So…day 1 of our Live Below The Line challenge is complete, and it wasn’t too bad. I remember thinking that after day 1 last year, though, and things went rapidly downhill…
The previous evening was spent making four flatbreads for our day 1 breakfast: simply using flour, water and a pinch of salt, flatbreads are (as I discovered during last year’s challenge) are great way to ensure that breakfast is not only super-cheap, but filling too.
Each flatbread worked out at just 2p, while 30g of jam (horrible Asda Smart Price stuff at 29p per jar) was another 2p. 6p for breakfast? Not bad – I boiled us each an egg (10p) to take to work as a snack. Luxury(!) I’ll be glad to go back to free range after this challenge is over, though…
Lunch was also made the previous evening, a “stew” consisting of passata, potato and frozen mixed veg. I fried the cubes of potato off in a little butter before adding the rest of the ingredients to try and add a little more flavour and texture. Total cost? 49p – 24.5p each for a lunch that was surprisingly filling.
Our dinner was actually quite good. We realised that potatoes + flour + egg = gnocchi, and so I made enough to feed each of us for three meals, at a cost of 10p per portion.
With another 23p each to play with, I made a sauce from 30g of butter, 1g of mixed herbs and 100g of Smart Price cooking bacon (surely all bacon is for cooking…?) – essentially bacon scraps. The total cost was 49p (so 24.5p each again), meaning that I could use the remaining funds to treat myself to 200ml of full fat milk before bed.
The only difference in our meals was that Chris was drinking tea: 27p for 80 Smart Price teabags means three for a penny, and with a tablespoon (15ml) of milk in each, that’s three cups of tea for 3p in total. Bargain. I haven’t yet resorted to the caffeine, and I’m loathe to: it’s been about a year and a half since I gave the stuff up, and I have a feeling it would hit me pretty quickly…
Doing this challenge while blogging about food is hard enough, but now that I’m editing a food magazine as the day job, it’s even tougher. We’ve had cordials and cakes delivered to the office this week, and at home I have this month’s Flavrbox and a competition prize of a box of salted caramel brownies from Serious Treats taunting me. I can’t make this week’s street food event, and today I have a meeting at an amazing venue where nothing but tap water will be able to pass my lips.
As previously mentioned, the main reason I’m doing this is to raise money for Health Poverty Action – a charity whose mission is to tackle poverty and improve the health of mothers, newborns and families in the poorest communities worldwide. I’d be grateful for any sponsorship that Bites readers can provide – it’s all going to a fantastic cause! Simply click here to visit my profile page and make a donation.