Caroline Thiede

LTC Experience

Document 1

What I eat in a typical day:

Breakfast
● ½ cup oatmeal
● 2 tbsp peanut butter
● 1 small banana
● Coffee with splash of soy milk
Lunch
● Salad
○ Romaine and spinach, red onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, mozzarella cheese, 2
hard boiled eggs, avocado
○ Balsamic vinegar and olive oil
Dinner
● 3/4 cup white rice
● 8 shrimps
● 1 cup green beans
● Soy sauce and sriracha

Snacks
● 1 cup plain greek yogurt with mixed berries
● 1 RX bar
● 1 serving of popcorn
Document 2

Breakfast
● ½ cup oatmeal: ~$0.27/serving
● 2 tbsp peanut butter: ~$0.29/serving
● 1 small banana: ~$0.2/serving
● Coffee: 0.97/serving
TOTAL: $1.73/serving

Lunch
● Salad
○ Romaine: ~$0.67/serving
○ Spinach: ~$0.25/serving
○ Red onion: ~$0.63/serving
○ Tomatoes: $1.00/serving
○ Bell peppers: ~$0.83/serving
○ Mozzarella cheese: ~$1.87/serving
○ 2 hard boiled eggs: ~$0.82/serving
○ Avocado: ~$0.83/serving
○ Balsamic vinegar and olive oil: ~$0.39/serving
TOTAL: $7.29/serving

Dinner
● 3/4 cup white rice: ~$0.12/serving
● 8 shrimps: ~$2.09/serving
● 1 cup green beans: ~$0.96/serving
● Soy sauce and sriracha: ~$0.18/serving
TOTAL: $3.35/serving

Snacks
● 1 cup plain greek yogurt: ~$1.67/serving
● Mixed berries: ~$0.68/serving
● 1 RX bar: ~$1.95/serving
● 1 serving of popcorn: ~$0.67/serving
TOTAL: $4.97/serving

Total for the day = $17.34/day

Document 3

Food Price per serving Notes/feelings

Breakfast ½ cup oatmeal $0.27 Feeling okay in terms of

2 tbsp peanut butter $0.15 hunger levels -- not
1 small banana $0.20 good without usual cup
of coffee in the morning
TOTAL $0.62
(headache and tired)

Lunch ½ cup chickpeas $0.25 Feeling okay after this

2 oz whole grain $0.19 meal, wish I could have
pasta had cheese with it and
would have probably
½ cup sauce $0.60
eaten a larger serving
½ cup frozen veggies $0.50
TOTAL
$1.54

Dinner ½ cup frozen veggies $0.22 Hungry for dinner, still

¾ cup white rice have headache due to
2 eggs $0.12 lack of coffee
Made and ate dinner
3 tbsp peanuts $0.50
around 6:00, started to
Soy sauce and $0.19 feel hungry again
sriracha $0.18 around 8
TOTAL Rather than staying up
$1.21 and finishing work
decided to go to sleep
at 9:30

Snacks 1 serving baby $0.34 Had both snacks

carrots between lunch and
1 serving granola $0.53 dinner because I was
feeling pretty hungry
1 cup skim milk $0.21
TOTAL $1.08

TOTAL FOR THE

DAY:
$4.45
Document 4

A. What was your estimated total food cost for your 24-hour recall? How did it measure
up against the typical SNAP benefit of $5.50?
My estimated total food cost for my 24-hour recall was $17.34/day which is more than
three times as much as the typical SNAP benefit of $5.50. I was very surprised to see how much
my total intake adds up to when calculating the price of each serving of food.

B. Discuss how easy or difficult it was to find the foods you needed to “fit” into your
budget
It definitely took some trial and error before I was able to find meals and snacks that I
could fit into my $4.50 budget. The majority of my $/serving spent in my typical diet was from my
lunch, dinner, and snacks. I was surprised to find that my breakfast, which I actually do eat
every day, had a very low price per serving excluding that coffee. By using a different brand of
peanut butter and getting rid of the coffee, I was able to have that same breakfast for only
$0.62/serving. My most expensive items from my typical diet were fresh produce, cheese, eggs,
shrimp, greek yogurt, and the RX bar. In order to fit my budget, I had to let go of the majority of
these items. For the eggs, I went with a cheaper brand that I don’t usually prefer. While I
typically eat a salad packed with a lot of items for lunch, I decided going with a higher
energy-dense lunch with chickpeas and whole wheat pasta would keep me more satiated and it
was a lot more budget friendly as well.

C. Discuss your ability to offer yourself a balanced diet with a variety of foods. Were
there foods you needed to select more often, less often?
Since I am pescatarian, I typically rely on getting my protein through nuts/seeds, eggs,
cheese, yogurt, and a serving of fish or shrimp per day. I found it very difficult to include any of
my “staple” foods into this budget. I also try to include as much fresh produce as I can, but for
both lunch and dinner I settled on including a serving of frozen vegetables to get my
micronutrients in. I was able to keep my breakfast and dinner pretty similar to my typical meals,
however, the components of my lunch were quite different. Overall I tried to keep the same
amount of carbohydrates, protein, and fats that I typically eat, but I think the micronutrients is
what suffered the most. I ended up selecting foods that would keep me satiated rather than
include foods that provided me with the most balanced diet.

D. Discuss your ability to offer yourself the correct portion sizes?

Overall I think I was able to offer myself the correct portion sizes for each of my meals,
however, I noticed throughout the day that usually, if I am still hungry or didn't feel completely
satisfied from my meal or snack, I will eat more. This was something that I was continuously
reminded about throughout this experience because all of the foods in my meal plan was the
total amount of food I was able to afford. I wasn’t able to eat more if I felt hungry because I had
already spent my budget. I found this to be the most eye-opening part of this entired experience.

E. Discuss how you felt eating this amount of food? Did it satisfy you? What
components of your current intake were you missing the most? Discuss doing this
 for one day versus doing this for months or years, noting what you believe would be
two or three significant nutrition/health outcomes for an individual.
Overall I felt okay, but definitely hungry and restricted compared to how I normally feel
on my regular diet. I especially found myself missing the typical foods that I eat and wishing that
I could go back and have some more food, or another snack, etc. Like I mentioned earlier, by
the end of the day I was feeling tired and a bit hungry and just decided to go to sleep rather than
stay up and do some work. I think that maybe over the course of the day I did feel my energy
and productivity somewhat affected by what I ate. I think if I were to continue to eat off of $4.50
for an extended period of time my body may start to become slightly deficient in some
micronutrients. Additionally, my energy levels would most likely continue to deplete. I would be
most concerned about the reduced amount of calories and protein that I would be consuming
which would likely lead to unwanted weight loss and loss of muscle.