Shopping with Food Stamps: Week 1

Welcome to my first full week shopping with food stamps!

This week, I really splashed out and went to the "regular" (read: expensive) grocery store to take advantage of some sales and coupons. I bought:

• Tofutti cream cheese - $4.59
• Two pints of non-dairy Ben & Jerry's - $4.00 each
• Morning Star chicken strips - $4.00
• Morning Star hot dogs - $4.00
• Morning Star crumbles for tacos - $4.00
• Red grapes - $1.19
• 3-pack of razors  - $3.99
• Four 12-packs of seltzer water (not pictured) - $3.40 each

My pre-promo total was $72.18, which is absolutely ridiculous. Had I purchased the exact same stuff from Walmart (with the exception of the cream cheese being Violife brand instead of Tofutti), my total would have been $53. That's a 26% markup! 

Worry not -- I'm too savvy (and too broke) to pay full price at the fancy-pants grocery store. After all the promos, my total was $30.65. All but $0.30 of that was covered by my EBT account -- I just had to pay tax on the razors. 

After that, I went to Walmart to buy the rest of the items on my list:

•  Everything bagels - $3.88
• Taco Shells - $1.54
• Rigatoni - $0.98
• Pasta sauce - $1.67
• Two cans of chickpeas - $0.86 each
• Two cans of black beans - $0.86 each
• One jar of salsa - $2.64
• Green enchilada sauce - $1.00
  
• Plain coconut yogurt - $5.30
• Frozen spinach - $1.26
• Cilantro  - $0.83

My total at Walmart was $22.54, making my final grocery cost for the week $53.19, which is about $8 below the current national average for a frugal gal my age.

(I'm not making this up, it's on the USDA website: https://www.fns.usda.gov/research/cnpp/usda-food-plans/cost-food-monthly-reports)

 Stay tuned to see what I eat this week!

To see my first attempt at shopping with food stamps, click here.

Eating Vegan on Food Stamps: Week 0

 Do you ever feel like life has run you over like a dump truck? Me too. But right now, I feel like life dumped me out the back of a dump truck, covered me in manure, and left me there to climb my way out.

Thankfully, I've had wonderful support from my friends and family, and my care team is working together to find the best way to keep me healthy and happy in the long run.

I am also incredibly grateful for the resources available at my local Social Services office and the kind people there.

I was recently approved for food stamps, or "EBT" as the cool kids are calling it. Given that this program is new to me and my kitchen, I thought I would share my experience with you.

I'm calling this week "Week Zero" because I relied heavily on pantry staples, leftovers, and prior purchases for my meals this week, only supplementing with a handful of fresh groceries.

 

What I Bought

 

Half Assed Apple Crisp

I'm trying to be a more responsible person and use up my produce before it turns to slime in the bottom of my fridge.

 

It's harder than it sounds.

 

Vegan Orzo Verde Recipe

One of my favorite dishes is Damn Delicious' Slow Cooker Enchilada Orzo. I've made it many, many times over the years. Originally, I made it exactly as written, Crock Pot and all. 

As time went by, my roommate's biological feud with tomatoes threatened to remove this beloved meal from my repertoire. I wasn't willing to let it go without a fight. Thus, the recipe morphed into a tomato-free, all vegan, stovetop version that let me keep my roommate and my menu.

If you're looking for a pasta dish without tomatoes, I hope you give this one a try. It's crowd-pleasing. It's easy to throw together. And yes, it is damn delicious.

 

Vegan Orzo Verde (adapted from Damn Delicious)

Ingredients:

• 1 jar salsa verde (about 16oz)
• 1 can green enchilada sauce
• 1 can chopped green chiles (can be omitted if your salsa is on the spicy side)
• 1 cup veggie broth (I use Better than Bouillon concentrate) 
• 1 can black beans
• 2 cups orzo pasta (I'm sure you could use another small pasta shape, such as stars or ditalini, but I'm hooked on the texture of orzo "grains")
• 4oz vegan cream cheese (Tofutti and Violife both work great)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• Cilantro to taste

Instructions:

• In a soup pot, combine the salsa, enchilada sauce, chiles (if using), veggie broth, and black beans. Cover and bring to a boil.
• To the boiling pot, add orzo and cook just shy of desired tenderness.
• Stir in cream cheese and frozen corn until the cream cheese is fully melted and the corn is warm.
• Add cilantro to your heart's content and serve as big ol' bowls of cozy.

