Feeling Stuck.

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I’m still here, and I’m making myself post something for me. This whole thing is really for me; to keep my head up, to learn to plan, to map my ideas for survival.

I’ll be honest, though, the last two weeks have been more of a struggle than usual. I don’t want this to turn into a recipe blog, because I don’t cook from recipes. Especially not when I’m struggling. It’s more like: “Find a protein. Find a veggie. Find a starch. Season them until they taste like a real meal.”

Eventually, I’d love to test out weekly meal plans and shopping lists. But for now, since I can’t afford to get to the store, I’m just eating from my pantry (i.e., rice, beans, lentils, frozen fish, whatever frozen veggies I still have, and canned tuna). I’m grateful I can buy staples in bulk when possible– it means I can skip the store for a while and still eat (even if it’s pretty simple).

I’m trying to learn more about nutrition because it’s really important to get the nutrients you need when you’re living on a few dollars a day and eating just one or two meals. Ask me how I know.

Vitamin deficiencies are no joke. The last time I went in for a physical, I had to emphatically request that they check my vitamin D. My gut told me it was low, and I was right. I was severely deficient. Honestly, I was grateful to finally know what was wrong, because I had been in constant pain. My bones hurt. My feet tingled with pins and needles. My hips ached. It was terrifying.

I’ve also dealt with hair loss and other issues I’m pretty sure were from low protein and nutrient intake. After finishing my prescription vitamin D, I started a pretty well-rounded multivitamin. So far, most of the pain and symptoms are gone. I’m still losing hair. But honestly, that could just be stress.

Anyway, I told myself I’d write something here tonight so I don’t lose momentum. I’m stressed. I’m anxious. I’m tired from work. But I’m still trying to hope for the future.

I do my best every day not to give up hope — even when things feel hopeless.

Here’s to tomorrow. ❤️

A Few Dollars To Full: A One-Pan Spell

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Rice, chickpeas, and broccoliLast night was one of those desperation nights where I needed food fast and I was at the end of my last paycheck so didn’t have a lot of options.  Whenever the week ends up like this, one of my cheapest go-to’s is a can of garbanzo beans and a bag of frozen broccoli from good ol’ Walmart.

A 20 lb. bag of Great Value Basmati rice is $17 at my local Walmart, which is a hell of a deal, and is the base of my diet.

So if you’re hungry tonight and you have some rice, some oil or butter, some spices, and around two to three dollars (I paid $2.08 before tax) for a can of beans and a bag broccoli, this is an easy, quick, and filling meal.

 

Easy Chickpea, Broccoli, and Rice One Pan Meal

Rice, chickpeas, and broccoli

This is a cheap, delicious, and easy meal to make when your emotional and financial bandwidth are short.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 16 oz bag frozen broccoli
  • 1 15.5 oz can garbonzo beans / chickpeas
  • 1/2 cup rice
  • 1 Tbs. oil or butter, whatever you have on hand
  • 1 ⅓ cups water
  • Salt and seasonings to taste. I used several pinches of salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and some sumac for some leomony flavor. Have fun with it!

Instructions

  1. Rinse your rice a few times until the water mostly runs clear.
  2. Drain your beans.
  3. Add your beans and rice to a nonstick skillet.
  4. Throw your bag of frozen broccoli in a non stick covered pan, but be careful to not mix it up too much, you want to keep the rice mostly at the bottom of the pan!
  5. Season with oil or butter and your seasonings of choice (I go heavy on the spices.)
  6. Add 1 and 1/3 cups of water.
  7. Heat on medium high until it just starts to come to a boil.
  8. Cover, reduce heat to a low simmer.
  9. Cook for 20 minutes. Fluff and enjoy!

Notes

If you have some chicken, or other meat, I would brown it at the start and then continue with the rest of the recipe— but this isn’t needed! The beans have plenty of protein to make it a complete meal without the meat.  A little cheese or nutritional yeast sprinkled on top makes it even better.  🖖 

Also, you could probably make this in a pot-- but I grew up using a rice cooker and for some reason have never been able to get the hang of making rice in a pot on the stove, one pot meal or otherwise!

© Heather

Hey there!

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We’ll see if anyone reads this, but for right now this is a project I’m doing purely for myself.  Because I’m anxious most days, I feel overwhelmed, overworked, and oh so frustrated.  And, obviously, I’m not the only one.

But I’m almost forty years old and I’ve been finding ways to survive ever since I moved out at twenty-one. Currently I’m struggling to make my meager food budget last without over spending.  It feels like every time I turn around prices are going up and I’m making less than I was a year ago.  

So that’s why I’m starting this.  To hold myself accountable, to put together all the survival skill and meal planning ideas I can find and to test them out.  And maybe, hopefully, to help other girls, women, and people in a similar situation.

This isn’t a mommy blog, sorry not sorry.  I can barely take care of myself, let alone another tiny human. I am a cat lady through-and-through. I am literally a spinster (please ask me about my spinning wheel!)

Well, I guess this is my first scared and timid post on here.  I have a vision for what I want this to be, let’s see if it gets there.  But most importantly, let’s survive.