£7 challenge - a review

As we look back on last week's £7 challenge - first of all I want to say a big 'well done' to all of you who completed the challenge. About half of those who started at church made it to the end of the week, and although it was hard, I think we're all glad we did it. So what will we take away with us?

Everyone is agreed that we have so much to be thankful to God for, and so much that we take for granted. I think generally speaking, we have no idea just how fortunate we are.

It was also good to see just how little you can live off. We have already made some changes to our shopping/eating/cooking habits, in the light of this experience, and think that this week's shop (general supermarket shop including food, washing products etc etc), for the five of us, is probably about £30 less than normal. Even if it was only half that amount, that would still work out at about £800 saving over a year.

When it comes to awareness of the issues related to world poverty this was a very beneficial exercise. It has highlighted the significance of some of the issues in a way that straight statistics never could. For example, when we hear of rises in food prices, this is a slight concern for us, as strained budgets might be strained a little more - but it is rarely a potential matter of life and death. But when every penny has to be careful accounted for, if wheat or rice, for example go up in price, then something else has to be sacrificed - and that something might be vegetables. Alternatively if health care is needed then maybe what that increase in the food price means is that the family can't eat today.

Also whilst I rarely felt hungry during the challenge, especially after we bought a third loaf of bread, the numbers show that it wasn't a balanced diet. As I've mentioned there was little fruit or veg. although plenty of rice, bread and lentils. Throughout the week I kept a nutrition spreadsheet - which is a lot easier to do when everything you eat can be kept in a medium size plastic box, and is basically the same thing each day. The figures below are my daily average, with the figures in brackets being the recommended daily amount, and the percentage I managed.

Energy in kC...1805...(2500...72%)
Protein in g...59...(55...108%)
Carbs in g...265...(300...88%)
Fat in g...58...(95...62%)
Fibre in g...32...(25...129%)

Although protein and fibre were high, with energy and fat being well down it is not surprising that everyone who took part lost weight - some as much as 2 to 3 pounds (if you take into consideration exercise which added an average of 430kC per day to my total required - that then gives an energy percentage of 62%).

Obviously eating this diet over a long period of time would have health implications. But eating the right foods can make a big difference. Peanut butter on toast was probably one of my best buys of the week. One slice of toast, no marg. or butter, and 20g peanut butter provides about 6% of daily energy, carbs and fat, but just over 10% of protein and fibre. On the days I ran I had six slices. Porridge was also very good as were kidney beans and rice.

Again this shows that little changes to diet can have a big impact. Schemes that allow people to grow their own veg., or improve the quality and quantity of what they grow are great. As are schemes that provide a goat, a chicken or a cow. Little things that have a big impact.

One of the biggest dangers of all this is that we are so overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, and so aware of the 'smallness' and insignificance of our efforts to change things and make a difference, that we end up doing nothing. But small changes really can have a life changing impact on one person or one community. Let's play our part.

£7 challenge - day seven

Today was the final day of the £7 challenge, although it was not a whole day. This evening, at 7pm, we ended the challenge with a meal at church followed by a talk from a Tear Fund representative. Today, thanks to careful planning, and careful measuring of everything (including every helping of peanut butter) our final pieces of bread were toasted and covered with the final scrapings of peanut butter/lemon curd. The final cups of coffee were drunk at lunch time. The final orange was shared. All we have left is about 200g of porridge and 60g of rice - everything else has gone - but we do still have 6p left from our combined total of £14.

As this coming week is going to be a normal week, shopping had to be done. Nine apples for 65p - couldn't find them at that price last week - and there were some other great bargains too. With a slight change in habits we have probably saved about £30 on our normal weekly shop for the coming week, and if you take just the food, for all five of us, then we have probably not spent much over £2 per person per day.

Of course the purpose of this exercise wasn't primarily about saving money. What long term changes will it lead to? Changes that will have a meaningful impact on the lives of those who do live off $1 a day? Or maybe a less daunting question, a better question - what changes can I make that will have a real impact on one person who currently lives off less than $1 a day?

