Day Five of Live Below the Line

We finished the five day challenge, and M celebrated with a chocolate chip cookie.  Considering that she's eight, I think she did an amazing job with sticking to the challenge and her goal of fundraising for care.org.  She actually helped to keep me focused during the week.

 

We had to make a couple of minor adjustments to our diet for the last day.  While most of our meals were similar what we ate earlier in the week, M went on a field trip needed to bring a bag lunch.  Since it would have been difficult to pack rice, beans, and a water bottle for this outing, I made her a melted cheese sandwich and gave her a box juice that we happened to have. 

During the five day Live Below the Line challenge, we actually stuck to our original list of ingredients and only made some minor changes as the week progressed.  Since we didn't eat our full allotment of beans (3 pounds), we used some of the leftover food budget to eat a little watermelon.  We only ate about 1 pound of onions instead of 3, so we made sandwiches with a couple of slices of cheese.

Our food budget for the week looked something like this:

2 pounds of dried pinto beans ($1.39 each)
1 pound of onions ($0.39/lb.)
3 pounds of cabbage ($0.59/lb.)
3 pounds of carrots ($0.59/lb.)
2 pounds of apples ($0.89/lb.)
1 gallon of low fat milk ($3.19 per gallon)
3 pounds of rice ($0.35/lb.)
3 pounds of chicken leg quarters ($0.78/lb.)
1 bag of Trader Joe's pretzels ($1.99 per bag)
2 pounds of potatoes ($0.32/lb.)
1 loaf of whole wheat bread ($0.48 per loaf--not a mistake!!!  I happened to have a coupon and it was on sale that week....super lucky!!) 

14 eggs ($1.89)

Rather than figuring out exactly how much of each condiment, seasoning, etc. we used, we sort of took a shortcut and just included $1 for these items (and the 2 ounces of coffee we shared at the end of every day).

Total: $21.11 (this left us a little wiggle room for a small amount of watermelon and cheese)

 

Some thoughts about our experience: When you are living on $1.50 per day, it is truly difficult to make sure that your kids get a variety of different foods in all the food groups.  Also, while I did not mind the food we ate too much, I missed eating different fruits and vegetables.  I missed being able to eat what I wanted when I wanted to.  Such a restrictive diet with limited ingredients requires a lot of preplanning and preparing.

I hope that our family has a greater understanding of and compassion for the difficulties faced by so many other people.  And I hope that we now have a greater awareness and empathy.  I am glad we were able to participate, and there is already talk of joining the challenge again next year.

Day Four of Live Below the Line

We are through with Day Four!  I don't think M and I really MIND eating this diet so much as we miss the variety and access to different fruits and vegetables.  It looks like we will not be eating all three pounds of beans that I had planned for or all of the three pounds of onions.  Because of this, we swapped for $0.50 worth of watermelon (which was positively delicious after all that cabbage and carrots).  Dinner was once again chicken with sauteed veggies and this time, mashed potatoes. 

As the planner and organizer of the family's meals, it's really difficult to ensure that everyone gets a well-rounded diet on such a limited budget.  A gallon of milk was the most expensive item on our list, and I've been skimping on my own calcium intake to make sure K and M got theirs for the week.  And I can't imagine that only eating cabbage and carrots will give you all the vitamins and minerals that you need. 

Sadly, while I can say only one more day to go, so many other people cannot.  

Learn more about our experiences with the Live Below the Line five day challenge here.  Read more about Live Below the Line.

Day Three of Live Below the Line

We've finished Day Three!  More than halfway there!  Can't say that I will be sad when it is over.  I really do miss eating fruit (besides the 1/4 apple that we each get every day).  And I sorely miss my freshed-brewed cups of Peet's coffee throughout the day....not so easy to get through the day with 3 kids and no coffee! :)

Breakfast and lunches were much the same as the previous two days.  Dinner consisted of chicken, cabbage salad and oven baked French fries.  One thing that I've noticed is that it takes a good amount of preplanning and time to prepare everything.  Cooking dried beans just takes longer than opening a can.  In addition, I have to plan meals well in advance so the kids don't eat the same thing all day long--they would never go for that.  

