Poor Boy's Kitchen

Interview Video

2012-01-18T00:13:00.001-08:00

Food Not Bombs - Las Vegas from Michael Zayas on Vimeo.

Jack in the Box Has Inexpensive Meals

2011-11-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

Jack in the Box $2.99 Breakfast Platter

By Cliff Harrison

McDonald's isn't the only fast-food on the block. In fact, on the corner of E. Desert Inn Road and McLeod Dr., where I shot this photo of the Jack in the Box Breakfast Platter there is a McDonald’s right across the street.

McDonald’s Big Breakfast used to include two slices of bacon and sausage for just under $5. Then some stores started taking one slice of bacon away and snapping the single slice in half. I complained about that sneaky stuff. Since that time well over a year ago, the Big Breakfast has reduced the amount of food you get and have increased in price.

As this photo shows, I not only purchased a Jack in the Box Breakfast Platter--only $2.99 with your choice of bacon or sausage--but also added a Breakfast Jack (99 Cents) and a delicious cup of Hawaiian grown Kona Classic® Coffee with senior discount and sales tax and the total price was less than $5.

Breakfast Platter $2.99, Breakfast Jack $.99 & a Sr. Coffee $.50

After fasting for lab work I was hungry and since I can’t eat this kind of meal at home anymore due to health reasons I treat myself once in awhile to a delicious meal out.

The Breakfast Platter consists of a hearty breakfast of scrabbled eggs and bacon (or sausage), hash browns, mini-pancakes and premium Log Cabin® maple syrup. More than a hearty meal and very filling.

Without the Breakfast Jack, but with the coffee and tax, the meal still would have been only around $3.77, well under $4.

It didn’t break the bank to add the breakfast sandwich to destroy the hunger pangs I walked in with--only an extra 99 cents.

Hey, it’s legal to splurge once in awhile, especially after being on a strict diet. Even foods that are not considered all that healthy are okay as long as you consume them in moderation and factor in your total daily allowance with the remaining meals of the day.

When you are hungry and homeless or living in the shadows of poverty, the menus on the value meal boards at fast-food joints can be your best friend.

Despite record profits, McDonald’s continues to raise prices while most Americans are struggling to scrape together enough pennies to buy just one more meal.

I used to be a big fan of McDonald’s. I used to eat there regularly. Almost daily, in fact, when I was homeless. I’ve got the AAA scars and stent implant to prove it. But like OWS protesters are now boycotting big banks like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, I’m conducting my own mini protest of McDonald’s for forgetting just who made them into the conglomerate they now are.

I do that mini protest peacefully and quietly, enjoying mini pancakes at Jack in the Box while looking across the street at my old hangout, McDonald‘s. Did I say delicious mini pancakes?

A church group or a group of charity humanitarians can feed a dine-in crowd of 20 poor people for less than $100 and include coffee.

And nobody makes a better cup of coffee than the U.S.A. grown Kona Classic® that Jack in the Box serves. Nobody!

This article was also published in Homeward Bound.

Kick Starting of Poor Boy's Kitchen to Come Soon

2011-01-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

Spring Break Is Over With
By Cliff Harrison

Spring break is over with, so is summer break, fall break and winter break . Poor Boy's Kitchen will be kick started soon, hopefully this week. My homelessness is over with, so no longer will I have the interruptions and defeats that I had while I was living on the streets or couch surfing up and down Vegas.

Living in poverty doesn't mean life has to be boring.

I have tons of meals to show the poor people of the world how to survive on. Recently, I learned that a woman who runs a local food bank here in Vegas, knocks down $212,000 a year in salary. Some people don't see anything wrong with that, but I think it is criminal.

I'll use the Food Bank Bandit as a regular feature when I present low-cost foods that can be made for the homeless on the streets or for poor folks struggling to prevent themselves from going to the streets. Too, foods for poor people in general, especially those just coming from the streets and who now having their own place to live and to cook.

The Food Bank Bandit isn't living in the Sherwood Forest and you and I aren't living in the Dark Ages. I'll show you just how many hungry, homeless mouths I can feed with $212,000.

You too, can learn to do the same. I'll teach you how.

Hunger is a terrible thing. People with six-figure salaries that work in charity are the number one cause of hunger in the world. For what their combined salaries are, I can eliminate all of the hunger pangs in the world, and YOU can help me.

No longer give one single penny to a food bank or any other so-called "charity" if anyone in that charity is making a six-figure income. In fact, if they make more than the median income or wage, consider them criminal and follow my plans perfectly.

Christian River is a network I put together for all of my web logs and websites to come together as a network of media and a communication and teaching system. Part of that system is the Poor Boy's web logs.

