My little stash of freebies, picked up from all over the place when we eat or drink out ... something that I obviously didn't do at all on this particular week.
Even though I gave myself permission to use from the stash, I didn't dip into it as much as I thought I would. The salt and pepper sachets were very welcome and were probably the things that I used the most. I had used a sachet of mayo on the toast that was under my beans on toast meals, but that was just about it.
The final two days ...
SATURDAY
Breakfast - Porridge
Followed by a black coffee and my last banana.
Dinner - Beans on Toast
Yes, I remembered to put it onto a bigger plate this time. 😄
Tea - Carrot and Lentil Soup
This was served with a slice of toast for dunking purposes.
Supper - Dahl and Rice
It was Saturday night and we were having a bit of a binge watch of something we had recorded so we both had some supper for a change.
SUNDAY
Breakfast - Porridge
The final day of my week on £1 a day, first I had a bowl of porridge and then ...
... I decided to finish off the last portion of the stewed apple.
Dinner - Dahl and Rice
A nice simple dinner, I could eat dahl and rice until it came out of my ears, there is absolutely no problem with repetition here. 😁
Tea - Spicy Potato Wedges with a Carrot and Red Onion Slaw
I had saved something special to have for my final meal of the challenge. The largest potato was cut into wedges, par-boiled and then finished off in the Remoska for added crispiness. With a nice fresh carrot slaw it was absolutely delicious.
So that was it, and it wasn't a bad week at all. The careful planning made it all work out really well, I was never overly hungry, and if I was there was always something available to eat.
THE LEFTOVERS
I even ended the week with leftovers:
1 litre of Carrot and Lentil soup
675g Porridge Oats
500g Rice
1/2 tin of Tomatoes
Cumin - most of the jar
2 Crusts of Bread
and 1 portion of Dahl
And this is how a basic store-cupboard can be slowly built up, even on such a limited budget. If I were to go into a second week I wouldn't have to buy oats or rice, and I would already have almost a full jar of spice in my cupboard. So I would have the makings of two soup and toast meals and a portion of dahl and rice, so that's three dinner or tea meals sorted and enough oats to make porridge every day for the week. Which means that I could concentrate on buying ingredients for the missing eleven meals.
I have already worked out that if I was going to do it for another week I would buy the following.
From Aldi:
Dairy-free Cheese £1.95
Red Lentils - 89p
Olive Spread - 1.25
From Sainsbury's:
1.5kg SR Flour - 70p
1 tin of Baked Beans - 30p
500g Spaghetti - 28p
2 tins of Plum Tomatoes - 86p
3 Onions - 31p
6 Carrots - 36p
Total - £6.90
With these ingredients I could add bread, flatbreads and pizza bases to the menu plan, a simple tomato sauce to be used on the spaghetti or pizza bases. I could make another pan of dahl to go with my store-cupboard rice, there could be cheese on toast or on sandwiches with some of the onion. I can think of lots of ways of carrying this forward.
It's been interesting doing this challenge after a gap of many years, and I think that I have proved that where there's a will, there is most definitely a way to eat for just £1 a day.
Sue xx
As always, you are amazing.
ReplyDeleteStop it ... you are making me blush. :-)
DeleteWell done for stretching those £s .
ReplyDeleteThank you. I stretched them so thin they all disappeared. :-)
DeleteIt's good to know it can be done; but I would really miss the benefits of fresh produce, especially leafy greens, fresh tomatoes, grapes, salads... also we eat salmon once a week because we like it, and because it is an oily fish. Not to mention meat, eggs, etc!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I completely agree, this was just to show that even with inflation this can still be done. It shouldn't HAVE to be done for anyone, but it can be in an emergency. :-)
DeleteI think as part of my gradual build up I would add some frozen veg. I love spinach in my dal and a big bag would last a good few weeks. Probably some frozen peppers the following week. As you say, you wouldn't use everything - porridge, flour etc in one week so there is a tiny bit of scope for building more supplies.
ReplyDeleteAs usual you've done really well. How you've managed to fit this in with everything else that's going on is amazing.
Yes, it would be interesting to keep building on this wouldn't it. Frozen spinach pellets go such a long way and could be added to a lot of the meals for their health benefits ... well apart from the porridge!! ;-)
Delete👏 👏 👏
ReplyDeleteThank you, I take my bow. :-)
DeleteI seem to have got ahead with my comment on your last post. Anyway well done for completing the week so well.
ReplyDeleteWe were obviously on the same wavelength. :-)
DeleteWell done. I can eat Dahl till it comes out my ears also😂 JennyP
ReplyDeleteYou just can't beat it can you, it's cheap, tasty and very, very healthy when served with rice or even just some buttered bread ... which was how I ate the last portion that lurked in the freezer. :-)
DeleteAmazing, I’ve really enjoyed seeing your £1 a day challenge
ReplyDeleteAlison in Devon x
Thanks, it was nice to revisit an old challenge, but I doubt that I will do it again. :-)
DeleteThis is amazing to read! I should do a challenge for myself...And I have never had beans on toast - looks good, though.
ReplyDeleteThey are really tasty, as long as I don't have them too often I really enjoy them. :-)
DeleteWell done on keeping to the challenge so well and for sharing it with us. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThank you. xx
DeleteBrilliantly done, as always, and even leftovers! Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteAngie
PS the wedges and slaw look delicious :)
DeleteWell done! It's good to know that it can be done, isn't it? As I mentioned earlier, it would be quite a challenge to do so on $7/week in southern California, but, it can still be done.
ReplyDelete