CNN Video: Using food stamps to buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts isn't the best strategy

[Amerigo Vespucci]

The reporter in this video clip starts by telling how much he misses walking next door to Whole Foods (also known as "Whole Paycheck") and buying a fully-prepared meal.

Then he talks about using his food stamps to buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts because "it was easier, and he could use it in a stir fry"...

The good news is that his experiment is over and he can go back to Whole Foods and buy fully-prepared meals without breaking a sweat.

:eyes:

Reporter lives on food stamps 3:48

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/03/01/callebs.foodstamps.cnn

CNN reporter has a newfound respect for leftovers after a month living on food stamps in New Orleans, Louisiana.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. If they're on sale,

boneless, skinless chicken breasts are a great buy, and often the cheapest chicken you can buy.

They're hardly a luxury item. Someone not familiar with grocery shopping did this commentary, I suspect..................

[Amerigo Vespucci]

10. Depends on the market...

...I'm not sure if you're talking about my commentary in the post or the reporter's commentary in the clip, but I'm familiar with grocery shopping in Silicon Valley.

Here, going to a high-end, non-chain market...where you can buy one piece of skin-on, bone-in chicken...is cheaper than going to Safeway or Lucky and buying boneless / skinless chicken for $10 to $12...or higher...per package.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

12. Giant, a chain supermarket in my neck of the woods -

a very costly suburb of Washington, DC - has boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale this week for $1.79 a pound.

That's a mighty big package of chicken you're talking about when you quote $10 to $12 per package.

As I said, someone doesn't quite get it.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

16. Well, if I'm "someone," and you keep referring to me as "someone"...

...here's an open invitation to check your attitude at the door.

"As I said."

[Tangerine LaBamba]

21. Can't you read?

I was referring to the "reporter".

Check this at the door, and tell them you know me.

[jedr]

13. Once you figure in the cost of the lost bone and skin;

the cost is the same , and yes you can make soup with the bone and skin, but you can also do that with the boneless breasts. It's a great buy , especially on sale, I stock up on it every time I find a good price. Just because you're on food stamps , doesn't mean you need to eat road kill. Part of the reason lower income people end up morbidly obese is that they buy cheap food ,full of high fructose corn syrup or non enriched flour which is all calories and no nutrition.

[demokatgurrl]

62. Chicken legs are not road kill!

They're my favorite part of the chicken, and where I shop, cost less than boneless skinless anything.

[tabasco]

25. Don't these assholes realize that people on limited budgets

never buy ANYTHING that isn't reduced. And not just reduced ten cents. Good deals.

[Avalux]

2. I watched that with amusement.

If they really want to know how a family can stretch money, food stamps - they should ask someone who does it, like me.

Not have a clueless reporter experiment and make a fool out of himself.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

7. The whole clip was beyond foolish...

...and you're RIGHT...if he wanted to experience a month on food stamps, the first thing he should have done was partner with someone already living on them for advice.

In addition to buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts...the single most expensive cut of chicken...for his "stir fry," he also mentioned buying lean ground beef, saying that he added it to spaghetti sauce that would last a few days...

Guess what? I can get a pound and a half of VERY lean chuck at Safeway (sold as "boneless stew beef") for about 5 to 6 bucks, grind it myself, and end up with ground beef that is higher in quality and less expensive than what he purchased.

This was just a newsworthy attempt to see how po' folk live. In the real world, there are plenty of working Americans who know how to eat in the healthiest way possible on the smallest budget.

This reporter should stick to covering street fairs and restaurant reviews. I absolutely felt that he made a complete fool of himself with this segment.

[Avalux]

27. But people on food stamps...on TV?

Aren't people who need assistance the worst of our society? Better to pretend with a guy who at least is clean and can speak properly. ;-)

[Avalux]

37. He bought instant mashed potatoes too. Why not real potatoes?

Eat a baked potato every day - far more nutritious and cheaper than processed instant mashed.

[Historic NY]

57. My store has special 88 cents for a 5lb bag. They obviously don't know how to shop

we all try to cut corners & save but if your not clipping today then your with stupid.

[Thothmes]

58. baking a potatoe is the most expensive way to prepare one

Dice, boil, mash. twenty minutes start to finish. I keep the peel on them though.

[Avalux]

65. Nope. Microwave 3 minutes on each side.

Perfect. :hi:

[Thothmes]

59. baking a potatoe is the most expensive way to prepare one

Dice, boil, mash. twenty minutes start to finish. I keep the peel on them though.

