Day 5 - Live Below the Line, done for another year

The end of my Live Below the Line 5 days!  Despite living on £1 per day for food for the last 5 days I have no idea what it is like to live in extreme poverty. We are housed, have comfy beds to sleep in, we have reliable gas and electricity supplies which we can afford.  There is free access to healthcare.  

Those in extreme poverty live on £1 or less each day, which not only has to pay for food but for all other living costs.  I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult this is, there is no way this campaign can show is what the reality of their lives is like.

However, taking part in Live Below the Line is an invaluable life experience in terms of the challenge of lack of choice, much less food, and how limiting it is socially not being able to participate in get together because you're unable to afford it.  It shines a light on the plight of those with much less than us and helps raise money to help them.

We take so much for granted.  I don't need to worry about where my next meal is coming from, or how I am going to cook it.  What got me through the 5 days was being organised and portioning out my provisions.  I realised we can get by on much less food than we think we can, and it took a great deal of stubbornness and determination to get through the 5 days.  

What I missed most was coffee, and the choice of what to eat and when.  We Meal Plan each week but there are snacks, drinks and a level of choice built into that.  I didn't miss sweet treats, I missed cheese and salads, and steamed greens.

My milk supply held up fairly well but I think if I had to live below the line consistently it would gradually diminish or not be of sufficient quality to sustain bubs.  No wonder those in poverty have a higher use of formula to feed their babies.  Both bubs and I will be relieved that the 5 days is over.  

Tomorrow I shall drink a very large coffee and when I do I will reflect back on a hard but worthwhile week.  It's never a bad thing to try and help others and see what life is like for those less privileged than ourselves.

1 comment Charity, Live Below the Line., Save The Children

Live Below the Line - Days 3 and 4

I am REALLY missing coffee.  I am dreaming about coffee. I have also heard my tummy rumble more in the last 4 days than I have in a long time.  Other than that things are going well.  I have resisted temptation and stuck to my provisions.  Bubs has been teething and awake 4 times a night for the past two nights so I am now counting the hours until I can have coffee.

I helped my children make Banana and Chocolate Drop Scones after school on Day 3 and Apple, Cinnamon and White Chocolate Drop Scones after school on Day 4.  That was hard!  The smell of delicious drop scones cooking, the temptation to nibble on a couple of stray chocolate chips, oh my word it was tough!

Banana and Chocolate Drop Scones, how I wanted thee!

Having my dinner and lunch premade is great, there's much less temptation and it's easier to gobble it down between bubs feeds and naps.  On Day 3 I decided to make eggy bread with my morning allocation of wholemeal bread and use the flatbread to have an open banana and peanut butter sandwich instead. I can see eggy bread being the go to breakfast for my last couple of challenge days.  It felt so much more decadent than scrambled egg on a flatbread.

On Day 4 I used the peanut butter and banana with some UHT milk in a smoothie to tide me over until after the school run when I had more time to make eggy bread.  It meant I could have the flatbread with my lunch along with soup, crackers and hummus.

Eggy Bread for breakfast

Mixed Vegetable Peal Barley Soup for lunch, with a flatbread

Pearl Barley Risorro with flatbread for dinner

Tonight I made my family Roast Chicken, Roast Potatoes, Streamed Greens, Yorkshire Puddings and Gravy. I ate my Pearl Barley Risotto and Flatbread. It was so hard watching them eat a feast whilst I had my carefully measured portion.

At this point I know the end of the challenge is in sight for me.  Many in extreme poverty do not have an choice. That is why we do this challenge as a family and I've taken it on solo as well.  

Please donate if you can here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/utterlyscrummy

Leave a Comment Charity, Live Below the Line., Save The Children

Live Below the Line - Days One and Two

I think the key to success for me this week will be organisation.  I am normally a very organised person and am approaching the 5 day challenge in the same way.  I have made the flatbreads, pancakes/drop scones, soup and risotto and frozen them in portions so I have food ready for me each meal time each day.  I will of course make the scrambled eggs fresh each time, and the "hummus" in two batches to keep it fresh, but other than that everything else will be done in advance.

My 10 flatbreads for this week

I showed my provisions and Meal Plan to a friend at work who is a dietician and she said that as I am breastfeeding I would need more calories each day than my provisions would allow in order to maintain a good milk supply for bubs.  She also said a few other words about me being too stubborn for my own good, which I won't repeat here.

