well here it is... the last day of http://www.livebelowtheline.org.uk/
We started the day with toast... the bread was still just fine despite its short date... but lunch was trickier since we were out at the home ed groups spring fayre and collecting Tim from a band competition he was in...
DS decided he was going to forego the challenge and spend his pocket money on some chips from the chip shop, I managed to pick up a salad, again on reduction for 75p! again, nothing at all wrong with it, just the use by date was on its last day.
Dinner was veggie chilli that Id made the night before... the recipe was as follows
1/2 a bag of quorn mince which was in the freezer.
1 tin tomatoes
an onion
chilli powder
1 pepper
1 tin kidney beans
1 tin bean salad in spicy sauce
handful of mushrooms
1 stock cube
salt and black pepper
a splash of balsamic vinegar
The whole lot came to about £1.80 'extra' ingredients but it made loads of chilli ( about 6 portions) and was delicious :)
so extras today came to £2.55.... making a grand total for the 5 days of £14.20 :)
We did it and without relying on processed food. Ok so I dont think we got our 5 a day fruit and veggies but most things were made from fresh ingredients, made an excess when making evening meals ( most of which which was frozen) and so if we were carrying on for a couple of days we could just repeat meals using the frozen portions.. indeed tonight I'm having the veggie curry even though were finished with the challenge :)
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Living Below the line - day 4
Not much to tell about yesterday, other than we were home all day which made the whole eating on not alot far easier!!!
Breakfast was the remainder of the teacakes I bought the other day
Lunch for me was sarnies, cheese and onion again, a bit of onion relish I found in the fridge ( no idea what the cost of that would be- it was home made from a mates garden and given to me as a pressie so Im not counting it!) The kids had pasta with cheese and some herbs sprinked on.( their own concoction)
and dinner.... I bought a packet of really good quality sausages on short date for 99p... they should have been £3.50!! we only used 6 out of a packet of 16 so the rest are in the freezer, we had them with mash and peas and home made onion gravy.
So today... I only actually spent 99p.. didnt really need to, we could have managed by repeating a meal but the kids werent keen on more pasta or more rice.
So the budget now stands at £11.65 with one day left to go and while I was cooking dinner I knocked up a chilli for saturday tea as we will be busy....
Breakfast was the remainder of the teacakes I bought the other day
Lunch for me was sarnies, cheese and onion again, a bit of onion relish I found in the fridge ( no idea what the cost of that would be- it was home made from a mates garden and given to me as a pressie so Im not counting it!) The kids had pasta with cheese and some herbs sprinked on.( their own concoction)
and dinner.... I bought a packet of really good quality sausages on short date for 99p... they should have been £3.50!! we only used 6 out of a packet of 16 so the rest are in the freezer, we had them with mash and peas and home made onion gravy.
So today... I only actually spent 99p.. didnt really need to, we could have managed by repeating a meal but the kids werent keen on more pasta or more rice.
So the budget now stands at £11.65 with one day left to go and while I was cooking dinner I knocked up a chilli for saturday tea as we will be busy....
Friday, 6 May 2011
Living Below the line- day 3
Was a bit of a busy one!! Brekkie was pancakes from River Cottage Everyday which is a brilliant book, full of recipes which show you how to get the best out of cheaper ingredients and live more sustainably.
Heres the recipe :
2 eggs, beaten
250g plain flour
600ml milk ( recipe suggests whole but Im using skimmed and its fine)
a pinch of salt.
This recipe makes about 12-16 pancakes ... we had them with lemon and sugar.. I expect that probably came to about 5p out of the budget for 'extras' since I already had lemon juice and sugar in the cupboard!
I skipped lunch as I was so busy... it made me realise how much I rely on grabbing some fruit or a sandwich when Im out- I couldnt, the budget just didnt allow it! I was glad Id had pancakes for breakfast!
The kids were out with Dad for tea but Tim came up and we had mushroom risotto which was delicious :)
The recipe for that is
100g arborio rice per person.