[SoCalDem]

3. If you're trying to save money, you buy a WHOLE chicken

bake it with bread stuffing you make yourself and make chicken salad with the leftovers, or

you cut it apart, and used the bones & innards for soup stock :)

[paulsby]

4. totally agree

the less processed a food is (generally speaking), the cheaper it is and the more nutritious it is.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

15. My Harris Teeter store,

and it's a very precious place, had stewing chickens on sale recently for $.39 a pound. Thirty-nine cents a pound! Now, stewing chickens might not be the best chicken for eating, but they looked fine to me. I bought three or four of them - got the butcher to cut them into quarters and repack them for me.

While I was standing waiting, I watched people - people who appeared to be quite affluent - do a double-take when they saw that price, and when we all got to talking, the poor butcher was left cutting up chickens for a bunch of folks who thought I had a great idea.

No matter your circumstances, in these trying times, you look for the best price on everything all the time.

[Raineyb]

63. Assuming that the stewing chicken is the older chicken which I know just as fowl

is great chicken for eating; but you have to cook it properly and it does take awhile. I use chicken for stew chicken now because frankly I have a hard time finding fowl in the supermarket anymore but we used to use stew the fowl and save the chicken for baking and frying.

My big problem is I live alone and hate chicken legs and have no one to foist them on.

Regards

[Avalux]

18. Now you're talking.

I love to bake a chicken then make soup with the leftovers; my kids love it too.

Another favorite? We call it goulash - ground beef; large can tomato soup; large can tomato sauce and macaroni. It's kind of like a soupy spaghetti sauce but different. Cheap and good for a couple of meals - with homemade bread.

:hi:

[rebel with a cause]

55. Hamburger soup is one of our favorite dishes

ground beef with onions and celery for seasoning along with a couple of bay leaves. Add canned tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, corn and peas and you have a good hot meal. I have been making this for years and my family loves it. I have a secret ingredient, but will pass it on if anyone wants it.

[ejpoeta]

60. we make goulash with a can of tomato soup and a can of cream of mushroom soup

a pound of ground beef and noodles. I add garlic powder, italian seasoning, oregano and parmesan. yum.

[janx]

38. Of course!

I've done that even in the best of times. It's financially conservative, fun, and delicious. I thought most people knew how to do that. ?

[SoCalDem]

43. and i always have a cheap frozen turkey in my freezer

We can have Thanksgiving dinner any time I choose.. a cheap and easy meal, actually :)

[Horse with no Name]

51. I actually felt very fortunate to be able to stockpile 4 extra turkeys this year

However, there were several families in our area who would have done without a Thanksgiving Dinner--so we donated them to that cause.
My freezer is birdless.:cry:

[Tatiana]

48. I used to cut up the leftover chicken and make chicken salad.

And make sandwiches out of the chicken salad for lunch at work.

[billyoc]

5. I want all the calories I can get if I have a limited food budget, so forget skinless.

[walkaway]

6. Even in good times I buy a whole chicken....

Cut it up debone the breast for dinner, freeze the legs and thighs for future dinners and put the remainder in a pot with vegetable scraps, an onion and some garlic and make broth for soup. If times are tough I don't get to buy Bel and Evans.

[asjr]

9. I've been doing that sort of thing

for years and years. I grew up in the Depression and can stretch a meal.

[Horse with no Name]

8. Let me say that this is probably the subjec that I fall more libertarian -leaning

than liberal-leaning--but not for the same reasons.
I don't believe ANY American should go to bed hungry. Even if that hunger is satiated by beans and rice.
It hurts my heart to know that there are elderly Americans who worked their entire lives who barely scrape by on SS, yet do not qualify for any substantive Food Stamp assistance.
It hurts my heart to know that we have soldiers who have fought for our country that go hungry daily and do not qualify for assistance.
Or that the poverty level in certain parts of the country where kids go to bed hungry.
I understand that UNDER THE CURRENT FOOD STAMP SYSTEM, we simply cannot subsidize everyone.
I would love to see Food Stamps cut to basic necessities--excluding things that most working-poor families have to exclude.
No "extras" like donuts, cakes, Twinkies, cokes, candy, chips, etc.
I also don't think that expensive cuts of meat should be allowed to be purchased either. I'm sorry.
When I feed my family I have to budget. If I have to feed my family beans and rice for 3 days a week, or not be able to afford the "extras" for my kids and I am working.
If we excluded the actual things that could be purchased--enforced grocery budgeting if that is what you want to call it--then you could easily cut some of the waste and give basics to more people.
We SHOULD feed hungry people. We shouldn't have to provide gourmet meals for those who qualify for assistance.
This is a forum that a friend showed me. I am usually furious when I am through reading it because most of the things they use their food stamps for, I can't afford.
This is an example of the forum:
>>>>snip


Dear All, I went to Whole Foods this afternoon, & spent $48.59. I have left in EBT Food Stamps $147.81. I plan to go to India Bazar tomorrow. There are no foodstuffs that I want from the Rite-Aid & Walgreens circulars.

