Yesterday was the final day of our £1.50 challenge. Diet pretty much the same as every other day this week. Additional toast as we had a few slices left and half a banana for desert. Also porridge made with milk as we have enough left.
So what do we have left? One slice of bread, half a jar of coffee and enough porridge for about 10 bowls.
So here are yesterday's numbers.
Energy ... 1802 kcal ... 72% RDA
Fat ... 62g ... 65% RDA
Carbohydrates ... 215g ... 72% RDA
Fibre ... 39g ... 216% RDA
Protein ... 81g ... 146% RDA
Salt ... 6g ... 87% max RDA
I haven't really felt much of an overall impact during the week, but yesterday afternoon I cycled 14 miles (visiting) and then went for a late afternoon 7 mile run - and I don't remember having such a rubbish run for a long time. Certainly looking at the numbers for that run, I was nearly 3 minutes per mile off my normal pace. Just nothing in the legs. May simply be a coincidence, or it may be the knock on cumulative impact of this diet.
When I weighed myself this morning I have lost 2.2 kg since Monday morning - that's nearly 5 lbs in 5 days. Not a healthy weight loss programme then.
Of course, for us, we can eat 'normally' again today. But for so many in this country and overseas that is just not an option. Theirs is a daily struggle to get enough to eat. As we celebrate our Harvest Thanksgiving Service tomorrow we will appreciate what we have and say thank you - whilst thinking of those who aren't as fortunate.
Saturday 4 October 2014
Thursday 2 October 2014
Day Four
Only one day of the £1.50 a day challenge to go now. This is the food that we have left.
Today's meals were very much like every other day this week. The variations were 5 bits of bread with peanut butter (using up the other piece I didn't have on Monday) rather than 4, and then the tin of mandarin oranges for dessert this evening.
I don't think I've felt as hungry this time round as when we first did this in 2011. But this time we've had an extra 50p per day, and we are only doing the challenge for 5 as opposed to 7 days. Or maybe we just made better choices in terms of what we bought.
Of course it is not just overseas where families struggle to put food on the table. The dramatic rise in the use of Food Banks is a clear indicator of that reality. And whilst this week has shown that you can eat for £1.50 a day it is difficult to eat a balanced and healthy diet on that amount.
Once again today's figures (except protein and fibre) come out below RDAs.
Energy ... 1814 kcal ... 73% RDA
Fat ... 61g ... 64% RDA
Carbohydrates ...221g ... 74% RDA
Fibre ... 40g ... 224% RDA
Protein ... 78g ... 141% RDA
Salt ... 6g ... 87% max RDA
My job is not particularly physical, but if I was to incorporate the calories burned in cycling the children to school (8 miles a day - there and back twice), and running (at least 500 kcal), then clearly this diet is not enough. For those who have physical jobs, or spend all day walking around, this will not be enough - and whilst it may have no noticeable affect over 5 days, if it continues for week after week after week then eventually it will have an impact on health.
I had a look today at the 5-a-day thing - eating 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. I'm not totally sure how this is supposed to work, but I have assumed that if a portion is essentially 80 g, then 40 g of carrots is half a portion or 60 g of leek is 3/4 portion. I do know that you can only ever count 1 portion of beans - no matter how many you eat.
Bearing this in mind today's total comes to 4.12 portions which breaks down into:
Beans: 1 portion
Sweet corn: 0.81 portions
Carrot: 0.56 portions
Broccoli: 0.19 portions
Leek: 0.56 portions
Mandarin: 1 portion
but we didn't have any fruit for the first two days and our sweet corn has now all gone.
Just like the sunflowers we looked at the other day, growing your own fruit and veg is another key way for aid agencies to help many poor communities help themselves. Whether it is providing the seed to get started, or the necessary tools, or introducing new farming techniques that improve the quality of the soil, or even providing lawyers to help displaced families re-claim their land after a conflict - the addition of fresh veg into the diet can make a real difference.
I don't think I've felt as hungry this time round as when we first did this in 2011. But this time we've had an extra 50p per day, and we are only doing the challenge for 5 as opposed to 7 days. Or maybe we just made better choices in terms of what we bought.
Of course it is not just overseas where families struggle to put food on the table. The dramatic rise in the use of Food Banks is a clear indicator of that reality. And whilst this week has shown that you can eat for £1.50 a day it is difficult to eat a balanced and healthy diet on that amount.
Once again today's figures (except protein and fibre) come out below RDAs.
Energy ... 1814 kcal ... 73% RDA
Fat ... 61g ... 64% RDA
Carbohydrates ...221g ... 74% RDA
Fibre ... 40g ... 224% RDA
Protein ... 78g ... 141% RDA
Salt ... 6g ... 87% max RDA
My job is not particularly physical, but if I was to incorporate the calories burned in cycling the children to school (8 miles a day - there and back twice), and running (at least 500 kcal), then clearly this diet is not enough. For those who have physical jobs, or spend all day walking around, this will not be enough - and whilst it may have no noticeable affect over 5 days, if it continues for week after week after week then eventually it will have an impact on health.
I had a look today at the 5-a-day thing - eating 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. I'm not totally sure how this is supposed to work, but I have assumed that if a portion is essentially 80 g, then 40 g of carrots is half a portion or 60 g of leek is 3/4 portion. I do know that you can only ever count 1 portion of beans - no matter how many you eat.