We decided that a peanut butter sandwich morning and afternoon, using basics wholemeal bread and peanut butter and a banana each day, would add enough calories for her to be OK with me complete the challenge whilst breastfeeding, along with taking a multivitamin each day to ensure a decent quality milk supply for bubs.  I'll be consuming an average of 1471 calories per day.

My extra provisions

These extra items add money to the total food spend.  I could, I suppose, have counted bubs as a person and spent £10 for 5 days but wanted to be as close to the £5 spend as possible.  The bread, peanut butter and bananas add £1.63 to the grocery total for the 5 days making my spend £6.56.

My revised Meal Plan is as follows:

Breakfast
Scrambled or poached egg on flatbread

Snack
Peanut Butter sandwich and a banana

Lunch
Pearl Barley and Vegetable Soup accompanied by 3 crackers and Mixed Vegetable Hummus

Homemade crackers with Mixed Vegetable Hummus

Snack
3 Apple Drop Scones accompanied by an apple on days 1, 3 and 5

My 15 Drop Scones for the week 

Dinner
Pearl Barley Risotto accompanied by a flatbread

Pearl Barley Risotto, a hearty and filling dinner

Snack
Peanut Butter Sandwich

I'll blog the recipes for the Flatbreads, Crackers and Drop Scones tomorrow.

Please donate if you can here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/utterlyscrummy

4 comments Charity, Live Below the Line., Meal Plan, Save The Children

Live Below the Line - again!

We lived below the line last week as a family. It was tough, but apparently not tough enough.  We raised £100 for Save the Children UK, thanks so much to those who generously donated.  This week I'm doing it again!

I said at the time it was much easier to do it as a family spending £30 on food over 5 days than a single person spending £5 on food.  After the comment "Why don't you do it on your own then?! Doing it as a family is WAY too easy!" along with similar comments by several other people, I've decided to take up the challenge and complete another 5 days of Live Below the Line.  This time I'm doing it solo.  I've never been one to refuse a challenge, I'm really stubborn in that way.

Serving up our usual fare to the family whilst living on rations myself is going to be a challenge, but a challenge that is well worth it to raise money for those much less fortunate than us and who don't have the choices we do. 

Here are my supplies for the 5 days:

1x   ASDA Smartprice Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce (410g)        24p

1x   ASDA Chosen by You Vegetable Stock Cubes (12x10g)         75p

 1x   ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg)                             77p

 1x   ASDA Smartprice UHT Skimmed Milk (1L)                             49p

1x   ASDA Free Range Medium British Eggs (6)                            85p                    

1x   ASDA Plain Flour (500g)                                                        40p

1x   ASDA Good and  Balanced Pearl Barley (500g)                      64p

 1x   ASDA Smartprice Apples (500g)                                            79p

TOTAL £4.93

I will be doing without coffee. This means it is going to be a very tough 5 days.  I'm not bothered about not having sugar, chocolate or other goodies. Coffee is what fuels me, perks me up and brings me joy.  I love a good quality coffee and I am addicted to caffeine, withdrawal will be unpleasant.  I'll also undoubtedly miss fruit and salads and wholemeal seeded bread too.

 What do I plan to make?

Breakfast
Scrambled eggs using an egg each day and some milk to bulk it out
Flatbreads made with 200g flour and 100ml water/milk

Lunches
Vegetable and Pearl Barley Soup using 200g pearl barley, 300g vegetables and stock cubes
"Hummus" using drained baked beans, 200g vegetables and stock cube
Crackers made with 150g flour and 100ml water/milk

Snacks
Apple Pancakes using 150g of the flour, an egg and some milk.
An apple on 3 of the days

Dinners
Pearl Barley Risotto using 300g pearl barley, 500g vegetables and stock cubes

I will make a cuppa soup with stock cube and water if I need a tasty cuppa, otherwise I'll be drinking tap water.

Please donate if you can here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/utterlyscrummy

10 comments Charity, Live Below the Line., Meal Plan, Save The Children

Live Below the Line - How it's been going

This is the 3rd year we've taken part in Live Below the Line.  Today is the 4th day.  It has been tough for me the last couple of days because I have caught a nasty head cold.  Being sick and being on a severely restricted budget is grim.  I would dearly love a bowl of homemade chicken soup or spicy vegetable broth to sooth my cold but alas this week there will be neither.  I am grumpy and miserable and thankful that tissues are not included in the budget.

Breakfasts have been going down fairly well.  My family enjoy porridge and fruit compote so this hasn't been a major source of complaint, the slightly smaller portion sizes than normal have been mentioned at each meal. 

