The irony of it all.
My face still hurts from laughing so hard. Watching our project get sandwiched between Brittany’s birthday bash, and a walrus forced to play the saxophone was beyond funny. In a blinged-out bra battle, where shiny people give the bewildered herd one more distraction (keeping the masses intellectually anemic), irony stood up and demanded laughter.
After close to five hours of filming, which included an in-depth interview concerning poverty, nutrition and global issues, our “story” was reduced to a fluff piece with dramatic rhetorical questions; leaving nothing for the viewer to hold onto except the next piece of popcorn.
But it was fun.
Yet, the smile begins to fade when you consider that over 26,500 children died today from poverty related causes. Most of them preventable.
We didn’t do this experiment to “make a statement”, but through all of this we have injected ourselves into some important conversations. Even now, two months after the fact, we continue to learn from the experience, and are hungry for more.
If you watched tonight, we’d like to say “thanks”. Not just for weathering a full-frontal assault on your intelligence, but for being smart enough to laugh at the outrageous and support us anyway. Special thanks to our friend Krista for letting us invite ourselves over for a free meal and access to cable.
– Christopher
P.S. If you missed it, click here.
One Dollar Diet Project 
your articles are interesting and so useful for me. Thank you for sharing great information.
How do I subscribe to your blog? For some reason, the web developer in me cannot find a way…
hey there – I’m jetlagged and up early and just watched your segment on Fox. FASCINATING and timely.
I too started cutting back when I returned from an overseas trip a few weeks ago and saw the economy in a worse state than when I left. Former colleagues have lost their jobs, my bills have piled up, my son wants a few things for christmas, and I have no work lined up for January (I’m a consultant).
Some other tips for you, to save and maybe add variety and nutrition:
1. eggs: great source of protein, and often a 2 for 1 at the local safeway (up here in norcal)
2. lentils: popular in south asian cuisine..cook it up like a soup with some salt, red chili, turmeric and add some butter..very satisfying with some rice
3. rice rice rice: brown for more nutrition..goes a longer way than bread
4. frozen vegetables: always stock up when they’re on sale..green beans, spinach
5. large squash like butternut, spaghetti: I roast one whole then portion out sections for consumption at a later date; can do something simple like top with butter or mix in spices, dredge in corn flour and pan fry (for the spaghetti squash)
6. small amounts of lamb, pork, beef for flavor: rice beans can get on your nerves after a while, so keep some meat handy to flavor it up
7. tofu: from asian groceries..MUCH cheaper
8. fresh produce: again, asian groceries..green vegetables..just sautee w/ garlic
9. apples: really one a day is great for you and they keep well in the fridge
10. bananas: if on sale, buy them but don’t let them go bad
11. coffee/latte fix: no starbucks..I’ve started using nescafe, soymilk (my preference, you can use regular)..dilute the nescafe in a few tablespoons of hot water, heat up your milk, pour milk in a glass jar w/ lid and space at top and shake vigorously w/ a towl over it…….pour the hot milk into diluted coffee, then foam on top..voila!
anyway, I’ll be watching your blog for more tips…I think this is a great exercise
I just watched an online clip of your story. I think your experiment is really important politically, even if you aren’t doing it with that intention. There ARE many people who live this way throughout the world, even in the abundant state of California, and as the eating healthy movement turns elitist, it’s important to remember that our food system still prevents many people from affording healthy food. I just graduated college and a third of my small income goes to buying food.
I live in Santa Cruz and I think your experiment could be done and still include more fresh fruits and vegetables. Here, when neighbors have a surplus of persimmons on their tree, they sometimes put a free box full out on the curb or advertise on Freecycle (an online community where free things are offered and asked for). That way, the excess actually gets eaten rather than thrown away. Who knows, there might be some delicious avocados there in Encinitas just waiting for you to find them!
Good luck!
Hail the intellectual. The best part of your idea is that it is essential to influence those young people that they have a fare chance to health in the major world of shopping. We often consider that the business is interesting and essential. Yet the environment must be pristene for the yogi of
the future as well. The stress of competition for the top vitamins built into the competition. It is not as interesting as one finds in studies like yours.
The mass producers like myself have a need for you to see that shopping is a blur and is also that
constant problem will never go in general. In our world though the competitors for teaching have a
right to good supplies even in the realms of those that are in the principle like arabian no cash all trade oil. The american freedom way needs your message in the antigouging causes. Better business bureaus may be helpful for news on action.
Just saw your story on fox and came to check out your blog. Just this month I taught a 4-H program on world hunger issues it is called AU War on Hunger. I did teach that many live on <$1/day. Here in rural Al. many people save on groceries by gardening and canning fruits and vegetables. Great job sticking with it for a full month. I’ll check back regularly.
I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about your food experience knowing that in spite of the fluff manner it was reported media you brought a needful subject to the forefront once again.
Poverty, hunger and a host of other miserable human conditions would be solved if more people learned of and gave signatory support to the WUF Worldwide United Foundation plan http://wwunited.org Check it out and see what you think.
