£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...