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
200g chopped mushrooms .
3 spring onions.
1 pint of stock
chopped herbs(from the garden)
Making risotto is dead easy... fry off the chopped onion and garlic until they start to turn golden, add the rice and stir until well coated with oil then start to add the stock, a little at a time and stir, turn the heat down and allow to simmer stirring occasionally until the stock is absorbed. Add the chopped mushrooms and spring onions and a little more stock ( just a generous splash at a time) and keep stirring, simmering, stirring and adding stock until youve added the whole pint of stock and its all been absorbed. By this time the risotto will be creamy and 'saucey' and all the veggies will have cooked soft but not mushy. top with chopped herbs ( I used parsley and chives) and a decent grind of black pepper.
I always keep arborio rice in the cupboard, it just wont be the same if you use normal rice and it isnt massively expensive ( I think the last packet I bought was about £1) Its worth buying it in for risotto.
I think the 'extra' cost for the ingredients was about 40p
As a treat we bought a toffee apple crumble on offer in the supermarket which was 99p.
So now the budget stands at £10.66 :) with two days to go!
Heres the recipe :
2 eggs, beaten
250g plain flour
600ml milk ( recipe suggests whole but Im using skimmed and its fine)
a pinch of salt.
This recipe makes about 12-16 pancakes ... we had them with lemon and sugar.. I expect that probably came to about 5p out of the budget for 'extras' since I already had lemon juice and sugar in the cupboard!
I skipped lunch as I was so busy... it made me realise how much I rely on grabbing some fruit or a sandwich when Im out- I couldnt, the budget just didnt allow it! I was glad Id had pancakes for breakfast!
The kids were out with Dad for tea but Tim came up and we had mushroom risotto which was delicious :)
The recipe for that is
100g arborio rice per person.
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
200g chopped mushrooms .
3 spring onions.
1 pint of stock
chopped herbs(from the garden)
Making risotto is dead easy... fry off the chopped onion and garlic until they start to turn golden, add the rice and stir until well coated with oil then start to add the stock, a little at a time and stir, turn the heat down and allow to simmer stirring occasionally until the stock is absorbed. Add the chopped mushrooms and spring onions and a little more stock ( just a generous splash at a time) and keep stirring, simmering, stirring and adding stock until youve added the whole pint of stock and its all been absorbed. By this time the risotto will be creamy and 'saucey' and all the veggies will have cooked soft but not mushy. top with chopped herbs ( I used parsley and chives) and a decent grind of black pepper.
I always keep arborio rice in the cupboard, it just wont be the same if you use normal rice and it isnt massively expensive ( I think the last packet I bought was about £1) Its worth buying it in for risotto.
I think the 'extra' cost for the ingredients was about 40p
As a treat we bought a toffee apple crumble on offer in the supermarket which was 99p.
So now the budget stands at £10.66 :) with two days to go!
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Living Below the line -day 2...
Day 2 saw us with an extra guest.. £1 extra in the budget ( little things ;) )
Brekkie was going to be pancakes but that didnt happen so brekkie kind of slid towards lunch after drama!!!
I grabbed a loaf of bread which was short date at 50p and we had cheese sarnies for lunch because I didnt have time to make anything before heading out to do a cleaning job with a mate in the afternoon... the kids stayed home and amused themselves pretty much.
Tea time saw an extra guest on top for tea so I decided adding 50p for her would be reasonable despite our guest thinking it was absolute loonery and then accompanying me to tescos to choose a DVD and spending my whole budget on snacks ( gotta love her, she makes me laugh) so when we got to tescos there were packets of 6 teacakes for 42p (or 2 for £1.... ummmmm) I couldnt make them for that so grabbed a packet as a treat.
