Living it up on the tax payers dime a weeks worth of food stamps

reply to post by OpinionatedB


I generally follow this recipe:

www.soulfoodandsoutherncooking.com...

It's relatively quick, super easy and delicious.

reply to post by Doodle19815


My bad, I missed your post. I must say I do recall many people talking about freezing and I guess that would qualify certainly as eating left overs as well!

I guess America needs to learn how to eat smarter? lol

As a few have pointed out, not everyone knows how to cook. It certainly doesn't mean that those whom do not, can not learn.

To me cooking is like to an artist whom paints a picture. When I am in the kitchen, I look at my effort to create food as art, and there is nothing more satisfying than to enjoy what you created or watch others enjoy what you created.

AfterInfinity
reply to post by SasquatchHunter

 

"...not telling anyone to stop feeling sorry for themselves." Sounds pretty underhanded to me.

edit on 17-11-2013 by AfterInfinity because: (no reason given)

Again with another one liner this time butchering my post instead of just taking what I said out context.

Irish614
Instead of posting your life on a conspiracy website, why not research how to make the money that you do receive stretch a little further. I was on food stamps before, it was my last resort and it wasn't easy especially living in the highest taxed state in the nation. I didn't go on the internet complaining about how I can't eat steaks and the like. Instead I came up with dinner ideas that would last me for a month on a very limited budget. You can get HEAP and other programs that will pay for your utilities during times of hardship. I'm thankful that I have found a great job and got out of the funk I was in. Pick your head up and stop feeling sorry for yourself. Change your thinking and it will change you. Good luck.

I worked 2-3 jobs since I was 16 and supported 2 others and never took foodstamps so what? The Op has schizophrenia it only gets worse not better.

Irish614
You seem like a great ball of positivity. Glad you never had to take food stamps.

The poster told the op with schizophrenia to stop feeling sorry for themselves, based on the fact they had food stamps before. Then makes a passive aggressive comment.

I didn't have to take food stamps because I worked my butt off and sacrificed a lot. I'm not holding anyone else to my standards. I'm not telling anyone else to stop feeling sorry for themselves.

What you do is underhanded.

reply to post by Doodle19815


I thought everyone did that! There is always extra after mealtime and it just goes in the fridge or freezer to eat another day and another way!

Was it you or someone else who suggested making potato pancakes with the left over mashed potatoes? My grandmother used to do that and they are wonderful!

OpinionatedB
reply to post by 0zzymand0s

 

Do you know how to cook greens? My husband loves them but the recipe I was told had pork in it so I never tried it and cannot remember now how I was told to make it... but they are a healthy and inexpensive alternative also I think for a vegetable...

they way i do them is depending on how big the bunch, collards or turnips green. wash em real good. in a big boiler put the greens in with 1 to 3 tablespoons of oil depending on size of the bunch. stir them up so that they get coated, cook them down on med high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, then cover with water about 1/2in to 3/4 inch above them, unless you like pot liquor, then as much as two in above them. boil under tender. if you like them with meat in them, use pork neck bones, we used to call them naked bones, cause that's what my pop use to call them. they are fairly cheap and can flavor a lot of foods. i like to brown them first this can be a pain but can be done. when the greens are about half way done add the neck bones. make some corn bread, when done, serve with the corn bread use some pepper sauce, not tabasco or the mexican kind just the kind pickled in vinegar. can't beat them.

I'm now permanently disabled.I receive $94 a month for food.I know this is supposed to be supplemental but not much of a supplement to most after they are done paying their bills.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


Wasn't my suggestion, but they are super yummy! I have even thrown in some left over crab and made crab cakes with them. My belly is growling....

The amount of money Food Stamps pays out is plenty to keep people alive. Food Stamps are not supposed to be about comfort foods (pie and soda) and processed crapola.

The OP is obviously like most that have food stamps. So far out of touch with what real unprocessed food costs that they don't even buy it. Want flavor in your water? A $5.00 tub of Country Time lemonade powder will last all month.....

As for Steak and not knowing what it tastes like anymore? Get a job.... Steak is for wealthy people. Hell last I checked two high quality steaks were nearly $40.00 at Costco. As such with my 100k a year income (60k net) I don't feel I can afford steak but a couple of times a year.....

When I was trying to save enough money to start my current business, I lived in a tent for two years and worked/lived on a buddies construction site. Top Ramen and Mac and Cheese were STAPLES! Those fancy canned gravies, processed noodle packs and chunky soups were simply not on the budget. Much less soda or pie......... BTW despite qualifying for food stamps I never applied. Despite this I have made a single box of Mac & Cheese and some canned peas last two days (mixed with powdered milk and water because milk is expensive).

I also used to go to happy hours at bars that had some kind of munchies (real common in SoCal) and filled a Budweiser bottle with water so I could look like I bought a beer while I filled up on happy hour crap food.

I also used to go to small ma and pa restaurants and offer to work for a meal. That worked pretty well!

One needs to be very creative and NOT be lazy about meal prep to live on food stamps. However with some smarts one can live quite well on a couple of hundred a month.