Thanks for sharing.
You should get a physical before and after your experiment. I do not think that your diet was too incredibly healthy, as far as getting all your minerals and vitamines in, but in this fast-food economy, whose is? Anyway, I recently had a physical and found I was very low on Vitamin D. I had limited myself on the dairy products due to their high prices. However, you can get the vitamin from so many other things. Also, the lack of certain minerals in a diet sometimes inhibits the body from absorbing other essential vitamins and minerals, so that is also something worth looking into. The body is certainly a complicated chemical processing plant!
There are many people who could benefit from all the surplus we have here in America. Unfortunately the dictators & leaders of starving countries don’t want their people to have any surplus because as long as they are busy trying to survive from day to day they are not going to complain about no education. With education comes the questions, with questions comes demands for better treatment of the people. When the leaders, presidents, dictators of those countries stop keeping all the food and money meant for the people through donations (that they give to the military) and give up their palaces with gold fixtures and other excesses will the donations and help from America and the other first world countries actually get through to the people that really need it. I wonder just how much we donate to the starving children we see on TV actually receive any help. Change the corrupt governments and we can make a difference in many poverty stricken families around the world!
Hi –
I, too, just saw the Fox News clip on Yahoo! News and found it very interesting, however, the whole time I was listening I was wondering why you didn’t use any eggs for protein or eat any apples or oranges or anything.
This is a really fascinating project and I’m glad you’re teachers, so maybe can help to enlighten your students and the movement may even spread to the families of your students and further.
We in America seem to have lost the ability to eat properly in a country where that should be easy. Do you plan to make a garden part of your spring project? Maybe the school can give your classes allotments or something. Remember the Victory gardens of the 1940’s?
And I agree with all the suggestions from Rita B. above.
Although our family is not on any type of “diet”, our daughter is a vegetarian and my husband and I eat very little meat, due to our ethical position on killing animals for food. But we eat lots of eggs and cheese and veggies and various beans, lentils and different types of rice, for variety. Homemade soups and chili (vegetarian) and nice in the winter. And we always have fresh fruit and nuts for snacking, especially apples, oranges and bananas.
Also, in the last couple of years our family has been fortunate enough to move to a more rural setting and we immediately purchased a few chicks – females only – to raise for their eggs. It’s been a rewarding experience. Do you think the school would let you raise hens?
Hopefully, you’ll bring a major awareness to younger people who think a meal comes in a bag from McDonald’s.
I think it’s great what you’re doing! Keep it up. And I’ll definitely be reading the blogs and waiting for the book.
I just saw your video as I was eating a lunch based on lentil sprouts. Sproutes fit right into your $1 budget and with a little salt and dressing are delicious. Most importantly, they are more nutritious than most of what you guys ate. In fact, they may be the healthiest food there is in terms of protein, fiber and living nutrients. Using two large sprouting jars I have a constant supply to help support my dynamic lifestyle.
LOL
Seriously? Now that we’ve shown you how to save your money and be frugal, we’re going to now rub it in your face by showing you America’s Most Hated Sweetheart squander her millions on a birthday party for herself!
>>groan<<
“over 26,500 children died today from poverty related causes.”
that statement got to me. it’s sad how some people have so much and some have so little. 😦
if you have the time, perhaps you can visit this site: http://freerice.com/
it’s sort of a game, and for every correct answer you get, the United Nations donates 20 grains of rice to the World Food Program. 20 grains may not seem like much, but if more and more people are playing on the site, then it’s bound to grow into a substantial amount. perhaps you can even blog about this to increase awareness. just a suggestion.
Candi; when you refer to corrupt governments don’t forget to include the USA.
Great experiment! The information on this and upcoming experiments can be useful to know the minimum cost of nutritious meals per day. This will be valuable information for meal programs in inner city schools, food banks, and homeless shelters to provide healthy meals. Just imagine if other professionals such as nutritionists, chefs, agriculturists, etc., would add to your efforts, we can be a lot closer to solving hunger and obesity issues here in the states.
Thank you, this motivates me to eat healthier and watch my food expenses. Also this reminds me of many less fortunate people that struggle to eat healthy daily.
Michael
I’m a journalist (former) and this sounds right…give the public just enough to make them tune in so the station makes $$$, but not enough info to depress them (they might change channels), educate them or tell them how they can help. Yup. That’s the media all right!!!
In case you didn’t notice, major media doesn’t really care how many children die or who starves unless there’s a way to make it sell papers…sorry…it’s why I left journalism. GREAT idea and blog! I’m glad it’s here!!
It may be true, but I see most adults collecting food stamps and going to food banks appearing to be overweight in the USA. Maybe we are the “only” country in the world that those on the poverty level are fat. Interesting, I say. I hear the excuse that they only can afford “fast food”. Maybe. But, they don’t have to wolf down 5 tacos. How about eating 1. It is not what you eat that makes you fat. Is how many calories you put away.