Our breakfast of porridge with apple and sultana compote

My 12yo made the Savoury Scone Swirls for lunches after school.  The preparation of scone swirls for lunches each evening has taken my girls mind off their usual after school snacks not being available.  

Our lunches for the week

After school snacks have been a small pot of homemade rice pudding.  It has been devoured in record time and the only complaint is that there is not more of it.  We've struggled with the lack of fresh fruit and yoghurt to snack on.

Rice and Vegetable Bake, one of our dinners

We've enjoyed the dinners too, no puddings at all for us this week.  The lack of puddings is a good thing for our waistlines but not so great for morale.  We don't eat pudding every night but 2 nights a week we usually have some sort of pudding.  When the kids are tired after dinner is when the challenge really hits home.

Pearl Barley Risotto with herbs from our garden

What we've learned:

Sometimes you need to experience something to truly appreciate the challenge.  Getting enough of each food group is difficult, as is maintaining strict portion controls to make the rations last. We get to go back to our normal shopping habits after this week.   There are millions of people living on less than a £1 a day who do not have a choice.  Some of those abroad walk long distances to collect drinking water, which may not be particularly safe or sanitary, or work very long shifts in factories or fields and still not have enough to feed themselves and their families.  There are people in the UK for whom a very low food budget is the norm, and whom also struggle to find having enough money for gas/electricity to cook with and heating their homes is an expensive luxury.

We eat a lot, probably too much. Normally we spend approximately £60 - £70 on food each week, twice what we spent this week.  We missed fresh fruit the most and yoghurt.  I also missed good coffee and my husband missed his chocolate stash.

Shopping on a very limited budget is stressful and frustrating.  Making sure we have enough food, and enough food in each food group has been a challenge.  Fluctuating supermarket prices would make shopping on such a strict budget each week even more challenging.

I am really proud of my children.  They have done well this week, it is our 4th year taking part in the challenge so they know what to expect.  If any of then hadn't wanted to take part then I would've done it alone, or with those who wanted to.  They were not pressured to take part in any way, it was their choice as well as my husband and mine.

People are supportive, helpful and generous.  We've been very grateful to those who have emailed, tweeted and phoned to offer encouragement, especially those who have also donated.  Raising money for Save the Children has made the hard times on this challenge totally worth it.  If you also would like to donate, you can do so here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/utterlyscrummy

Leave a Comment Charity, Live Below the Line., Save The Children

Live Below the Line Meal Plan

We're once again taking up the Live Below the Line Challenge as a family raising money for Save the Children UK.  We'll be living off £1 per person per day for food.  As bubs is on solids now and I'm still breastfeeding him I've included him in the person count.  This means we will have £30 to spend on food for 6 of us for 5 days.  It is SO much easier for us with this amount than it is for one or two people who would have £5 or £10 to spend of food for 5 days.  Total respect to those people as it requires much more savvy planning and work to live on that little food money.  I have managed to include coffee in our shopping.  If I did without coffee for 5 days, as I did last time we took part, it would be hellish for my family as coffee is what keeps me going and helps me be a polite and functioning human.  It is however budget instant coffee so hopefully it will at least be drinkable. I shall once again embrace my cafetiere and freshly ground coffee once the week is over. 

Please support us by making a donation here!

Our 5 Day Meal Plan

Drinks will be either water, milk or cheats cuppa soup made with some vegetable stock cube dissolved in hot water. There is no tea, juice or squash in this Meal Plan. I have included coffee though.

Breakfast

We'll all be having porridge with bramley apple and sultana compote.  I'll also bake scones with sultanas in should we need/want them.  Bubs will have porridge as well, blended/mushed slightly to be smoother and easier for him to eat. 

Lunches 

These Versatile Scone Swirls will be served with carrot and cucumber sticks and salad leaves with a piece of fruit.  Bubs will be having some scone swirl along with steamed carrot sticks and some fruit, steamed and mashed if necessary.  This is double the usual recipe to last us for 5 days lunches.

600g self-raising flour
2 tsp dried mixed herbs
100g butter
360ml milk
1 Tblsp tomato paste, diluted with 1 Tblsp water
2 peppers, finely diced

1 onion, very finely diced

100g grated cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. 

Put the flour and mixed herbs into a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and add the milk. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon until a soft dough has formed. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it gently for a couple of minutes. Divide the dough in half and roll out each half on a lightly floured surface to a rough 30cm/12 inch square. 