I got Dr Praeger frozen broccoli pancakes ($3.99 for 3 servigns -- the package says 6 but what does it know?), organic Veri-Veri Veggie juice ($3.39), Stash peppermint tea ($2.99), Barbara's Shredded Spoonfuls ($3.29), 3 flavors of organic kefit (quarts, @ $3.99), 7-grain English muffins ($3.49), 2 boxes of baked woven wheat crackers ($2.29), 2 organic yellow onions @ $1.49/lb ($2.74), one organic cauliflower @ just 99cents/lb ($1.86), a small bulb of garlic (75cents), bin organic Thompson raisins @ $2.99/lb ($3.11), an organic lemon @ 69cents, ground mace (spice -- I use it very seldom, so there is no sense in getting a bag at India Bazar -- I paid $2.79), 12 jalapeno peppers @ $2.99/lb ($3.11), & cilantro ($1.49). I had coupons on the tea & teh cereal.

I meant to get mint, but it is obviously out of season since a tiny bunch cost $2. So, I'll be changing the menu that I'll be serving on Sun the 15th to my friend from shul/synagogue.

Yours in Him, Deb
http://community.stretcher.com/forums/t/9972.aspx

[Amerigo Vespucci]

14. You can do all kinds of things with simple ingredients

...and if someone's on a budget too tight to allow for the purchase of a cook book, go to Barnes & Noble or Borders or whatever the local store is and thumb through one and write down one or two recipes per visit.

I've done it. I'm also fortunate in the fact that at a very early age, I decided that I was going to learn how to cook. I can take $5 worth of stuff and turn it into a feast.

The problem with the CNN clip is that the reporter seemed like he wanted to stay as close to his "fully prepared Whole Foods meal" as possible.

It was a one-month thing for him. If he had to do it out of survival, he would have deepened his education.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

20. Libraries have lots of cookbooks, too

and, if you have Internet access, well, everything is online now.

I'm very lucky in that I can afford to buy whatever I want, but I gave up on Whole Foods a long time ago. Their prices are just ridiculous. I was raised by working-class parents who grew up during the Depression, and I have certain limits in my head that simply cannot be crossed.

I'm sure organic chickens are better for me than the chickens I get for $.39 a pound at Harris Teeter, but, you know what? I don't care. The ones I fixed from that bargain were excellent, and there are still some in the freezer.

That clip was nothing but sensationalism disguised as "news." The reporter didn't have a clue.

[Horse with no Name]

22. I can put together a tasty meal with virtually nothing

it astounds my family.:)
But I had to do it for a very long time...without any assistance.
BTW, did you check out that forum?
I swear it raises my BP everytime I read it,lol.

[iamjoy]

28. Don't Knock The Buying Of Junk Food

Oh, I agree the cookies and chips aren't healthy - they have no nutritional value and contribute to the problem of obesity in poor people.

But you know, there was a post on DU sometime ago, a woman was buying ice cream sandwiches with food stamps and apparently, some one made their displeasure known with the woman spending "their" money that way. The woman's response was that her kids didn't have fancy gaming systems and couldn't afford to go to the movies so these ice cream sandwiches were the only treat she could give them.

Well, I don't remember a lot of this, so I may have got some details wrong and it may be an apocrophyl story anyway. But it kind of opened my eyes. Why do we judge people like this? Oh true, better to not get kids in the habit of thinking in terms of food rewards, but that's a tough battle to fight, especially for a kid who is already missing out on so much.

It would be nice if everyone on food stamps also got information on nutrition and how to fix healthy food fast and cheap, but that shouldn't preclude them buying an occasional treat for their child, especially if that twinkie is the only "treat" they get.