M has been amazing about the experience and she actually helps to keep me on track.  She's been fairly disciplined about not taking goodies from friends at school and sticking to the rules of the challenge.  So on to Day Four!

Read more about our experiences with the Live Below the Line five day challenge here.  Learn more about Live Below the Line.

Day Two of Live Below the Line

Well, we got through day two.  M is starting to feel frustration at eating the same foods over and over.  Breakfast was basically toast, a small amount of banana, carrot sticks, milk, and hard-boiled egg.  Lunch for the kids was a toasted cheese sandwich (I exchanged some veggies for some cheese), beans, pretzels, and apple slices.  Lunch for me was rice combined with beans and sauteed veggies with a dash of soy sauce and sesame oil.  And dinner was based on a Costa Rican dish that HH ate while traveling called pinto gallo....essentially sauteed onions combined with precooked rice, pinto beans, a dash of cumin, and ginger powder.  I made a side salad of sliced raw cabbage and carrots seasoned with a teaspoon of rice wine vinegar and 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar.

It is difficult to make sure that the kids are getting enough calories and that I provide a variety of dishes for them to eat (without them feeling like they are eating the same thing over and over again-because they basically are).  With limited ingredients, I have to use my culinary imagination which I don't have a lot of.  I have to give M lot of credit for sticking with it and trying so hard.  Not so easy when her friends at school are eating yummy snacks and snacks!

To read more about our experiences with the Live Below the Line five day challenge, please click here.  To read more about Live Below the Line, please click here.

Day One of Live Below the Line

Yesterday Maddie and I began the Live Below the Line Challenge.  We spent Sunday afternoon prepping for the week by creating a possible list of groceries, brainstorming menu ideas, and shopping within our budget.  Our "pantry" essentially includes large quantities of staples, such as rice ($0.35 per pound), dried pinto beans ($1.39 per pound), potatoes ($1.59 for 5 pounds), and vegetables (cabbage, carrots, onions).  We bought smaller amounts of items like apples, chicken (just so happened to be on sale for $0.78 per pound), and eggs.  Maddie and I also included in our budget a dollar for seasonings and loose leaf jasmine tea.  And since I'm including my daughter, I made sure that we bought milk.  Gotta keep growing!

We got through the first day.  It took a bit of planning and thinking ahead about our meals, especially for school lunches (no grabbing a granola bar for the lunch bag).  Breakfast was toast, milk, apple slices, and a hard-boiled egg.  The kids had rice with soy sauce, beans, pretzels, and carrots sticks for lunch.  My lunch was a little different.  I just mixed up sauteed veggies with beans.  Dinner was actually pretty good--I really wish that I had thought to take a picture.  We had baked chicken, baked French fry wedges, and sauteed cabbage, carrots, and onions. 

There is a monotony to this restrictive of a diet (i.e., you can have almost unlimited amounts of beans and cabbage, but how much do you really want?).  And I really do miss my coffee and fresh fruit.  But I guess this is the point....many people have far less choices than we do (even on this challenge)....and no access to first world grocery stores.  

To read more about our experiences with the Live Below the Line five day challenge, please click here.  To read more about Live Below the Line, please click here.

Live Below the Line

K, M, and I have decided to participate in this year's Live Below the Line challenge.  The purpose of the challenge is to increase awareness of the extreme poverty faced by 1.4 billion people around the world.  From April 29 to May 3, we will be restricting our food expenses to $1.50 per day.  (M and I will be participating next week; K will complete the challenge the following week--it's her birthday on Wednesday and it's a little hard to give up ice cream on your birthday!)

Even before starting this challenge, we have a greater appreciation for our own good fortune.  Hunger and limited food options are not difficulties that we have had to cope with.  M was shocked at how little $1.50 will get you at the grocery store (i.e., a bag of Chex Mix is two days of her food budget).  She said to me, "I can't even afford a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!"

So here's to helping others!  The girls chose to participate for care.org.  We are hoping to reach our goal of $100 this year, but even if we don't, hopefully we'll be able to increase the world's compassion for others.  Here's a link to our Live Below the Line page.