Meals Stamps Diary: How a 23-12 months-Previous Faculty Scholar Eats on $14/Hour and Meals Stamps in Corvallis, Oregon

5:55 p.m. Lastly, some actual meals. I’m so hungry after class that I don’t wish to hassle with making an attempt to determine a meal, so once I get house I simply determine to order pickup. I get pink BBQ pork egg noodle soup from Thai Chili. Usually, I might order it with roast duck, however they don’t have it once I order. Both manner, the meal is so scrumptious. For many locations, I’ll attempt new issues every time I am going to the restaurant, however that is one the place I absolutely decide to the identical factor as a result of it’s excellent in each manner: savory and spicy, extremely warming (which I wanted), and intensely filling. I’m a cheerful particular person after this meal, and it’s not too costly, solely costing $16 together with tip.

Whole: $16

Friday

6:36 a.m. It’s one other lengthy day, so I’ve two slices of sourdough and a cup of Tillamook Vanilla Bean yogurt ($2.96 from WinCo) with a tablespoon of Justin’s peanut butter ($5.49, purchased a bit in the past) and a banana to carry me over till lunch. Yogurt bowls will doubtless be the breakfast of selection for my early mornings. I’m frantically taking shifts at my job in pupil outreach and recruiting this week, for the reason that manner our pay schedule works, that is the one week that can be on this month’s paycheck. I didn’t keep and work over winter break, so I solely have per week and a half of pay for final month and can solely get per week for this month.

I do know and I’m sorry: Justin’s makes use of palm oil. I’m wanting extra diligently for peanut butter with out salt and sugar. Consuming mindfully is difficult and sometimes issues slip by way of the cracks. Fortunately, whereas palm oil continues to be terrible, this one is no less than licensed as “orangutan friendly.” That doesn’t excuse my use of it, nevertheless it’ll make me really feel much less responsible as I end this jar.

11:45 a.m. After getting off work and earlier than heading to the climbing gymnasium, I eat some lunch I really considered making earlier than leaving this morning. This morning I made a kale ($0.99 per serving from Market of Selection) and beet ($1.34 per serving from WinCo) salad, which is only a fancy phrase for beets on high of some plain kale, however it’s a excellent salad for me. I make the beets spicy with a serrano, tangy with rice vinegar, and balanced with some toasted sesame oil. These beets are excellent for a snack and work nicely in a salad, and when you add a few of the marinade like I did this morning, you don’t even want a dressing. 

One of the best a part of this meal is wanting like essentially the most granola particular person you’d ever meet. I’m sitting exterior our pupil union, prAna pants on, climbing footwear by my facet, plus reusable water bottle and occasional mug. However the pièce de résistance is the Snow Peak Titanium Fork I carry in my backpack to eat the salad, which is in a deli container that held final evening’s soup; I purchase them over time. That manner you get a meal and a few containers with out bringing new plastic into the world. 

4:43 p.m. An earlier dinner, however I’m hungry and my companion and I are going out for dessert and drinks later. As I have talked about earlier than, my weekday dinner hack is to discover a protein you want after which a bunch of various methods to season it. I make some curry rooster with ½ cup of rice and a little bit little bit of kimchi (Choi’s Kimchi Co. from Market of Selection, I’ve had it for some time) on the facet. For my curry rooster, I used my S&B Curry Powder to coat the non-skin facet of the rooster thigh earlier than cooking it in my cast-iron skillet. I cook dinner all my thighs on medium-low warmth for about 10–quarter-hour per facet in order that the pores and skin will get tremendous crispy. I additionally personal a couple of chef presses to ensure the pores and skin makes full contact with the pan so it does get actually crisp. As a result of this curry powder can be utilized in Japanese curry (like rooster over rice with a little bit little bit of katsu sauce), it scratches my itch for katsu curry. This can be a staple dish in my books as a result of I’ll cook dinner extra rice than I want, so I can use it the following day for some fried rice too.