Crickets Chirping and how to make a Pork Loin Stretch #healthycheapmeals
I would love to put in a sound bite of crickets chirping here...
Okay...hopefully you didn't listen to that for too long! Ha! But that's an example of what you hear in the comments of my previous post on eating healthy for a family of 5 on approximately $40 a week. No comments...at all. On facebook, I got a couple of comments but asking the same thing, how do we do this???
I decided to do some research. Lack of response means that 1. My family is rare in our struggles to feed our family well. Hunger and poverty statistics say that is not true. 2. People just don't care. I'll give the majority of the lack of response to this. 3. This is a common problem and no one knows the answer.
I vote for #3. We live in a country that is known for its wealth. But look at these statistics from www.bread.org:
Okay...hopefully you didn't listen to that for too long! Ha! But that's an example of what you hear in the comments of my previous post on eating healthy for a family of 5 on approximately $40 a week. No comments...at all. On facebook, I got a couple of comments but asking the same thing, how do we do this???
I decided to do some research. Lack of response means that 1. My family is rare in our struggles to feed our family well. Hunger and poverty statistics say that is not true. 2. People just don't care. I'll give the majority of the lack of response to this. 3. This is a common problem and no one knows the answer.
I vote for #3. We live in a country that is known for its wealth. But look at these statistics from www.bread.org:
Hunger
- 14.5 percent of U.S. households struggle to put enough food on the table. More than 48 million Americans—including 15.9 million children—live in these households. 1
- More than one in five children is at risk of hunger. Among African-Americans and Latinos, nearly one in three children is at risk of hunger. 2
Food Spending
- Low-income households already spend a greater share of their income on food. Food accounts for 16.4 percent of spending for households making less than $10,000 per year compared to the U.S. average of 12.7 percent.
Poverty
More than one in seven people in the United States lives below the poverty line, which is $22,113 for a family of four in 2010. More than one in five children in the United States lives below the poverty line. 13
- Most Americans (51.4 percent) will live in poverty at some point before age 65. 14
- 65 percent of low-income families have at least one working family member, and 79 percent of single mothers who head households work. 15
- In most areas, a family of four needs to earn twice the poverty line to provide children with basic necessities. 16
- Nationally, more than 44 percent of children live in low-income working families (families who earn less than twice the poverty line). 17
- A person working full-time at the minimum wage earns about $14,500 a year. The official poverty line for a family of three—one parent with two children—is $17,568.
Proves we aren't the only family in America struggling with minimal food dollars. Check.
Okay, so no wishes. But I feel like I need to put a little side note in here. Those statistics do NOT mean that parents aren't working hard to support their families. I meet families on a regular basis that Dad goes to work every day, a lot of time works manual labor positions, fast food, retail, the majority jobs out there. But they aren't paid well at all. I've met single Momma's who work 2 to 3 jobs trying to support their family's. My own Mother was one of them. Some accept government assistance, some don't. In no way do I want fingers to be pointed, noses to be looked down or the words "they just don't work hard enough." being done or said on this blog. Got it? Good!
I've decided instead of waiting for some budget friendly genius to step up...ahem, or scoot their desk chair up to the computer and respond to my blog posts. Instead, I'm going to start investigating how to make the dollar stretch until it screams to help families! What? You mean do it yourself Michelle? Heck yah! Let's do this thing!
Today, a friend and I went and sat in an EXTREMELY hot outdoor cooking class on how to BBQ at Whole Foods Wichita. Whole Foods coming to Wichita is a HUGE deal...because we only have 4 other organic type stores in Wichita...you know, more is good right? Ha! BUT I went to the FREE cooking class.
I'm looking at all of the fabulous ingredients to go into the cooking. Spices that are definitely out of my budget. But then the chef who was teaching the class got my attention...while preparing the pork tenderloin he was asked, what is your favorite rub? Guess what he said!? Salt and Pepper. That's it. For real? He had my attention now because I'm trying to find a way to feed my family of 5. Know what else I learned? When slicing a pork loin, slice it super thin. Like sandwich meat thin. Why? It tastes better. An in my head, that pork tenderloin just stretched to 3 meals. So let's break that down...
Pork Tenderloin is about 4.99 a pound if you can catch it on sale. We'll say our loin is 3 pounds, making it $15 if we round up. But, making it stretch into 3 meals makes it $5 a meal for 5 people! Whole Foods sells organic pork, no antibiotics, growth hormones, just good ol' pork. Thumbs up! What could we add to the pork loin to make this meal filling...beans. Beans are dirt cheap. Like 1.00 a bag for red beans. That bag of beans breaks down into about 4 meals in all. We are now at $5.25 Starting to push our budget now but add in an apple from the dent and bruise section (bag is typically 3.99 with 6-8 apples) we have a pretty decent meal. No, its not perfect, but our kids won't leave the table hungry! And that is what counts!
And because I love ya, here's the video of the chef cooking the Pork Roast!
Okay, so no wishes. But I feel like I need to put a little side note in here. Those statistics do NOT mean that parents aren't working hard to support their families. I meet families on a regular basis that Dad goes to work every day, a lot of time works manual labor positions, fast food, retail, the majority jobs out there. But they aren't paid well at all. I've met single Momma's who work 2 to 3 jobs trying to support their family's. My own Mother was one of them. Some accept government assistance, some don't. In no way do I want fingers to be pointed, noses to be looked down or the words "they just don't work hard enough." being done or said on this blog. Got it? Good!
I've decided instead of waiting for some budget friendly genius to step up...ahem, or scoot their desk chair up to the computer and respond to my blog posts. Instead, I'm going to start investigating how to make the dollar stretch until it screams to help families! What? You mean do it yourself Michelle? Heck yah! Let's do this thing!
Today, a friend and I went and sat in an EXTREMELY hot outdoor cooking class on how to BBQ at Whole Foods Wichita. Whole Foods coming to Wichita is a HUGE deal...because we only have 4 other organic type stores in Wichita...you know, more is good right? Ha! BUT I went to the FREE cooking class.
I'm looking at all of the fabulous ingredients to go into the cooking. Spices that are definitely out of my budget. But then the chef who was teaching the class got my attention...while preparing the pork tenderloin he was asked, what is your favorite rub? Guess what he said!? Salt and Pepper. That's it. For real? He had my attention now because I'm trying to find a way to feed my family of 5. Know what else I learned? When slicing a pork loin, slice it super thin. Like sandwich meat thin. Why? It tastes better. An in my head, that pork tenderloin just stretched to 3 meals. So let's break that down...
Pork Tenderloin is about 4.99 a pound if you can catch it on sale. We'll say our loin is 3 pounds, making it $15 if we round up. But, making it stretch into 3 meals makes it $5 a meal for 5 people! Whole Foods sells organic pork, no antibiotics, growth hormones, just good ol' pork. Thumbs up! What could we add to the pork loin to make this meal filling...beans. Beans are dirt cheap. Like 1.00 a bag for red beans. That bag of beans breaks down into about 4 meals in all. We are now at $5.25 Starting to push our budget now but add in an apple from the dent and bruise section (bag is typically 3.99 with 6-8 apples) we have a pretty decent meal. No, its not perfect, but our kids won't leave the table hungry! And that is what counts!
And because I love ya, here's the video of the chef cooking the Pork Roast!
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