This looks pretty yummy doesn't it?? Did you know that I can feed this to my fairly large family for less than $5?? That's $5 total, not per person. That's organic beans and rice. There are seven of us in our family - four adults, one teenager, one 10 year old boy who eats like an adult, and one 2 year old boy who also puts it away pretty well.
Less than $5!!!!
Did you know that beans and rice is a complete protein, meaning it contains all of the essential amino acids? It is healthy, it is filling, and it is what a huge part of the world eats as a staple food.
Our family has recently come to realize that while we claim to love orphans, we don't really sacrifice all that much to care for them. Yes, we adopted a precious baby boy - but we certainly haven't suffered any doing that. Yes, we donate money to sponsorship programs, missionary support, and other ministries. Yes, we share needs on our Facebook pages and donate to adoption fundraisers. I'm going to be frank though, we haven't really done anything that has caused us to miss any meals. Recently, my husband and I have decided that we are "all in" now. We are open to whatever God calls our family to do for the least of these. We have decided that it is past time to budget our money a little more carefully and see what we can come up with at the end of the month. This is our first month on a strict budget. The first month where we set aside a sum of money for groceries, gas, extras and said to the kids, "When this is gone, it is gone." They have been troopers. We ordered take out Chipotle for them on Valentine's Day and hubby and I went out. Otherwise, we have eaten all of our meals, snacks, and Starbucks at home. If you don't know us you don't know how huge this is. Too many times because I am lazy and they are whiny I run through the Chik-Fil-A drive through - chicken meals times six is a lot of money wasted.
It has been great. This month we have cooked together more, we have eaten at the dinner table more, we have played more board games instead of going out for frozen yogurt. And you know what? We are really not "suffering" for it. We have still had home made treats, we have still built a fire and roasted marshmallows, we have taken walks and gone on hikes. We have been to the park and the library.
Another thing we recently decided to do is eat beans and rice once a week for supper. Healthy, fresh, and mostly organic food is very important to me. I believe that it does make a difference in long term and short term health and if at all possible, I want to continue to buy it. There are other things I would rather give up. But, it is expensive. In figuring up how much we spend on meals in our house, the amount is pretty significant. I'm not talking about eating out - that amount is ridiculous, but even cooking meals around here can get expensive. It varies depending on what meat we have, but we spend well over $20 just to grill hamburgers. Buy the time we buy the meat, bread, a side, and make guacamole - which is a staple for us on our hamburgers, the price can really add up. Much, much less than taking the family to a restaurant of course, but still not cheap.
So....we have decided that at least once a week - it may end up being twice when I see that grocery bill going down - but, for now, once a week we will eat beans and rice for dinner. Less than $5!!! I am excited just thinking about it. Our plan is to donate $20 to a feeding program for every meal of beans and rice that we eat. We prefer International Voice of the Orphan, but of course it can be anywhere of your choice. This would be a great way to challenge your friends for adoption fundraisers as well. I have heard of people who do this once a week and spread out a blanket outside (weather permitting) and let the kids eat with their hands, the way lots of kids around the world eat. Sounds like fun!!
So, I challenge you - beans and rice once a week, donate to a feeding program like IVO or an adoption fundraiser like my friend Hayden's. Be sure and leave me a comment letting me know that you and your family are participating!
Until They are ALL Home,
No comments:
Post a Comment