portable protein?

[Guest guest]

I am impressed, this is something that most people would not do, and it shows a

real love for mankind. I like the nuts, but as you say......... How about those

cheese sticks or beef sticks that you see in the checkout counters at stores?

Most poeople love those don't they? MARK

 

Just Dawne <justdawne wrote:Looking for suggestions about a project

my family just started.

In a nutshell - we put together food in lunch bags or ziplock

bags to give to people who approach us asking for spare change.

 

Just to be clear - we know that people need more than just food.

People need a home, job skills, support with addictions, food

[and water!!] and friends. We are not unaware of the need to

give cash. we simply give it to the agencies we feel can best

use that money. my youngest daughter supports our local soup

kitchen weekly with fresh produce and/or baking for them.

 

So far we've bought a large case of bottled water, a big bag of

organic raisins to be split into snack size bags. We have 20

pounds of apples and 10 pounds of clementines. whenever we have

to drive somewhere we'll add the produce to the bags so it is as

fresh as possible. If by some miracle a lot of people don't

need the food bags we'll just eat the produce ourselves and buy

more as needed. I also plan to make pop corn to put into

sandwhich size bags.

 

What I'm wondering is what to do about the protein? I'm not

trying to restart a debate on the merit, or lack of merit, of

protein. I just recognize that most people here believe in the

old-style food pyramid. they don't have the security, money or

luxury to debate the value of the Meditarranean food pyramid vs

raw foods vs...... They are just trying to survive.

 

My first thought was nuts but everyone here is so scent-free and

nut-free which is important but a bit of a shame. so many

places we go we can't bring nuts for our family to eat. and a

few of our friends have nut allergies. [again, not a discussion

on the cause of allergies. they say 'no nuts' and we have to

respect that.] Then I thought about double bagging them and

clearly labeling them. The person could throw it away or give

it away. They don't have to eat it. It would be their choice.

 

We have to keep money in mind, unfortunately, b/c we're a one

income family. All those protein bars and energy bars you see in

health food stores are too expensive. We can't even afford to

buy them for us if we wanted to! I have bought a case of

oraganic fruit leather - " an apple in every bar " - b/c they are

not that pricey.

 

The kids would love nothing more than to make up a trail mix b/c

they enjoy it very much. They typically add dried fruits,

various seeds and nuts. Sometimes pretzels and sometimes dry

cereal like rice or bran flakes for added crunch. It's like a

hobby for them. They're real afficianados now

 

I've thought of baking muffins every so often. Maybe a fruity

recipe with honey and not sugar? Although we are one of the few

families we know of, in this area, who are concerned about

sugar-free baking. I bet the average person you meet on the

street would welcome a homemade muffin that had white sugar in

it. Any thoughts?

 

TIA,

Dawne