I thought I’d wrap up my experience with Hunger Action Week with a report card and and a link to a delicious, inexpensive recipe I should have made: potato leek soup.

First, the report card: I give myself an A for Awareness and a C- for staying within the parameters of the challenge.

My first mistake was not including Jon in the menu planning process. He has a lot of experience eating on a budget from his bachelor days, and offered to help, but I didn’t want to cede control of the kitchen. Instead, I planned out our menus for the week and focused on choosing recipes that had plenty of vegetables, used whole grains, represented a variety of culinary traditions, and were inexpensive. The only problem? I forgot to think about how much time they would take to cook and how we actually live.

For instance, our mornings are always hectic, with Jon running to the door to catch the bus at the last moment. On Sunday evening, I had the grand idea of making a huge pot of quinoa flavored with orange zest, nuts, and dried cranberries. My idea was we would just reheat it in the morning. A good plan in theory, except that you can’t just grab a bowl of quinoa and go. So I ended up eating breakfast at home and poor Jon either skipped or scrounged up something at work. I should have made muffins. That way Jon could have left the house with something homemade in hand.

I also did not add bread into my menu plan. I instantly regretted this on Monday evening when I was tired, cranky and just wanted to make a sandwich and call it good, but instead had to make a sweet potato tart, including homemade crust.  We didn’t end up eating until almost 9:00, two hours later than normal.

Our most successful meal was a huge bowl of bowtie pasta (on sale for only 2.29!) tossed with butter, garlic, lots of kale, white beans, and lemon. This dish came together quickly and it was healthy. Plus, it made so much we had it for dinner on Wednesday and Thursday. If only I had planned for more meals like that!

Even though we ended up not sticking exactly to the budget, I don’t feel like the Challenge was a total failure. The idea behind Hunger Action week is to raise awareness about hunger and the real challenge it presents to the people who experience it. Creating healthy meals on a $63.00 budget, especially without the benefit of a stocked pantry or a big garden, requires persistence, and creativity, and a lot of planning. It should also receive a great deal of respect, especially from those of use who are fortunate enough to have plenty of healthy food to eat.

Jon has offered to do the challenge again in a few weeks—and this time I’ll let him do the planning, the shopping, and even the cooking. I’ll let you know how it goes!