chantalspeelman-blog

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Post-Challenge Reflection

Well I made it through the week and honestly, I am quite proud of myself! I really thought I would end up cheating or even giving up but I didn’t. I ended the week with very little food thought which was a little bit scary! I guess I probably could have lived off these food items for another 1.5 days but there would really not be very much variety in my meals at all.

Items leftover:

- Some macaroni

- Some Cereal

- Little bit of milk

- 5 slices of bread 

Some of the biggest challenges I encountered throughout the week were:

1) Not being able to use condiments. I honestly never really realized how much of a difference things such as mayo, salt, pepper, butter, ranch, and other sauces can really have on a meal. My food throughout the past week was very plain since I was unable to afford condiments. I was very glad to be able to go back to using as much condiments as I please to add some delicious flavor to my food.

2) My overall decline in health. I never really realized till this challenge how much food really affects my health. Although I did feel like I was getting enough to eat, not getting the variety of nutrients I am used to really took its toll on my body. I was fine for the first 3 days but the last 4 I could really tell I was not feeling very well anymore. I began to feel much better after the challenge was over and I went back to my old eating habits.

3) Having only a limited variety of foods. I realized how much I took all the food in my house for granted. Not being able to look indie the fridge and have many different meal possibilities was something I really struggled with. I began to get very tired of eating all the same foods every day, I was incredibly excited to eat whatever I pleased when the challenge was over.

Some of the things I learned throughout this week were:

1) My unnecessary snacking. I realized that I have a very bad habit of eating when I am bored and that I really do not need to eat as much as I do through the day to fill myself up. I also learned that drinking a lot of water really helps with the snacking, it helped to fill me up more so I was not eating so much food throughout the day.

2) Food prices. The grocery shopping portion helped me realize how much unnecessary money I really was spending on groceries and how much money I am really able to save if I take some more time to look at the different price options. I will definitely will be looking to find some better deals on the different food items I enjoy eating on my next grocery trip.

3) How much food effects mood. In the past when going on vacations and stuff I would go for longish periods of time without a real meal because I don’t really enjoy eating on the plane and sure it would make me a little grumpy but nothing like this past week. The last week has really made me see the real importance of food and the positive effects it has on mood. It showed me that lack of food makes me really irritable and that I was really taking it for granted before.

4) Foods effect on social life. This was probably one of the biggest eye openers for me personally. When I had to say no to my friends on wing night it really made me realize all the different social events people on welfare have to miss out on, seeing as most events do involve food. I can only imagine how it must feel for individuals on welfare to constantly have to say no to their peers because they are unable to afford such outings. I feel like it would begin to be embarrassing for them which could really affect them emotionally.

My major realizations regarding the potential difficulties of being on welfare:

1)  Transportation. Although I am fortunate enough to have my own vehicle, someone one welfare may not have that luxury. Depending on where you live there may not be many different grocery store options which in most case results in higher food prices. I know from personal experience the groceries in towns with only one grocery store are significantly more expensive compared to places with various options. This being the case, many people on welfare may not have the luxury of being able to go to a variety of different grocery stores in order to find the best deals, resulting in more expensive groceries.

2) Fruit/Vegetable/Meat prices. This week has made me realize how expensive nutritious foods really are and how difficult it must be for an individual on welfare to incorporate things such as fruit, vegetables, and meat into their diet.

3) Cooking appliances/Tools. Although I was very fortunate to have many different appliances and tools at hand but someone one welfare many not have that luxury. This would make it very difficult to prepare meals and would also limit your options for the different types of meals you could be able to make.

I baked some colourful cupcakes to celebrate being done the challenge!

Well in the end I am very excited the challenge is over but yet I am very happy I got to participate, it really was a big eye opener for me. The challenge allowed me to gain a different perspective which has made me more appreciative of the things I am fortunate to have. Thank you for reading my blog, I hope you enjoyed it! Goodbye!

Saturday, February 24, 2018

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Seventh Day of Challenge

I am incredibly excited because today is my last day of the welfare food challenge. Tomorrow morning, I will be able to go back to my waffles and flavourful juice! I also could not be more excited to go back to my normal eating habits. But for now, I’m going to have to stick with my boring food.

