Eating well on a food stamp budget?

T sent me an interesting article today, asking the question of just how well a family of four could eat on the average 4-person food stamp alotment of $68.88/week.  Remembering that food stamps are intended to supplement a family's food budget and not be the sole allotment, he AP asked two chefs and the editor of my favorite food magazine (Everyday Food by Martha Stewart!) to plan out 7 days of meals for a family of four with that budget.  I read with great interest, because I am always looking for ways to flex and stretch our food budget in better ways to get to the end of the month!

You can read the full ABC News article here.  I found several points interesting:

-The chef experts tried to stay within budget while still staying true to their nutritious, health-conscious menu ideals.  They did this to varying degrees of success, often going over budget rather than sacrificing nutrition. 
-Overall they were all able to come up with what sounded like reasonable week meal plans that were heavy on fresh produce, modest on meat and strong on whole grains and legumes and dairy--all of which sounded pretty good to me.
-The experts noted how much advance thought and work went into planning the menu, shopping and preparing the made-from-scratch meals they proposed.  They acknowledged that this would be a hard thing for many families, especially with two working parents, erratic schedules or less knowledge about home cooking. 

The article made me realize again just how much organization, education (both about nutrition, cooking and even math!), planning and just plain work goes into preparing meals for a family every week.  Whew!  I sort of got tired just reading the article--mostly because I know the feeling!  But it also made me appreciate how families need more than just money to succeed in putting good food on their table.   Wouldn't it be cool if cooking and meal planning resources were more available to families in need?  Something to think about.

Happily Ever,
Queen B

Avoiding High Fructose Corn Syrup

No matter what specialty of medicine I end up practicing once I graduate medical school, I will be confronting the epidemic of obesity that has overwhelmed America and its devastating health consequences. Partly for that reason, and partly because I want to promote healthy eating for my kids, T, and myself, I am always interested in new studies on healthy eating. I will try to post my finds and tips here as they come up.

I just came across an interesting study published by a group of Princeton researchers (hooray, alma mater!) on high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). You can read a summary of the study here or read the abstract in Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior . The study found that Rats who had access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same. High-fructose corn syrup is a processed sweetener used in place of sugar almost ubiquitously in commercially processed foods--everything from soda to fruit juice to yogurt to tomato soup. Now to be fair, the nutritional peril of HFCS compared to plain sugar (sucrose) is far from conclusive: a study published in the journal Nutrition in 2007 compared short-term HFCS v sugar consumption in lean women and found no difference in measured body metabolic responses. The American Medical Association has done reviews of medical literature in the past and has stated that " it appears unlikely that HFCS contributes more to obesity or other conditions than sucrose" but calls for more independent research on the issue. Perhaps this new Princeton study will affect some thinking, but the controversy remains.

Based on research I have read, my conclusion is that HFCS is worth avoiding in place of sugar when possible, if for no other reason than most high calorie foods commercially available use HFCS. Last fall, I decided to make an attempt at removing all HFCS products from my shopping list, instead opting for products that use sugar or making my own versions from scratch at home. First, I was amazed at how many of the "healthy" foods I was buying used HFCS: my yogurt, my pasta sauce, my granola bars, my cereals, the kids crackers, the list goes on and on. I have managed, with some hunting, investigation and habit-changing, to find non-HFCS substitutes for all my favorite products, for about the same price or cheaper, in some cases. Dannon natural yogurt in place of yoplait, Cascadian Farms Organic granola, bars and juices (often on sale at Target or our Rainbow grocery store!) in place of Nature Valley or Quaker Oats, etc. The results have been more fresh fruit and veggie snacking, more home-made foods in our picnic lunches, and (this is just my biased opinion) better satiety for all of us. I am open to changing my mind, but for now HFCS remains on my "try not to buy list."

Happily Ever,

Queen B