Beans and rice experiment - checking in at the midpoint

We made it this far (day 5) in our experiment week of eating only beans and rice, mangoes, so I thought I'd give you the highlights (and low points so far).

• It started getting hard yesterday. It's really hard today. Derek is "so over it" and I had to text a buddy for some encouragement when I came home from the pool hungry and tired and just wanting a snack. I'm pretty sure someone described needing to scrape the beans off the spoon at breakfast time.
• I'm realizing how rarely I feel hungry. Thanks to my usual, "the healthy snack", I normally just snack, beat the hunger and move on. This happens every day around 10 am and again around 4pm. I sure have missed those snacks!
• It's taken a few days to try to train myself to stop and pray when I feel hungry pains. My first reaction is grumpiness. My goodness, it is hard to be cheerful when you are hungry. How blessed I am to not be hungry on a regular basis and to not be truly hungry even now!
• I've enjoyed praying more for the children and people in Léogâne. Yesterday, my prayer thought I shared with Derek in the afternoon was this: "The Haitian Mamas in the orphan village have 8 to 10 kids each and eat 2 meals! I'm hungry on my 3 meals, tired from the heat and chasing my 3 kids, seeing much more work ahead of me this evening. And they do so much more! Lord, give me the strength to keep working hard and being a good wife and mom. Please help the village Mamas to do the same knowing they are working for you. 
• I'm not tired of the taste of the red beans and rice. Man, it's delicious! Especially when I make this recipe I found, substituting onion for shallot and cooking with half a fresh jalapeno floating in it.  I'm hungry enough by the time it's meal time again, I'm very thankful to have the beans and rice. (That being said, it's still a strange taste for breakfast).
• In 2004, Derek and I vacationed in Costa Rica, where they served black beans and rice alongside scrambled eggs every morning for breakfast. I joked then that black beans and rice is the only food I think I could eat every single day. How ironic! I'm pretty sure it's the only food I've ever said that about.

• I'm glad I included black coffee. I don't drink nearly as much coffee when I'm not loving the taste. But, I'm so thankful that caffeine detox headaches were not part of this program. I've felt pretty low on energy these last few days.Not sure if that's just busy summer + getting ready to move or if the reduction in calories is affecting me too.
• If I deprive myself of food this much, it's easy to find delight in a simple food once you get it back. Or in mangoes. I'm thankful for their sweet juiciness that is like a dessert at the end of my meal.
• Baby Mia is too funny. If I give her anything different to eat and then eat my rice and beans in front of her, she just grunts and complains until I give her beans and rice too. Same with mangoes. So, she was the only one not needing to participate, and she's had beans and rice and mangoes for well, uh, part of every meal so far.
• It has been really hard for Kaley but I also think it has really sunk in. She was not able to keep having it for breakfast (made it 2 days!) and she doesn't like mango so we subbed in bananas (which she didn't like but now she does, so that's a big win!) At dinner, Kaley listed what 7 food she would choose for a week: pizza, ice cream, pancakes, french toast, cookies, steak, and bacon I'm pretty sure were her list. Let's just say beans and rice didn't make the top 7.
• Amaris doesn't complain, she just eats slow. She really likes the mangoes too. She really likes to pray for the kids in Haiti and this has been a good reminder to do so more. She is counting down to pizza night, I must say! Each night Amaris will say "I can't believe the people in Haiti survive eating only this all the time"
• What a privilege to share this experience with our kids! I've been honest about our reactions overall, but I have to say I could not be more PROUD of them!

• Beans and rice is cheap! My grocery runs have been so EASY! Rice, beans, onion, jalapeno, milk. Check and done! Each batch of beans and rice costs me $2 to make and feeds our whole family 2 meals or lasts one day of the experiment (because we're eating different amounts at different times). Each mango is roughly $1 and we've gone through about 2 per day. Wow! Not sure yet the total amount we've saved to donate to Haiti yet but this is sure a way to make room in our budget.
• I've been so encouraged by the friends who have done a meal or meals along with me and shared their thoughts to encourage us. Thank you! I'm also thankful for my bible study group members who each did their own version of food-change fast this past week. If you haven't joined us yet, please consider it for a meal. It's such a tangible way to talk with your family about needy children in Haiti, carve out a little extra money that can go a long way in Haiti, and gain an increased appreciation for what we have!
• I'd like to find a way to incorporate the rice and beans in a more limited way into our regular diet. Not sure what that looks like yet. We may need some time off before we decide how. 
• This is going to end after only 6 days. We have a fridge, freezer, and pantry with too much perishable food to finish before we move. If I buy beans and rice for a 7th day but throw away other expensive food in the end, then I think I missed the point.