I woke up feeling quite good this morning, it probably has something to do with the fact that it is the last day. But anyway, for breakfast I had a glass of water and cereal with a bit of milk. I tried to eat another one of my muffins but I took one bite and threw it away. I am really starting to regret having baked those muffins, I would have much rather just had the 2 bananas and 2 eggs separately. Oh well I guess.

I was looking through some other websites and came across a website made by dietitians in Canada. The website stated that in fact, the major cause of food insecurity is poverty.

The Government of Canada website stated that from 2011-2012, 2.19 million people in Canada aged 12 and older lived in food insecure households. 545,300 adults and 49,900 children of those people lived in household with very severe food insecurity (Government of Canada, 2012). This is an image that illustrates the food secure and insecure percentages in Canada:

Overall, although 8.4 percent does not seem like much when looking at this pie chart, if you think about how many people that really is it is a lot of people.    

I was not that hungry at lunch time so I decided to have a small lunch. I made plain pasta, a hard-boiled egg and had a cup of water to drink. I will admit I felt a lot better than I did yesterday, I have a feeling maybe my body is beginning to adjust to this diet. However, I do still feel like I have a lot less energy still.

After lunch I went to the dentist to get 3 of my 6 cavities filled! My mouth was completely numb so they told me I should try and stay away from very hot or very cold foods and beverages. Honestly, I thought the freezing would last maybe like an hour or two... well I thought wrong! It actually ended up taking 4.5 hours for my mouth to feel decently normal again! I was feeling quite hungry around 3 o’clock but I really did not have very much food left to spare if I still wanted to have decent supper. As a snack, I had my last cup of yogurt and a glass of juice. My last glass of juice to be exact. With my mouth still being completely numb, I could only eat soft food so I wouldn’t accidently hurt my tongue or cheek.

For supper, I had a bowl of my instant noodles, a slice of bread, and a glass of water. This was my last meal of the day so I made sure it would fill me right up. It was actually quite difficult to eat all the food with my mouth still being so frozen, it probably took around twice the time to eat it as it normally would have. I did manage to finish it all though. 

After supper I went out to a hockey game with some of my friends. They were all eating candy, popcorn, and fries they had ordered from the concession stand they had at the game. Although I was not very hungry it would have been nice to have some popcorn to munch on during the game. I did remember I still had $2 left to spend on food but of course a small bag of popcorn was $2.50. Surprisingly I did not give in to the temptation. I can only begin to imagine what it would be like for someone on welfare. For me personally, my friends all knew I was participating in this challenge so they understood why I wasn’t able to join them in the snacking. However, for someone that is on welfare I can only begin to imagine how it must feel to have to say no on most occasions. If I was in that position I think I would feel very embarrassed and that would probably really begin to affect me emotionally.

Well it’s the end of day 7 and I am exhausted. I could not be happier for this week to finally be over. Although I am grateful for the experience, I am really happy I get to go back to eating whatever and whenever I want without worrying about the cost. I think for lunch tomorrow I am going to make a trip to town and order 2 junior cheeseburgers from Wendy’s. I have decided to go to bed really early so tomorrow will come quicker. I’ll be back tomorrow with my last blog, Goodnight!

Dietitians of Canada Website:

Dietitians of Canada. (2016). Food Insecurity. Retrieved from https://www.dietitians.ca/dietitians-views/food-security/overview.aspx

Government of Canada Website:

Government of Canada. (2012). Household food insecurity in Canada statistics and graphics. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/nutrition-science-research/food-security/household-food-security-statistics-2011-2012.html

Statistics Image:

Health Canada. (2012). Household food insecurity in Canada, 2011-2012 [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/nutrition-science-research/food-security/household-food-security-statistics-2011-2012.html

Friday, February 23, 2018

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Sixth Day of Challenge

I woke up not feeling very well, I felt like I had zero energy to do anything today. I really did not want to get out of bed. Eating the same things over and over again is starting to become a bit difficult for me. I am getting tired of only having a small selection of foods to choose from. I had a small breakfast this morning because I really was not feeling very well. I had one of my yogurts, half a cup of juice, and a banana. I started to feel a little better after I ate breakfast but I decided to go back to bed anyway.

