Live Below The Line - Day 2

You know when you are just stirring awake, minds are usually blank or full of last night's weird dream - well mine is anyway.  But not this morning, this morning it was all about FOOD.

It went something like this:
MIND - Hey get up, I am hungry.
BODY - Go back to sleep.
MIND - No, seriously, get up, hungry, need to eat.
BODY - Go back to sleep.
MIND - Get up now before someone else eats the food and there is nothing left.
BODY - Go back to sleep.
MIND - ........ You need a wee...
BODY - Sigh, I'm up!
MIND - Good, feed me!

Normally on a morning, I pop the kettle on, make myself a brew (that's if there is no one in the house to do it for me) and don't even think about eating.  By the time I have my second brew I start thinking I should eat (breakfast kick starts the metabolism don't ya know?) but I am never hugely interested.

If Hubby is home the question is "What do you want on your toast?"  The answer is always "Whatever" - coz I am really not that bothered about having it at all.

But, not this morning, this morning my budget marmalade, atop my budget spread, sitting on my budget bread, was the breakfast of kings.

The label on my brew said "Squeeze Me", so I did, to squash every last bit of caffeine out of it  :)  Breakfast cost me 11.5p.

Bread	6p
Spread	2p
Marmalade	3p
Tea	0.5p
Total	11.5p

My food stash looks miserable this morning.  Depleted in quantity somewhat, my heart sinks, but then I remember I do have spread, marmalade, cottage cheese, a tub of soup and 3 burgers in the fridge.  All is not so bad then.

Lunch time, and I guess it's soup.  I thought I would try and make some kind of croutons today, so buttered some bread lightly on both sides and dry fried.

It tasted good - I shall call it "Butternut Squash & Leek Soup with Blackened Bread" - sounds posh huh?

Again, doing a 12-4pm shift at work I thought it was a good idea to split it down into two halves and have half before and half after. Lunch cost me 27p.

Bread	6p
Spread	2p
Soup	18p
Tea	1p
TOTAL	27p

Dinner time saw me reaching for the bread again - bread for three meals, most unlike me.

I made a curried potato and pea tart, wanna make some?  Here comes the recipe.

The recipe ingredients:

• 3 slices of bread (9p)
• Spread (3p)
• Mixed Herbs (1p)
• Half tin of potatoes (10p)
• Half tin of marrowfat peas (10.5p)
• Curry Sauce from a jar (3p)

What you do:

• Using a rolling pin roll out the bread as thin as you can, then butter it very lightly on both sides.

• Form into a deep dish, sprinkle with mixed herbs, then pop into the oven Gas 6 for about 10 mins until crispy.

• Carefully prise out the bread shape and place upside down on a baking tray and pop back into the oven to bake the bottom.
• Meanwhile, drain the potatoes and chop into smaller chunks. 

• Drain the peas and add half to the potatoes.  Add two dessert-spoons of curry sauce and stir to coat.

• Remove the tart from the oven and leave to cool, when cool pop in the potato curry and serve.

Total cost of my Potato & Pea Curried Tart was 36.5p.

My total food value today was....

Breakfast
Bread	6p
Spread	2p
Marmalade	3p
Tea	0.5p
Lunch
Bread	6p
Spread	2p
Soup	18p
Teas	1p
Dinner
Potato Curry Tart	36.5p
Tea	1p
TOTAL	76p

This challenge isn't seeing what poverty is like, it's a game really.  At any point I know I could give in and eat well from my freezer or fridge, but I wont.  At any point I can go and spend £20-£30 on craft materials (it happens, a lot) but this week, I wont.  At any point I can grab a bottle of wine from my rack, but I wont.

Poverty is not looking forward to your 5 days of scrimpy eating ending, poverty is it NOT ending.


If you would like to help me reach my target, every single £1.00 helps, then please click on the link below.

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/soozintheshed