We just wrapped up our third day of the Hunger Challenge with a fantastic stir fry. Here’s how I made it without the need for fancy preservative-packed specialty sauces:

• 1/2 package firm tofu, drained
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon safflower oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 crown broccoli w/ stem, cut into bite-size pieces (yes, including the stem)
• 1/2 zucchini, chopped
• 3 oz sugar snap peas
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup brown rice

In a small container, mix soy sauce, sugar, and 1 clove garlic. Add cubed tofu, cover with lid, and let marinate for an hour, occasionally flipping the container.

In a medium size sauce pan, add rice and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and ignore for 20 minutes.

In a hot wok, add safflower oil and heat. Add onion and saute for one minute. Add carrot, garlic, and jalapeno. After a minute, add broccoli stems, followed by broccoli, sugar snap peas, and zucchini. Saute until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add tofu and marinade mixture, saute until vegetables are coated and tofu is heated through. Serve over hot rice.

Happily, I feel better about using a wider variety of vegetables today. For breakfast, we had an egg, a pear, and a slice of bread. Lunch was leftover red beans and rice (which has gained a nice zesty flavor from sitting in the fridge due to the hot Italian turkey sausage). For snack, I had an orange. Fruit, vegetables, carbs, and protein. I think we did fairly well today.

The last two breakfasts this week will consist of (rolled) oatmeal. Not very imaginative, but good for us. We have a bit of fruit for snacks. Lunch will be leftovers. Dinner either Thursday or Friday will be spaghetti with homemade pasta (using our last egg and a cup of flour), marinara sauce, and the rest of the vegetables we didn’t use in the stir fry (broccoli, yellow onion, garlic, zucchini, and red bell pepper).

Total spent so far is a whopping $54.50. That leaves us with $5.50. I was thinking I could pick up some cheese to use in a salad with the spaghetti. We have one small pear left, so maybe I can afford a wedge of blue cheese. We only have oil, salt, and pepper to make salad dressing with, so I’ll likely skip the dressing entirely (which is what I typically do anyway).

I am curious how much everyone typically spends on their weekly groceries. On a good week, we average about $100 (including alcohol) for our household of 2, though we occasionally feed friends. I tend to try out new recipes fairly often and we do love our cheese, so some weeks we blow the budget. My husband mentioned yesterday that he heard of a woman who can feed her family of 4 on $800 a year, I believe using coupons and very careful planning. That is $15 a week. *whistles*