Lunch today was hard to eat. I still wasn’t feeling very well but I knew I had to eat something so I made plain pasta, oven baked potato pieces, and had a cup of juice to drink. I was beginning to feel a bit better but I still felt like all my energy had been drained from my body. It was very hard for me not to grab a big bowl of the tomato soup my mom had made for lunch today, but I managed to hold back. It was starting to get really difficult to watch my family eat whatever and whenever they please, I was very jealous of them.

As I was doing some studying for my midterm in one of my nursing classes I came across the Canada’s food guide in one of the PowerPoints. Honestly, I do not think I meet the serving requirements most days on my regular diet but it did get me thinking a little. With how expensive things such as fruits and vegetables are I think it would be nearly impossible for an individual on welfare to meet these requirements. During each day of the challenge I generally probably only had:

-1-2 serving of vegetables and fruit. The recommended for a female adult is 7-8 servings.

-2-3 servings of grain products. The recommended for a female adult is 6-7 servings.

-0-1 serving of milk and alternatives. The recommended for a female adult is 2 servings.

-0-1 serving of meat and alternatives. The recommended for a female adult is 2 servings.

Overall, I am getting nowhere near the recommended serving amount for vegetables, fruits, and grain products. I guess you could say I get kind of close to getting the right amount of milk, meat, and alternatives but I am still short a serving most days.

For supper, I decided to have my instant noodle soup, a slice of bread and a glass of water. It was a pretty good meal but I was really wishing I had some meat. I really could not stop thinking about the hamburgers and steaks my mom keeps in the freezer.

I was a bit hungry before I went to bed so I boiled an egg and had a glass of juice with it. I felt pretty good after eating this, I did still feel very tired though. I go to bed a lot earlier than usual as well. It probably has to do with the fact that the foods I am eating do not contain much nutrients so I have no energy to stay awake. I am very thankful I did this challenge over the break because I do not know what I would do if I have to go to school throughout this week.

Today was definitely the hardest day by far. Up until now I was actually feeling quite good and really didn’t struggle too much with the challenge. I found it very hard not to cheat today, especially because my mom just picked up a new load of groceries for my whole family so there was a lot of good food in my house. I am very excited tomorrow is my last day! I am really hoping my family does not eat all the good food by the time the challenge is over. Bye for now! See you tomorrow on day 7!

Canadian Food Guide Website:

Government of Canada. (2017). Canadas Food’s Guide. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/canada-food-guides.html

Food Guide Image:

Government of Canada. (2011). Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/hc-sc/migration/hc-sc/fn-an/alt_formats/hpfb-dgpsa/pdf/food-guide-aliment/view_eatwell_vue_bienmang-eng.pdf

Thursday, February 22, 2018

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Fifth Day of Challenge

I woke up feeling quite tired and grumpy, I really did not feel like having breakfast. I decided to have another slice of bread with a fried egg and a glass of juice because breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I needed the energy to get me through the day. I was craving something sweet but my cereal box was starting to feel quite empty so I decided to save it for later. One thing I am really beginning to miss is having a variety of different fruits in my diet. I was only able to purchase 4 small bananas and I was really wanting some strawberries or an orange. Fruit is very expensive so I am not entirely sure how someone on welfare would be able to incorporate fruit into their diet.

So, I was going some more research! This challenge has really spiked my curiosity regarding the food security and poverty across the world. Over the past 2 semesters of nursing something that gets brought up time and time again are the social determinants of health. In NURS 225 last semester we learned that income and social status was the most important determinant of health and I really had not given it that much thought until now. I was looking at the World Health Organization website and it states that “higher income and social status are linked to better health. The greater the gap between the richest and poorest people, the greater the differences in health” (World Health Organization, n.d., para. 1). Without sufficient income people are unable to afford the basic needs of life such as food, water, and shelter. The increasing prices of things such as food is resulting in more and more people having to go on welfare. With the increasing gap between the rich and the poor more and more people falling into poverty and are unable to get sufficient resources such as proper nutritional foods. This reality has been a really big eye opener for me, it has made me appreciate how fortunate I really am.

At lunch I was quite hungry so I decided to use one of my precious instant noddle packages. I also had a slice of bread and cup of water with it so that I would be nice and full. I really enjoy the instant noodles, even when I am off at college I will occasionally eat them. I am a big fan of soup so this is just what I needed to get me though the rest of the day.

