SNAP CHALLENGE

HNFE 4624: Community Nutrition

Fall 2014
Tessa Englund

o What have you cut out of your routine to stay on a budget (e.g. coffee)?
I had to cut out quite a bit of foods that I didnt realize wouldnt fit into my budget. Coffee, tea, cocoa
powder and stevia for my beloved chocolate milk, and all the foods that could come from my random
trips to Eats Natural Foods were among the most noticeable cuts. I also cut out a lot of fruit, as it seemed
expensive to buy a lot other than bananas and apples. All in all I dont already spend that much on food so
there wasnt an excessive amount of food to be cut, and I generally make my meals from scratch so food
preparation did not change very much. By doing the farmers market challenge and having $52 to spend, I
felt like it was more than enough food for me to eat, and I did not use all of my food or my money during
the week.
o Were you able to eat according to MyPlate on a limited budget?
No, I missed quite a few of the targets according to my food group report. My grains were 4.5 ounces
under the recommended on average, however all of them were whole grains meeting the half or more
whole grain MyPlate guideline. My vegetable and fruit consumption were over, however I do not see
this as a bad thing. I do not consume dairy products so my intake on that was under, but I did consume
almond milk during the week, which supertracker did not count as dairy. I was over for protein foods,
and under for both oil and empty calories. Overall I thought my food choices were a better adaptation of
MyPlates guidelines, with most of my food consumption being fruits and vegetables with a smaller
portion of grains and legumes, not strictly in a half, quarter, quarter pattern seen in MyPlate.
o What nutritional decisions do you have to make?
I had to cut out many sources of fat that I usually consume, and omega-3s were extremely hard to
consume on this diet. I have purchased discounted quality sources of omega 3s like flax and chia seeds
before, but to buy them outright on this budget was not feasible. I was also under for calcium, vitamin D
and selenium, I usually drink plenty of almond or coconut during the week but could not afford these
quantities this week to meet calcium and Vitamin D needs. I also usually purchase a variety of nuts and
seeds during the week, another food group that I could not afford so my selenium was also low. Other
nutrients that were low are not ones that I particularly target such as choline, but have made note of now.
I tried to make a point to consume good sources of iron like black beans, and my average intake was only
a gram below the targeted 18mg. Overall I had to sacrifice efforts to attain some nutrients and make an
effort to consume more of others.
o Were you able to make it the entire week?
I had more than enough food thanks to the extra $20 I got by doing the farmers market challenge, but I
will say that I did not start completely from scratch. I used my own coconut oil (which I got on clearance a
while ago) and immense quantities of curry powder to make it easier to utilize all of the veggies I had.
Without these two items and experience in cooking from scratch I do not think I would have been able to
afford or prepare meals within this budget. I did not include them in my cost analysis, but I think if it had

done per serving I may still have been under budget.

Food Cost Log

Day Meal
1 Breakfast
Lunch/Dinner

2 Lunch/Dinner

3 Breakfast
Lunch/Dinner

Breakfast/lunch

4 Breakfast
Lunch/Dinner

Breakfast
5 Breakfast/Lunch
Breakfast/Lunch
Lunch/Dinner

6 Breakfast
Lunch/Dinner

7 Breakfast

Lunch/Dinner

Item
apples
Potatoes
Eggplant
Kale
Onion
sweet potato
Green pepper
popcorn
Brown rice
black beans oz
Almond Milk
peanut butter
apples
Spinach
broccoli
peppers
peanut butter
black beans
rice
Banana
Eggplant
Kale
Onion
sweet potato
Green pepper
peanut butter
rice
Potatoes
Popcorn
spinach
sweet potato
rice
Potatoes
spinach
sweet potato
Blackbeans
Kale
Popcorn

Quantity (lb if produce)

1
0.3
0.15
0.25
1
0.75
0.5
0.12
0.25
4
2
0.1
0.5
1
0.5
0.5
0.1
0.25
0.25
1
0.25
0.25
1
1.75
0.5
0.25
0.25
0.3
0.25
0.5
1
0.25
0.3
0.5
1
0.2
0.25
0.1

Cost
2
2
2
2
1
2
1.75
2.19
1
0.106
2.5
5
2
2
3
3
4.5
1.69
1
0.69
2
2
1
2
1.75
5
1
2
2.19
2
2
1
2
2
2
1.69
2
2.19

Total
2
0.6
0.3
0.5
1
1.5
0.875
0.2628
0.25
0.424
5
0.5
1
2
1.5
1.5
0.45
0.4225
0.25
0.69
0.3
0.5
1
3.5
1.75
1.25
0.25
0.6
0.5475
1
2
0.25
0.6
1
2
0.338
0.5
0.219

Potatoes
apples
peanut butter
Kale
Onion

0.25
0.25
0.1
0.25
1

2
2
5
2
1

0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
1

sweet potato
Rice

1.75
0.1

2
1

3.5
3.5
48.6288 Total

Tessas Food Groups and Calories Report 10/11/14 10/17/14

Your plan is based on a 2200 Calorie allowance.