What's with the chocolate coated apples? That was this afternoon's activity with our girls, in preparation for this evening's meal. Probably the hardest few hours of the challenge so far, especially when they started licking the spoons!

Come back tomorrow for some final reflections.

£7 challenge - day six

Today is the final full day of the £7 challenge, as tomorrow evening we end the experiment with a meal at church and a talk from a representative of Tear Fund. Those of you who have been taking part, well done for getting this far - the end is in sight.

Yesterday we finished the lentils, today we all but finished the rice, the curry powder has gone as are all the vegetables, stock cubes, kidney beans and oil. We have just enough coffee left for a couple of cups each tomorrow.

Apart from the first few days I have not really felt hungry - although I am always ready to eat when it is meal time. I think that third loaf of bread, reduced to 35p made the difference, as it meant something to eat before bed, and a bit more throughout the day.

Breakfast and lunch today were as for most of the week, although as it was also a running day I had an extra (large) bowl of porridge and two slices of toast straight after my 10.5 mile run, to try and make up for the 1200 kC used up in exercise. Then this evening we had curried rice and bean burgers, with rice.

During this week we have kept most of our food in plastic box on the kitchen worktop, the veg. and milk in the fridge, with the bread in the freezer, just taking out the right amount for each day to make sure there was no risk of it going mouldy. Vegetable peelings have been boiled to make stock, carrots have been eaten without being peeled. All meals have been eaten and bowls scrapped. Very little has been thrown away.

It is estimated that 1 billion hungry people could be fed with the food that is thrown away in the UK, the US and Europe. And whilst supermarkets are partly responsible most of the food thrown away in this country is thrown away by normal households. Too much has been prepared, use by dates have been exceeded, food has not been stored properly, people don't know what to do with leftovers. And all that waste food needed to be grown, made, transported, packaged...Once again it is a case of those of us at the top of the pile using more than our fair share of the world's resources.

But what difference will it really make if I use a little less, and throw away less? That's always the question. What difference does it make if I recycle - but massive nations do nothing to reduce factory emissions? What difference will it make if I choose to only eat meat once or twice a week? But I just don't think we can afford to think that way. I need to do what I can - and one thing I can do is to waste less food, and encourage others to do the same.


Some comments by others taking part in the £7 challenge have been left on 'Get Planning'.

£7 challenge - day five

Today was a lentil day so see Sunday and Tuesday for food details. There was no homemade rice pudding today, but we did have a delicious homemade rice and vegetable soup for lunch, to supplement a peanut butter sandwich and half an orange. The soup was made with 80g of rice, a stock cube, 1 carrot, a tiny bit of parsnip, and a little bit of swede, a slice of onion, and a clove of garlic - and water.

Jilly left a comment on 'Get Planning' in which she mentioned using homegrown vegetables. Having the self imposed responsibility as the maker of the rules, I have previously said 'no' to the use of homegrown veg. My thinking is that many of those who are living on $1 or $2 a day do not have access to growing their own veg. But some of them will. So the fact that Jilly is able to grow her own veg. is a real benefit to her diet, and if she also had her own chickens, pigs, cows etc. no doubt she could enjoy free eggs, milk and bacon - as long as they were free range/free grazing and didn't need feeding.

Which brings me on to the point I want to make, and that is about making a difference. One thought I have repeatedly had is that it is all very well doing this challenge for a week, but what difference will it actually make? What changes can I actually make here in the UK to my lifestyle, that will make a difference to someone who only has £1 a day to spend, not just on their food, but on rent, transport, medicine, schooling...?

And the point that Jilly raises is an important one. If I had received an extra few pounds, or a red cross parcel (as someone offered to send us when they heard what we were up to this week) I might have eaten a little more this week, or been able to afford some luxury items such as a bag of apples, some peppers or a courgette, but next week I'd be back on £1 a day.

But if I was provided with quality seeds; composting skills or a worm composting kit - improving the quality of poor soil; training to grow crops vertically making use of every spare inch of space; education on which vegetables are able to provide the right vitamins and minerals. Or if I was provided with a chicken, a goat, fish or even (in, say, Peru) a guinea pig, this would make a real difference as eggs and milk would make valuable additions to my diet, animals could breed to be sold, and the meat would be a valuable source of protein.

