# How tough is it, really, to eat for $30.00 / week? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 26, 2015, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tough-is-it-really-to-eat-for-30-00-week/718597 "2015-04-26T20:31:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tough-is-it-really-to-eat-for-30-00-week/718597/81 "2015-04-29T19:58:21Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > She did no such thing, or else she would have accepted food stamps, that would have been for the greater well being of her family. She made things more difficult for her family. She even admits it was pride that stopped her. Taking care of one’s own family IS what’s best for the well being of said family. That’s what families DO. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tough-is-it-really-to-eat-for-30-00-week/718597/82 "2015-04-29T21:18:49Z")
Yes, but isn’t it possible there might be more than one way to help one’s family? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tough-is-it-really-to-eat-for-30-00-week/718597/83 "2015-04-29T22:05:12Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yes, but isn’t it possible there might be more than one way to help one’s family? Certainly. And nothing is cut and dry here. Perhaps that family needed that (what I call) parasitic time (I know I had it) to learn how to be a better person (and family), to benefit society from that experience in a way that her families gain is also societies gain. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tough-is-it-really-to-eat-for-30-00-week/718597/84 "2015-04-29T22:26:18Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > So on nights that you maybe DON’T add a few ounces of meat, this amounts to a condiment, poured onto rice. This won’t exactly keep a guy going, if he’s been pouring concrete or unloading trucks or stocking shelves all day. Not really sure what your point is, but… An onion is not a condiment. And it doesn’t cost much to add a few ounces of meat. And you can make the portion as large as you need to feed a hungry man. Just up the amount of rice. Or add some other vegetables, too. It’s still cheap. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tough-is-it-really-to-eat-for-30-00-week/718597/85 "2015-04-29T22:30:31Z")
Jesus fuck. I think I should bankrupt my company, go on disability, get my kids diagnosed with something, maybe even go to jail to become non parasitic and a fully evolved member of society. Am I missing something, here? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tough-is-it-really-to-eat-for-30-00-week/718597/86 "2015-04-29T22:45:27Z")
> [@fisha](#): > > Jesus fuck. > > I think I should bankrupt my company, go on disability, get my kids diagnosed with something, maybe even go to jail to become non parasitic and a fully evolved member of society. > > Am I missing something, here? Just maybe your intention :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tough-is-it-really-to-eat-for-30-00-week/718597/87 "2015-04-30T14:46:52Z")
Original post was: > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yep. I don’t eat this every night, but often I just stir fry some garlic, onions and mushrooms, maybe add a few ounces of meat, make a sauce out of a bit of chicken stock (or white wine or both) with some soy sauce and white pepper and serve over rice. Quick, easy, tasty and cheap. You can add whatever you happen to have in the fridge… So again, on nights when you don’t “maybe add a few ounces of meat” (we are talking poor people on a strict budget) we have: [ul] [li]Garlic[/li][li]Onions[/li][li]Mushrooms[/li][/ul] … all so low in calories as to be negligible energy fuel (although they provide a small amount of fiber and antioxidants) [ul] [li]A bit of chicken stock (or white wine or both)[/li][/ul] … I’ll grant you stock, but let’s not forget that SNAP doesn’t cover alcohol, or that people scraping the bottom of the “dirt poor” barrel don’t often tend to _cook with friggin’ white wine_ [ul] [li]soy sauce and white pepper[/li][/ul] Condiments, pure and simple. Look, **John Mace** , I’m not knocking you or your template recipe. (It sounds tasty!) I’m just saying it’s frustrating to read what amounts to “Of COURSE you can eat for thirty bucks a week! Just fry up a meager bit of vegetable scraps, serve over the utterly empty calories that are white rice, and watch your energy levels soar through the roof!” I’m a skinny chick with a desk job, so your suggested meal would be, for me, an actual meal, albeit a “diet lite” meal and I’d be hungry again in a couple hours. For a man with a labor-based job, it barely counts as a light snack. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-tough-is-it-really-to-eat-for-30-00-week/718597.md?page=4)