So tea was a aubergine and tomato pasta consisting of
1 aubergine
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tins tomatoes (30p each)
a large slug of balsamic vinegar
chopped herbs ( from the garden)
all simmered down and then blended and served with a packet of the penne pasta and a decent grating of cheese it was yummy with plenty left over to freeze
So now the budget stands at £9.17 allowing for the extra guests budget and the £1.52 spent on ingredients ( bread, teacakes and tinned tomatoes) :)
what to cook for day 3 I wonder???
Brekkie was going to be pancakes but that didnt happen so brekkie kind of slid towards lunch after drama!!!
I grabbed a loaf of bread which was short date at 50p and we had cheese sarnies for lunch because I didnt have time to make anything before heading out to do a cleaning job with a mate in the afternoon... the kids stayed home and amused themselves pretty much.
Tea time saw an extra guest on top for tea so I decided adding 50p for her would be reasonable despite our guest thinking it was absolute loonery and then accompanying me to tescos to choose a DVD and spending my whole budget on snacks ( gotta love her, she makes me laugh) so when we got to tescos there were packets of 6 teacakes for 42p (or 2 for £1.... ummmmm) I couldnt make them for that so grabbed a packet as a treat.
So tea was a aubergine and tomato pasta consisting of
1 aubergine
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tins tomatoes (30p each)
a large slug of balsamic vinegar
chopped herbs ( from the garden)
all simmered down and then blended and served with a packet of the penne pasta and a decent grating of cheese it was yummy with plenty left over to freeze
So now the budget stands at £9.17 allowing for the extra guests budget and the £1.52 spent on ingredients ( bread, teacakes and tinned tomatoes) :)
what to cook for day 3 I wonder???
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Living Below the line
trying again to come back and an attempt to actually keep blogging this time. I realized lately that I hadn't bothered because cos actually I wasn't in a very good place and didn't think anyone would want to read any of my drivel...thats even if I could have thought of anything to say or found the motivation to post it! Im doing alot better these days so am resurrecting this blog and intend to breathe life into it again!
Recently I became aware via facebook of this campaign to raise money and awareness of the millions of people who live in real poverty, on just £1 a day for food...
Live Below The Line
Sadly, a bit too late for me to actually raise money by doing it but decided we would have a go at it in some shape or form. Im not able to do it 100% properly because S has a school meal at lunchtime and the kids eat out with dad when they see him but thought it would be a good home ed project/ thrifty living exercise so decided we would try it for 5 days as suggested in the link.. through careful shopping and home growing I hope we can achieve it according to the rules on their site and it was suggested I blog it here... so here it is!!!
Day 1....
Well, we have 3 of us at home since C is away at school , so thats 5 days at £3 a day.... £15 a scary prospect!!!!
Fortunately we have a really good, cheap greengrocers shop a shortish drive away and an aldi store so so far Ive been out and bought :
2 Aubergines (2 for £1 )
A bag of mushrooms 50p
a bag of onions 50p
a bag of peppers 50p
a bag of sweet potatoes 50p
a large bottle of squash £1- kids just wont drink water no matter how much I plead
a large container of milk (£1)
a bag of flour 59p
400G cheddar £2
a bag of long grain rice 0.49
a 5 kg bag of potatoes 60p
2 bags of value penne pasta 18p!
a total of 8.37so far..... eeek thats rather frightening out of such a small budget.
We used to keep hens which have gone to live at a friends in return for free eggs whenever we want to have some so that will help ( Ive commandeered 12) and I also grow veggies in the garden, the only things ready now are salad leaves and herbs but as the big supermarkets say "every little helps"
I intend to try my best not to buy more bits and pieces, use what we have in the cupboards and try and estimate/deduct anything I use from the budget......tricky I guess but you'll hopefully get a pretty good idea of the costs regardless
Lunch today was wraps made with flour, water and oil to make a dough rolled out very thinly and heated in a dry frypan to cook lightly both sides with grated cheese and salad leaves and a little onion
Tonights tea was
Potato and mushroom curry from the BBC website.... I didnt use the coconut milk because not only am I not fond of coconut, S is waiting for tests for anaphylactic shock after a scary incident possibly involving nuts so I decided anything even remotely nut like or unfamiliar was out. but it was just lovely without that.