Sending a fish or a goat to a remote village in Africa might not seem all that easy - especially if you want it to get there alive. It won't easily fit in an envelope and you won't be allowed to take it in your hand luggage - but fortunately there are a number of aid and relief agencies that do the hard work. Many mission organisations, like BMS World Mission support agricultural work in places such as refugee camps on the Thai/Burma border or in flood hit villages in Peru. Organisations like Tearfund and Christian Aid use funds raised to create and support sustainable projects that improve people's diet and therefore their health, and over time allow people to escape hunger and poverty.

Many of those who live off less than $2 a day will not even be able to afford the few vegetables we have eaten this week, and so the ability to grow a few fresh vegetables would make a real difference. I can see how supporting this kind of agricultural work could make a  world of difference.

£7 challenge - day four

We've now past the half way point in our £7 challenge. In terms of what we've eaten it's pretty much the same as Monday, but with a bit more rice, an extra carrot, 1/4 of a swede, and two extra slices of bread.

Today's highlight was the surprise of a banana, a lovely present from my wonderful wife. This cost us 9p, which along with another 4 pints of milk, takes our total weekly spend to £13.94, so still another 6p left to spend. 3/4 of a banana (I did share it) was just what I needed after a 6 mile run.

One of the things that made today a little harder for both of us we being in close proximity to food that we were unable to eat. I had a meeting this evening with a tasty looking buffet, and my wife first of all made some chocolate treats for a school party tomorrow, and then iced a cake for an icing demo she's doing on Friday. Our children have not been taking part in the challenge, and a nightly temptation is to finish off the food left on their plates.

In many places wealth and poverty exist in close proximity. Those who have alongside those who do not. Those with more than enough to eat next to those with nothing.

Sometimes we are physically reminded that we have so much and others have so little. At other times it can be easy to forget that we are at the top of the pile.

The UN Committee on World Food Security have been meeting this week in Rome, and on Monday Ban Ki-moon sent a message in which he reminded delegates that "There is more than enough food on the planet to feed everyone, yet today nearly 1 billion people will go hungry because food is unavailable or unaffordable.  This is the context in which you meet." If help is going to reach those at the bottom, something will have to change in those of us who are at the top.

£7 challenge - day three

The highlight of today was this evening's three course meal. Breakfast and lunch were much the same as yesterday although half an orange was substituted for the banana. But this evening...the first course was a glass of clean drinking water; the main course was a delicious red lentil curry - as on Monday but with no stock cube, an extra carrot and 1/4 swede - with a slice of bread as a side dish; dessert was homemade rice pudding made from 100g rice, 1/4 pint of milk, and some water - topped off with half an orange.

In terms of nutrition today's totals, including the piece of toast with peanut butter I will be having later, come to:

Calories: 1500 kC (2500)
Protein: 54g (55)
Carbos: 216g (300)
Fat: 49g (95)
Fibre: 27g (25)

So pretty good for protein, but still not a lot of fruit and veg - only 1/4 onion, 1 carrot, 1/8 swede, a bit of garlic, and an orange.

By mid afternoon I was feeling quite hungry today, but caught myself saying, 'I'm starving'. Clearly we're not starving - you only need to look at the photos of our evening meals to know that that is not the case. Yes, we're a bit hungry because we are eating less than normal, and when we get a bit peckish there are no biscuits or crisps to eat - and whilst we could have an extra slice of bread, if we eat it now, it won't be there at the end of the week - but we're not starving.

Billions of people have about £1 to spend a day, and that's not just for their food - that's all they have to spend. And so if medication is needed, or some other emergency expense, they literally go hungry. People on our planet continue to starve, going days without food, and I'm complaining about feeling a little hungry, but knowing that I have a red lentil curry to look forward to, and come Sunday this little experiement comes to an end.

£7 challenge - day two

I never thought I would be so pleased to see a swede and a parsnip. Today we spent a further £1.35 on a loaf of bread (35p), 6 oranges (50p) and a 'stew vegetable pack' consisting of 3 carrots, a swede and a parsnip, for the amazing price of 50p. And we still have £1.15 left of our £14 - although this is in reserve for more milk.