At Poor Boy's Kitchen, inexpensive food preparation for the homeless and poor will all be presented right here at this site. Poor Boy's Kitchen, the most innovated kitchen in the world, will show you how to do the same, make low-cost meals that fill the tummy. Well, at least the most innovated on the poor side of town.

The Seventy-Five Cent Sandwich

2010-04-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

The 75-Cent Sandwich
By Cliff Harrison

This is a quick, easy and inexpensive sandwich which will take away the hunger pangs. For only about seventy-five cents you can make this sandwich, or $1.50 for two.

I start off by using white Bolillo rolls you can purchase at most any grocery store bakery. In this case, I bought 10 rolls for $2.50 at Walmart.

You can substantially reduce your cost of this sandwich by using a less expensive bread, but using the Bolillo roll or one similar to it is what makes the sandwich interestingly different.

Let's take away the boredom of living in poverty by using a variety of foods instead of eating the same old stuff over and over again.

Bolillo rolls are like the homemade bread Grandma used to bake and it is delicious compared to everyday (boring) sandwich bread.

I purchased a package of 10 rolls for $2.50 which means each roll costs only 25 cents each.

After slicing the roll open and spreading mayonnaise on each side, then I add a liberal sprinkling of black pepper. The mayonnaise is calculated at 5 cents but can vary greatly due to the enormous price differences from different stores. But it is a minute amount.

Next, I add one slice of honey ham. More than one slice could be used, but one slice is ample enough while trying to maintain a low budget. (And sodium restriction intake.) I use Bar S Brand Honey Premium Deli Ham which is 97% Fat Free with Water Added. It is available at Walmart and I believe at most other retail grocery stores. One pound of ham costs around $3.24 and provides 14 slices which breaks down to around 23 cents per slice.

Bar S Oven Roasted Premium Deli Turkey Breast (Ground Turkey Breast Added) 98% Fat Free can be substituted for the ham. The turkey breast is currently selling at Walmart for $2.98 per pound and yields 14 slices for about 21 cents for slice.

Or you can offer both types of sandwich meats for a wider choice.

After the meat I add one slice of cheese. I use Kraft Singles Fat Free American Cheese. It is the only brand I can find that is fat free. A package of 16 slices can be purchased for around $3.28 so, that's roughly 21 cents per slice.

Note: Fat Free cheese does not handle well and breaks apart easily. So, handle with care! But we are not doing a photo shoot for an international world-seen blog. Well, then again. This is for poor folks, not the rich and famous unless the rich and famous likes to visit us. (We're happy to have you!)

I've made an effort here to keep the fat content down. But sodium is always a factor. As I've mentioned in the Welcome section, I am focused on cost rather than health at this point.

So, lets add it all up:
One Roll or One Serving:................Two rolls or Two Servings:
Roll- 25 cents................................Rolls- 50 Cents
Mayo- .05.....................................Mayo- .10
Ham- .23......................................Ham-.46
Cheese-.21....................................Cheese-.42
Total =.74....................................Total = $1.48

Like I said we could reduce the cost by using a less expensive bread, but let's have fun while we're living on skid row, huh?

For seventy-five cents you actually get change back because the cost was only 74 cents per sandwich.

Add a can of soda purchased smartly by buying 12 packs for $3.00 or less or 24 packs for $5.00 or less so that each can is 25 cents or less.

A handful or a small snack-size bag of chips also compliments this sandwich as a meal.

Add a dessert of either a pudding cup or a apple sauce cup each of which is only about 25 cents per cup. Throw in a plastic spoon, wrap it all up in a bag and either enjoy your lunch or let God bless you for being kind to His Children.

A Single Meal or a Meal for One:
Meal with one sandwich, a soda and dessert cup = .74 + .25 + .25 = $1.24 (Just a sandwich & soda = .99.)

Meal with two sandwiches, a soda and dessert cup = $1.48 + .25 + .25 = $1.98 (Just two sandwiches and a soda = $1.73)

Feed:
10 People for (1) $7.50 (2) $15
25 People for (1) $18.75 (2) $37.50
50 People for (1) $37.50 (2) $75.00
100 People for (1) $75. (2)$150.
282,666 People for (1) $212,000
141,333 People for (2) $212,000
(Sandwiches only)

Factor in the cost of soda, chips and desserts if you choose to use them. ENJOY!

See slide show of the sandwich being made at my WordPress photo gallery >>>The Slide Show at WordPress
The Photo Gallery at WordPress

Welcome to Poor Boy's Kitchen

2010-02-27T21:15:00.000-08:00

I launched this site in order to have an avenue to publish articles about food and related things. Here I will share how-to articles and more dealing with making or inexpensive foods.

