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7:30 Awake. Dreams last night: foraging for wild fruit in my garden. They were the biggest juiciest strawberries and raspberries I have ever, ever seen.
8:00 Mug of coffee and put porridge oats on to soak to make oat milk. I’ve no more dairy milk as the UHT stuff only lasts for three days so I finished off the last 100ml with my dinner last night.
9:00 One hour back, chest and biceps workout. A lovely friend dropped off a cup of filter coffee!
10:15 After straining this oat milk looks rank. It’s thick, like cream. I don’t think you’re supposed to use quick cook porridge oats to make oat milk – will try and dilute it to make a smoothie…. later. Yuck.
11:00 Sometimes a recipe idea works, sometimes it really doesn’t. I can’t possibly face that slimy oatmilk sludge, even diluted it gloops off the spoon. Pass. I’ve skipped breakfast today as I wasted 200 grams (15p) of my oatmeal on that idea.
12:30 Lunch – then again, sometimes a recipe idea totally works. Today’s lunch is the reserved half tin of chickpeas from yesterday’s ginger & garlic chickpeas with kale, blitzed up with sunflower oil, garlic and a pinch of ground up vegetable stock cube (25p). Served with leftover flatbread (5.9p) and a whole carrot cut into sticks (7.5p) this lunch is going down really rather well. Then again, hunger is the best spice!
Ingredients
- 120 grams tinned chickpeas (19.5p)
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil (3.75p)
- 1/2 garlic clove (1.5p)
- pinch vegetable stock cube (0.25p)
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Instructions
- Combine ingredients and puree with a hand blender or food processor.
- Serve with carrot sticks (7.5p) and flatbread (5.9p)
Nutrition
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16:00 Threw out far too much food leftover from my children’s lunch boxes. Fresh grapes, orange segments and some gorgeous mature cheddar cheese. Oh how I would love to have eaten those!
17:00 Made dinner for my family. My heart wasn’t in it so it was just simple food, poached eggs and spicy oven chips to dip (pasta for the little ‘uns). Made spaghetti for myself with the rest of the tomato sauce from yesterday as it was so lovely. No garlic bread today though as my bread is frozen, and frankly, it’s a bit stale now. Watched my daughter pop delicious ruby cherry tomatoes into her mouth one by one, giggling while she was savouring each juicy mouthful. So… very…. envious.
21:00 I’m so, so very hungry. Seriously, low blood sugar ravenous.
21:30 I can’t do it. I’ve failed. It started with a handful of those beautiful, succulent cherry tomatoes, and then I completely caved and made myself a ham and cheese sandwich. With mustard. And mayonnaise. And a great big glass of ice cold milk. That was followed by a Crunchie chocolate bar, but in my defense I didn’t pay for that. My neighbour gave us a couple of them as a thank you after I photocopied some things for him a few days ago.
If you are new to this series of blog posts this week, from the 24th-30th of November 2014 I am taking the FoodCycle Breadline Challenge. This challenge, designed to raise awareness of food poverty in the UK and help raise vital funds for the Food Cycle food hubs, asks us to live off of only £2-10 per day (per person) for food and drink. Although we are a family of five, I am taking this challenge on my own, with an entire shopping budget of only £14-70. I will be blogging recipes, tips and thoughts throughout the week. You can sponsor me over on my Virgin Money Giving Page. A great big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me already, I am very grateful!
PLEASE SPONSOR ME ON THE #BREADLINECHALLENGE VIA VIRGIN MONEY GIVING
Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary with match, pound for pound, up to £200 the amount raised for Food Cycle via my Virgin Money Giving Page to donate to the Shetland Food Bank for their Christmas Food Parcels. Around 60 Shetland families will be supported by these food parcels this festive season.
About Food Cycle:
Food Cycle is a UK charity that combines volunteers, surplus food and spare kitchen spaces to create tasty, nutritious meals for people at risk of food poverty and social isolation.
£50 will help them serve healthy, nutritious three course meals for 100 people. Follow @FoodCycle on Twitter using the hashtag #BreadlineChallenge to keep up to date.
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Jeanne Horak-Druiff
Oh don’t think you’ve failed!! As hard as hunger is, it must be made doubly hard by the fact that there IS food in the house and that you have to cook and prepare it for your family while trying to stick to your meagre budget. So impressed with your willpower, even with the hiccup of the ham sandwich 😉
Johanna GGG
wow I am impressed at your project – it does make me feel quite shamefaced at how much we have when I hear you talk about how hard it is to exist on so little. it also reminds me just why poverty can affect people in so many ways if they are dealing with all the side effects of hunger and low blood sugar – good luck with finishing up the challenge
Elizabeth
Thank you Johanna – it has really made me think too about my spending habits and just how lucky we really are. We’re not well off by any means and should my husband lose his job we’d be in a bit of a pickle with very little savings. Anyone can fall on hard times.
Jen @ Blue Kitchen Bakes
You’re doing so well Elizabeth, not much longer to go now. Hummus and flatbreads always makes a good lunch.
Elizabeth
Thanks Jen – that lunch really did fill me up, which was nice!
Michelle Utterlyscrummy
I don’t blame you for caving in. We did the Live Below The Line challenge as a family and it was SO hard! Oh my goodness the whinging, tummy rumbles and brain numbing hunger. I’m so glad you are taking on the challenge and blogging about it. I volunteer at our local Foodcycle and it is such a fun morning and the three course meals are always appreciated by our diners. Your recipes are inventive and delicious, I’ll try out the energy bites on my lot. Well done, keep going, only a few days to go! 🙂
Elizabeth
Living under £2.10 was difficult, I can’t imagine struggling to live below £1 like the challenge you did – hat’s off to you! Delighted to hear you volunteer at your local Food Cycle, I wish there was something like that up here in Shetland.
Camilla @FabFood4All
Aaw Elizabeth I don’t blame you at all for crumbling, you can’t function if your blood sugar is too low and skipping breakfast is never a good idea! Keep at it – you’re doing great.
Elizabeth
It made me think that if I lived like that for an extended period of time I probably would have no qualms about stealing food. Desperate times call for desperate measures!
fashion-mommy
You are doing so well, and the hummus looks delicious.
#ukbloggers
Elizabeth
Thank you! 🙂
Hannah Staveley
We had a nice selection of hummus the other month was nice.
Elizabeth
I do love my hummus and there are so many different ways to make and flavour it. My favourite includes toasted cumin seeds 🙂
Kavey
Have been reading all these and so impressed at how you’re sticking to this. Really well done!
Elizabeth
Thank you Kavey for your support xx