One of the things that was clear as I made my first cup of coffee of the day, to go with my porridge, was that we had used too much milk and too much coffee yesterday - so now I am rationing my coffee intake to the two cups that go with breakfast, and maybe one more before lunch.

As I went for a 7 mile run today, which apparently used almost 800 kC, I had an extra bowl of porridge and one piece of toast with peanut butter, straight after my run. Then two more slices of toast and peanut butter and a whole banana for lunch - that's the end of the week's bananas. And it's only Monday.

This evening's meal was a vegetable and bean curry with rice. We have plenty of rice and now a few more vegetables, so we could include 1/2 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 of the swede, 1/3 parsnip, a whole carrot, a tin of kidney beans, 9g tomato puree, 30ml olive oil, 15g curry powder with 240g of rice (uncooked). No stock cube required as we made vegetable stock from the vegetable peelings - the stock cube is being saved for a potential vegetable soup later in the week.

With the extra loaf of bread we can look forward to a slice of toast before bedtime.

The bread was reduced (from 69p to 35p) because it had to be sold by today, and as we have a freezer we can put it in there, and only take out slices as and when we need them. Of course without a freezer we would not be able to make the most of such deals, and without a fridge we would be even worse off in terms of not being able to store food. Of course most of those who are living off $1 or $2 a day, every day, for real, don't have the luxury of fridges and freezers - making their lives even harder. We really do have so much to be thankful for.

The extra porridge and bread and the rice have boosted the amount of food we were able to eat today.

Calories............1800kC...(2500)..72% (54% if run included)
Protein..............52g..........(55)......95%
Carbohydrates.....280g.........(300)...93%
Fat....................55g...........(95)....58%
Fibre.................31g...........(25)....124%

Back to lentils tomorrow. Check back for some lessons that we're learning...

£7 challenge - day one

Today was the first day of the £7 challenge, living for a week with a £7 budget for all food and drink. To find out more and read why we're doing this read this post.

So today I had porridge with water and two cups of coffee for breakfast. A normal breakfast would be something like 2 weetabix with milk, home made yogurt, an apple and a banana, and maybe a kiwi fruit. Again there would have been two cups of coffee - but not instant!

Sunday lunch consisted of a red lentil curry. The recipe for two is:

30ml olive oil (a lot more than we'd normally use)
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
15g curry powder
1 carrot
166g lentils
1 stock cube
8g tomato puree

This is not a lot different from what we might normally eat although it would probably have contained a whole onion as well as courgettes, mushrooms, tinned tomatoes and a couple of peppers; there would probably have been a nan bread on the side, and there would have been a dessert of some form or other.

Before church this evening I had a piece of toast with 15g peanut butter, and a cup of coffee, and then our evening meal consisted of 2 pieces of toast and peanut butter and a whole banana. We were only going to have half a banana each, but they are already starting to go black, so we splurged and had a whole banana each.

Already it is obvious that we are going to need more milk (£1 of our remaining £2.50). Once the bananas are gone we will try to get some apples. And then spend the rest on whatever vegetables we can get cheaply.

Although lunch tasted fantastic, I could have done with seconds, and that nan bread as well as dessert. It's only 10.30pm and I am hungry - no weetabix before bed tonight. We have food to eat, but not enough, and not enough fruit and vegetables.

In terms of nutritional value I worked it all out earlier. The approximate totals for the whole day are given below with the figures in brackets being the daily recommended amount per day.

Calories...................1450 kCal.......(2500).......58% of RDA
Protein....................49g.............(55)...........89% of RDA
Carbohydrates.............172g...........(300).........57% of RDA
Fat.........................66g............(95)...........69% of RDA
Fibre......................24g.............(25)...........96% of RDA

In terms of weight loss potential for the week - looking likely. If you're familiar with the weight watchers points system today's total comes in at 35 points (even with the 15g of olive oil) - but this is still in the weight loss region. Tomorrow will see a little variety in that we are alternating the lentil curry with rice and beans - and as we have 1.5kg of rice larger portions will be available. But tomorrow I have a 7 mile run scheduled! I have a half marathon in two week's time and training and the lack of calories and carbs doesn't look a good combination.

