high enough. $30 a week is a dumb metric to measure it by and breaking it down that far unnecessarily makes it look worse.

At least around here, it's about $30 a week or (in an average month) $120

However, that is PER PERSON, so a 4 person household is just under $500 a month.

$500 a month... and nothing stops you from spending some of your own money on more if you enjoy the pricier options.

kathrynd

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #70 on: April 16, 2015, 07:07:24 PM »
A year or so ago there was some "#LivetheWage" crap where congress members pretended to live like they were making minimum wage. Their diet included such horrors as - tuna sandwiches! Oh no!

A buddy picked up lunch for his kid while we were at a science competition this past weekend.  Tuna salad sandwich which I would bet my mustache included tuna from a can.  $11 for a tuna salad sandwich and bag of chips at a fancy pants sandwich shop.  It's what fancy people eat now I guess. 

It's actually pretty good nutritionally (check on mercury content and maybe skip it if you're pregnant or nursing).  And at $2 for roughly a pound ready to eat, not a bad deal especially for fish.  But ewwww tuna fish from a can ewww that's what poor people eat!

In Canada we don't have SNAP, but I do enjoy reading the SNAP challenges.
The problem with politicians, chefs, nutritionalists who do these challenges,they  really have no idea of what the average person spends.
Most of them have never bought groceries, let alone within a budget.

When reading their blogs, they talk about feeling irritable and tired and obsessing over food...and losing weight.
Losing weight is the 'bonus' and the rest is normal, when you start anything new.

Having just read my reply here...maybe I have no idea what the average family spends...because it seems our family (av $50 week for 2 adults) seems to be low compared to most.

milesdividendmd

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the &quot;food stamp budget&quot;
« Reply #71 on: April 17, 2015, 12:11:07 AM »
I think her selection looks great. I'd be happy to cook with it.

1967mama

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #72 on: April 17, 2015, 12:14:17 AM »
Gwyneth Paltrow posted a response today, for those who are interested:

http://goop.com/my-29-food-stamp-challenge-and-the-recipes-brouhaha-that-ensued/

Spondulix

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #73 on: April 17, 2015, 01:04:55 AM »
...and then she went and ate $80 BBQ. http://natmonitor.com/2015/04/17/gwyneth-paltrow-officially-bows-out-of-food-stamp-challenge-with-80-plate-of-bbq/

Oh, and the week before the challenge? She bought a building for her exclusive club in Hollywood. Only a few grand a year to get in!
http://www.tmz.com/2015/04/05/gwyneth-paltrow-hustler-hollywood-store-club/

infogoon

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #74 on: April 17, 2015, 08:01:58 AM »
SNAP challenges are dumb. It's easy to live on $29 worth of food per person per week if you've already got reliable appliances, cookware, storage, transportation, coupons, free time, and a lifetime of experience cooking for yourself. And yet the participants in the "challenge" are never expected to give up any of those advantages.

horsepoor

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #75 on: April 17, 2015, 10:48:49 AM »
...and then she went and ate $80 BBQ. http://natmonitor.com/2015/04/17/gwyneth-paltrow-officially-bows-out-of-food-stamp-challenge-with-80-plate-of-bbq/

Oh, and the week before the challenge? She bought a building for her exclusive club in Hollywood. Only a few grand a year to get in!
http://www.tmz.com/2015/04/05/gwyneth-paltrow-hustler-hollywood-store-club/

Hmm, why not open a grocer store in a disadvantaged/food desert area of LA instead?  Maybe bankroll someone like Will Allen[/]?

APowers

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #76 on: April 17, 2015, 11:41:57 AM »
SNAP challenges are dumb. It's easy to live on $29 worth of food per person per week if you've already got reliable appliances, cookware, storage, transportation, coupons, free time, and a lifetime of experience cooking for yourself. And yet the participants in the "challenge" are never expected to give up any of those advantages.

This is a great point. How would you construct a challenge that includes those other factors (well, the controllable ones, at least, like appliances/cookware/storage/transportation)?

RootofGood

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #77 on: April 17, 2015, 09:23:27 PM »
It's funny she broke and had to have some chicken.  I think I would have worked a couple pounds of chicken into the budget ($2/lb for breasts or $0.69-.89 for thighs/legs/quarters).  Maybe ditch some of that fresh green stuff and the ear of corn (there's corn in those tortillas for a cheap per-pound cost). 

MoneyCat

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #78 on: April 18, 2015, 11:18:07 AM »
SNAP challenges are dumb. It's easy to live on $29 worth of food per person per week if you've already got reliable appliances, cookware, storage, transportation, coupons, free time, and a lifetime of experience cooking for yourself. And yet the participants in the "challenge" are never expected to give up any of those advantages.

This is a great point. How would you construct a challenge that includes those other factors (well, the controllable ones, at least, like appliances/cookware/storage/transportation)?

Easy.  Go live in a motel while you try the challenge.

Roland of Gilead

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #79 on: April 18, 2015, 10:00:10 PM »
Easy.  Go live in a motel while you try the challenge.

But then I would just load up on the breakfast buffet included with the room charge.

