Reading the posts of some of the other bloggers out there, who are also signed up for this challenge, I realised that homegrown and homemade jams and herbs could perhaps be included. I looked in the cupboard and had a few small jars of homemade rhubarb jam. I'd grown the rhubarb at the allotment last year and had a surplus so had made some jam. As I had to put the jam back when in Asda the other day, this seemed like a treat to be able to include it. I may have some with the remainder of the rice pudding later in the week or put a dollop in the yoghurts when I eat them. At least I will get some fruit into my diet. This will probably account for the 8p I had left over from my shopping to account for the sugar used in making it.
Looking around further I decided that some oregano I had grown and dried a few years ago, 2008 to be exact, was just languishing on the spice rack, and could be useful in various dishes I am planning to cook to give a bit of extra flavour. I also picked a few bay leaves from the bush in my garden to add to the vegetable stew for last night's supper. Here's a photo of the vegetable stew.
I ate this with one crust of brown bread. It was pretty filling and surprisingly tasty. Better than I had expected. I used half a carrot, half an onion, two smallish new potatoes, a spoonful of garden peas, a spoonful of kidney beans and 250ml of water and 125ml of passata. I seasoned it with the bay leaves, oregano and black pepper, simmered it on the ring for 20 minutes or so, followed by 30 minutes in the oven and it was done. I think this will have covered most of my five vegetables for today, if not it certainly contained more than I ate yesterday.
I was going to wait until after netball to eat it, but I was so hungry for most of yesterday that I had to eat it before I went out. Yes, the hunger really kicked in today. I couldn't stop thinking about food. I just wished I had the packet of 22p ginger biscuits that I'd had to put back because I didn't have enough money for them. They would have been perfect for fending off the nauseous feeling caused by hunger and providing a sweet treat late afternoon to keep me going. I couldn't even use an extra slice of bread as it would mean going without as much for breakfast or lunch later in the week. I kept myself busy all day sorting/washing/hanging out/ironing/putting away laundry to take my mind off food. I drank a couple of extra cups of tea to tide me over, but my goodness the feeling of hunger is overwhelming and horrible. Okay, it is not extreme hunger as must face many people all over the world but even so it did make me realise a little what it must be like not to have food that you can just eat when you want to.
It didn't help that I seemed to spend a lot of time cooking various meals today. I made a beef stew and dumplings for my other half and I really wanted to eat some, but didn't of course. I made chicken drumsticks with potatoes and vegetables for my daughter before she went off to her swimming class. I kept looking in the fridge thinking, what can I eat that is mine for this challenge? There wasn't really anything, as it would mean having less to make proper meals with later in the week. I managed to avoid all temptation of eating anything both in or out of budget, but only just. This is exactly what I was feeling anxious about when I started this challenge.
Anyway, my food for today cost 75p in total, as I had another yoghurt when I got back from netball, so I seem to be managing to keep well within the £1 per day limit, but am possibly not eating enough. I might have to have a splurge as the week progresses to keep morale up. I do really miss being able to have a snack when I want one and having an orange after exercise classes and will really appreciate such small excesses when this challenge does end. In a perverse way, however, I am actually quite enjoying the challenge. It does make me realise how much I overeat normally just because I can as there is food in the cupboards.
Tomorrow, to try to stave off the hunger pangs, I am planning a treat for myself. Breakfast will be my usual toast and tea, but for lunch I am going to cook another 2 sausages and fry a little more onion and have a lovely sausage sandwich to give me a break from the meat paste. I'm looking forward to it already. Dinner tomorrow night will be spagetti with tomato and vegetable sauce. I'm going to cook quite a large portion of spagetti for this meal to help give me a carbs boost and fill me up as much as possible, as I doubt I will get through the full pack this week.
How are you doing on the challenge? Are you enjoying it?
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