Check back tomorrow to see how we're getting on.

Let the challenge begin

So, it is time for the £7 challenge to begin. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about read back for a few posts...but here's our food for the next week.

As I'm doing this challenge with my wife we have £14 to spend, and so far I'm not sure what we've actually spent - so let's work it out now. It is actually cheaper to buy cheap bread than flour, yeast and salt to make your own - although it won't taste anywhere near as good

Curry powder £0.39
1kg rice £0.40
1.5kg porridge oats £1.09
Lemon Curd £0.22
250 ml olive oil £1.00
500g Lentils £0.88
Stock Cubes £0.65
Coffee (Instant and Fairtrade) £1.89
3 onions £0.63
6 carrots £0.30
Garlic £0.30
4 fairtrade bananas £0.40
4pts milk £1.00
2 loaves of bread £1.10
3 tins of kidney beans £0.48
Peanut butter £0.52
1 tin tomato puree £0.25

And the grand total so far is...£11.50. So that leaves us with £2.50 to spend later in the week. But we might need some more milk, and we will need some more fruit, so probably won't be spending it all on a skinny latte!

Doing without...

How's the planning for the £7 challenge going? We've decided that it's porridge for breakfast, a lemon curd or peanut butter sandwich for lunch - or maybe poached egg on toast for a couple of the days, and then either lentils or rice for the evening meal. We'll have coffee and water to drink. (As there are two of us doing it together we have a total allowance of £14.)

So far our shopping list consists of:

Yeast £0.82
Curry powder £0.39
Rice £0.40
Porridge oats £1.09
Flour £1.02
Lemon Curd £0.22
Oil £1.00
Lentils £0.88
Stock Cubes £0.65
Coffee (Instant and Fairtrade) £1.89

So that lot comes to £8.36, leaving the two of us £5.64. With this we need to get:

4 pints of milk £1.00
Salt (about) £0.20 - this will be for the bread - it might be cheaper to buy bread depending on what offers are around on Saturday!
Peanut butter £0.52
Garlic £0.30
Onions £1.20
Bananas £1.39
Eggs £0.69
3 tins Kidney beans £0.48

So that lot comes to £5.78

Which is too much and obviously leaves no money to buy the carrots (£0.50), mushrooms (£1.00), cabbage (£0.90) and some other fruit (kiwi fruit (£1.00), apples (£1.00)) that we'd hoped for...

So back to the drawing board with the planning...

Probably get two loaves of bread for less than £1.20 - so that would save about £0.80.
Forget the eggs - saving £0.69.
No peanut butter - saving £0.52.

Total now stands at: £12.13 meaning we could afford mushrooms and carrots...need to visit the shops and see what special offers are available.

What difference can I make?

We are often overwhelmed with a sense of need and feel that our individual contribution is so insignificant and meaningless that we end up doing nothing. How can filling one shoe box with a few items make a difference in the life of a child who is faced with poverty or famine or war?

This short video will show you just how much difference that one shoe box makes.



If you want to be a part of this year's Operation Christmas Child campaign, which runs from 1-18 November, and want to know what to do, or where to drop of your completed box, you'll find everything you need by clicking here.

Get Planning

If you are going to be taking part in the £7 challenge next week then now is the time to start planning your meals and shopping list. With only £7 to spend per person for all your food and drink for the whole week careful preparation is going to be needed if you are not going to run out of food half way through, or find that although you have a whole box of sugar puffs to eat you have no milk left to eat them with.

Also, you don't want to forget those items such as cooking oil, coffee/tea, milk, herbs, salt, sugar, spices...remember the £7 per person is to cover everything that you will use in your cooking and everything that you will eat and drink.

So far the cheapest option for oil I have found is £1 for 250ml of olive oil - but I can't remember if that was from Sainsburys or Morrisons.

In terms of drinks probably going to go with a reasonable own label instant (caffeinated) coffee, and then go without tea, and drink water for the rest of the day.

