Food Stamps Should Not Pay For Junk Food

Using food stamps to buy sodas, teas, sports drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages would not be allowed in New York City under a new government effort to battle obesity. (Oct. 7)

Expand the description and view the text of the steps for this how-to video. Check out Howcast for other do-it-yourself videos from Stabbey and more videos in the Grocery Shopping category. You can contribute too! Create your own DIY guide at http://www.howcast.com/videos/new or produce your own Howcast spots with the Howcast Filmmakers Program at http://www.howcast.com/filmmakers/apply. Sure, junk food offers lots of calories for not much money. But you can create your own "happy" meals that are tasty, nutritious, and inexpensive. To complete this How-To you will need: Oatmeal Evaporated or powdered milk Frozen and canned vegetables Seasonal fruits Bananas Apples Air popper and corn kernels Nuts Inexpensive cuts of meat Peanut butter Eggs Chunk light tuna Beans Brown rice Baking skills A Crock-Pot Step 1: Start with hot cereal Start the day with a hot cereal; they're much cheaper than cold cereals. Oatmeal is a nutritional winner and very inexpensive if you buy a container of plain, old-fashioned oatmeal. Step 2: Stretch your milk Stretch your milk dollars by diluting a can of evaporated milk or some powdered milk with water to create whole milk. Step 3: Stock up on frozen veggies Stock up on frozen vegetables when they go on sale. Unless your produce was just picked, it's just as healthy — or even more so — to eat the frozen stuff, which locks in the nutrients. Tip: Canned vegetables are another cheap alternative to fresh, but rinse them before eating because many are loaded with salt. Step 4: Eat fruits in season Limit your fruit purchases to whatever is in season, the exception being bananas and apples. The former are relatively inexpensive year-round, and the latter are low in calories, high in fiber, and may reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer. Step 5: Snack happy Enjoy healthy snacks without spending a fortune by air popping corn kernels and buying nutritious nuts like almonds, walnuts, pecans, and peanuts. Buy in bulk. Step 6: Limit meat consumption Only eat meat two or three times a week, and make cheap meats as tender and tasty as pricier cuts by marinating them overnight or slow-cooking them in a Crock-Pot. Step 7: Eat alternative proteins Make the most of alternative sources of protein, like peanut butter, eggs, chunk light tuna (which is not only the cheapest kind of tuna, but also contains the least mercury), and beans. Tip: Buy bagged beans in bulk — the kind you soak overnight. They're cheaper and healthier than canned beans, which are high in sodium. Step 8: Eat brown rice Eat brown rice. It's a bit pricier than white, but much better for you and still a nutritional bargain. Step 9: Indulge in dessert Indulge in desserts by making them from scratch using nutritious ingredients that you have on hand. Bake your own oatmeal and peanut butter cookies; mash and freeze overripe bananas for "ice cream"; bake bruised apples with a little honey. Thanks for watching How To Feed Your Family Healthy Meals on a Tight Budget! If you enjoyed this video subscribe to the Howcast YouTube channel! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=howcast

UPDATE!!! The Universalist Church of Athens and Sheshequin, Pa have stared a "FEED-A-FRIEND" project to supply home grown produce to local familes in need. you can contact them at 570 888 0252 or email them at minister@athensuuc.org or visit www.athensuuc.org. Good for them.. If you know of any other churches please list them here. FEEDING THE HUNGRY IS OUR MORAL DUTY. GIVING THEM FOOD WHICH CAUSES THEM HARM IS WRONG AND EVIL. WE NEED TO KEEP THE HUNGRY AS HEALTHY AS WE CAN.. BECAUSE TAKING CARE OF THEIR SICKNESS IS EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE. Almost 33 Million people use "food stamps" now mostly plastic debit cards. please thank governor Tim Pawlenty for his attempt to stop food stamp money being used for junk food. email him at tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us or call 651 296 3391 or 800 657 3717 or fax using faxzero.com for free.. 651 296 2089 We need more people like this.. The junk food industry won a major victory yesterday, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture rejected a petition that it enforce its own competitive foods rule, which prohibits public schools from selling foods of minimal nutritional value during mealtimes in school cafeterias. The rule was designed to promote the health of school children, but enforcement today is lax to non-existent. In the petition, Commercial Alert requested simply that the USDA enforce the rule as written. But the USDA has said No. Stanley C. Garnett, director of USDAs Child Nutrition Division, wrote to Commercial Alert that At this time, we do not intend to undertake the activities or measures you recommended in your petition. It is outrageous that the USDA is refusing to enforce its own rules against selling junk food in public schools, said Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert. They have turned their back on American children, who are suffering from an epidemic of obesity. The USDAs decision comes just days after the Justice Department slashed the penalty it seeks in a lawsuit against the tobacco industry from $130 billion to $10 billion. The big question is.. at what income lever would the states tell the poor not to purchase lottery tickets!!! Ask them..