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #80 on: April 19, 2015, 08:32:50 AM »
SNAP challenges are dumb. It's easy to live on $29 worth of food per person per week if you've already got reliable appliances, cookware, storage, transportation, coupons, free time, and a lifetime of experience cooking for yourself. And yet the participants in the "challenge" are never expected to give up any of those advantages.

This is a great point. How would you construct a challenge that includes those other factors (well, the controllable ones, at least, like appliances/cookware/storage/transportation)?

Easy.  Go live in a motel while you try the challenge.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches would be the easiest in a motel situation. It would cost $2 for the 2 loaves of bread, $4.50 for the peanut butter, $3 for the Jelly. Throw in 3lbs of apples for $5 and you've still got $15 for whatever supplements you need. If you can't afford your own food, then you need to accept that you'll be having basic foods and monotony for a while. I think $29 a week is more than fair. If you want better food besides what the extra $15 will get you, then that's your incentive to improve your situation.

Zikoris

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #81 on: April 20, 2015, 09:29:01 AM »
SNAP challenges are dumb. It's easy to live on $29 worth of food per person per week if you've already got reliable appliances, cookware, storage, transportation, coupons, free time, and a lifetime of experience cooking for yourself. And yet the participants in the "challenge" are never expected to give up any of those advantages.

Meh. My boyfriend and I frequently travel to foreign countries and cook for ourselves without most of those advantages. We have the fun added bonus of not speaking the local language or knowing where the grocery stores are even located, in addition to having no coupons (which we don't use at home either), transportation, storage containers, or cooking facilities beyond maybe one pot, one pan, a mini fridge, and an element or two - maybe a microwave if we're really lucky. Yet somehow, by magic apparently, everything works out, and we have decent food at minimal cost.

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #82 on: April 20, 2015, 09:34:55 AM »
Easy.  Go live in a motel while you try the challenge.
Most cheap extended-stay motels at least have a fridge and a microwave. It's a cheap addition and they know it's a big selling point to low-income travelers or residents.

Killerbrandt

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #83 on: April 20, 2015, 09:49:39 AM »
Sorry if this was mentioned, but why are people doing a food stamp diet or challenge? Wasn't food stamps meant to be a supplement to your food budget? Very few should only be relying fully on the food stamps alone.

iris lily

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #84 on: April 20, 2015, 11:04:36 AM »
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...
you mean we'd look like skinny Gwenny?

Ok, if it can get me a Hollywood deal.

The choice of so many limes is massively funny. What did she have in mind? otherwise, her choices seem ok to me.

To add about canned veg: not only are many of the nutrients cooked out of them, there is a high amount of sodium in canned veg.

cerebus

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #85 on: April 20, 2015, 12:41:22 PM »


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

I keep seeing this pic and thinking, why would I want to wedge 2 whole spring onions in the middle of my burger?

mm1970

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #86 on: April 20, 2015, 01:14:37 PM »
Easy.  Go live in a motel while you try the challenge.

But then I would just load up on the breakfast buffet included with the room charge.
My parents split up when I was 15 years old, and my mom lived in a motel for about 6 months.  It's not that kind of motel, with breakfast, and most places that people would be living it wouldn't be.

She had her "fridge", it was the windowsill (PA in the winter).  Lots of PB sandwiches and canned tuna.

YoungInvestor

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #87 on: April 20, 2015, 04:10:23 PM »
Disclaimer: I'm nowhere near that budget. In fact, I'm probably at 7-10x that for a single person depending on the week (I know. Lots of restaurants and I'm a sucker for expensive fruits).

The limes seem quite stupid, as I'm sure that you could buy a decent amount of bananas or other more calorie and nutrient-rich fruit with the money they cost and still have a lime or two to "season" whatever you intend to put it on. The kale (I think) is a good idea, the small stuff was probably under a buck overall. There seems to be a lot of green onions there. Again, could have been replaced with something more calorie-rich.

I bet a few tweaks could get you to 1500 calories/day at least while keeping that kind of "quality"

Hunny156

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #88 on: April 24, 2015, 12:56:18 PM »
Did anyone here ever see the SNAP challenge on budgetbytes?  I think she did a really good job with it, and as a bonus, some of the recipes she created are really good and now part of our regular recipes.  I never thought I would actually buy ramen noodles again, but when you discard the "seasoning" (sodium) that comes with it, it can be part of a healthy meal.

Killerbrandt

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #89 on: April 24, 2015, 12:58:20 PM »
Did anyone here ever see the SNAP challenge on budgetbytes?  I think she did a really good job with it, and as a bonus, some of the recipes she created are really good and now part of our regular recipes.  I never thought I would actually buy ramen noodles again, but when you discard the "seasoning" (sodium) that comes with it, it can be part of a healthy meal.

Thanks!! I will have to check that out.

Logic_Lady

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #90 on: April 24, 2015, 10:51:51 PM »
Did anyone here ever see the SNAP challenge on budgetbytes?  I think she did a really good job with it, and as a bonus, some of the recipes she created are really good and now part of our regular recipes.  I never thought I would actually buy ramen noodles again, but when you discard the "seasoning" (sodium) that comes with it, it can be part of a healthy meal.

