Live Below the Line 2015


My One Stop Shop - Asda


The Receipt


Added Extras
Our own Free Range Eggs at cost price 48p per half dozen
Sparkling Water (from the cupboard)  which cost me 17p

Total Spend £4.83


17p over to spend on salt, pepper etc from my freebie stash tin.


Coffee, my mainstay of the week, coffee at 1p a cup.



Day One


Breakfast - Four slices of toast and quarter of jar of peanut butter = 18p


Lunch - Stew made with bargain 20p stew pack and 1 slice toast = 8p


Tea - 100g rice (dry weight) and half a tin of beans = 16p

Five coffees and one glass of water = 7p

Total for the day - 49p



Day Two


Breakfast -Two eggs scrambled on two slices of toast = 17p


Lunch - Soup and 3 garlic breads = 10p


Tea - Two Fish Cakes and boiled rice = 28p


Dessert - Banana Icecream - 12p

Six coffees and one glass of water 8p

Total for the day - 75p



Day Three


Breakfast - Three slices of toast with Peanut Butter = 16p


Lunch - Small egg on one slice of toast = 9p


Tea - Two Fishcakes with rice and mixed veg with 2 sachets of mayo = 38p

Total for the day - 71p


Day Four


Breakfast - Fried Egg on one slice of toast = 9p


Lunch - Soup with 3 slices of bread - 8p


Tea - Egg Mayo sandwiches with Radishes (and their leaves) = 12p

Total for the day - 48p



Day Five


Breakfast - Peanut Butter and banana on toast = 28p


Lunch - Soup with 3 garlic breads - 10p

Lovely Hubby joined me and had Soup and 4 garlic breads for his lunch.



Tea - 'Bean Burgers' with rice and boiled veg - 32p

Total for the day - 77p


Total for the Five Days of the Challenge - £3.20


 Food Left Over


Peanut Butter and Onions ....


... 9 wasted onions  :-(


One lonely carrot - I forgot about it!!


About 50p worth of my Frozen Mixed Vegetables.



The workings out.


Shopping for the local Food Bank - instead of sponsoring myself I wanted to do something more local  :-)



Best Meal of the Week - Egg Mayo Sandwiches

Best Value Ingredient in my Opinion - Sardines

Tastiest Ingredient - Our own Free Range Eggs

Thing I Didn't Expect to Like ... but did - Peanut Butter and Banana on Toast

Biggest Mistake - Not planning better and using up ALL of my ingredients

Musings

What did I learn from this, my final foray in living' Below the Line' -well mostly .... that money buys you choice.  

Having good food to eat makes you more imaginative about what you do with it -  I could have eaten so much better if my imagination had been switched on.  I mean ... just looking at the leftovers I could have rustled up a tasty(ish) pan of soup for a start. 

If I were doing Live Below the Line again how would I do it differently - I would keep to what I normally eat.   I should have wrote out a definite menu plan and then shopped.  I would shop again at almost closing time on the Sunday before it kicks off ... if I hadn't been lucky enough to get that stew pack of vegetables for 20p my week would have been even worse.  I would buy flour instead of rice and make my own pasta, I would try to have more homegrown produce available.  Things are pennies and fractions of pennies if you grow your own, and the freshness and tastiness just cannot be replicated.

It is getting harder and harder to take part in Live Below the Line, prices are rising astronomically, which just goes to show us all, that if you really are living in this situation in this or any other country you are fighting an uphill battle.  This challenge is brilliant at bringing our awareness to the plight of so many folk and THAT is why I totally think it is a worthwhile cause.

I have taken part for four of the last five years and I now pass the baton on to someone else, maybe you can do better than me.

*** *** *** *** ***

I have also learnt that in general it is easy to live cheaply if you have some basics at your disposal.... a spice rack full of spices, a few pots of herbs and a few things in your larder ... tomato puree, butter, garlic, good brown rice, a bag of flour etc


Thank you to each and every person who sponsored me and visited my Live Below the Line fundraising page.  Without you none of this would have been possible, between us we managed to raise an impressive £449.   Your faith in me was what kept me going.  You are brilliant.

And as Pamela Dungar, one my sponsors said  'Let us pray that it does make a difference.'

Thank you.
















6 comments:

  1. Love your round up of Live Below the Line.
    I'd been thinking about listing best / worst items from LBTL, was intending to nominate my silicon spatula as "best utensil", for getting every last bit of food onto my bowl or plate!

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    Replies
    1. They really are THE best frugal kitchen accessory aren't they :-)

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  2. Congratulations on completing the challenge Sue, your efforts are inspiring :)

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  3. Really good and economical which is the goal; but not so good on your lack of fresh vegetables.

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    Replies
    1. For a spend of less than £5 for five days food I thought I did quite well on the vegetable front really. There was the stewpack AND the frozen veggies, which contain more nutrients than older fresh veggies, I also had fresh radishes straight from the ground, you can't get fresher than that!!

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