Too much of too little [Food stamps fuel poor diet, illness]

New York Times ^ | November 9, 2013 | Eli Saslow

[Cincinatus' Wife]

McAllen, Tex. — They were already running late for a doctor’s appointment, but first the Salas family hurried into their kitchen for another breakfast paid for by the federal government. The 4-year-old grabbed a bag of cheddar-flavored potato chips and a granola bar. The 9-year-old filled a bowl with sugary cereal and then gulped down chocolate milk. Their mother, Blanca, arrived at the refrigerator and reached into the drawer where she stored the insulin needed to treat her diabetes. She filled a needle with fluid and injected it into her stomach with a practiced jab.

“Let’s go,” she told the children, rushing them out of the kitchen and into the car. “We can stop for snacks on our way home.”

The family checkup had been scheduled at the insistence of a school nurse, who wanted the Salas family to address two concerns: They were suffering from both a shortage of nutritious food and a diet of excess — paradoxical problems that have become increasingly interconnected in the United States, and especially in South Texas.

For almost a decade, Blanca had supported her five children by stretching $430 in monthly food stamp benefits, adding lard to thicken her refried beans and buying instant soup by the case at a nearby dollar store. She shopped for “quantity over quality,” she said, aiming to fill a grocery cart for $100 or less.

[Chickensoup]

I purchase one 50 lb bag of rolled oats for about 20 dollars. Brown sugar bulk is about 20 to 30 for 40 lbs. One adds dried or fresh fruit milk either powdered or fresh for an inexpensive meal for less than 50 cents each.

[goodwithagun]

I’ve made this the last two Sunday mornings and I think the trend will continue: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Oatmeal-II/

I omitted the cranberries because I had none, cut the brown sugar in half, and added an additional teaspoon of cinnamon. I also baked in a slightly smaller pan. Next week I will replace the brown sugar with real maple syrup and see how that goes. Cheap, easy, tasty, and satisfying.

[Chickensoup]

Nice recipe. I make in the pot I cook the oatmeal in with the leftover oatmeal, a muffin recipe that is similar, and put it in an 8x8 pan. I add whatever spices flavorings fruits I want and bake. Kids called it snack cake and it was for our midmorning break when we homeschooled.

[SoFloFreeper]