It’s been a tough couple of months and if I’m honest, inspiration has run a little dry. In mid-August I was made redundant and shortly after, Dave lost his job too (perks of working for the same company hey?). Since then, we’ve pretty much been focused on saving money and picking up freelance work while we job hunt. Eating out and kitchen experimentation has all but stopped for the time being, thanks in part to our former employer not paying us our last month’s salaries or notice pay (an ongoing battle).
The result of this is that I’ve had more time to blog than I’ve had in forever but absolutely nothing to write about! We’re eating our way through things we have in and I’ve been meal planning to make sure that we waste nothing but it’s meant some very dull meals – pesto pasta, vegetable curry, things with rice, things with chickpeas. Nothing exciting. I’ve even cancelled our weekly organic veg box… for now. Woe is me eh? Well no, actually. Not really.
All of this has got me thinking. We’re actually incredibly lucky.
Despite all the shit we’re going through right now, we’re safe, we’re not hungry and we live a life of relative luxury. We have a roof over our heads and a comfy bed. We have each other. And yeah, pesto pasta is a bit dull but you know what? It’s more than a lot of people have.
Over the last few days I’ve spent time visiting cheap eats websites and blogs like Eat Not Spend and Jack Munroe’s Cooking on a Bootstrap. I’ve also been following Miguel Barclay over on instagram for his £1 meal inspiration. It’s made me realise that even £1 can be enough to make some tasty meals if you’re creative with it. Although it seems like such a small amount of money, it’s still enough to feed yourself in a way that people in some parts of the world can’t even dream of.
We might be struggling right now but we’ve not got it bad. Not in the slightest.
Live below the line challenge
Rather than sitting around feeling sorry for myself (when really, I have nothing to feel sorry about) I’ve decided I’m going to take on the live below the line challenge. This is something created by The Hunger Project; a charity which works to end hunger and poverty by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies and advocating for their widespread adoption in countries throughout the world.
For five days, I will have just £1 for all the food and drink I consume each day. The idea behind this challenge is to help raise awareness of food poverty and everything that goes alongside that in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. The facts are staggering – 821 million people do not have enough to eat across the world and when we’re here in the UK fighting food waste, it just feels a little well… embarrassing. And quite honestly, a disaster.
If you can spare £1 or perhaps a little more, I’d love your donation over on my fundraising page.
My ideal ‘live below the line’ shopping list:
- Rice
- Onions x2
- A bag of frozen veg
- Apples x5
- Veg stock cubes
- Tinned tomatoes x1
- Kidney beans x1
- Yoghurts x6
- Eggs x6
A quick tally using Tesco online brings this lot to £5.16 which is already over budget but I’m hoping Aldi will be a little cheaper and allow me to get everything on the list. Plus, I’ll visit the greengrocer and local shops for the apples and eggs to see if I can get those cheaper. Any money I have left over will go on fresh veg or possibly something reduced price as a treat. I’ve roughly come up with a meal plan too but again, I might need to tweak it to fit once I have my ingredients. Ideally I’ll have eggs and then if I can, also little bit of meat but that’s probably pushing it unless I can get something reduced price. Just like Jack Munroe I’ll be giving up my stock cupboard spices and seasonings and only have access to the ingredients I’ve bought.
What a really interesting project, and a great way to raise awareness. I do hope you both get back on your feet quickly, it’s no fun at all to ‘be redundant’. Thank you so much for sharing, it’s an eye opener for a food blogger who always have a stocked pantry.
Thank you Stine – it was really tough but I’m so glad I did it. My other half actually starts a new role today so it’s just me to find a job now! Fingers crossed 🙂
Love this! I follow Jack Monroe too, love that you mentioned them! Make some friends who have allotments and chickens – especially now it’s the end of the season and we are all trying to think of what to do with the tons of produce we are harvesting!
I’m sorry it’s been a tough couple months, but I love your perpesctive and all the great tips you shared. I need to check out some of those pages!
Thanks Erika – you have to remain positive eh? 🙂 Follow Miguel Barclay on instagram, he’s fab!
I’m sorry you guys lost your positions, but I love your positive attitude. And this challenge sounds so interesting and something we should all do to challenge ourselves.
I love the sound of this challenge! It’s insane how much is spent on groceries, so my goal this year has been to cut down on waste. Only buy what we need and use every last scrap that we possibly can.
You are awesome. Such an interesting project you have taken up and at the same time it reminds us and teaches us to not waste food and use only as much required. All the best.
Great project, yes life can be tough but as you say, still luxury compared to some. Great spirit and generally tough times do make us realise a lot of things in life that are taken for granted. Good work!! Following you on insta 👍
I am so sorry to hear about you two losing your jobs. But your attitude about it is so good, and this challenge seems like it would help so many other people plan!