I will also include a few reviews or ideas on where to find inexpensive foods for eating out in Las Vegas. Wise consumerism will help the poor manage their budget. It will help them stretch their dollars during their struggles with economical hard times.

Ideas to enhance the reader's purchasing power and to make or purchase satisfying meals will be the primary goal of this blog.

Any issue dealing with foods or economics will be published here, including some news stories and tips from other sources if it is of interest to the subject of this site.

This blog is part of the Homeward Bound Publishing group which is part of the RIVER Organization and has a special interest in helping the homeless and the poor. It is all part of the Cliff Harrison Network, a growing media and communications network.

Not all the foods presented here would be considered "healthy". In fact, many of the meals listed are indeed unhealthy if eaten too frequently. Without sounding rude, health is not the interest of this site, but expense is the focus. Finding or making inexpensive meals is what the focus of this site is, not preparing healthy meals.

Homelessness, hunger and poverty are not healthy.

Since I have paid the price medically for abuse of my own body, because of diet, smoking, a reduced roll in exercising and so forth I will, however, add more and more foods that are considered healthy. But it will not be the priority of this blog. The priority of fending off starvation and hunger pangs which poor people often suffer.

People living on sidewalks are not living healthy. People going without food to eat is unhealthy. People living in the Valley of Death and the Shadows of Destitution are not healthy. And until people live like that no more, then I will show to poor folks how to obtain more foods for less.

The day there is no more hunger, no more homelessness and no more poverty I will change my focus from discovering inexpensive meals to finding only healthy foods.

The Internet as well as the public library, and other sources, are full of material for people looking for "healthy" meals, and those medias are less popular providing information on how and where to find or make inexpensive meals.

Consuming "less healthy" foods in moderation is more important than avoiding them entirely.

The major ingredients one must look out for is the deadliest of all ingredients partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and the hydrogenated family of made-made, scientifically produced poisons laced in our foods today by food manufacturers under the complete awareness of the United States Government.

Followed by the number one killer are foods with excessive sodium and sugar levels, not to mention of course, high fats and cholesterol's.

Surviving poverty or living "better" while in destitution is what I aim to teach.

With that said, food manufactures need to reduce the unhealthy additives to many of our foods; unhealthy chemicals, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils and the hydrogenated products found in everything from bake goods, peanut butter, refried beans and thousands of food products. It is the Trans Fat that is killing you while you think you are consuming healthy foods. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are Trans Fat. Fat content, sodium content and sugar content need to be addressed. America, and the world have food production that is way too unhealthy. Period!

So, we will first help the poor fend off starvation, stretch their food budget dollars and calm the hunger pangs in their bellies by teaching them where to find and how to make meals that will achieve those goals. And once they are off the streets or out of poverty and harms way they can learn to start eating healthier.

This is not to say that all inexpensive foods are not healthy, since that is simply not true. Fruits and vegetables are healthy and should be a large part of ones diet and can be inexpensive if purchased properly. Yet, what is being said is that foods that are not normally listed as healthy may be listed here.

Rather you are struggling with the forces of poverty or you are seeking to help those in destitution, such as a church group, a caring individual or some other charity-minded person, I hope to make this site interesting and useful to you.

This site will show you how to find and prepare low-cost meals and/or how to feed the hungry, homeless and those in poverty on a low-cost basis.

If for example I show how to buy or where to buy an inexpensive meal at a fast-food joint say for under $5 a meal, then a church group knows that can treat 20 hungry and poor citizens to a breakfast or meal out for under $100.

Likewise, a bag of apples selling for $1.99 and containing 12 apples would mean 17 cents per apple or a bunch of bananas selling for $1.47 containing six bananas means each banana costs only 25 cents. Inexpensive and healthy foods. No argument.

With a final note, many who live in poverty can not always find or store perishable foods, foods which are generally considered "healthier" than non-perishable foods or canned foods.

Transportation, storage and the ability to prepare meals are often a factor, as well as expense, in choosing healthy or unhealthy foods. That is why the kind of meals I have presented here are sometimes used as examples of inexpensive foods. As one who lives in poverty and one who is homeless, my aim and goal is to show others how they can enjoy basic meals for only a few bucks or even for less than a buck per meal.

In my case, as I know is the case of many others, I sometimes have available a place to prepare and store meals on a short-term basis, sometimes for only a few days, but wise planning and the smart use of food stamps often helps me get by.

For more consumer tips and how to save more money shopping visit the affiliated site, Poor Boy's. Click the link to learn how to find bargains and getting the best value for your money at Poor Boy's

Thank you for joining me. I hope you obtain information which will be useful to you.

Cliff Harrison