Bearing this in mind today's total comes to 4.12 portions which breaks down into:
Beans: 1 portion
Sweet corn: 0.81 portions
Carrot: 0.56 portions
Broccoli: 0.19 portions
Leek: 0.56 portions
Mandarin: 1 portion
but we didn't have any fruit for the first two days and our sweet corn has now all gone.
Just like the sunflowers we looked at the other day, growing your own fruit and veg is another key way for aid agencies to help many poor communities help themselves. Whether it is providing the seed to get started, or the necessary tools, or introducing new farming techniques that improve the quality of the soil, or even providing lawyers to help displaced families re-claim their land after a conflict - the addition of fresh veg into the diet can make a real difference.
Wednesday 1 October 2014
Day Three
Today we spent our final £1.58 ... on 4 pints of milk, a banana and a tin of pineapple chunks (on special offer).
We had the pineapple after our evening meal - the first pudding we've had all week. Half a banana tomorrow.
Apart from the pineapple, other changes from yesterday: I had an extra slice of bread. I felt hungry late afternoon, so had one of the two slices I didn't eat on Monday - so five slices of bread with peanut butter today. I also cut back to the right amount of milk, having water with my porridge. And - two whole mushrooms with the rice, not just one.
Here's the breakdown:
Energy ... 1871 kcal ... 75% RDA
Fat ... 59 g ... 62% RDA
Carbohydrate ...241 g ... 80% RDA
Fibre ... 41 g ... 225% RDA
Protein ... 75 g ... 137% RDA
Salt ... 6 g ... 88% max RDA
Here's what the girls ate this evening - it looked good and smelt good.
We had the pineapple after our evening meal - the first pudding we've had all week. Half a banana tomorrow.
Apart from the pineapple, other changes from yesterday: I had an extra slice of bread. I felt hungry late afternoon, so had one of the two slices I didn't eat on Monday - so five slices of bread with peanut butter today. I also cut back to the right amount of milk, having water with my porridge. And - two whole mushrooms with the rice, not just one.
Here's the breakdown:
Energy ... 1871 kcal ... 75% RDA
Fat ... 59 g ... 62% RDA
Carbohydrate ...241 g ... 80% RDA
Fibre ... 41 g ... 225% RDA
Protein ... 75 g ... 137% RDA
Salt ... 6 g ... 88% max RDA
Here's what the girls ate this evening - it looked good and smelt good.
Day Two
Two small things that made a difference yesterday, on day two of our challenge. First there was the realisation that I had made a mistake with my calculations - and that we have actually allowed for 4 slices of bread a day and not 2. Then at breakfast time I poured a normal helping of our milk onto my porridge before putting it in the microwave - but we don't have enough milk to do that. Fortunately we still have £1.58 of our £15 budget left so getting another 4 pints of milk isn't a problem.
The only other difference to Monday was the addition of a single mushroom to our evening meal.
But the extra milk, the additional 2 pieces of toast (with an extra 30 g of peanut butter) did make quite a difference to the numbers:
Energy...1656 kCal ... 66% RDA
Fat ... 52g ... 55% RDA
Carbohydrate ... 208g ... 70% RDA
Fibre ... 36g ... 203% RDA
Protein ... 72g ... 131% RDA
Salt ... 5g ... 80% max RDA
The thing that really surprised me was getting more than enough protein - so where did that come from? Well the beans, the porridge and the milk all helped, but the peanut butter on 4 slices of toast was significant.
You have probably heard the saying, 'give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life'. Aid agencies working with the poorest and hungriest people on earth don't simply give out food parcels but they look for ways to provide long term help so that communities can help themselves.
Sunflower seeds, like peanuts, pack in a lot of energy, fat and protein. Sunflowers are hardy and quick growing. The seeds can be used to make porridge, or turned into sunflower oil. So by providing communities with seed and vital training in modern farming techniques to help protect the young plants, communities are able to grow their way out of poverty. The improvement in diet has a knock on effect on health. Some of the harvest is replanted, some is eaten, some is turned into oil and sold. Meaning that families can afford medical care and to send their children to school.
But the extra milk, the additional 2 pieces of toast (with an extra 30 g of peanut butter) did make quite a difference to the numbers:
Energy...1656 kCal ... 66% RDA
Fat ... 52g ... 55% RDA
Carbohydrate ... 208g ... 70% RDA
Fibre ... 36g ... 203% RDA
Protein ... 72g ... 131% RDA
Salt ... 5g ... 80% max RDA
The thing that really surprised me was getting more than enough protein - so where did that come from? Well the beans, the porridge and the milk all helped, but the peanut butter on 4 slices of toast was significant.
You have probably heard the saying, 'give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for life'. Aid agencies working with the poorest and hungriest people on earth don't simply give out food parcels but they look for ways to provide long term help so that communities can help themselves.
Sunflower seeds, like peanuts, pack in a lot of energy, fat and protein. Sunflowers are hardy and quick growing. The seeds can be used to make porridge, or turned into sunflower oil. So by providing communities with seed and vital training in modern farming techniques to help protect the young plants, communities are able to grow their way out of poverty. The improvement in diet has a knock on effect on health. Some of the harvest is replanted, some is eaten, some is turned into oil and sold. Meaning that families can afford medical care and to send their children to school.
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