It was great! I loved that she actually addressed some of the psychological challenges of being on a restricted food diet and how they can lead to bad choices. There's a huge difference between spending $29/week on food but knowing you have money in reserve if you need it, versus spending $29/week on food and going hungry if you don't plan perfectly.

SailAway

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #91 on: April 25, 2015, 09:48:23 AM »
People give her shit for getting through 4 days.  It's all over reddit.  Look - I understand a lot of people hate her.  I don't know much but from what I gathered she's said some pretty classist things in the past.  But can you even imagine the shit storm she (or any celebrity) would have gotten if she bought $29 worth of food, made it through the week and said, "Man! That was easy!"

This. I don't have strong feelings about Gwen one way or the other (I know some people hate her) but she was doomed to fail from the start. Initially she was eviscerated online for her food choices but I respected her for sticking with real food and trying to make it work, even if I thought she needed more fat and protein and less lime. Many people criticized her for being rich and condescending to attempt to eat as though she were poor. I don't know why someone would shit on empathy. She failed and got criticized but I suspect if she had succeeded she would also have been criticized.

I have such mixed feelings about SNAP benefits. More money would probably just subsidize the sugar-laden processed food industry further. It's a complex issue - food deserts, poor transportation availability, less time to cook, poorly equipped kitchens, etc.

I know we spend too much on food. I toy with attempting a similar challenge but the reality is I would blow my budget with coffee and booze, without which I would probably murder someone.

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #92 on: April 25, 2015, 03:24:22 PM »
Did anyone here ever see the SNAP challenge on budgetbytes?  I think she did a really good job with it, and as a bonus, some of the recipes she created are really good and now part of our regular recipes.  I never thought I would actually buy ramen noodles again, but when you discard the "seasoning" (sodium) that comes with it, it can be part of a healthy meal.

We buy ramen fairly often (maybe consuming 4-5 packs per week on average??). 

It's a really easy way to make lo mein.  Cook it until about 30 seconds before it's al dente (maybe 2 minutes total cook time), drain, add 1/2 seasoning packet per 1 pack of noodles.  Toss with a couple dashes of sesame or peanut oil if you have it.  Optional add ons include sprinkled sesame seeds on top or dump in a few oz of frozen sweet peas right before you put the noodles in.  4 packs is plenty of noodles for our family of five, and makes a great side dish to stir fry or steamed veggies and grilled pork.  Just about as good as the Chinese restaurant lo mein without all the oil and it's under a buck for a family sized pot full. 

We use the extra seasoning packets as beef/pork/chicken bullion for soups, stir fry seasoning, pho seasoning, etc. 

We also buy fancy tom yum soup ramen from the Asian grocery store (imported from Thailand).  $0.35 per pack when you buy it in the 30 pack box ($11 IIRC). 

Yeah, yeah, broke college students eat ramen and it's for poor people.  But it's just noodles and seasoning, and you don't have to use all the seasoning.  The noodles alone end up costing around $1 for a pound, which is pretty cheap for noodles and actually cheaper than the imported Thai rice noodles we buy all the time for pad thai and pho ($1.59 for 1 lb or $1.49 for 14 oz). 

RootofGood

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #93 on: April 25, 2015, 03:37:02 PM »
I toy with attempting a similar challenge but the reality is I would blow my budget with coffee and booze, without which I would probably murder someone.

Those are clearly mental health budget items, right?  You guys don't put that in the food budget do you? 

j/k of course. Beer and wine and coffee goes in groceries.  Hard liquor is clearly an entertainment expense in my household budget (since I rarely drink it myself but guests drink it on occasion). 

SailAway

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #94 on: April 25, 2015, 06:31:30 PM »
I toy with attempting a similar challenge but the reality is I would blow my budget with coffee and booze, without which I would probably murder someone.

Those are clearly mental health budget items, right?  You guys don't put that in the food budget do you?
Perhaps I should consider renaming that category "pre-paid legal" in YNAB.

mjb

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Re: Gwyneth Paltrow does the "food stamp budget"
« Reply #95 on: April 26, 2015, 09:44:07 AM »
We buy ramen fairly often (maybe consuming 4-5 packs per week on average??). 

It's a really easy way to make lo mein.  Cook it until about 30 seconds before it's al dente (maybe 2 minutes total cook time), drain, add 1/2 seasoning packet per 1 pack of noodles.  Toss with a couple dashes of sesame or peanut oil if you have it.  Optional add ons include sprinkled sesame seeds on top or dump in a few oz of frozen sweet peas right before you put the noodles in.  4 packs is plenty of noodles for our family of five, and makes a great side dish to stir fry or steamed veggies and grilled pork.  Just about as good as the Chinese restaurant lo mein without all the oil and it's under a buck for a family sized pot full. 

One of my favorite quick meals is "special ramen", via Steve Albini's "Mario Batali Voice" blog:

http://mariobatalivoice.blogspot.com/2011/04/special-ramen-for-late-dinner.html