Can anyone help us?

C_J

onlyroz wrote: »

It seems like a lot of people have lost their sense of fun, or the willingness to have a go at a challenge.

I doubt anyone who comes to these boards looking for help and support when they are in serious financial straits would consider living on £1 a day "fun". Although this challenge may have ideas to help those people - and I appreciate that may be what you are trying to do - it comes across as rather disrespectful to treat it as a bit of fun. Food poverty isn't fun.

Exile_geordie

From the food & Groceries board

Wizard_of_Id wrote: »

On the plus side, I got a cooked whole chicken today for 70p :T

That leaves us £6.30 to spend for the rest of the week.

onlyroz

C_J wrote: »

I doubt anyone who comes to these boards looking for help and support when they are in serious financial straits would consider living on £1 a day "fun". Although this challenge may have ideas to help those people - and I appreciate that may be what you are trying to do - it comes across as rather disrespectful to treat it as a bit of fun. Food poverty isn't fun.

The challenge is a bit of fun. Of course food poverty isn't fun. However, in the original thread that prompted this one there are plenty of people claiming that there is no need for any kind of food poverty - people are either too lazy to be bothered to budget and cook properly, or are living a life of luxury on huge benefit payouts (which they might be committing fraud to receive). Needless to say, I disagree with this view point.

Exile_geordie

onlyroz wrote: »

The challenge is a bit of fun. Of course food poverty isn't fun. However, in the original thread that prompted this one there are plenty of people claiming that there is no need for any kind of food poverty - people are either too lazy to be bothered to budget and cook properly, or are living a life of luxury on huge benefit payouts (which they might be committing fraud to receive). Needless to say, I disagree with this view point.

No one claimed that at all, stop lying.

trailingspouse

I did this a few years ago as part of a charity fundraiser. The idea was to live on £1 a day and give what you would normally spend on food to the charity. I did it, and actually had 9p left over - I was immensely proud of that.


This is what I bought for two of us, for 5 days -

- the smallest cheapest whole chicken I could find
- a bag of potatoes (much more nutritious than pasta, and you can do more things with them)
- a bag of carrots
- a 2 large tins of beans
- 6 eggs
- a loaf of bread
- the cheapest pack of biscuits I could find
- an onion
- liver
- the cheapest spread I could find
- a small bottle of milk



Day one (per person)
Breakfast - one slice of toast with spread.
Lunch - half a tin of beans on one slice of toast.
Dinner - the chicken, roasted, with boiled potatoes and carrots (spread on the potatoes)
Supper - small glass of milk, biscuit

Day two
Breakfast - one slice of toast with spread
Lunch - a sandwich made of two slices of bread, with spread, and thinly sliced cold chicken
Dinner - cold chicken, with mashed potatoes and carrots
Supper - small glass of milk, biscuit

Day three
Breakfast - one slice of toast with spread
Lunch - scrambled egg, using three eggs, divided between the two of us, on a slice of bread each
Dinner - soup made from boiling the bones of the chicken, with potatoes and carrots added
Supper - small glass of milk, biscuit

Day 4
Breakfast - one slice of toast with spread
Lunch - half a tin of beans each, on toast
Dinner - more soup as above
Supper - small glass of milk, biscuit

Day 5
Breakfast - one slice of toast with spread
Lunch - scrambled egg made with 3 eggs, divided between the two of us, on a slice of toast each.
Dinner - liver and onion, and sauteed potatoes
Supper - small glass of milk, biscuit

It was hell. We lost weight. We couldn't afford fruit and veg, and we couldn't afford tea and coffee (mostly because we both take sugar, and I couldn't justify spending a huge amount on those 'empty' calories). Yes, we proved that it could be done - but I think we also proved that it shouldn't have to be done.

Prinzessilein

Could I live on £1 a day...yes...been there, done that and bought the darned tee-shirt.

Would I like to think of ANYONE living as I did? Absolutely not.

