May Bulman and her housemates are bravely taking part in the Living Below The Line Challenge to raise money for Action on Poverty. This involves living on a maximum of £1 a day for five days. Read on to see how she her first day went!
“So we’re on the first day of our five-day challenge. £1 a day on food and drink is already proving to be a pretty tough call. I’ve just eaten dinner, which I had been itching for over an hour before…
Talking of itching I’m also somewhat nervous about going to music event Itchy Feet tonight and not drinking a drop of anything but tap water. I’m hoping the Rock & Roll tunes will make us forget that we’re probably the only sober kids in the club, but needless to say it will be an odd experience!
Today I woke up strangely peckish- not an ideal start. I approached the little pile of food that we’ve allowed ourselves over the five days and grabbed the cheap bag of porridge oats. On went the kettle for the priceless ingredient of water: no milk was going into this smart price breaky! I treated myself to a banana chopped up and mixed around in the paste- forget about Golden Syrup! The first few bites were surprisingly okay. I started to think maybe eating cheaper than cheap isn’t all that bad after all. But I soon started to realize how tasteless and heavy it was. By the time I’d finished the bowl I felt like I’d consumed a big lump of gruel; not the nicest way to start the day!
On the upside the porridge did fill me up for a good while. However, at around 2ish, I became ravenous. I took out the cling-film wrapped one-sliced peanut butter sandwich squished in my bag as I meandered to Hartley library. Oh my gosh a peanut butter sandwich has never tasted so good! There’s definitely something about knowing that you’re on a food limit that makes every bite of the most mundane foods more enjoyable.
I made that sandwich last until I was sat down at a computer (a bit cheeky in the libes I know!) About an hour later when I left for home, I treated myself to the two thin Fruit Shortbread biscuits that I’d tucked into my bag pocket that morning. I ate them in tiny bites in the hope of making it go that little bit further. It was good to have something sweet- that’s definitely something that my breakfast and lunch were lacking.
For dinner Sophie did well to cook up an economical storm for under 30p per plate. We had a meat-free chili made up of chopped tinned tomatoes, kidney beans and mushrooms with rice. The portion size wasn’t too bad. The biggest problem for me was the lack of condiments to provide that extra burst of taste. For me, sweet chili sauce or mango chutney are essential on a chili, but this evening the sauce cupboard was out of bounds. I chomped my way through the meal, trying to do so slowly to make it last, enjoying more the mere fact that it was filling my stomach than the taste.
Feeling a little unsatisfied by this very basic meal, we calculated that we all had a fairly substantial amount left of our £1 limits, and so decided to treat ourselves with a mini scone. At only 50p for a pack of 10 in Aldi, this only knocked off 5p from our budget. With a little tab of butter added the little treats were like heaven!
Well done to May and her house we’ll catch up with her next week to see how the rest of her week went.