Spread with the tomato paste, finely diced peppers and onion, and half of the cheese. Starting from the side closest to you, roll up the dough firmly to form a log. Cut the dough into even portions. Put the swirls cut-side up on to the baking paper lined tray. Sprinkle the swirls with the rest of the grated cheddar cheese. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until they're lovely and golden.

Snacks

Flapjacks

125g butter
125g sugar
175g rolled oats

Preheat your oven to 160C/140C Fan and line a 20cm square cake tin with non-stick baking paper. Put the butter and sugar into a large saucepan over a moderate heat and stir until the butter has melted and everything is well combined.

Take the saucepan off the heat then tip the rolled oats and stir together ensuring that the oats are thoroughly coated with the melted butter and sugar mixture.

Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and press down firmly to form an even layer, I use a potato masher to do this bit but you could use the back of a spoon.

Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and score slices to make cutting the flapjacks easier once they have cooled. Leave the flapjacks to cool completely in the tin.

Rice Pudding

600ml milk

65g long grain white rice

50g white sugar

In a medium sized, heavy bottomed saucepan combine the milk and rice. Place saucepan over a fairly high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the rice is tender. This usually takes about 25 minutes. Stir the milk mixture frequently using a heatproof rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stop the rice from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.

Once the rice is tender, cook for a further 5 - 10 minutes until the rice pudding thickens. Spoon the pudding into a bowl to cool and cover with clingfilm to stop a skin forming. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Dinners

Vegetable Pie

Creamy Sauce:

50g butter

50g flour

600ml milk

150g grated mature cheddar

Vegetables, use what you have available:

500g frozen mixed vegetables

1 pepper, finely diced
small bunch of chives, finely chopped (from our garden)

3 or 4 large potatoes or sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then stir in the flour and mustard powder and cook for 1 min. Gradually stir in the milk until smooth with no lumps, then keep stirring until the mixture begins to bubble and thickens to a creamy sauce. Remove from the heat, then stir in the grated cheese, leaving some aside to sprinkle on the top.

Heat your oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 and bring a large pan of water to the boil. Cook the mixed vegetables for 3 - 5 minutes. Drain the vegetables well. Add the cooked vegetables to the creamy sauce with the diced pepper and chives. Cook and mash the sweet potatoes or potatoes and season to taste as this will cover the top of the finished pie.

Tip the mixed vegetables and sauce into a deep ovenproof dish, carefully cover with the mash and then sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 mins until the topping is golden and the cheese is bubbling, then serve.

Baked Fish and Potato Wedges with Mixed Vegetables

Mixed Vegetable Pearl Barley Risotto – 2 nights

50g unsalted butter

500g pearl barley

1 vegetable stock cube

500g frozen mixed vegetables
2 peppers, finely diced

Handful of fresh herbs such as parsley, tarragon or sage, chopped (optional)

150g grated mature Cheddar, a vegetarian alternative

Melt a knob of the butter in a medium pan. Add the pearl barley, stir it around so it's coated with the butter, then cook gently for 2-3 minutes. Dissolve the stock cube in 600ml of boiling water, then pour over the pearl barley.

Simmer over a medium heat for 25-30 minutes until the pearl barley is tender. Keep topping it up with another 800ml hot water, ensuring the barley is covered. When the pearl barley is cooked, remove the saucepan from the heat, taste it and adjust the seasoning. Add the frozen mixed vegetables and diced peppers, then set aside with a lid on for about 10 minutes.

When you're ready to serve, combine the pearl barley and vegetables with the cheese. Taste, adjust the seasoning if necessary, then spoon into bowls.

Rice and Vegetable Bake

2 cups cooked rice
2 onions, finely sliced
1 Tblsp butter or spread
300g frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted
6 eggs
100g grated cheese

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease a large baking dish.  Cook onions in the butter until soft and slightly caramelised.

Combine all the other ingredients and half of the cheese. Spoon into prepared dish and flatten. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until firm in the middle and lightly browned.

