I’m doing the LBLUK challenge from next Wednesday!

Apr 10, 2015 | 6 comments

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Do you remember about this time last year, I did Live Below the Line UK for Action Aid? I have been talking about it for the last couple of weeks.

Why Action Aid? Because they are a charity that concentrate on women and girls in extreme poverty around the world. Why £1? Because that is the equivalent amount that 1.2 billion people around the world have to live on, every day, and not just for food either, for food, education, housing, health and everything else besides. I hope to raise a total of £200 this year. If you can spare a couple of pounds, please follow the link on the sidebar to donate.

I will be taking the challenge starting Wed 15th April, to Sun 19th April. This is what I shall be buying with my £5. I bought the Tesco items this morning in our little local Tesco in Heathfield, the Aldi and Asda items I may ‘buy’ from the store cupboard as I already have them.

2.5kg spuds, Tesco 49p
1 kg onions, Aldi 39p Super 6
1kg carrots Tesco 49p
500g parsnips Tesco 49p
Savoy Tesco 49p
250g butter 85p
value marmalade or jam 27p
500g oats Aldi 39p
500g chickpeas, Asda £1.09
Total £4.95

According to myFitnesspal, this list provides 57% carbs, 22% protein, 20% fat, and there are plenty of veg
There is a total of 9148 calories, which is 1830 per day. I have kept it a bit below the daily 2000, as I am trying to lose weight

I am currently planning to do the below meal plan, although that may well change as I go along

Bfast
Oats and jam x 2
Oats, fried in butter,  jam x 1
Bannocks, roasted veg hoummus x 2

Lunch
Parsnip and chickpea soup x 2
Mixed veg and chickpea soup x 2
Rosti of potatoes, crushed chickpeas, mixed veg x 1

Dinner
Jacket spud, butter, chickpeas and sauted veg x 2
Buttery oven chips, chickpea and veg melange x 2
Chickpea pancake, veg, x 1

Snacks
Bannocks and jam or roasted veg hoummus

I’ll keep you updated with how I get on. I know I shall miss big mugs of tea already!

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. Lesley

    Ooh, yes. Mash may well feature!
    I went for butter as it’s pretty much the only flavouring there is.
    I’ll have to play it by ear re the amount of onions, calorie wise I can cut them down if needs be

  2. Katherine

    I’m glad you can take advantage of such cheap potatoes and can have butter with them – no mash?

    I think 200g of onions a day might cause me problems.
    Good luck

  3. Lesley

    Miss Piggy – It’s my personal version of the challenge. Lots of people do the challenge by combining meals where their particular portion adds up to the £1 a day. I could do that just by looking at the recipes here, and indeed, do it for significantly less then £1 a day that way.
    So to make it more of a challenge, I gave myself some extra rules. I’m only allowed to buy complete packs of things, so no spoons of this or pinch of that, no free food from the garden or foraging, no free meals or gifts of food from friends
    The tea thing is because I can’t have caffeine, it gives me a migraine. If I was allowed it, I would use 20p to buy a value pack of tea, but I can’t afford the £1.50 for a pack of decaf ones. So it has to be water. It’s the bit I dislike the most, but it is only 5 days, I can put up with that. And of course, because I don’t have caffeine, there won’t be a withdrawal headache

  4. Lesley

    It’s one of those things isn’t it, where the more £5 lists you come with, the easier it gets. I’ll never get that bag of rice tho that seems so ubiquitous on other peoples lists, I wouldn’t be able to come up with enough ways of using it, I would always go with the flour. Haven’t gone for either this year mind
    Haha, feel free to use any ideas 🙂

  5. misspiggy

    Good luck with your challenge Lesley. Could you clarify why no tea? Would you in theory be able to ‘buy’ a few teabags from your supply for 5p? A lot of LBLers seem to do without caffeine, but I don’t think I could handle that!

  6. Sue

    I’m doing it too again this year, this time I’m hoping to raise some funds for Action Against Hunger.

    Good menu plan, I have no idea how I’m going to plan things this year, but as I’m doing it on the ‘official week’ I’ll be able to steal a few ideas from you 🙂

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