I had 1/3 of a jar of curry paste in the fridge so that works out at 25p and a veg stock cube which was 3p (30p for 10)
The curry made enough for about 8 people so Ill freeze the remainder, it was really tasty, a real hit!I ust varoed the recipe a little by adding more water and cooking it for longer than it recommended
The total cost worked out at £1.80 for all of it and I estimate I used about 1/5 of the bag of rice
Ive also allowed 50p for coffee and tea through the week from the cupboard allowing me 2 a day
so the total spend now ( inc the ingredients from the cupboard) is £9.15..
wonder what tomorrow will be?
Weve got through day 1 without much difficulty! but gonna have to be creative and the budget doesn't leave a lot left for more ingredients or treats thats for sure!!!
.
Recently I became aware via facebook of this campaign to raise money and awareness of the millions of people who live in real poverty, on just £1 a day for food...
Live Below The Line
Sadly, a bit too late for me to actually raise money by doing it but decided we would have a go at it in some shape or form. Im not able to do it 100% properly because S has a school meal at lunchtime and the kids eat out with dad when they see him but thought it would be a good home ed project/ thrifty living exercise so decided we would try it for 5 days as suggested in the link.. through careful shopping and home growing I hope we can achieve it according to the rules on their site and it was suggested I blog it here... so here it is!!!
Day 1....
Well, we have 3 of us at home since C is away at school , so thats 5 days at £3 a day.... £15 a scary prospect!!!!
Fortunately we have a really good, cheap greengrocers shop a shortish drive away and an aldi store so so far Ive been out and bought :
2 Aubergines (2 for £1 )
A bag of mushrooms 50p
a bag of onions 50p
a bag of peppers 50p
a bag of sweet potatoes 50p
a large bottle of squash £1- kids just wont drink water no matter how much I plead
a large container of milk (£1)
a bag of flour 59p
400G cheddar £2
a bag of long grain rice 0.49
a 5 kg bag of potatoes 60p
2 bags of value penne pasta 18p!
a total of 8.37so far..... eeek thats rather frightening out of such a small budget.
We used to keep hens which have gone to live at a friends in return for free eggs whenever we want to have some so that will help ( Ive commandeered 12) and I also grow veggies in the garden, the only things ready now are salad leaves and herbs but as the big supermarkets say "every little helps"
I intend to try my best not to buy more bits and pieces, use what we have in the cupboards and try and estimate/deduct anything I use from the budget......tricky I guess but you'll hopefully get a pretty good idea of the costs regardless
Lunch today was wraps made with flour, water and oil to make a dough rolled out very thinly and heated in a dry frypan to cook lightly both sides with grated cheese and salad leaves and a little onion
Tonights tea was
Potato and mushroom curry from the BBC website.... I didnt use the coconut milk because not only am I not fond of coconut, S is waiting for tests for anaphylactic shock after a scary incident possibly involving nuts so I decided anything even remotely nut like or unfamiliar was out. but it was just lovely without that.
I had 1/3 of a jar of curry paste in the fridge so that works out at 25p and a veg stock cube which was 3p (30p for 10)
The curry made enough for about 8 people so Ill freeze the remainder, it was really tasty, a real hit!I ust varoed the recipe a little by adding more water and cooking it for longer than it recommended
The total cost worked out at £1.80 for all of it and I estimate I used about 1/5 of the bag of rice
Ive also allowed 50p for coffee and tea through the week from the cupboard allowing me 2 a day
so the total spend now ( inc the ingredients from the cupboard) is £9.15..
wonder what tomorrow will be?
Weve got through day 1 without much difficulty! but gonna have to be creative and the budget doesn't leave a lot left for more ingredients or treats thats for sure!!!
.
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