Shopping List

24 items: £29.94

Packets and Cereals

2x   ASDA Chosen by You Wholegrain Scottish Porridge Oats (500g) £1.36

1x   Whitworths Granulated Sugar (500g)                                           49p

1x   ASDA Smartprice Self Raising Flour (1.5Kg)                               45p

1x   ASDA Smartprice Long Grain Rice (1Kg)                                    40p

1x   ASDA Good and Balanced Pearl Barley (500g)                            64p

Frozen

2x   ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg)                                  £1.54

1x   ASDA Chosen by You Cook from Frozen Whitefish Fillets (500g) £1.97

Dairy and Eggs

4x   ASDA British Whole Milk 4 Pints (2.27L)                                     £3.56

1x   ASDA Smartprice Mild Grated Cheddar (500g)                            £2.21

1x   Wood Farm Free Range Medium Eggs (6)                                   89p

2x   ASDA Butter - Unsalted (250g)                                                   £1.76

Tins, Jars and Cooking

1x   ASDA Smartprice Dried Mixed Herbs (18g)                                 25p

1x   ASDA Double Concentrated Tomato Puree (200g)                       49p

1x   OXO Reduced Salt Vegetable Cubes (12 per pack - 71g)             £1.19

Fruit and Vegetables

1x   ASDA Smartprice Sultanas (500g)                                              84p

25   ASDA Bananas                                                                            £2.20

2x   ASDA Carrots (1Kg)                                                                   £1.14

3     ASDA Red Onions by Weight (130g)                                           29.3p

1x   ASDA White Potatoes (2.5Kg)                                                     £1.69

3x   ASDA Whole Cucumber                                                              £1.47

1x   ASDA Smartprice Peppers (700g)                                               £1.17

1x   ASDA Bramley Apples (800g)                                                     £1.10

3x   ASDA Smartprice Pears (500g)                                                   £2.37

Drinks

1x   ASDA Smartprice Instant Coffee Granules (100g)                        47p

Prices and  special offers reflect those of the online grocery websites, and  are correct as of 26 April 2015.  Prices may vary in different in-store locations.

I undertook a price comparison of our shopping using My Supermarket:

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14 comments Basics, Charity, Live Below the Line., Meal Plan, Meatfree Monday, Save The Children, Vegetarian

Mini Picnic Bakes

I baked these for our lunch today and they disappeared in seconds.  In fact, despite the recipe making 12 muffin sized and 16 mini muffin sized morsels, there were demands for even more of them.  

Perfect for a picnic or as canapes, these Mini Picnic Bakes are packed with vegetables and very moreish.  You could vary the contents, use whatever vegetables you have on hand, these are great for using up vegetables lurking in the fridge.  We enjoyed these morsels with crudites for lunch but next time will probably have them with potato or pasta salad and a green salad for dinner.

Mini Picnic Bakes

2 courgettes

2 peppers, finely diced (any colour will do)

3 spring onions, finely sliced

1 small tin sweetcorn, drained (we use no added salt and sugar variety)

100g wholemeal breadcrumbs

250g ricotta cheese

100g Parmesan or other strong flavoured hard cheese, finely grated

4 large free range eggs

2 cloves garlic, crushed

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan.

Grease 12 holes of a muffin tin and 16 holes of a mini muffin tin.  Use a vegetable peeler to make long ribbons from one courgette and lay one ribbon across the bottom of each muffin hole.  This makes them much easier to remove from the tins once baked.  Finely dice the other courgette and mix with all the other ingredients.  Spoon the filling evenly in to the prepared trays and fold any over hanging courgette ribbons over the top.  Grate a little extra Parmesan over the top then bake the larger muffin sized morsels for 20 - 25 minutes and the smaller mini muffin sized ones for 15 - 20 minutes.

I'm linking this recipe up with No Waste Food Challenge as we used up the remaining vegetables in the fridge and made sure nothing was wasted before our next weekly shop was delivered. The challenge was created by Elizabeth and is being hosted this month by Laura.

I am also joining in with Extra Veg, a monthly blog challenge devised by Helen and I and hosted this month by Sarah. Extra Veg encourages us all to add extra vegetables to our meals.

I am also submitting this to Alphabakes, the blog challenge created by  The More than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes, Caroline is hosting this month and the letter is P. These Mini Picnic Bakes contain pepper so fit the guidelines.

I'm also linking up with Speedy Suppers, created by Sarah and Katie, the theme this month is Picnics.  Sarah is hosting this month.

This recipe is also suitable for Simple and in Season as almost everyone with an allotment has a glut of courgettes at the moment and they feature in this recipe.  Simple and in Season, was created by Ren and is hosted this month by Elizabeth.

I'm also joining in with Family Foodies, created and hosted alternately by Eat Your Veg and Bangers and Mash, the theme this month is The Under Twos and Eat Your Veg is hosting.  These Mini Picnic Morsels would be perfect toddler picnic food, particularly the mini muffin sized ones.

8 comments Basics, Dinners, Gestational Diabetes, Lunches, Meatfree Monday, Party, Save The Children, Vegetarian