Food Groups

Target

Average Eaten

Status

Grains

7 ounce(s)

2 ounce(s)

Under

Whole Grains

3 ounce(s)

2 ounce(s)

Under

Refined Grains

3 ounce(s)

0 ounce(s)

OK

3 cup(s)

4 cup(s)

Over

Dark Green

2 cup(s)/week

3 cup(s)

Over

Red & Orange

6 cup(s)/week

2 cup(s)

Under

Beans & Peas

2 cup(s)/week

2 cup(s)

OK

Starchy

6 cup(s)/week

6 cup(s)

OK

Other

5 cup(s)/week

2 cup(s)

Under

2 cup(s)

4 cup(s)

Over

Whole Fruit

No Specific Target

4 cup(s)

No Specific Target

Fruit Juice

No Specific Target

0 cup(s)

No Specific Target

3 cup(s)

0 cup(s)

Under

Milk & Yogurt

No Specific Target

0 cup(s)

No Specific Target

Cheese

No Specific Target

0 cup(s)

No Specific Target

6 ounce(s)

7 ounce(s)

Over

Seafood

9 ounce(s)/week

0 ounce(s)

Under

Meat, Poultry & Eggs

No Specific Target

0 ounce(s)

No Specific Target

Nuts, Seeds & Soy

No Specific Target

7 ounce(s)

No Specific Target

Oils

6 teaspoon

3 teaspoon

Under

Limits

Allowance

Average Eaten

Status

Total Calories

2200 Calories

1789 Calories

Under

266 Calories

147 Calories

OK

Solid Fats

115 Calories

Added Sugars

32 Calories

Vegetables

Fruits

Dairy

Protein Foods

Empty Calories*

*Calories from food components such as added sugars and solid fats that provide little nutritional value.
Empty Calories are part of Total Calories.
Note: If you ate Beans & Peas and chose "Count as Protein Foods instead," they will be included in the
Nuts, Seeds & Soy subgroup.

Tesser's Nutrients Report 10/11/14 - 10/17/14

Your plan is based on a 2200 Calorie allowance.

Nutrients

Target

Average Eaten

Status

Total Calories

2200 Calories

1789 Calories

Under

Protein (g)***

46 g

56 g

OK

Protein (% Calories)***

10 - 35% Calories

13% Calories

OK

Carbohydrate (g)***

130 g

312 g

OK

Carbohydrate (% Calories)***

45 - 65% Calories

70% Calories

Over

Dietary Fiber

25 g

55 g

OK

Total Sugars

No Daily Target or
Limit

84 g

No Daily Target or
Limit

Added Sugars

No Daily Target or
Limit

8g

No Daily Target or
Limit

Total Fat

20 - 35% Calories

23% Calories

OK

Saturated Fat

< 10% Calories

9% Calories

OK

Polyunsaturated Fat

No Daily Target or
Limit

5% Calories

No Daily Target or
Limit

Monounsaturated Fat

No Daily Target or
Limit

7% Calories

No Daily Target or
Limit

Linoleic Acid (g)***

12 g

9g

Under

Linoleic Acid (% Calories)***

5 - 10% Calories

4% Calories

Under

-Linolenic Acid (% Calories)***

0.6 - 1.2% Calories

0.8% Calories

OK

-Linolenic Acid (g)***

1.1 g

1.5 g

OK

Omega 3 - EPA

No Daily Target or
Limit

0 mg

No Daily Target or
Limit

Omega 3 - DHA

No Daily Target or
Limit

0 mg

No Daily Target or
Limit

Cholesterol

< 300 mg

0 mg

OK

Minerals

Target

Average Eaten

Status

Calcium

1000 mg

842 mg

Under

Potassium

4700 mg

4941 mg

OK

Sodium**

< 2300 mg

993 mg

OK

Copper

900 g

2517 g

OK

Iron

18 mg

17 mg

Under

Magnesium

310 mg

597 mg

OK

Phosphorus

700 mg

1256 mg

OK

Selenium

55 g

37 g

Under

Zinc

8 mg

10 mg

OK

Vitamins

Target

Average Eaten

Status

Vitamin A

700 g RAE

1716 g RAE

OK

Vitamin B6

1.3 mg

3.1 mg

OK

Vitamin B12

2.4 g

0.0 g

Under

Vitamin C

75 mg

166 mg

OK

Vitamin D

15 g

3 g

Under

Vitamin E

15 mg AT

20 mg AT

OK

Vitamin K

90 g

818 g

OK

Folate

400 g DFE

560 g DFE

OK

Thiamin

1.1 mg

1.3 mg

OK

Riboflavin

1.1 mg

1.5 mg

OK

Niacin

14 mg

17 mg

OK

Choline

425 mg

252 mg

Under

Information about dietary supplements.

** If you are African American, hypertensive, diabetic, or have chronic kidney disease, reduce your sodium to 1500 mg a day. In addition, people
who are age 51 and
older need to reduce sodium to 1500 mg a day. All others need to reduce sodium to less than 2300 mg a day.
*** Nutrients that appear twice (protein, carbohydrate, linoleic acid, and -linolenic acid) have two separate recommendations:
1) Amount eaten (in grams) compared to your minimum recommended intake.
2) Percent of Calories eaten from that nutrient compared to the recommended range.
You may see different messages in the status column for these 2 different recommendations.