An Experiment in Perspective

January 21, 2020

Beloved:

          In my continuing experiment to eat on a $4-a-day budget (my best guess at what the SNAP program allows), I offer the recipe below with notes.
          I started out using recipes I found on the SNAP education page of the USDA website which, in my opinion, is a gift to beginner cooks and shoppers.  However, for my purposes, I do better taking inventory of my pantry and fridge, then going to the store hunting for the best deals.  I buy my lunch box fruit based on what is on sale — grapes last week, apples this week.   
          Organic is usually out of the question, but the organic apples were a great sale price this week.  By the way, why are organic apples packed in plastic bags?  I don’t always buy meat, but this time I found a 2.5-pound package of boneless chicken thighs for $7.55 that I thought could stretch into three recipes out of which I’d get 17 servings.  After I made the burritos, I realized the chicken wasn’t going that far, so it ended up being 12 servings of protein at 63¢ a serving.  Not bad, but I still have to find a protein for my third (rice) dish.  Ordinarily, I would use cashews, but obviously cashews do not qualify on this budget.  So I am thinking eggs, two of which I collect daily from the coop in these dark days of winter.
          I have eaten out twice in three weeks:  lunch at Panera on the two Sundays I didn’t remember to pack a lunch.  It was so good and cost $10 but I couldn’t help stirring through it and doing the math on the ingredients.  I suppose figuring in labor, transportation, a profit margin and all that, $10 is probably about right.
          It’s not so much the math but the time it takes to make this budget work.  Time I can’t imagine working families have to figure out recipes that are both affordable and healthy.  Not only is organic food out of the question, so are most fresh vegetables.  The bell pepper I wanted was $1.50.  The 80¢ ones were green and wrinkly.  I bought the beautiful one, but then only used half for my burritos and half for my rice.  Ordinarily, I would use a whole one for each dish, as well as a whole onion.  I love Fage 2% Greek yogurt but it is sooo expensive.  The only way I justify buying it is by 1) counting it as one of my proteins; 2) using half as much at a time as I normally would; 3) buying no milk for my cereal and using yogurt instead.  If I were feeding kids on this budget, no way could we have such good yogurt.
          So, early lessons:
          Portions are different.  The burritos are very filling, but to stretch other dishes to the portions I need, I have to be very disciplined about portion size.  It would be heartbreaking for me to do this with kids whose bellies should get all the way filled up, especially at bedtime.
          Again, time.  Either a family has to have additional income to buy more food or the time to go gather up the available free food.  Of course, that gathering also requires transportation, which means either a car and the gas to put in it or a bus pass and a bus schedule that will take them to the free food sources when those sources are open.
          Healthy food is so expensive.  I already knew that, but not in the same way I do on this budget; and that makes me both sadder than sad and madder than mad that the government subsidizes the corporate end of the food industry while starving the poverty assistance end of the healthiest food available.  (More on this in another post.)
          Finally, as someone pointed out Sunday, I have a kitchen.  I have an amazing kitchen in fact, with every imaginable tool and appliance.  How would I produce actual meals with nothing more than a can opener and a microwave?
          I’m under no illusion about the illusion of an affluent woman feeding only herself pretending to identify with people for whom this experiment is reality.  I question the wisdom of writing about it here.  Still, my idea for our Lenten reflection is  a study on what the everyday experience of food and eating might teach us about privilege and the non-physical ways we also feed ourselves.  I’m looking for a book to read along the way as well.  For now, I invite you to consider whether the subject interests you and if you might like to join some part of the study.
          In any case, have a joyful day of faith, beloved.  

~ peace & prayers, 
pastor annette

Baked Chicken & Black Bean Burritos - 4 servings

• 3 boneless chicken thighs, cooked & shredded
• 1 can black beans, drained
• I can green chili enchilada sauce
• ½ medium onion, diced
• ½ large bell pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice — bottled, because limes are too expensive
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder (or more, to taste)
• 9 8-inch flour or corn tortillas
• ½ cup of Monterey Jack cheese (Check the dates at Aldi, because the block I bought had some mold so chickens got a good chunk of it.)
• Sour cream or Greek yogurt for topping, used sparingly

          Reserve half the cheese for topping.  Saute garlic, onion, and peppers until translucent. Add beans and chicken; cook until heated through.  Portion mixture into 9 tortillas, top with a sprinkle of cheese, wrap, and lay tightly in a greased 9x13 baking dish.  Cover burritos with the green sauce and sprinkle with the reserved cheese.  Bake uncovered about 30 minutes.  Serve with sour cream or Greek yogurt.