Just found out that we spend less per person on groceries than Food Stamp recipients get.

[Shawna in Texas]

My mother never learned to cook properly. Or rather, she believed Kraft mac and cheese with tuna was a wholesome enough meal. She very rarely bought meat except the cheapest hamburger or pork chops if it was marked down.

 

I'm slowly but surely teaching me sister to cook now and she's 32. Last week we had a setback because she didn't understand butter and margarine were two different things. Country crock=butter. We were raised this way. Most of the kids in my extended family were as well.

[SKL]

I completely sympathize with the fear of being accused of neglect when accidents happen.  I still get questions about the scar on my 6yo's head, from a fall she took at age 3 (when I was standing right there).  That was the one and only time we ever went to the ER (so far).  Sometimes I'm conflicted over whether it's more irresponsible to let my kids try something or deny them a developmentally appropriate opportunity.  And I live in a relatively down-to-earth city.

[SKL]

For the record, just this week I finally showed my more responsible 6yo daughter how to operate the nuker (as in, what buttons to push in what order) and to try it herself with me standing right there.  Nukers scare me because kids could forget to not put metal etc. in there.  They have helped with stovetop cooking, but not a ton and not without supervision.  So it will be a while before they are cooking meals alone.  :)

[SKL]

I actually think Kraft mac'n'cheese is an acceptable dinner food.  I often serve an organic version (hold the margarine) with fruit/veg and milk.  Sometimes meat, sometimes not.  I wouldn't serve it every day but it can be part of a varied healthy diet.  I don't think it's any worse than pizza.  :P

[Murphy101]

For the record, just this week I finally showed my more responsible 6yo daughter how to operate the nuker (as in, what buttons to push in what order) and to try it herself with me standing right there. Nukers scare me because kids could forget to not put metal etc. in there. They have helped with stovetop cooking, but not a ton and not without supervision. So it will be a while before they are cooking meals alone. :)

my dad put a TV dinner (remember the all foil for the oven ones?) in the microwave and then walked out to do something in the garage. That was epic to behold as a kid. Pretty bright sparks and kaboom! And the garden hose dragged in through the patio door again. lol

 

Mom came home to a really clean kitchen and new microwave. Just because dad wanted to do something nice. ;)

[MomtoCandJ]

I need serious help with cooking skills as well. Grew up poor and often without bottle gas for the stove so it was whatever could be cooked in the microwave :( . I am basically having to teach myself how to cook so that I can show dd when she gets a little older (right now she helps us cook) thank goodness for the 196something Betty Crocker Cookbook I got from my great grandma. Now if anyone knows of any other basic cookbook like that, please tell me.

[Scarlett]

my dad put a TV dinner (remember the all foil for the oven ones?) in the microwave and then walked out to do something in the garage. That was epic to behold as a kid. Pretty bright sparks and kaboom! And the garden hose dragged in through the patio door again. lol

 

Mom came home to a really clean kitchen and new microwave. Just because dad wanted to do something nice. ;)

LOL this is even funnier than you hiding under the bed.

[Scarlett]

I need serious help with cooking skills as well. Grew up poor and often without bottle gas for the stove so it was whatever could be cooked in the microwave :( . I am basically having to teach myself how to cook so that I can show dd when she gets a little older (right now she helps us cook) thank goodness for the 196something Betty Crocker Cookbook I got from my great grandma. Now if anyone knows of any other basic cookbook like that, please tell me.

You had a microwave growing up? :eek: only the richest people had those when I was a kid. But I am showing my age.....

 

Foodnetwork.com has recipes for every skill level....and if you don't understand a term or technique google a video of it. Or ask the HIVE.

[Miss Peregrine]

Yeah, eggshells have amazing properties, don't they? I remember my mom showing me how to use the shells to separate the white from the yolk in making white cake. :)

I learned that from Jack Tripper on Three's Company. :lol:

[MomtoCandJ]

Well I'm 30 so not to terribly old, the microwave was given to my parents, it was really old but it still worked.