Cheap white bread, with budget-own-label cheese triangles...own-label-spaghetti (eaten out of tin)...4-cheese-and-onion-pasties-for-99p(from a main-name Supermarket bought after 4pm)...hot meal of small bag of chips-and-batter-scraps from local Chippy...Slice of corned beef and instant mash mushed up as a hash.....

You might notice that all these are no cook meals as I had a kettle but no cooking facilities...I have also lived in places with multiple electric meters...you chose what was more important ..pop a coin into the kitchen meter and cook a meal - or pop the coin into the bedroom meter and have light...or do neither and save the coin for busfare to a job interview the next day....it is NOT a simple matter of affording food!


Okay....now let's look at the question through a life that is no longer so literally hand-to-mouth:

I would ALWAYS advise people to get a slowcooker - a really good investment...bung veggies in add liquid..some lentils or dried peas and you have the base for a thick and filling veggie stew...dumplings add extra bulk for just pennies

Curry - made with chick peas(tinned) is a good cheap option.

The freezer is your MSE friend...I buy meat on YS and freeze it....and living alone on a budget, I batch cook and freeze.

Also, make friends with the local butcher...my favourite bargain was at the local butcher - a well-to-do woman came in and asked for a chicken crown...the butcher showed her a few chickens, she chose one, her prepared the crown for her and then handed her the bag with all the cut-offs..incluing two good legs...she refused and calmly paid for the crown which was all she wanted...after she left, the butcher calmly handed me the bag and mentioned that he had no doubts that I could make use!...I ate well of that freebie!....he would also put a rabbit to one side for me when they came in (a relatively cheap meat - and very tasty)

A pig trotter costs pennies (if you can get one!!!) and cooks beautifully with some yellow split peas (again in my trusty slow cooker)

C_J

@onlyroz, please could I gently suggest that if you have some kind of ongoing argument with other posters on another thread that you don't bring it over here? We are a cheery, helpful bunch and confrontation doesn't really sit well with us.


Thanks to trailingspouse and Prinzessilein for thoughtful posts based on experience.

onlyroz

C_J wrote: »

@onlyroz, please could I gently suggest that if you have some kind of ongoing argument with other posters on another thread that you don't bring it over here? We are a cheery, helpful bunch and confrontation doesn't really sit well with us.

Thanks to trailingspouse and Prinzessilein for thoughtful posts based on experience.

No probs, but I don't like being called a liar.

RebeccaAnn

I have no idea what calories this would provide, its boring and vegan. Sorry I don't eat meat!

Porridge oats 500g 70p
Kidney beans (1 can) 30p
Baked beans (cans 23p each) x 2 46p
Tinned potatoes (35p each) x 2 70p
Hot chilli powder 1.00
Bread (1 loaf) 55p
Pearl barley (500g) 55p
Onions 16p
Mushrooms (300g) 79p
Stock cubes (10) 50p
Rice (1kg) 45p
Carrots (1kg) 44p
Tinned tomatoes 30p

Total £6.90

Breakfasts- porridge with water

Lunch and dinner
Chilli using the kidney beans, 1 can of the baked beans rinsed, onion, chilli powder, tinned tomatoes and rice making 4 meals.(could also grate some carrot in)
Pearl barley risotto using the pearl barley, stock and majority of the mushrooms making 4 meals.
Carrot and potato soup using onion, carrots, stock and tins of potatoes can be ate with some bread making 4 meals.
Beans on toast using 2 slices of bread and 1/2 a can of beans plus the remaining mushrooms for each meal making 2 meals.

The bread would have to be plain as there is no money for spread and plain porridge as no money for sugar or jam. Lots of carbs but there would be food left over at the end of the week to be carried forwards.

PasturesNew

Today I've had 2 bits of toast with marg...
loaf 36p, marg 75p (but lasts about 2-3 months). 5p

Then I had some cheesy mash and beans.
Mash 16p, Cheese 20p, Beans 8p = 44p

So I've only spent 49p of my £1 today.

How many calories is that? No idea....
Is it healthy? Well, there's some stuff in there.... er cheese = protein ... beans = protein and one of the 5-a-day.

Sounds like an excuse to celebrate with a few digestive biscuits (31p/pack)