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This is a song about a mother (whose husband has left her) who has admitted to herself that she can no longer provide for her family and therefore must do what it takes to help them survive. The oldest she winds up selling as an escort to a wealthy man. The baby is taken from the mom.
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The book the Freedom Writers is a true story based on a group of students and their teacher (Erin Gruwell). Gruwell has the under-privileged students write journals based off their life experiences in the hood. It talks about young children being taught how to fight because one day it might save their life. It talks about the differences in gangs and how just one person can change a life (as Ms. Gruwell risked her entire livelihood to do). If you haven't read or watched this life-altering story, you should. If for nothing else than to see a different lifestyle.
We all know we should be eating various amounts of each food group daily. Now the question becomes what should I eat and how much? Staying true to the idea of educating ourselves on healthy eating, I have included the food pyramid in my literature. I'll be honest, though, it comes from wikipedia.
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Just wanted to throw this out there!
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) -- From eggs and milk, to vegetables and meat, feeding a family doesn't always come cheap. A new study by the United State Department of Agriculture finds eating nutritious meals on a budget can be difficult.
Chances are, you make at least one stop at the grocery store each week to fill the fridge and cabinets in your kitchen. A new study says that stop could cost you up to $290, and that doesn't include your fast-food stops or dinners on the town.
For Dionne Guddat’s family of six, it’s easy to see how a grocery bill can add up.
"[We go to the grocery store] once a week for the main stuff, and then usually a couple of times during the week, too," she said. "It's unfortunate that it costs so much to feed your family, but that's just the way it is, I guess."
A weekly grocery bill for Guddat's family runs about $300, but numbers from the USDA show feeding a family of four every week isn't far off. That study found feeding four a healthy diet can run between $146 dollars a week on the low end, to $289 on the high end.
Financial advisor Mike Berry says pre-planning your meals and sticking to a list while shopping can help trim the costs.
"You know, you're buying steak when maybe you can only afford hamburger and the bill gets out of control,” he said. "A lot of times there's a lot of impulse buying at the store, they're set up to encourage impulse buying.”
"A little pre-planning allows you to maybe utilize coupons which can also save you some money."
Helping budget conscious families is one goal of ''Cooking Matters,'' a Mesa County program that helps low-income families make healthier choices.
"Filling half of our plate with fruits and vegetables, it can be fresh, frozen and canned," Mesa County health promotions specialist Maran Parry said of choosing healthy options.
The program emphasizes cooking nutritiously on a budget, and encourages shoppers to stick to the perimeter rather than the grocery store aisles.
"[Stick to] cooking meals from scratch, buying whole foods rather than those processed foods so we can actually make our food dollar stretch,” Parry said.
There's no question grocery store prices have increased over the years, and though it can be more costly, the nutritional value is worth it for some.
"We’re not completely out in left field, because I feel like we spend so much,” Guddat said. "We feel like it's worth the extra money to put that first."
The study accounted for home meals and snacks for two adults and two school-aged children.
The average grocery bill is up slightly from last year's findings.
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Sturm and Yach wrote an article on an experiment in Africa. It starts with INSURANCE companies! An insurance company in South Africa is providing a 25% rebate to consumers who spend on healthy foods as opposed to unhealthy. This has increased healthy purchases by 9%!!!!!!
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The University of Washington did a price per calorie study of what it costs to eat healthy as opposed to unhealthy. A brief overview of what they found is astonishing:
- Healthy foods are LESS likely to follow inflation prices.
- It costs a little under 18 times MORE to eat healthy.
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New in Missouri is a law that will regulate future food stamp purchases. It will eliminate lavish purchases AS WELL as eliminate some unhealthy purchases.
"KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WKRN) – A new bill in Missouri surrounding food stamp restrictions is causing a lot of controversy.
According to ABC News affiliate KMBC in Kansas City, the bill would stop people from buying soft drinks, energy drinks, chips, cookies, seafood and steak with food stamps.
State Rep. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville sponsored the bill and said it’s one way to get spending under control and bring the focus of the program back to nutrition.
“It will reduce the luster of the program and it will have the effect of a drawback because the ability to buy anything and everything under the sun will no long be there,” Brattin stated.
He told the station that if his family qualified for Electronic Benefit Transfer, which is an electronic system that allows state welfare departments to issue benefits to families on a payment card, they would receive more than $1,000 per month.
“I would have to just go through and just start throwing stuff into the cart. There is so much money being allocated into these programs, and if we remove the luster, I really think that will have a drawback effect,” he said.
The station reported that others feel labeling some food as too luxurious is outrageous and that those who qualify for support should have the freedom to choose how to use the program."
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This is a recipe with relatively cheap ingredients, though still not great (tomatoes and green peppers especially are fairly high in price).
According to Joan Salge Blake's Nutrition and You Americans around or below the poverty line are significantly more likely to be overwright or obese. This is due to relatively low nutritioal value and high amount of calories. "When food insecurity, or the inability to to satisfy the basic food needs of individuals, exists in the home, the goal is to fill the stomach, not necessarily nourish the body." (page 14).
This is a recipe with relatively cheap ingredients, though still not great (tomatoes and green peppers especially are fairly high in price).
Video description:
Ingredients and steps to prepare a chicken, veggie and cheese wrap.
Ingredients:
Chicken breast, cooked and chopped
Black pepper or lemon pepper or taco seasoning
Whole grain tortilla
Romaine lettuce, chopped or torn into small pieces
Cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
Green peppers, cut into strips
Mozzarella cheese, low-fat and shredded
Black pepper or lemon pepper or taco seasoning
Whole grain tortilla
Romaine lettuce, chopped or torn into small pieces
Cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
Green peppers, cut into strips
Mozzarella cheese, low-fat and shredded
Steps:
- Wash hands with warm water for at least 20 seconds; don't forget to scrub between your fingers.
- Gather ingredients: cooked chicken breast, lemon or black pepper, whole grain tortilla, green peppers, tomatoes, low-fat mozzarella cheese
- Cut chicken into small pieces. (If you're using a sharp knife, ask for a grown-up's permission)
- Place chicken in a bowl and sprinkle with black pepper (or lemon pepper or taco seasoning). Mix in bowl to coat chicken evenly with seasoning.
- Place whole grain tortilla on a working surface, like a chopping board or a plate.
- Add chicken to middle of tortilla.
- Slice cherry or grape tomatoes in half; place on top of chicken
- Slice green peppers into strips; place on top of tomatoes
- Slice or tear Romaine lettuce; place on top of green peppers
- Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of Romaine lettuce.
- Roll up tortilla.
Optional: You can warm the wrap in the toaster oven for a few minutes.
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The following video is a young girl telling us how SHE eats cheaply. The one thing I would suggest is buying frozen chicken as opposed to fish because it's cheaper.
******************************************The following video is a young girl telling us how SHE eats cheaply. The one thing I would suggest is buying frozen chicken as opposed to fish because it's cheaper.
According to Joan Salge Blake's Nutrition and You Americans around or below the poverty line are significantly more likely to be overwright or obese. This is due to relatively low nutritioal value and high amount of calories. "When food insecurity, or the inability to to satisfy the basic food needs of individuals, exists in the home, the goal is to fill the stomach, not necessarily nourish the body." (page 14).
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