 Bonus points if you have Lauren Toyota's Nacho Cheese and some chips on the side.

New Kitchen, New Video, New Pump!

 A few months ago, I moved into my very first very-own kitchen, meaning that for the first time in my life, my kitchen is entirely my own and I don't have to share it with anyone else.

Somehow that also means I'm supposed to be in charge of all of the dishes and sweeping and cleaning, which doesn't seem entirely reasonable since I'm only one person and the universe should only expect so much. But so far so good, and I'm thoroughly enjoying customizing the space to work for me.

In this ongoing quest to create the best kitchen in the universe, I frequently find myself in Home Goods and TJ Maxx and the clearance aisles of Big Lots attempting to buy All The Things.

One of the things I've bought is a refillable, hand-pressurized, stainless steel oil spritzer. It is my newest kitchen gadget and one unlike anything I've experienced before, so I wanted to bring you along to see my first impressions firsthand.

Any advice on the ideal pumping schedule for this apparatus is appreciated.

Am I Old?

 I have a regrettable confession to share with you, loyal readers....

I don't think I've purchased Oreos in years.

Years! Can you believe this? It's like I'm a whole different person. In what universe do I not have Oreos? In what universe do I let Oreos unleash new flavors and I just walk past?

It disappoints me to say it..... but I may have grown up.

Which is bullshit, because grownups have to pay bills and pretend like they know what they're doing, and I'm going to be really bad at that, y'all! I can barely pretend I'm human. Now you expect me to be an ADULT? I didn't sign up for this shit.

 

But if I have to be an adult, at least I'll be an adult who knows how to make an air fryer pizza in 10 minutes or less. Boo yah!

Vegan Pizza & Beer in Winchester, VA

 Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to spend a night on the town in Winchester, Virginia, and y'all, we need to talk about Pizzoco.

Perfect golden crust.

 

Gooey vegan cheese.

 

An expertly seasoned, slightly sweet sauce that is made in-house every day.

 

Choose from toppings galore to create your own masterpiece, or easily veganize several of their signature pies.

 

It doesn't get better than Pizzoco.

 

On this visit, we opted for the Tomato Pie to embrace the stunning simplicity of an artisanal pizza. Vegan cheese goes down first, then the sauce spirals across the top. Garlic, olive oil, and oregano finish out the flavor.

We ate the whole damn thing in one sitting. No regrets.

On my next visit, I'm eager to try a veganized version of the "Winchester": sweet peppers, basil, and onion with classic red sauce and vegan cheese. 

Speaking of Winchester, Pizzoco is in the town's historic district. Taking a stroll through the neighborhood will treat you to a brick-laid walking mall lined with restaurants and local shops. At the end of the walking mall, you'll find George Washington's office from his pre-war surveyor days. Glamorous, it is not, but it puts history in perspective when you acknowledge the great accomplishments of the man in light of his meager surroundings.

Pizzoco gives nod to another local treasure on its very walls:

See the green turret rising over the hill on the left? It isn't a whimsical invention from an artist's imagination, but rather the city's historic Handley Library.

 

The green roof is iconic in Winchester today, but when the building was constructed over 100 years ago, it gleamed in bright copper. Over time, the copper aged and its patina became a stately landmark overlooking the town. It still functions as a public library today, and its history and charm are just as magical as to stories it holds.

In addition to our stroll through time, we were able to visit Winchester Brew Works, a woman-owned, family-friendly brewery in downtown Winchester.

This is possibly my favorite beer experience of all time.

We opted to share a flight. It's the height of summer here, so three of our choices were light and fruity: the #glamping Pink Lemonade Shandy, the juicy Northside Light Lime, and the gentle 2200 Mile NEIPA (inspired by the Appalachian Trail). 

 

Our fourth choice was the velvety, decadent Bourbon Barrel Bear Tracks. This is a reprise of their fan-favorite peanut butter porter. In this version, Bear Tracks has been aged in bourbon barrels, resulting in a rich brew with notes of cocoa and vanilla. My recommendation: Don't buy the full pour of this. Order a mini and savor each sip without overwhelming your palate.

All in all, Winchester isn't the most vegan-friendly place I've been, but if you know where to look, you can find some hidden gems. If you visit, I hope you'll share your finds with me!