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Food Stamps

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An Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card is designed to supplement- not replace- a grocery budget, but for many people, they amount they receive sometimes just isn’t enough. But with a bit of knowledge and a few innovative tricks, you can balloon your Food Stamps budget to keep you and your family full and healthy.

Proteins

Tinned tuna and salmon is one of the least expensive sources of protein out there, with each can only costing a dollar or two and containing an average of 30g of protein in a 5oz serving. How much protein you need each day differs from person to person, but the average (and non-athletic or body-building) person requires 10-30% of their total caloric intake to be protein:
Women:

 

  • 1,800 calories per day x 0.20 = 360 calories from protein

 

  • 1g of protein = 4 calories, so protein calories need to be divided by 4

 

  • = 90g of protein each day

 

 

Eggs are also an inexpensive and high source of protein, and can easily be made into many different styles. They’re also one of the food groups where the price can vary drastically between regular large eggs and organic, omega-3 eggs, but eggs bought by the dozen-and-a-half are generally the most cost-effective. Peanut butter, a staple for sandwiches, contains more protein than any other nut or legume, but watch out for the food’s high fat and sugar content, two ingredients that can easily negate a healthy diet.

 

Fibers

 

Fiber comes in one of two forms: soluble or insoluble. Soluble fibers can dissolve in water, and are found in foods like oats (oatmeal, oat bran, oat cereal), lentils, fruits and vegetables (apples, oranges, pears, strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, celery, carrots), nuts, peas, psyllium and flaxseed. Because it attracts water, soluble fiber forms a bulky gel, slowing down digestion and making you feel full, and helps reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad one).

 

Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, doesn’t absorb water and speeds up digestion. They’re the fiber that will “clean out” your gut, keeping it free of toxins and buildup. Mostly found in whole grains and vegetables, you can get your insoluble fibers in wheat bran, corn bran, seeds, barley, couscous, brown rice, cabbage, onions and many more foods.

 

Potatoes and Rice

 

For the most part, potatoes and rice can be bought for very little money, and added to any meal to make it stretch and last. With rice, add it to soups, stews, casseroles, salads, meats and countless other dishes to flesh out the meal.

 

Potatoes have an even bigger number of ways they can be cooked and added to meals, providing bulk and easing grocery bills. With an estimate of about 4,000 different varieties of potatoes, they can be sliced, diced, mashed, fried, baked and boiled into pretty much anything you want. Try making scalloped potatoes or potato-vegetable soup for some of the most inexpensive meals, chicken-and-potato casserole if you’ve got a little extra on your EBT card, or cubed hashbrowns for morning meals.

 

With a little ingenuity, you can make your EBT card go longer and further than ever before.

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