Hunger challenge.

The month of September is National Hunger Awareness Month. I learned about it in class, and then stumbled upon a challenge being offered through Food Outreach.....

Hunger Challenge STL from Alissa M on Vimeo.

I found myself immediately wanting to pounce on the opportunity to walk in someone else's shoes. I was all geared up to make the last week of September the week that I participated in this eye-opening 7 days. But then, I starting looking in the refrigerator to see how much food I had left over from last week's CSA, and saw what I would be receiving in this week's CSA. There was no way that I could honestly play by the "$29 a week per person" rule with this much food sitting in my house waiting to be used...granted our CSA share is only $40 a week but I want to take in the whole experience of what it is like to shop with foodstamps.

I instantly saw the new challenge for this week: USE WHAT YOU HAVE. Good-ness. I really dropped the ball in the cooking department last week to have allllllll this food left over from the CSAs. The above picture was leftover and new CSA....and then Saturday I brought home Maude's CSA and added to the stock pile yet again. Menu planning almost left me cross-eyed tonight. 

With my "Use what you have" challenge for this week, I allowed myself to pick up 5 staples from a local grocery store. I ran by Sappington Farmer's Market on my way home from work Thursday night and picked up these items:

Go ahead and gasp...I know...Vegan's don't eat eggs or drink milk. Well, this vegan has been introducing "cage-free-farm-raised-chicken-eggs" back into her diet, and Matt is the major milk drinker in this household. Hush. I have researched the local farm that these eggs come from and I support their practices. 

With my overflowing table of veggies and produce, and these 5 staples, I could slowly start brainstorming my menu for the week. Drumroll please......

Monday: 

breakfast: red potatoes, pole beans, and egg. banana 

lunch: potato and beans with vegan fancy sausage stuff, salad, concord grapes, chocolate chip cookie 

dinner: Eggplant, Squash, Zucchini Casserole - applesauce 

Tuesday:

breakfast: overnight vanilla-pear oatmeal 

lunch: leftover casserole from dinner, bread, grapes 

dinner: quinoa w/ corn & zucchini, salad 

Wednesday: 

breakfast: pear oatmeal 

lunch: leftovers, sweet potato, grapes 

dinner: leftovers (these recipes are leaving alot for extra dinners)

Thursday: 

breakfast: pancakes 

lunch: provided at work 

dinner: vegan sausages, corn on the cob, potato 

Friday:  

breakfast: cereal, fruit 

lunch: baked zucchini sticks, sweet potatoes, leftovers 

dinner: beans, honey glazed acorn squash, quinoa 

Saturday:  

breakfast: omelettes 

lunch: out (jam packed morning, prep for half marathon) 

dinner: carb loading :) 

Sunday: 

breakfast: half marathon mode 

lunch: whatever I want! 

dinner: celebratory sushi 

Next Monday, we will start the Hunger Challenge. I will update my plan of action for those 7 days once I get it ironed out. I hope, hope, hope to get pictures posted each day with recipes for this week. Hold me to it!