SNAP Budget Challenge

This week I decided to take a little field trip to Trader Joe's to price out some things for my family meals. It turned out to be a lot more challenging than I thought it would be. I made a very simple meal plan that could be made by any skill level family of four (assuming 2 adults and 2 kids).

To start the day off the right way I decided on something that would fill you up and sustain you until lunch time.
Breakfast:
Cantaloupe slices ( 2 each) ~ $2.25
Scrambled eggs (2 each) ~ $1.32
Toast with a multi-grain bread (2 slices each) ~$0.64
Milk (8oz. glass) ~ $0.54

Summary; This meal provided foods from the dairy, fruits, grains, and protein food groups. The total family cost of this meal was $4.75.

Lunch:
Sandwich
  Multi-grain bread (2 slices each) ~$0.64
  Tomato (1/4 a tomato each) ~$0.79
  Lettuce (a few leafs each) ~$0.03
  Deli ham (2 thin slices each) ~$1.50
Apples ~$1.75
String cheese ~$1.20

Summary; This meal provided foods from the dairy, grain, fruits, protein, and vegetable food groups. The total cost of this family meal was $5.91.

Dinner:
Tomato, chicken, and red pepper soup ~$2.79
Brown rice (1.5 servings each) ~$1
Milk (8oz. glass) ~$0.54

Summary; This final meal had foods from the vegetable, protein, grain, and dairy food groups. The total cost of this meal was $4.33.

The entire day's food cost a grand total of $14.99, right under our SNAP budget of $15. The hardest thing to make was either scrambling the eggs or heating up the soup. This assignment was a lot tougher than I initially thought it would be. Finding food on a budget is one thing, but having it all be healthy and nutritious is a whole other story. Overall, I would say that my made up SNAP family ate a whole lot better than I do on a daily basis. The meals were well balanced and proportional (which is always my personal hardest goal). This assignment was challenging but fun, it was interesting walking around Trader Joe's with my notebook at hand. Very nice to know that I could, at least in theory, eat healthy for about $5 a day.