At supper, I was feeling really good but I was not very hungry so I just had a small supper. I had plain pasta, a hard-boiled egg, and a glass of water to drink. Since it is reading week all my friends are home from university and they invited me to go out for wing Wednesday with them. I was a little bit upset when I had to tell them I was unable to come because of this challenge. I now understand how living on welfare could really affect one’s social life. I could not imagine having to tell my friends I was not able to come out because I was unable to afford it. This was a very big eye opener for me and it upset me a little bit.

Before heading off to bed I decided to try one of my muffins again. I was hoping for some reason maybe they would not be so bad the third time around but I was very wrong. I did manage to eat most of it though because I really didn’t want it to go to waste. This was actually also a big eye opener for me. When living on welfare it would be very hard to throw foods in the trash. I feel as if before I really took food for granted as I always threw everything I was unable to eat or did not particularly like out. This really helped me see the real value of food and how I need to try not to be so wasteful in the future.

Well it’s the end of day 5 and I am actually feeling quite good, the muffin gave me a bit of a stomach ache but it went away quite quickly. I’m starting to feel very exhausted throughout the day though. I am finding it quite hard to not take a bunch of naps during the day. I have been trying my best to focus on my assignments I need to do but it’s becoming quite difficult due to my lack of energy. I really just want to spend tomorrow in bed watching Netflix. But anyway, I guess I’ll talk to you tomorrow! Goodnight!

World Health Organization: The Determinants of Health Website:

World Health Organization. (n.d.). The Determinants of Health. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

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Fourth Day of Challenge

I woke up feeling really good this morning and was excited to start the day. I was quite hungry so I made myself a fried egg on a slice of toast with a glass of water to drink. I really think I am starting to get the hang of this whole cooking eggs without butter thing. Some salt and pepper really would have been nice but I am not complaining. Breakfast went really good, I was feeling good and full.

I had woken up quite early this morning and even though my breakfast did fill me up I felt like I couldn’t wait till lunch to have my next meal so I decided to have a snack. I fixed myself a bowl of cereal with a tiny bit of milk and treated myself to a nice cup of juice. I am staring to miss being able to eat as much as I want and use as much milk as I’d like. The cereal was a bit dry but I knew I really could not use any more milk because I still had 3 more days of the challenge to go.

I was not feeling very hungry at lunch today, I felt like my breakfast and snack really filled me up but I knew I had to eat something. I remembered I still had 2 slices of pizza left so I decided to eat those. Normally I would never have saved leftovers for this long, it starts to taste bad and make me feel sick if I leave cooked food out for too long. I felt that I didn’t really have much of a choice though seeing as there were still quite a few days left of the challenge. I ate the pizza and honestly it tasted just fine and I felt just fine after too! Again, really missing my ranch though.

Since the beginning of this challenge I have been drinking a lot of water. I started to wonder if people on welfare have access to as much water as they please or if they need budget their water usage as well. I live on a farm and we just use well water, but I know my friends who live in town pay for their water. I actually did some research on this but couldn’t really find an answer. One website I found said that welfare covers utilities but doesn’t state anything further.

At supper time, I was quite hungry because I decided not to have a snack after lunch. I made another fried egg with a slice of bread and glass of juice. I will be honest I am starting to get a bit sick off eating eggs. I am very worried this challenge will ruin eggs for me since I am eating them so often. I do not have very many other options for meals though so I guess I will just have to stick with the eggs.

I was feeling a bit hungry before bed so I decided to have a small snack. I had one of my little cups of yogurt and a glass of juice. I am really starting to see that my food supply has decreased quite significantly. The decrease in food was starting to make me a little bit nervous… will I have enough food to finish the week?! I looked at my plan that I had made at the beginning of the week and I think I should be able to make it till the end of the week but I guess we will see!

Day 4 is finished which means I am officially over halfway done! I felt like today went really well, it was definitely one of my better days so far. I am honestly starting to miss being able to have a variety of different snacks throughout the day though. I just keep thinking about how nice a bowl of all dressed chips would be right about now. I have not really had any real urge to cheat and eat other food though which I am quite surprised about, just the occasional craving.

