[USER]

My food stamps were cut by $300 and my rent was raised so my grocery budget without going negative is now $200 a month for two people who are vegan and diabetic with heart failure and autism/food sensitivities/allergies.

Does anyone have suggestions to stay on budget?

Child won’t eat leftovers because of autism.

[Jacqulyn]

If you need more income find a weekend job to just afford groceries. Also if you don’t tell the child it’s leftovers they won’t know just warm up the food and serve as it’s “freshly” made.

Re purpose it into a new meal.

Like take whole chicken and make soup. Make chicken salad. Chicken tacos. Etc.

[Coco]

Reapply for the FS. Vegan seems fairly easy if you stick to whole foods.

Potatoes, beans, rice, veg, fruit.

[Michelle]

Depending on the age of the child… could you fix a plate before you serve the meal and tell him/her that you made enough for lunch or dinner the next day to save you time?

That way it won’t be perceived as “leftovers”….

[Debra]

If you freeze leftovers it will taste like fresh most food does but not all. I make about $200. A year too much to get food stamps or Medicaid my medicine is over $200.

A month sometimes hundreds more.

[Deidra]

Have chat gpt make you a meal plan on that budget
Put in all your details and specifics
Its amazing

Make sure to put in where you want to shop too
You can even list ingredients you already have

[Jamie]

Lots of veggie soup for the diabetic vegan add brown rice or shiritaki noodles occasionally. Sweet potatoes make stunning house plants and grow easily.

The greens are also edible. For the autistic vegan with food sensitivities add more carbs like white potatoes, beans, and lentils, for variety and protein.

I don’t know who is soy sensitive but most processed foods have soy. Ditch the fake meat and cheese. Celebrate the food you want to eat rather than copy the food you do not want.

Quinoa and chia are good sources of protein. Aldi has both at fairly good prices.

Whole wheat, barley, spelt, and other whole grains are good additions in moderation.

Check out Indian dishes for great vegan recipes without the processed junk.

[Joan]

Leftovers can “look different” where the child won’t know that they’re leftovers once they’re used in a different way.

You can serve hot white rice one night and serve leftover rice the next day as “fried rice” or rice in soup

[Melissa]

Recreate meals out of leftovers and serve a day or 2 later. Almost everything can become a soup.

Contact social services to reassess your food stamps due to rent increase.

Find a way to increase income even if it’s just 4 hours a week.
I used to hire someone 4 hours a week to move freight on the floor.

Another place hired an hour a day to empty garbage and sweep floors. A lady weekly cleans bathrooms for seniors living at home.There are some others.

None of these jobs were regular jobs. These were created by the person requesting work and talking to management.

[Mel]

If your rent was raised and you reported the increase, Your food stamps increase.

You can always take on a side job, babysit, housekeep, dog walker..
Also, sign The disabled child up on SSI.

If the adults are disabled, they should also sign up for SSDI.

If the adults in the home are unmarried, Place each one on their own separate case.

Advise that you Prepare foods separately Due to sensitivity And each person will get their own Food stamp card.
You can also work Remotely.

From home.

[Lauren]

This is really tough. First, please contact your local food pantry. Try to call them or go when they are not busy and explain what type of food you need.

I volunteer at a food pantry.

We are very willing to pull special orders when it’s not busy.

[Joan]

What do you normally eat/buy so we can make suggestions.
You’re diabetic and vegan, so what foods do you typically eat/buy?

Also, why was budget cut? Did your household shrink?

Did your income go up?

There’s often a a reason.

[Cassie]

Save the left overs and make a new dish if possible. Just an example Instead of warmed up spaghetti make baked spaghetti with left overs. Or spaghetti sandwiches on garlic bread.

Get creative so you can use the left overs but its something “new”.

Maybe even wait two days before making the new dish. Or freeze left overs (if possible) and use later.

[Dolly]

Maybe try reinventing the leftovers somehow, so it looks different. Such as, chili one night the next day add noodles or rice and top with cheese.

[Schy]

That’s a BIG cut! I’d contact the food stamps office. Skip prepackaged foods if you can.

Buy things yiu actually have to cook

[Mimi]

Go back to the basics such as dried beans. I have an extremely limited duet due to medical issues and I actually found it less expensive to eat because I’ve removed a lot of unnecessary items from my cart.

I had to find ways to make the basics enjoyable.

It turned out to be a blessing. You got this!

[Patricia]

Agree with everyone saying to update your food benefits reassessed with the rent increase included. My mother has diabetes and congestive heart failure.

She was able to get approved for a prescription meal service. Worth looking into. She used to be on Meals on Wheels.

The new one is so much better.

My oldest is on the spend I totally get the leftover aversion but if I turned components into a completely new dish that worked for him.

Maybe try batch cooking certain items like beans and make rice and beans and later in the week a chile?

We aren’t vegan so I don’t have other examples.

[Kathryn]

Of course the diabetes and HF have to be taken seriously and autism sensitivities but vegan is a lifestyle choice and maybe diet could be altered to make it cheaper

[Kayla]

If you have an Aldi near you, I find my budget stretches more there. Also shop and plan meals around the monthly/weekly sales if you don’t already.

Utilize local food pantries

[Allison]

I find it wrong veg is much cheaper. Without knowing the food allergies/sensitivities it’s hard to advise on meal ideas.

I get it though as someone who cannot do most leftovers it definitely makes it a bit harder.

Can you visit a food bank?

[Amber]

If you reheat meals in toaster oven, oven or air fryer most things don’t taste leftover. For pasta add a little olive oil when reheating and fry lightly in pan on stove top to reheat.

For anything with cheese add extra cheese before reheating.

If the child just doesn’t want to eat the same dinner twice in a row you could save the leftovers and alternate meals at dinner.

If that doesn’t help save leftovers for yourself for lunch.

[Janet]

If using leftovers saves money perhaps you could prepare the foods at the same time but only cook enough each time to serve.

[Lisa]

You can cut portion sizes if you are having leftovers. Use smaller size plates/bowls and the food will look the same size as a bigger plate.

[Author]

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