Tough Times Food: A Beginning

This month I will be starting a new sub section of posts called Tough Times Food. Posts under this section will look at food from a non-privileged view. I'm starting this new series because most people at some point in their life will have issues paying for basic needs, including food. Food insecurities is a real thing in our society. Right now Americans are feeling the pinch at grocery stores even under the best of situations. Goods, like eggs are super expensive, and the processed foods that use these products are also going up. Sometimes people just have to go into survival mode.

These posts will look at everything from shopping on the cheap to how to make food using cheap ingredients or ingredients that are common at food banks. I know that there can be a lot of shame around using food banks or other food resources. I want to tell you to not be ashamed for doing what you need to keep yourself and your family going. These resources are there because people know that tough times happen. It is easier said then done, but I want to remind you if no one else has that you matter and things will change. 

Sometimes people will have these foods and not know what to do with them or feel like they can not still make food that tastes good. I'm hoping that these posts will help people. 

Here are just a few quick tips to help:

1. Store Brands: You do not need the fancy brands. Some products may taste slightly different, but the money you save can add up quickly.

2. Seasonings can help make most dishes better and many can be found for cheap.

3. If you do eat out save sauce packets you don't use. They can come in handy latter. When you get home I recommend writing the date on it with a permanent marker since most do not expiration dates on them. You will want to clean these out every now and then. If you keep them in the fridge I would say go through it every 3-6 months and get ride of old ones outside of this range.

4. Frozen and canned veggies can be much cheaper then fresh. I would recommend rinsing off most canned veggies to get rid of access salt.