Welfare Coverage Websites I Looked at:

Alberta Government. (n.d.). Income Support. Retrieved from https://www.alberta.ca/income-support.aspx#toc-1

Women and the Law in Alberta. (2015). Income Support (Welfare). Retrieved from https://www.lawforalbertawomen.ca/women-money-and-property/225-2/

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

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Third Day of Challenge

Today I woke up not feeling so well and had no desire to get out of bed. I am really starting to miss being able to have my delicious waffles and juice for breakfast. I was very hungry though so I decided to have a bowl of cereal, bit of milk, a yogurt, and a glass of water. I felt really full after this meal and decided to go back to bed after because I was still very tired.

When I woke up again I didn’t really feel like preparing lunch but I remembered I still had 4 slices of pizza left in the fridge so I ate 2 of them. I am really starting to feel like this change in diet is really effecting my mood and energy levels. I really did not feel like doing anything today but I knew I needed to get ahead on some assignments for school so I did those while watching TV on the couch.

After doing my assignments for a few hours I was beginning to feel bored so I deiced to do some experimenting in the kitchen. I was also getting tired of eating the same snacks everyday so I really wanted to switch it up a little and have some more variety in my meals. I looked up  some recipes that involved only 2 or 3 ingredients and came up with these banana and egg muffins. The recipe said to add berries but I did not have any so just bananas and eggs it was! For this recipe, I used 2 bananas and 2 eggs. I had a feeling these muffins would not taste very good since I was unable to use things like sugar, flour, and vanilla.

I think baking would be very difficult to do for someone who is on welfare. Although the individual ingredients such as vanilla, sugar, flour and eggs don’t really seem that expensive, it does all add up especially when there are more important and useful things you could be spending the limited amount of money on.  

If I am going to be very honest the muffins were quite gross but since I used 2 whole bananas I decided to keep them and told myself I needed to eat at least a few of them by the end of the week so they did not go to waste. I am really starting to realize how much I took things such as sugar and vanilla for granted. You don’t really realize how much of a difference those two ingredients make in a recipe until you try baking without them.

I was not feeling very hungry but I decided to make some supper anyway. For supper, I had a hard-boiled egg, plain pasta, and sliced of green pepper. I was really not satisfied with this meal at all. The pasta was too plain and the peppers were very bitter without ranch dressing. I was beginning to feel like I was drinking way too much juice so again I decided to have a glass of water with my meal. After my meal I did not feel very well, I was really beginning to miss my mom’s cooking.

Before going to bed I was feeling absolutely exhausted and a tiny bit hungry. I hate going to bed hungry so I decided to have one of my muffins. I only ate half of it and threw the rest out because I really do not like the taste of them. Eggs and bananas are really not a good match in my opinion. I washed it down with a cup of juice which made it a little bit better. I was starting to get sick of the watered-down juice but it was much better than just plain water so I guess I really should not be complaining.

Well it’s the end of day three and I am really happy to have completed another day of this challenge. One step closer to being finished! YAY! I am really not feeling to well so I’m nervous to see what tomorrow is going to be like. I am going to try to have some more flavorful and filling meals tomorrow so hopefully I do not feel like this again. Goodnight, see you tomorrow!

This is the banana muffin recipe (without berries):

Maser, R. (2017). 3 Ingredient Banana Egg Muffins for a Simple and Yummy Breakfast. Retrieved from https://cleanfoodcrush.com/three-ingredient-banana-egg-muffins/

Monday, February 19, 2018

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Second Day of Challenge

I found that day two went better than day one. I switched up my meals today so that I would have a bit more variety to ensure I would not get tired of eating the same food all the time. I decided to have a fried egg on a slice of toast with a cup of water for breakfast. Again, it was difficult to cook the egg without the butter but in the end, it worked out just fine. I did really wish I had some salt and pepper for the egg because it was a bit plain but it was not that big of a deal I guess. I did feel very full after this meal so I was quite content.

For lunch today, I had a bowl of my instant noodles, a slice of bread, and a cup of water. This has probably been my favorite meal yet. Although I do wish I had some butter for my slice of bread I was still really happy with my meal.  Looking back, I am really starting to realize how much I took things such as salt, pepper, and different sauces for granted. I never really put much thought into it when I would put some salt and pepper on my egg or even spread some butter on my toast but now that I am unable to use it I realize how much of a difference it really makes.

