So I am starting this challenge tomorrow.
I just finished the last of my shopping (veges) and am feeling pretty good going in to this. Certainly, compared to the Ration Challenge, this feels easier.
Last years Ration Challenge gave me this plus salt, lemon pepper, cinnamon, 125g of tofu, 170grams of carrots and 120 grams of peanuts.
This year, my $19.95 has bought me all this plus I have $2.03 left over to spend on small, cost calculated, extras from the pantry*. I opted to just shop at my usual places that are easily accessible by foot, rather than going to the bulk foods store which is a bit further. Shopping around is something not always easy for someone on limited means. All of this comes from Pak n Save Alderman Drive and our local Asian vege store - besides the pumpkin which was an impulse buy from Countdown when doing a fruit dash for kids lunches as it was just $2!
I feel like for me, this is plenty. My $19.95 bought me 500g of rice, 6 eggs, 500g yellow split peas, 750g oats, a tin of creamed corn, tomatoes and coconut cream, a large pumpkin, about 1/2 a cup of roasted, salted peanuts, some popcorn kernels, 2 mushrooms, 2 lemons, some onions, a bag of carrots and a little bit of ginger and garlic. It is definitely enough to make enough meals for me to live on. And it wasn't all planned! Although I am very much a planning down to the last cent kind of person, the pumpkin was so big and cheap I couldn't walk past it and I kinda splurged on mushrooms and lemons. So I don't feel hard done by.
But there are some notable things missing. Meat is expensive, and something that I lived without for years, so it was a no-brainer to not even bother. Also, no dairy. I had hoped I'd be able to afford some cheese, but the sacrifices I'd have had to have made for that cheese was not worth it. Nor is there bread. I could definitely not afford the gluten free bread I usually buy, nor is it worth it for me to buy $1 bread even though it would make this coming week easier**. I really wanted to buy a bag of fruit, but when it came down to a choice between carrots and fruit, I went with carrots because they were cheaper, and also more flexible. There are no quick meals here - besides porridge, carrots and eggs. All my main meals take time and preparation.
Vege shopping (sans pumpkin)
There are no drink things here. Even though I do drink coffee every morning, it hadn't crossed my mind until after I'd done my supermarket shop. Not that I could afford it without cutting into other things. And even then, it would have to be the cheapest instant coffee and I'd have to have it without milk, which is yuck. And spend more on pantry sugar. All round, it was not possible. This week's 'coffee' will be lemon in hot water. That way I still feel like I'm having 'something', while also having some vitamin C.
Because while this week is more vegeful than my Ration Challenge week, it still doesn't meet the nutritional minimum. I've worked out I'll get about 3 or 4 out of my 5 plus a day from this. So while it's ok, it's not ideal. Looking at this picture, I have no idea where my calcium will be coming from, and I'm guessing there will be other things I've missed out on nutritionally given I'm not a trained nutritionist.
But I am excited about the meals! I decided to base my food choices around healthy(ish) comfort foods that I usually eat. So I'm making my favourite Taarka Daal, pumpkin soup, sweetcorn fritters and egg fried rice, in quantities that will give me multiple meals. I will supplement this with 'found' salads, oat-flour flatbreads, carrot sticks and peanuts.
To make this experience more 'true' to living below the line, I will also not exercise any personal spending. It feels silly to restrict one side of life, and not any other. So no retail therapy, no Instant Kiwis (secret bad treat) and only free-to-air TV this week.
While I am not asking for donations directly, if you appreciate what I'm doing here, feel free to donate to Live Below the Line, the Ration Challenge ***, KidsCan or Foodbank New Zealand.
Watch this space for updates!
* Limited, cheap spices cost 10c per teaspoon, salt costs 1c per teaspoon, soy sauce costs 6c per Tbsp, canola oil costs 6c per Tbsp, brown sugar costs 25c for 1/4 cup, white flour costs 15c for 1 cup, baking powder costs 7c per tsp. I'm not intending on using much of any of these.