[Murphy101]

You had a microwave growing up? :eek: only the richest people had those when I was a kid. But I am showing my age

You and me both then. Our first one was when I was 12 iirc and it was a big deal 25th wedding anniversary present from my dad to my mom. Too bad he blew it up. :)

[Scarlett]

You and me both then. Our first one was when I was 12 iirc and it was a big deal 25th wedding anniversary present from my dad to my mom. Too bad he blew it up. :)

I cannot remember when I got my first one...I am pretty sure it was around the time we bought our first house in 1988.

[bettyandbob]

 thank goodness for the 196something Betty Crocker Cookbook I got from my great grandma. Now if anyone knows of any other basic cookbook like that, please tell me.

 

 

You probably have the same Betty Crocker my parents got as a wedding present that my dad presented us when he said we (the children) were making dinner from now on. Julia Child's The Way to Cook has big pictures illustrating techniques I believe. It is simpler than her first book The Art of French Cooking. 

 

I don't have any good suggestions for cookbooks because my family has been gluten free for 11 years, so my cooking has changed. However, my library has tons of cookbooks. You might start there. If you find one like, you could challenge yourself to do one or two new recipes a week from it for a period of time. You can the same with a technique or a piece of equipment. For example if you got a crockpot or slow cooker you could challenge yourself to make something new in the equipment every week and make sure the new recipes are not just entrees, but include appetizers and desserts. I know there are groups that meet online that follow certain cookbooks trying to master every recipe in a year (bread cookbooks are popular for this as well as Julia Child). Maybe a good challenge would be to check out one cookbook and do 3 recipes before the due date (3 weeks where I live) and then get a different cookbook and do the same. 

[SKL]

Nukers used to be way expensive at first!  I bought my parents their first after I was in grad school.  A little later we bought my grandma one, but she never used it because she was afraid of blowing up the house.

 

As for the cookbook - our family tradition is to give each person The Joy of Cooking as a wedding present.  It's very good.

[SKL]

My oldest once put a bowl of thumb tacks in the microwave.  It was rather sparkly.  The microwave was fine and I did catch it right away.

 

I remember as a kid thinking it was a good idea to put a Tupperware bowl on the stove burner.

 

Kids are scary people.

[Murphy101]

I remember as a kid thinking it was a good idea to put a Tupperware bowl on the stove burner.

 

Kids are scary people.

I'm telling you, so are adults. My mother once shattered her favorite turkey platter at thanksgiving bc she set it on a cooktop that wasn't cooled off enough. My husband's grandmother set a loaf of bread on a burner that had one of those decorative covers on it and didn't realize she had turned the wrong burner on to boil water until the other burner had melted the bread package and was turning the bread black. She said she thought the smell was just from my uncleanliness oven. Yes, I did not keep my house clean enough for her and neglected my babies health by not putting sock on their feet in July. ;p

[SKL]

LOL, Martha, that is true.  Here's a scary one.  My friend, who was raised with servants, decided to boil something and then strain it.  She put the colander (sp?) on the counter and poured the contents of the boiling pot into it.  This is an intelligent, college-educated woman.  Therefore it took her only one such mistake to realize that the water needed somewhere to go after exiting the colander.

[LibraryLover]

I actually think Kraft mac'n'cheese is an acceptable dinner food.  I often serve an organic version (hold the margarine) with fruit/veg and milk.  Sometimes meat, sometimes not.  I wouldn't serve it every day but it can be part of a varied healthy diet.  I don't think it's any worse than pizza.  :p

 

I think pizza is fine as well.  I am guessing there are very few of us who haven't made a 'meal' of Amy's Mac & Cheese w/ a side of veggies or a salad, and called it good enough. There's even a gluten-free version, although I don't know if it's organic.

 

 

[Susan in TN]

That's depressing.

 

(according to this chart)

 

I spend $600 a month for 6 people. That boils down to a little over a dollar per person per meal.

 

My 600 includes toilet paper, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and pet food.

 

We do have a a freezer full of beef from the farm and chickens for eggs, but still.

 

Once I did the calculation, I figured out why the food budget is SO tight.