Red beans and rice, anyone?

Starting Sunday, our family is going to do a 7-day red beans and rice experiment. The orphans living at Eben Ezer Léogâne and many Haitian children eat this for their 2 meals a day, every single day. So, for a week we’ll eat red beans and rice, with a side of mango slices, for every meal. Even starting out, we’re more privileged than most since we’ll have 3 meals. We’ll modify this for our kids, tentatively 2 meals of beans and one “other” meal for Kaley (her choice) and 1 dinner of beans and 2 “other” meals for Amaris, but we’re excited to have them participate in such a tangible lesson and learn along with us.

Why are we doing this? Well, we have 3 main reasons, and we’re praying that God uses this time to really work in our own family.

First, we want to develop a deeper appreciation for the trials of children in Haiti. The other day, I got fed up during a typical grocery run with my 3 kids, particularly when we missed an item and had to back track and again when I had to fit the groceries into my already-full fridge after I got home tired. Seriously, upset about too much food? I could certainly use some additional perspective. We are so blessed by the variety of foods we eat on a regularly basis. You probably know well that Derek and I love our food, especially our weekend treats like pizza. This will be very tangible for our children too, and I’m so glad that they can participate. As a family project, we talk often with them about the children in Haiti, but they have little context for what life is really like there. And truly I have little context too.

Second, in the spirit of a fast, we want to make reminders and make room for God to strengthen our prayer lives for these children in Léogâne  Our daily routine revolves around our meals. Often if I’m not in the middle of eating it, I’m thinking about what I’m going to eat next or making menus for the next grocery run. Simplifying our food down to no choice, just beans, will provide ample reminders and extra time to pray. Not to mention the tangible reminder to pray when my stomach growls between meals, which I assure you it will after being used to multi-food meals and frequent snacks. As we do this, we’ll continue to post prayer requests through our Facebook page, so that you can pray along with us.

Third, we want to turn around and use the money we save to donate to the children in Léogâne. I don’t know about you but sometimes it seems like our budget is already “full”, not just in the giving category but in all categories, so that when a request for donation comes along, I’m stuck, even if I’m truly interested. If you identify with this, here’s how you can help. Beans and rice is cheap. I saw a box in Target yesterday (Zatarains brand) for $1.65 which makes 4 servings. Making it at home is cheap too, (though I haven’t totaled the amount yet). We’ll keep track of the groceries we’re not buying and restaurants we’re not eating at and give that money directly to support the children in Léogâne.

What are the stakes? Some families in Léogâne can barely afford to feed their children or send them to school. The money we’re raising to support the church-led school in Léogâne will allow the children in these situations to have the food and schooling they need, and hopefully keep the family together so that no orphan-ing occurs. For the 60 orphans living in the village who eat 2 meals a day right now, there is a benefit as well. When they go to the fully-funded school, they will receive a meal there, their 3^rd of the day. The spiritual food from the teaching about the Grace of Jesus Christ that all these children will receive at the school is of even greater worth! $20 is about the cost for one of these children to go to school and receive a meal for a whole month. Would you trade your one meal or few meals for their month of them?

Will you consider joining us sometime this month? It doesn't have to be a full week of beans and rice to make an impact. Consider one of these options or create your own:

·         Pick a meal you would eat out and eat beans and rice at home instead. Talk with your family about children in Haiti by reading our blog or looking at pictures from this site. Trade your $20, $30 or $50 you would have spent at the restaurant by making a one time donation here

·         Pick a day, a meal period for a week, or a single meal to change from your normal fare to just beans and rice. Pray for the children in Léogâne and the church and the school. Tell your family why you are doing it. Tally your savings and share them with Haiti

·         Get with your small group or Sunday school class to have a red beans and rice fellowship meal where multiple people bring beans and rice. Talk about Haiti’s needs and how your group can get involved

·         Pray for us and more importantly for the children in Léogâne all next week as you sit down to eat your normal meal, remembering the blessing of variety you have.

Here’s the link to the Haitian red beans and rice recipefrom Allrecipes that I have tried, and here is a link to a simplified version (onions instead of shallots, etc) also. I’m going to practice this week with a crock-pot version (again, the first try was pretty watery) and I’ll post it too, in case you want to make a large amount more easily. If you don’t feel like cooking, you can buy some boxes at the store and make the exact same impact.

I’ll keep you posted on how our week is going next week too.

PS. I didn't come up with this idea on my own. It mostly comes from the book 7 by Jen Hatmaker, which is the most impactful book I've read in years. I also found a blog from a family who had done something similar here when I was looking for recipes.