Well my day started off with a 1p cup of coffee, thank goodness black and unsweetened is the way I drink my coffee all the time :-)
I tipped the jar of 47p coffee into our usual coffee container on the worktop so I won't get confused during the five days and use the wrong coffee, the normal coffee is back in it's jar in the cupboard. Well I say tipped but I actually took the opportunity to count the teaspoonfuls of coffee that you get in a 100g jar. The way I drink it, a pretty heaped teaspoon for each mug, you get 45 cups of coffee in one jar, so for ease of maths I'm counting each cup of coffee that I have as 1p.
While my bread was in the toaster for breakfast I tipped out the contents of my bargain 20p stew pack of vegetables, all of them were looking reasonably healthy, a spot of dampness on one carrot and a bit of mould starting on the onion, but nothing that a bit of peeling wouldn't get rid of.
I decided it might be useful to have an extra carrot in my repertoire, so I took out the smallest and fittest looking carrot and added in one of my onions from the one kilo bag of onions, which I have worked out cost me 5p each.
So one chopped Turnip ....
... two chopped Onions ....
... two peeled and chopped Parsnips
.... and two chopped carrots ....
.... make one pan half full of simmering soup.
Rather worryingly it all looked a lot smaller and less volume once it was chopped and simmering, I'm hoping it was just the big stock pan that I used, I'll be able to see how many meals this is going to make once it comes out of the Aga and is whizzed into soup.
Then I sat down with a quarter of the jar of peanut butter spread on the four rounds of toasted bread for my breakfast..
Total cost for breakfast (including 2 cups of coffee) = 18p
Back later with an update.
*** *** ***
There I told you I would be back!!
When the stew/soup was cooked I had a taste and it was a bit bland, so I decided to make a purchase ...
... from my freebie Sachet Stash.
And as my frozen Mixed Vegetables weighed in at 11g more than the promised kilo, I picked out a few peas to add a dash of colour to today's lunch.
There ... much better!!
A good amount of soup left over.
Today's stew and three portions of soup.
A happy coincidence, but not quite an accurate statement .... it was good stew just not 'A Taste Sensation' :-)
The pricings for four meals.
One is now in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch and two are safely tucked into the freezer for later in the week.
Why am I doing this you might be asking yourself .... well I can't say it any better than THIS is explains it all so well.
To visit my fundraising page go to HERE
BIG THANKS today go to Nicola H, Chris Barrett ... in memory of my cousin Tony, and Joan Shaw (my Mum) for their wonderful donations. Thank you.
Sue xx
How do you find the cheap coffee? I bought a basic one in Sainsburys once and I thought it was ok, but I don't drink alot of coffee, but I really love Douwe Egberts.
ReplyDeleteI find it's okay when you drink it, but I tend to have a glass of cold tap water a while after as it leaves a bit of a strange after taste!!
DeleteYou certainly are being conservative, Sue, and for a good cause as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to be careful, but I think I should be okay thanks to my brilliant last minute bargain buys :-)
Deletegood luck, I see Gywneth Paltrow only lasted a couple of days, as per The Daily Mail Uk website!! I am sure you will do a heck of a lot better.
ReplyDeleteHehe ... well I didn't buy any limes ;-)
DeleteI often think I should do this challenge but the volume worries me, I eat so much, although my big bag of trotters I got given would have helped it!
ReplyDeleteTrotters with lots of pasta .... there you go!!
DeleteI take it back I think I burnt more calories cooking it than I gained eating it!
DeleteI could do this. I should do this. I am aware how many people HAVE to do this. I contribute to the food banks in my area every week but do not do this. I understand that you and the others are raising awareness and I salute you. I do watch what I spend and aim to waste nothing. I am now eating from my garden and the fresh salad and herbs that I use every day would use half of the budget. So, instead of Living Below The Line I put a basket of groceries in the food bank, every week, and I count myself very very fortunate to be able to do so. Well done on what you have raised in the past and what you are raising this time.
ReplyDeleteI am raising money for Action Against Hunger this time . Follow the link in the blog post to find out more about them. I decided to support a different charity every year :-)
DeleteThe money that I would usually have spent on food for me (we spend approx £40 a week on food for two of us at the moment, so my share is £20 minus the £5 I have spent on the food for this five days) is going to be used to buy food and toiletries for our local food bank as most of the money raised on LBTL is going to sent overseas. I buy food bank items most weeks when I'm out and about shopping but not usually to that value.
Highlighting food poverty is important to me, thanks for the support. xx
I commend you for trying this. I don't think I could do it because I get bored easily. Its not quantity its variety with me although hubby always says I could live on toast.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough I considered living on buttered toast and coffee for the week, I love it, and then thought 'nope I better not', it would make for a very boring blog post each day .... 'And here is todays toast!!"
DeleteWell done Sue, funny you should say about the toast and coffee, that would be what I would choose to live on for a week :)
ReplyDeleteI was soooo tempted :-)
DeleteWell done! Unlike you, I just couldn`t stomach coffee without at least 1/2 tsp of sweetener (I don`t use sugar anymore in my drinks). Toast with peanutbutter is one of my favourites for breakfast, too. And on a Sunday I even slather a little home made jam on top of that (as I like the American idea of peanutbuter and jellow).
ReplyDeleteIt's not that long ago that I drank my coffee white with one sweetener, it's funny how your tastes change isn't it. I tried peanut butter and jam once, although I like them both individually together they were not to my taste at all, I was actually quite disappointed.
DeleteI may try some peanut butter with banana this week, just to experiment a bit :-)
I'm addicted to millicarno
ReplyDelete2£ a tin at tescis
That's not a bad price ..... but on this challenge that would leave you with £3 for food. You would definitely be on toast and jam all week!! Lol xx
Delete