There is some great advice n this thread so I hope the OP comes back and tells us all how much better we made his life with all these great ideas. And to the OP; Life is about choices, use the advice given here or shut the hell up and eat like #. the choice is yours and you now have the tools to do better.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


Your fool of crap like half the posters on this thread.

Bear truth is right, you can't reason with stupid.

onequestion
reply to post by OpinionatedB

 

Your fool of crap like half the posters on this thread.

Apparantly you are out of touch with reality. Also, you do not know me very well at all. Helps to have full knowledge before making judgment calls on others.

Bear truth is right, you can't reason with stupid.

No dear, thats apparent.


Also, I note a lot about you in that little avatar of yours... drinking some kind of smoothy type thing purchased from some type of fast food restaurant... Its really no wonder you think I am "full of #"..

reply to post by wantsome

for $45 a week? i'd buy bananas, tofu, onions, green bell peppers, spinach, bread, oatmeal, and some other greens (brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc)oooh! and i'd invest in some rice and some yeast extract, or nutritional yeast.

tofu+green bell peppers+onions+(optional broccoli)+nutritional yeast sauteed together is delicious and nutritious. eat it like stir fry or put it on bread, in a wrap, or with rice.

spinach is a very good green. cook it by itself, or eat it raw.

oatmeal, rice, and bananas need no explanation; and brussel sprouts or broccoli with a ginger sauce is very good (i'll actually have that as my dinner tonight).

that's actually about what i spend on food anyways. you get a lot more food for your money if you make things from scratch. those quick pasta bags are easy, but a box of pasta and some tomato sauce is more food for your money. also, substituting tofu for meat is a superior and less expensive way to get protein, and greens like spinach contain protein too (humans don't need as much protein as most people think).

all of the above being said: i still think welfare programs have merit, however one cannot deny the abuse that some engage in and become dependent upon.

reply to post by 0zzymand0s


That looks yummy!

reply to post by hounddoghowlie


I will try these recipes, although I seriously do not eat pork but I figure I can try another bone with some meat, beef soup bones or chicken or something might work well...

I learned to cook very young, from my Mom, out of necessity. My family calls me the budget gourmet now and not because of the frozen dinners of that same name, I do my very best to use fresh, wholesome ingredients, avoid processed foods and stretch my food dollar as far as possible. Here are some of my recipes, I hope they help you out!

gravy -
2 cups water, broth or milk
2 tbs corn starch or flour

-dissolve the cornstarch in a smaller portion of the liquid
-put remaining liquid in a pan over medium heat for about 1 minute
-add corn starch mixture
-stir until bubbly then continue for 1 minute until thickened
to have perfectly smooth gravy, use a whisk and stir the entire time

You can add anything you like to this gravy, salt & pepper, garlic, spices, mushrooms, pan drippings from meat, anything at all to adjust the flavor to what you like.
I often use water that I've boiled a few garlic cloves in and it is a great flavor addition as well as giving us the health benefit of the garlic.

Chicken & bean soup
1 lb chicken - any cut, with the bone so you get the flavor and nutrition of the broth, naturally
1 cup beans - any dry bean you prefer, dry beans - cheaper and more nutrition
1/2 bag baby carrots - chopped to desired size
1/2 onion - chopped
1 cup celery - optional - just as good without it too
3 garlic cloves - can use powder but fresh is cheaper with of course more nutrition
salt & pepper

-put 1 cup dry beans in large pot filled with water, cover & let sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning add more water if needed for beans to remain covered until ready to cook.
-1 1/2 hrs before you prepare the soup -
-drain water from beans and refill with fresh to cover beans by 2 inches
-place on med-high heat & boil for 1 1/2 hr. covered

-put all chicken in a large pot over high heat and fill with water, abt. 6 cups or more
-bring to boil then turn heat down to med-high simmer 15 min
-remove chicken from broth, place on plate to cool a little (not totally cooked but will be later)
-as soon as you can handle the chicken shred or cut it up to bite size pieces, removing the bones
-return chicken to broth
-add beans & veggies, cover and cook on med 20 min.
-add more water if more broth is desired
I like to partially grill the chicken first sometimes, changes the flavor and feels fancier. My hubby likes me to add the above mentioned gravy to the soup making it more like stew. You can add to it too, anything you like really. Throw in a handful of whatever frozen veggies you have if you want.

You can add any spices you have as well as salt & pepper.
1 lb Chicken - $5-6 thighs are often cheapest (at least where I live)
1 bag baby carrots - $2 -
1 onion - $1
garlic - $1 - you can get several heads, lots of cloves!! stores very well in the fridge for quite a while
beans - $2

You can halve the price of the onion, carrots, beans and garlic since you only use half the bags making this soup cost a total of $9.
Since you are cooking for 1 this will make you several healthy meals, at least 3 making it about $3 per meal. It freezes well too.
Making food in slightly larger batches like this and throwing them in the freezer really helps out on those occasions when you run out of money before food. Then you still get healthy, unprocessed, easy to reheat foods.