[Horse with no Name]

31. I'm not begrudging anything

But as I said, there are working poor who don't qualify in the same boat as those who receive assistance and cannot afford the toys and extra snacks for their kids.
My viewpoint isn't deprivation--but it is one of common good.
If not giving Twinkies and Cokes to kids enabled elderly people to not have to eat Dog Food for dinner--don't you agree the greater good is served?

[Horse with no Name]

34. Let me just make sure you understand exactly what I said

I am for a total revamping of the Food Stamp structure.
I am not calling on omitting these items at this particular time...but instead devising a way that MORE people can have a full stomach every night.

[iamjoy]

46. Yeah, I Know

You are thinking very pragmatically - the greater good. We will feed more people and the kids will be healthier. You are right.

But when you knock twinkies and coke (horrible chemical substances that they are) I hope you realize that for some kids it is the bright spot of the day.

And yes, I should acknowledge the working poor, or elderly who don't get assistance and still can't afford little luxuries.

[janx]

40. That's ridiculous, and I agree with you. I've been "rich", and I've

been poor, and when I took the advantage of food stamps for a brief period many years ago, the only thing I lamented was that I needed non-food items like soap and laundry detergent that couldn't be purchased with food stamps.

Has that changed?

[azurnoir]

11. Depends where and when you buy them

whole foods no, but other places yes- my local grocery store had frozen boneless skinless chicken breast for $5.04 a 3lb bag making them way cheaper than burger at that price I bought a bunch, lucky to have a small chest freezer I found at a garage sale a few years back.

[elocs]

17. I can buy 10 pounds of chicken legs and thighs for $6.99.

I remove the skin (I've no need of the fat) as well as an easily removable excess fat. I can make it in my solar oven (maybe 5 pounds at a time) and save the liquid from it for making rice. I use some of the chicken and rice to make a casserole with cream of mushroom soup or a roux, make soup, make sandwiches, or just eat it off the bone. I could stretch that 10 pounds to last a week or more if needed.

[janx]

33. Where do you get 10 pounds of that for $6.99?

I want to know! ;-)

[elocs]

36. At Woodman's up here in WI and northern IL.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodman's_Food_Market

I think food prices are pretty inexpensive here. I can get a gallon of milk for under $2 and a good 12 grain loaf of bread for $1.50.

[janx]

42. That's very inexpensive, especially for the bread.

The bread you describe costs over four dollars here in NM--three bucks at Costco.

Is the bakery local? (I know the grain is; I grew up in MO.) Do you think that transportation cost is a factor?

[elocs]

47. The bread can be bought here at the Sara Lee thrift store (it's not past its expiration date).

I seen it on sale at Woodmans for that price also. I have seen bread that sells for up to $4 here, but I don't know who would buy it. I don't know about transportation, but there are lots of big bakeries here in WI, although the Sara Lee bakery here in town only makes croutons.

[Blue Diadem]

45. We get them here for .49 lb. Just got 2- 10lb bags a week ago.

4.99 for a 10lb bag of chicken leg quarters, 1.69 lb for boneless breasts, .99 lb for smoked picnic, 1.89 lb ground chuck and 2.99lb for NY strip.

[BlooInBloo]

19. The thing I love 2nd-most about my slowcooker...

is that I can use the shittiest (cheapest) cuts of meat, and they come out WONDERFUL.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

23. There are all sorts of shortcuts

I see that top sirloin steaks are on sale at my nearby market this week. I'll stock up, feed my freezer.

Now, top sirloin is a tricky cut, absolutely inedible unless you know how to prepare it. But, as a poor college student in Ohio in the sixties, I learned about "family steak" at the local IGA - it's top sirloin - and how to marinate it, how to cook it, and how to slice it. Talk about a great chunk of meat!

There are all sorts of tricks out there, too.

[Horse with no Name]

24. I love mine too

for the same reason.
I bought a cheap roast Saturday, paid $17 for it even though it was $3.49/lb (that was difficult to do)--threw it in the slow cooker yesterday. We had roast for dinner Saturday night. Today I sliced the remainder of the roast and made a brown gravy to cook it in (in the slow cooker) and we had it over rice. I still have some left, and I will bake potatoes tomorrow and use it as a topping.
Interestingly enough, you can put your potatoes in the crockpot on low without any liquid and they will be ready for baked potatoes by the time I get home tomorrow.

[BlooInBloo]

26. I've taken to doing ribs a lot in mine.supercheap, good, variety of flavor-liquids...

and fast for a slowcooker - about 5 hours, and you have to take the bones out of the cooker with nothing attached to them.

