Good morning! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I’m not mentally ready for it to be Monday yet. Fortunately, I don’t have class until late this afternoon, so I have the morning to get work done and to prep for a project I’m doing for my Community Nutrition class.

For one week, we have to eat as though we were participating in the Federal Food Stamp Program. Participation will be under the assumption that you have no “countable” income and live alone, so your budget for the week is the maximum amount allotted per month for a single person: $46.50 ($200 per month),  based on the Thrifty Food Plan.

I did a similar project last fall for my Diet Assessment class, but it was only for three days. Honestly, I don’t expect that this will be too difficult, as $46.50 is pretty close to what I spend on groceries per week, but it will be interesting to document it and see just how close. Not eating meat is helpful in keeping costs down, as other protein sources like beans and nuts are very cheap. I’m also fortunate enough to live near two of the cheapest markets in the city. The quality may not be quite what you get at Whole Foods, but it’s great to be able to fill a giant bag with produce for the cost of, like, one container or organic berries.

I’m going to make a bunch of stuff today so I can enjoy it later in the week. This morning’s cooking plans include:

• garlic soup
• kale chips
• roasted beet
• lentil walnut burgers