As I am doing this challenge with my wife we have £14 to spend between us which does allow for a bit more variety - in that we can afford both rice and lentils. We can also afford flour and yeast so will be able to make our own bread. Fresh fruit and veg is a challenge so will probably have to do with one piece of fruit a day. Protein will mainly be coming from kidney beans, which we have found for 16p a tin.

Probably go for an own brand jar of lemon curd, and peanut butter - and go without margarine/butter.

Breakfast is going to be porridge - so have to get up a bit earlier as it takes a bit longer to prepare, and a lot longer to wash up afterwards! I think we've got 1kg of porridge for £1.09 which will do about 25 portions - and by the end of the week we may have got used to eating it made with water instead of milk, and without salt, sugar or syrup.

Where we come from

This morning my eldest daughter (Year 2) did a class assembly based on this half-term's geography project 'Where we come from'. One of the great things about living in this part of London is that there are so many people from so many different parts of the world. I'll no doubt forget some of the countries represented in this class assembly (with 30 children) but I can remember: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, England, Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Sweden, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, Portugal, Albania, Bangladesh, Somalia.

One of my responsibilities as a school governor is to ensure that the school's equalities policy is implemented and it was great to see all these children recognising that they are unique and that they are special, and taking the time to celebrate each other's culture. Hopefully as this class goes through the school together their multi-cultural friendships will grow and they will leave school free from the stereo-types and prejudices that we fall into when we start seeing groups of people as 'them' and 'us'.

Unfortunately, but understandably, the school's photography policy means that although we could take photos we can't put them on the internet.

Something for you to try at home...

If you were at our harvest service today, and enjoyed hearing about the work of BMS World Mission in Peru, here are some Peruvian recipe ideas for you to try at home.


Harvest 2011 - Cooking from BMS World Mission on Vimeo.

Introducing the £7 challenge

If you've been following the last few posts you may have picked up a common thread. Last Sunday we looked at some statistics - such as, 1.1 billion people live on less that $1 a day, and about 3 billion live on less than $2 a day. For those of you in the UK that is about 65p and £1.30.

I guess if you are living on that kind of money, you probably don't have a bank account or credit card - so essentially if there is money in your pocket you can eat - but if there isn't then you'll go hungry, won't be able to afford medicines...

I wonder how many of us really think about the food that we eat? In a couple of week's time a number of people from church are going to take up the £7 challenge. That is - you have a budget of £7 to cover all of your food and drink for a week. If there are two of you then you have £14 for the week...

Everything you eat and drink must come out of that £7. Suddenly a jar of coffee at £2.50 becomes a bit of a luxury - and don't forget the milk and sugar - a skinny latte from Starbucks is certainly out of the question.

Unlike billions of people in the world you will continue to have access to clean drinking water. So during the coffee break at work - when you can't have coffee/milk/sugar/biscuits (unless it is out of your £7) you can drink water - and when someone asks what you're doing it will be a great opportunity to raise awareness. [Maybe you could even get your friends to sponsor you for the week and donate the money to someone like Tearfund].

You cannot simply eat at your friend's house every evening - that's definitely cheating.

I'm pretty much making up the 'rules' as I go along. But I think that buying in bulk and calculating price depending on how much you use is NOT allowed. Many people in the majority world simply don't have the means to bulk buy and store. [What I mean is that you can't buy 1 litre of cooking oil for £1, but only plan on using 100ml during the week, and therefore say that your oil only costs 10p]. Although if you wanted to get together with a number of friends and club your money together, and then divide your shopping up at the start of the week, or even cook together, that would be allowed. Communities in the majority world benefit hugely from coming together and forming corporations etc. This has a big impact on both purchasing power but also selling power. It also has benefits in terms of forming community.

I've already started to think about a week's shopping for £7, and it's a lot harder than you might think - but I guess that's the point. Once the money has gone that's it. You can't just nip round the corner for a pint of milk.

More to follow...and if you want to join in let me know by adding a comment below.

[A note on comments: when you comment it won't appear straight away, it has to be approved. I don't do this so that I can weed out comments I don't agree with. I do it because spammers comment and hide links to unsuitable websites in their messages.]