[Horse with no Name]

29. oh yes I fell into ribs by accident

I had purchased a bulk meat pack with different things--hamburger, chicken, pork, etc for a good price and had those country style ribs in it.
I personally find them too fatty for my taste, so they sat in the freezer to the point I was going to have to cook them or toss them.
I fell on this recipe and it was literally to die for. I like pulled pork and this was along the same lines--but so wonderful.

3 lbs country style ribs
2 large tart apples, peeled cored, chopped or thinly sliced
1/4 tsp cinammon
1/4 tsp allspice
salt and pepper
1 cup bbq sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's)

Put everything in the slow cooker. Cook for 7-9 hours on low. Drain. Add BBQ sauce and cook for about 30 min longer.
Then I served on buns.
It was delightful!

[BlooInBloo]

35. Heh. Haven't even tried em with bbq sauce yet.

[janx]

44. I grew up in St. Louis.

:rofl: I know what you mean. But the guys were always cooking them, and I have to learn how.

Damn, that was some good food!

I lived with a guy from Minnesota for years. He grilled stuff, but when he grilled pork and chicken, he never used barbeque sauce. How can anybody grill ribs and chicken without barbeque sauce? Steak is another matter. A good steak should never be adulterated with sauces--but chicken and pork? They need that crisp, barbeque sauce coating. They taste better that way and aren't as fatty-gross.

Chicken and pork chops without barbeque sauce? That's like taking piano out of jazz!

[brentspeak]

30. Whole Foods does pay a living wage to its employees

One of the few corporations that do these days.

[Crabby Appleton]

49. My nephew works at Whole Foods, has worked there for 3 years

he's done pretty well there.

[janx]

32. Oh for God's sake!

I was raised upper middle class, and my mother always budgeted this way! What the hell--this guy is used to buying prepared meals at Whole Foods? He doesn't plan what he buys based on how often he will use it?

I feel bad buying a tall Frap at the convenience store twice a week on the way to work!

[Hello_Kitty]

39. Well my brilliant stimulus plan was to give food stamps to EVERYONE

Obviously, this wouldn't cover the entire grocery bill of the average middle class person but when I saw the chart showing that food stamps produced the biggest return to the economy ($1.74 to every dollar spent), it seemed like a no-brainer to me. I say give middle class people the average allotment that low-income people get to supplement their food budget, and boost the amount that poor people get substantially. That is money that is spent IMMEDIATELY in our economy, and on mostly domestic industries. It's a win-win.

[conscious evolution]

41. And it would still be cheaper

than feeding the war machine.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

50. Cabbage goes with every meat I can think of

Plus, it's still cheap, quite filling, and a colon buster! A little butter, horseradish and salt & pepper...mmmm mmm.

[Horse with no Name]

52. I have actually substituted cabbage for meat in Hamburger Helper

and it was pretty darn good actually.

[TXRAT2]

64. Now we're talking!

Take a wedge, salt and pepper,crushed bullion cube, add butter, wrap in tin foil. 350 degree's for about 1 hour. Good stuff! Cook a medium size onion the same way.

[Catherine Vincent]

53. Since we're on the topic of frozen foods..

How long is it safe to freeze meat in the freezer?

[madrchsod]

56. google-- there`s some charts on all frozen foods

[madrchsod]

54. krogers had boneless skinless chicken breasts

cheaper than whole chickens and skinned breasts. my family eats chicken 4 times a week and it`s what ever chicken breasts are on sale. i buy only 90% lean burger meat and pork once a week. 10 for 10`s keeps the family fed!

[TexasObserver]

61. Yeah, he should have been buying kidney, or liver 'n lights.

Your OP seems to suggest that by buying boneless chicken breasts, he was living too high on the hog.

I would infer that he doesn't eat a lot of meat, but does eat some chicken when cooked in a stir fry.

He clearly is unaccustomed to cooking his own meals, and that means he's unaccustomed to buying meat raw and preparing it. Boneless therefore works better for him.

[Vinca]

66. Sometimes you can buy a giant package of them cheap.

My fault with this guy's experiment is he fell back almost exclusively on bad-for-you, prepackaged foods. He should have tried to live on a healthy diet - that would have been a challenge. Also, the amount of money he was given for the month is the absolutely maximum amount. Most people don't get that.

[LostinVA]

67. Whole Foods can be an extremely economical place to shop

Is it what you make ouf it: either a gourmet market or a great place for bulk and "good deal" organic and natural food.