Please feel free to message me for more recipe ideas and directions, it is something I love to do.

Peace & Love

Oh yeah, I forgot about those leftover bones. Put them in a pot of several cups of water, boil about 30 min. Remove bones keeping any meat that may be stuck on. You now have another batch of chicken broth to do with as you please. Refrigerate for a few days or freeze for a couple months.

reply to post by wantsome


I didnt read through the whole thread, so apologies about that...

I just wanted to say that if you get "basics" (flour, water, salt) you can make an enormous amount of food for very cheap. The protein will be one of the larger expenditures, but if you can buy the rest in bulk then you can save a lot of money.

Learning how to cook basic meals is pretty easy with the knowledge source at your fingertips (the internet). Instead of just throwing recipes your way, I would encourage you to learn about the basics of cooking. Things like roux, mirapoix, and other culinary tenets. In this way, you will be able to better use ANY food resources that come your way!

Even with physical ailments, you can design cooking practices around it. Or, better yet, try to get help from a friend. Some people in churches and food banks may even be willing to come and help you cook free of charge.

I think the money would be better spent by teaching people how to fish instead of just giving them the fish (or, more specifically, giving pseudo-coal scrips to buy that fish). In that, I think it would help people such as yourself (and me) if the program was designed to enable and educate people on how to live the basics. Alongside that, develop technology that makes it even more feasible. Im not sure anyone is actually interested in that, but I do feel it would be a better solution and would reduce the "abusers," as well as increase the efficacy of help that some people truly need.

I wish you the best, for some right now the times are very hard. Perhaps someday, we will implement a system that works better for every single person involved..

reply to post by Bob Sholtz


Not all of us eat rabbit food! I do love some baby spinach leaves.I can't cook but the only frozen thing I buy is the pre made chicken Florentine.

I would suggest anyone on budget go get a jug of protein powder its $15 at wal mart that's 30 meals for .50 cents a piece. Throw in a blender with banana strawberry ice peanutbutter whatever. This is the laziest healthy way to eat its science!

Oh, and if you learn how to cook, then the person helping you only needs to be willing to help. They dont need to have any knowledge about it all. That opens the pool to anyone and everyone. The only thing that is needed is to find someone who is willing to give their time to help. There is also a good chance there is some talent you have, or some capability, that can be used to help the other person. Maybe its computer work, art, poetry, engineering, architecture, dog training or even helping their golf game.. Even if you dont know anyone personally, there are groups and foundations that may be able to help.

I also wanted to add that sometimes some treats, like a pie, mean a whole hell of a lot more when you are struggling both physically and financially. It may be "just a pie," or "just an extravagant cost," but it honestly becomes more meaningful when you are no longer able to buy such things on a whim.

HanzHenry

SasquatchHunter
reply to post by wantsome

 

I grew up poor so I don't mind when my tax dollars go to feed people.

I can afford whatever I want in groceries, I spend $20-30 per week on groceries........ Its just me and being single its probably more like a refugee camp around here.

I buy big jugs of protein and drink at least 3 shakes a day.
Typical week
I buy the 2 1/2 dozen large eggs and whatever bacon is on sale $5, Sara Lee bread$2, peanut butter, bananas, $5 1lb ground beef, whole wheat angel hair,$5 prego$4

That's $21 and I rounded up. Typically its about $20.

be careful if that is WHEY protein! I did the same for a long time while in my 20's and then in mid 30's developed a SEVERE lactose intolerance problem literally OVERNIGHT. ask around at the local gym I did, and discovered a few similar guys that have lifted for years and also stapled with whey protein during cycles.

I don't know man I've been chugging it down for almost 15 years no problems. I'm just now hit 30 though so I'm not saying your wrong. The guys at the gym probably supplement a little more than whey protein. I have taken all the supplements creatine, BCAA, nitric oxide, never any problems.

At the end is not the issue of how to survive with a "government cut" is how the government punishes the needy and poor along with those that are in majority nothing but abusers of the system

Rather than allocate resources to screen people that are on welfare, food stamps, or any other tax payer funded program, to make sure that those in need are really been help, they just went ahead and took money from everybody, but the abusers are still getting assistance.

More money could be save punishing the abusers, but the government assistance programs in the nation has become soo corrupted and too big for the inefficient government we have to even deal with.

It has become a "way of life" and a "money making scam"

reply to post by mblahnikluver

People are so quick to jump on this member without even giving any advice.

Silly Mblah, everyone has seen your recipe threads, we all know you can cook. I think people are generally saying the same thing, but some aren't pulling punches. Nothing wrong with hard truths.

If you take the extra effort to lay it out for them, aide them in learning how to cook, kudos to you.

Some of us just want to spew our jaded opinions, can we not do that in peace?

reply to post by SasquatchHunter

Not all of us eat rabbit food!

the food of rabbits is the food of the strongest, most fit humans.
www.greatveganathletes.com...

my family isn't vegan, so i cook separately for myself, and more often than not they end up abandoning their own food and stealing mine! it's quite tasty.