Food Stamps

Eating healthy on food stamps is a huge endeavor for many SNAP recipients. This is due largely in part to the amount of money some recipients receive. On average, a single person would receive less than $200 a month on the SNAP program. A single parent with one child would only receive $250. This makes it increasingly difficult to plan healthy meals. This especially true when you look at the cost difference between cheaper less healthy food choices like Raman noodles and fresh fruits or vegetables. So, how does a family eat healthy on SNAP with little benefits?

Mix and Match

Mix and match is a way that some people have learned to eat healthy while on food stamps. The mix and match method allows for a few choices that would normally be perceived as bad to enter the menu. The trick is matching these food choices with better options to make the meal come in under cost while remaining filling. A prime example is taking ramen noodles and mixing them with canned mix vegetables for a meatless yet filling meal. For added protein you could add hamburger, hot dogs, sausage or serve a peanut butter sandwich on the side. It does lead to a lot of carbs, but it also adds vegetables and protein for a low cost mix and match alternative.

Shop Buy One Get One Sales

Buy one get one sales are a good way to make food stamp money stretch. These sales mean a family can plan a weeks worth of meals and buy two weeks for the price of one. Meal planning is a careful consideration with this type of plan, but it allows for healthier meat or protein options and canned fruits or vegetables. A family of two to three can stretch the food out even further and create healthy options by bulking up on fruits and vegetables during this sale and adding only a few says a week of meat to the meal plan.

Avoid Processed Meal Options

Any frugal website has the famous shop for $30 a week list or something close to it. These lists consist of recipes and food choices that are healthy options to their processed and box food counterparts. The reason these lists are so well received is due to the ability to buy one item and stretch that item between three meals while still remaining healthy. By simply cutting out the processed and boxed items and making the items fresh, one person can drop over 80 grams of sodium or more a day from their diet leading to a healthier lifestyle right away.

These are only a few ideas to help with the healthy food process. Once you are used to shopping the sales, mix and matching items and avoiding processed or boxed meals you will find your own ideas that work for you.