So, I was doing some research on food security and came across a website listing some of the global challenges of food security. Some of the points that really stood out to me were:

- More Foodless Days. The quote that really stood out to me was “Not eating at all on some days is how the world’s poorest are coping with the doubling of world grain prices since 2006” (Brown, 2013, para. 8). With the increase in the prices of foods, many families are going without food. The website states that 27% of Nigerian families, 24% of families in India, and 14% of families in Peru experience foodless days (Brown, 2013). 

- Falling Water Tables. The quote that really stood out to me was “The question is not whether water shortages will affect future harvests in countries, but rather when they will do so” (Brown, 2013, para. 6). The depletion of water will have a major impact on the harvest of crops, which means that in the future there will be even more people all across the world that will be unable to obtain harvested foods.

- Little Time to Prepare. Another quote that really stood out to me was “The gravity and urgency of the tightening food situation is such that we are not looking at a crisis in 2030 or 2050. We are looking at an abrupt disruption in the world food supply that could be just one poor harvest away” (Brown, 2013, para. 26). 

Overall, the website explains that it is becoming an increasing challenge to feed the growing population due to the limited supply of resources available (Brown, 2013). In the near future it will become more difficult to produce crops meaning food prices will increase. This means even more people and families will be without food in the future. I am personally very nervous to see what the future brings in regards to poverty and food shortage across the world.

I was feeling quite hungry around 3 o’clock so I decided to have a snack. I ate one of my precious bananas and drank a cup of water. I have found that drinking a lot of water throughout the day helps keep me from snacking so much.

Supper today was very good. I ate 1/3 of the pizza I bought and had a cup of water to drink. I felt quite full after this meal too, I have a feeling it was because I had a big lunch and then had a snack in between. I accidently forgot I was baking the pizza and left it in the oven for a little too long, it came out quite crispy and brown but it still tasted pretty good.  

Right before bed I was feeling quite hungry so I fixed myself a bowl of cereal and milk with a glass of water to drink.

The second day went really good. I am really starting to miss having meat in my diet though. Meat is really expensive and would be quite difficult for an individual on welfare to be able to afford a lot of. When buying my groceries, I definitely went for bulk instead of taste, meaning I had to give up my precious meat and sauces for a week. I can really tell I do not have as much energy throughout the day due to the lack of meat in my diet. Overall, I was very happy with how today went! Bye for now, see you on day 3!

Global Food Security Challenges Website:

Brown, L. (2013). Global Food Security: 10 Challenges. Retrieved from https://www.theglobalist.com/global-food-security-10-challenges/

Sunday, February 18, 2018

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First Day of Challenge

Day one went really well I found! I woke up feeling really good and very excited to start the challenge. My first meal of the day consisted of a cup of water to drink and a bowl of cereal with only a little bit of milk because I did not want to run out too quickly. I normally like to eat waffles with butter and syrup for breakfast so this was a big adjustment for me. I didn’t quite feel like I was actually full after eating this meal either but I decided to ignore it and go on with my day.

After about an hour I caved… I felt like I could not wait till lunch to eat again so I decided to have a small yogurt as a snack and some juice. One of the things I did sadly need to do in order to ensure I would have enough to finish of the week was add twice as much water to my juice as I normally would. It was not nearly as good as it normally is but it was a lot better than drinking plain water again.

For lunch, I had a slice of bread and I found that it was very plain not having any butter, jam, or peanut butter to spread on it. Since I did not have any butter frying my eggs was a struggle, I found it really hard to prevent the egg from sticking to the pan so I kept having to move it around the pan. I also cut up ¼th of my green pepper. I normally like to eat red and orange peppers because I find that they are sweeter and have more flavor so it was a bit of an adjustment for me to eat the bitter green pepper, no wonder they were cheaper at the grocery store! I really love eating my veggies with ranch so I was having some ranch withdraws. To drink I had half a cup of juice and a glass of water. overall the meal tasted very good and I did feel like my belly was full.