** The only naughty for my health thing I bought was the onion, but that quantity spread over a week should not cause a drama.
*** If you don't know anyone doing the challenge, you can still donate! What I did last year was topped up a few teams or individuals who were at the bottom of the leaderboards to help them feel more supported. Great way to boost someone doing something super tough whilst giving to a great cause.
I just finished the last of my shopping (veges) and am feeling pretty good going in to this. Certainly, compared to the Ration Challenge, this feels easier.
Last years Ration Challenge gave me this plus salt, lemon pepper, cinnamon, 125g of tofu, 170grams of carrots and 120 grams of peanuts.
This year, my $19.95 has bought me all this plus I have $2.03 left over to spend on small, cost calculated, extras from the pantry*. I opted to just shop at my usual places that are easily accessible by foot, rather than going to the bulk foods store which is a bit further. Shopping around is something not always easy for someone on limited means. All of this comes from Pak n Save Alderman Drive and our local Asian vege store - besides the pumpkin which was an impulse buy from Countdown when doing a fruit dash for kids lunches as it was just $2!
I feel like for me, this is plenty. My $19.95 bought me 500g of rice, 6 eggs, 500g yellow split peas, 750g oats, a tin of creamed corn, tomatoes and coconut cream, a large pumpkin, about 1/2 a cup of roasted, salted peanuts, some popcorn kernels, 2 mushrooms, 2 lemons, some onions, a bag of carrots and a little bit of ginger and garlic. It is definitely enough to make enough meals for me to live on. And it wasn't all planned! Although I am very much a planning down to the last cent kind of person, the pumpkin was so big and cheap I couldn't walk past it and I kinda splurged on mushrooms and lemons. So I don't feel hard done by.
But there are some notable things missing. Meat is expensive, and something that I lived without for years, so it was a no-brainer to not even bother. Also, no dairy. I had hoped I'd be able to afford some cheese, but the sacrifices I'd have had to have made for that cheese was not worth it. Nor is there bread. I could definitely not afford the gluten free bread I usually buy, nor is it worth it for me to buy $1 bread even though it would make this coming week easier**. I really wanted to buy a bag of fruit, but when it came down to a choice between carrots and fruit, I went with carrots because they were cheaper, and also more flexible. There are no quick meals here - besides porridge, carrots and eggs. All my main meals take time and preparation.
Vege shopping (sans pumpkin)
Because while this week is more vegeful than my Ration Challenge week, it still doesn't meet the nutritional minimum. I've worked out I'll get about 3 or 4 out of my 5 plus a day from this. So while it's ok, it's not ideal. Looking at this picture, I have no idea where my calcium will be coming from, and I'm guessing there will be other things I've missed out on nutritionally given I'm not a trained nutritionist.
Tarka daal, YUM! (and cheap to make)
To make this experience more 'true' to living below the line, I will also not exercise any personal spending. It feels silly to restrict one side of life, and not any other. So no retail therapy, no Instant Kiwis (secret bad treat) and only free-to-air TV this week.
While I am not asking for donations directly, if you appreciate what I'm doing here, feel free to donate to Live Below the Line, the Ration Challenge ***, KidsCan or Foodbank New Zealand.
Watch this space for updates!
* Limited, cheap spices cost 10c per teaspoon, salt costs 1c per teaspoon, soy sauce costs 6c per Tbsp, canola oil costs 6c per Tbsp, brown sugar costs 25c for 1/4 cup, white flour costs 15c for 1 cup, baking powder costs 7c per tsp. I'm not intending on using much of any of these.
** The only naughty for my health thing I bought was the onion, but that quantity spread over a week should not cause a drama.
*** If you don't know anyone doing the challenge, you can still donate! What I did last year was topped up a few teams or individuals who were at the bottom of the leaderboards to help them feel more supported. Great way to boost someone doing something super tough whilst giving to a great cause.
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