After realising I was going to have jiggle my menus around somewhat to ensure I eat the things I've made, and keep within my £1 daily limit, breakfast today was one of my chilli bean burgers, an eighth of my home-baked soda bread, and a half banana. Strange combo, I know, but at least it's relatively healthy and if I was really living in extreme poverty, would I be grumbling? I think not.
Lunch was the remaining portion of sweet potato & lentil curry I made, with only a spoonful or so of rice, since I dipped into it yesterday to make the bean burgers. I had another eighth piece of bread to pad it out a little. And guess what dinner was? Oh yes, the dreaded pasta and sauce, with a sprinkle of chilli flakes as suggested by Kristen in her comment on my post about this meal. But I DID decide to put it on a square plate, and what a difference that made. Appearance is everything!
To be honest, the pasta and sauce wasn't all that bad. It's just the thought of it that is! I didn't mind eating it that much. The chilli flakes really did help.
I had a new tea discovery as well. It seems the last few days all I've done is prioritise how to make the most of my tea, doesn't it? Maybe so - it's integral to my life and way of being! So now I've discovered - make the cup of tea as normal (brewed in the mug, one teabag), then save the teabag, and the next time, use the same teabag but LEAVE the teabag in the mug. The first few sips are weak, but once it's stewed a while, it does get a bit better. Not perfect, but hey ho, I'm doing the best I can!
I feel like I'm on a diet, too. Not in the sense of being hungry 9in actualy fact, I've been cooking myself far more pasta for a meal than I notmally would!) or weight loss, but that element of deprivation, in seeing the foods I really want, but can't have. And also - the fact that my menu plans are so rigid and planned out. Since I spent so many years getting myself off the dieting treadmill (hence why this blog began), it's weird to be experiencing this feeling again. I am normally fairly free with what I eat - I eat for health and nutrition, yes, but I never deprive myself or eat in a very rigid way.
And I have no appetite for the food I have prepared. Funny how pyschology works, normally I love leftovers but I suppose these are not exactly leftovers, but planned out for eating within my five days. The curry is nice and tasty, but I didn't really want to eat that today. I certainly didn't want the pasta. And as for the lentil soup tomorrow? I actually feel a bit sick.
Of course - if this were the reality for me, living in extreme poverty, I think my mentaility would be different. I'm sure I'd be thankful for whatever I was getting to eat, rather than fed up of it. I'll hopefully never know if I'm right or not with that.
Please do help make a difference to the lives of people who ARE in that situation, and sponsor me through making a donation for Action Against Hunger:
https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chocolateandbeyond
So, this is how today has looked so far:
Day 450ml soya milk 3p
2 x teabags 3p
Half banana 5p
Bread (1/4 portion) 8
1 x Carrot & bean burger 11p
Curry & rice 27p
Aubergine sauce 35p
Pasta 75g 3p
Chilli flakes sprinkle 1p
=96
I will be able to squeeze in another teabag and a splash of soya milk for 3p later, as a treat :)
I'm Andrea, and am obsessed with creating fabulous food. After I managed to ditch dieting, the reason Chocolate and Beyond was born, it seemed natural to evolve my site into a foodie blog. More so since I also ditched animal produce to be vegan. Now, I love showing how inventive cruelty-free cooking can be. And sometimes I like to rant, too. I wouldn't be myself otherwise :) x 
Poverty in the first world usually results in obesity, unlike the third world where cheap food is mainly veggies (home grown). Most probably from all of the pasta and cheap subsidised junk food. When we visited the U.K. in 2005/2006 I couldn't believe how cheap the "Iceland" type shops were. You could get a 10kg bag of potato oven fries for 5 pounds! You couldn't get the equivalent fresh potatoes for that and it was all downhill from there. I put on 5kg while we were in the U.K. because we ate on a budget and fresh food was definatly expensive. I don't do diets any more either and most of the problem dieters have is aside from depriving themselves, they are always firmly focussed on food. On how much to portion off, what they can and can't have and the ever present feeling that you are missing out is bound to do your "diet" ideals in. I stopped dieting last year and am leaner than I have ever been since I was 13! I no longer binge, I no longer feel the need to raid the biscuit barrel when no-one is looking. I don't use food as anything other than fuel now and I think we have both hit the nail on the head with what makes people fat...diets do! Kudos on your deprivation for charity. We all need to remember just how lucky we are to have food on our plates and the ability to choose what we eat. Have you thought of pouring the dreaded spaghetti sauce over some cooked spaghetti and baking it? It would at least be a different texture ;). Cheers for this series of posts. They are very thought provoking :)
Posted by: narf7 | July 01, 2013 at 07:09 PM
Hi Narf and thanks so much for your comment and sharing your experience of being in the UK here. You are right - some of the 'bargain' type stores have unbelievably cheap food, but it is not necessarily nutritious or quality food. The one thing in their favour is that they DO also have relatively cheap frozen fruit and vegetables, which are as nutritious (if not more so) than fresh. So unless you do only have £5 for five days to spend, you can buy things like packs of summer berries or 1kg packs of broccoli for £1.
You are right - those of us who are not forced to live in such extreme circumstances need to remember how lucky we are. Thank you for stopping by, and also the baked pasta suggestion! I may actually just try that for a recipe, now my challenge is over :)
Posted by: Andrea - Chocolate and Beyond | July 02, 2013 at 07:55 AM