For supper I had plain pasta, I used ¼th of my big potato to make some oven baked potato pieces, and I couldn’t resist but have a cup of juice. One of the biggest downsides to this meal was not having any pasta sauce to have with the pasta so I found that it was quite plain but it was not THAT bad. Another struggle I had was with the potato’s, I will be honest I LOVE mayonnaise, I honestly eat it with almost everything so having to eat my potatoes without mayo was a bit upsetting but oh well I guess. Overall, I have to say this meal was pretty good, I was quite happy with myself.

Just before I went to bed I was still a little bit hungry so I decided to just have one of my small cups of yogurts I bought. I was really craving a bowl of chips but the yogurt worked just fine as well.

Well at the end of the day I was honestly quite satisfied with myself. I was really nervous going into this because I was really worried I would end up eating way too much throughout the day but I was able to ration my food and still ended up having a full belly by the end of the day. However, I do feel a lot more tired than I usually do around this time in the evening which is probably due to the fact that I am eating a lot less food then I usually do. I hope my body will be able to adjust to this slight change in my diet quickly or I am going to find myself in bed at 8pm every night during this break away from school. I am anxious to see how the rest of the week will go, see you tomorrow!

Saturday, February 17, 2018

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Pre-Challenge Reflection

Hello there! My name is Chantal Speelman and I will be participating in the welfare food challenge for my global development and health class. The welfare food challenge involves living off of 21 dollars worth of food for an entire week. During the next couple days, I will be blogging about how I feel, what I think, and the various food items and meals I eat throughout the week. I have decided to do this challenge over my reading week break so I will not have to worry about packing meals for school and so that I will have more time to plan out the different meals I will be eating throughout the day.

Before heading to the grocery store I made a list of various food items to provide myself with a good idea of the different things I need/want to buy. Having no idea what any of these items cost, I decided to put question marks beside the items I was not particularly sure I would be able to buy with the $21. I was very nervous before heading to the grocery store because I was not sure I would be able to buy enough items to last me an entire week. I tend to do a lot of snacking on unhealthy foods throughout the day so I was very anxious to see what kinds of things I would be able to afford with the $21.

The stores I decided to go to are called No Frills and Dollarama in Olds. I chose these stores because they are close to where I live and tend to have cheaper alternatives (no name brands) and better deals on various food items when compared to other grocery stores.

Shopping for the groceries went very well, I brought my mom along and she helped me a lot. This experience was a very big eye opener for me, I never realised how expensive the groceries I was buying really were. Normally when I go into the grocery store I do not really look at prices, I just grab what I need and leave. When we got to the till I ended up having to put back a 97-cent bag of chips because the groceries ended up being a little more expensive than we had calculated. I was honestly very surprised with the number of things I was able to buy and I ended up only spending $18.96. I know, I know, I had $2 left but I really wanted to have some money left over just in case of an emergency food situation or something. Another big eye opener for me was that I realised I was spending a lot of unnecessary money in the past because I never looked for cheaper alternatives, this experience helped me see that I really could be saving a lot more money on groceries to put towards something else.  

These are the items I was able to buy with $18.96:

Items purchased:

- 1 frozen pizza

- 1 box of cereal

- 1 large potato

- 1 large green pepper

- 1 carton of 2% milk (1 liter)

- 1 Loaf of bread

- 2 cans of frozen juice

- 6 small containers of yogurt

- 4 packages of instant noodles

- 4 bananas

- 1 large bag of uncooked macaroni

- 1 carton of 12 eggs

 These are the receipts to prove it:

Before the beginning of the challenge I decided to make a bit of a plan for what I was going to eat for the next week to ensure I did not run out of food too quickly and so that I did not eat all my favourite foods first. (not pictured)

Although I am very excited to see how this next week goes I am also quite nervous as I have never had to ration my food before. My greatest fears going into this challenge would probably be 1) Running out of food and 2) Getting tired of the food I bought for this challenge and want to eat the other foods laying around in my house. I really love juice and rarely ever drink water so it will be very difficult for me to have to occasionally choose to drink water instead of juice. For today I am going to enjoy my last day of freedom by drinking a glass of juice and eating tacos for supper! I will be starting the challenge tomorrow, wish me good luck!

More information regarding the welfare food challenge: https://welfarefoodchallenge.org/2017challenge/

Friday, February 16, 2018