 

Huh...same here (increased a bit for 8 people) including toiletries and paper goods.

[mom31257]

I had posted that we were on food stamps because dh was laid off, so I thought I'd would share here that he got a job. He starts the week his unemployment ends. It is 100 miles south of us, but it's the only job he's found, and it does put him back in the state benefit and retirement system. it is interstate all the way, so the drive is about 1.5 hours. He's hoping to find a situation where he could stay 2-3 3 nights a week and cut down on the gas and drive time.  I am hoping our food stamps won't end the time he starts because he won't have a paycheck until September 30th and he starts August 9th. Does anyone know if they will allow us to keep them until the first check? 

[Ravin]

In my state income changes have to be reported within ten days. A paycheck changes your income. If you report as soon as he gets paid, they might revoke some of the balance for the current month based on a per diem end date or maybe make you pay some back. Or it might be okay and you just get it reduced the next month.

[mom31257]

In my state income changes have to be reported within ten days. A paycheck changes your income. If you report as soon as he gets paid, they might revoke some of the balance for the current month based on a per diem end date or maybe make you pay some back. Or it might be okay and you just get it reduced the next month.

I may go in and try to speak with someone. We will actually have no income from the time he starts until he gets the first paycheck. We might be eligible for more that short time. I am quitting my part-time job because it has to be done in the mornings and he won't be home to do school with the kids. Dd is old enough to keep ds at home, but I don't want her to have to do school with him. They get along really well, and I want to keep it that way! LOL! 

[wingedradical]

Years ago, I received food stamps for a while (long story involving a health crisis). In my state at that time (don't know about other states or now), you had a choice of different amounts to purchase. The full amount was way more than I would normally spend. I knew that immediately so I got 3/4 one month and it was too much so I got a half the next month. I thought it had changed (having heard how hard it is to live on food stamps recently) but then I read an article outlining things and they still offer more than you need. This is why people use food stamps and can buy all the junk food they want. I'm not against poor people having junk food sometimes, mind you. We all like chips, ice cream, etc sometimes but the ability to buy lots of it seems to be built into the system.

 

On the other side, grocery stores in poor areas are often only stocked with junk so maybe that is why.

 

Before food stamps, they handed out commodity foods. I think they should do that still. It wasn't the easy to make commodities go as far as they needed to, but you could make do with them. They were good for a stop gap, not a lifestyle. Please don't think by what I just said that I don't care about the poor., I was quite thankful for food stamps myself once plus I know about commodity foods because I used to be a nurse for Head Start. But the waste is ridiculous, imo.

[elegantlion]

I may go in and try to speak with someone. We will actually have no income from the time he starts until he gets the first paycheck. We might be eligible for more that short time. I am quitting my part-time job because it has to be done in the mornings and he won't be home to do school with the kids. Dd is old enough to keep ds at home, but I don't want her to have to do school with him. They get along really well, and I want to keep it that way! LOL! 

 

In our state you get paperwork from that tells me the cutoff on the amount of income where benefits change or cease (not sure yet). You might look through your paperwork. 

 

I'd gladly trade off some of my benefits for the ability to buy toilet paper, tampons, or toothpaste. 

[happypamama]

 

The custom meat shop (slaughterhouse/butcher) we use for our beef and venison accepts food stamps. There are signs hanging inside the building stating it and their newspaper ads always mentions it.

Around here, the butcher shop accepts food stamps too, I think (although I don't think the organic grassfed beef places do), and so do the farmer's markets (which are plentiful). Not only that, but the farmer's markets will double your money if you use your food stamp card, up to $10 a visit. So if you spend $10 of food stamp money, you actually get $20 in food stamp money. WIC around here also gives, in addition to the usual produce checks that you can use at the grocery store, farmer's market checks that you can use to buy any locally produced fruits or vegetables. I think that is so awesome -- not only does it give good incentive for lower income people to buy fresh produce, but it puts the money back into the hands of the local farmers.

[Kaleidoscope]

Clearly I need shopping tips.  I've recently went from having 1200 a month for 7 people to 600 a month for 6 people and I am not adjusting well