May 8th

It is now my second day of living on $1.50 a day.  I was a little hungry last night.  Kept wanting to eat something from the pantry and couldn't.  As I was preparing my price list for today, I realized how lucky I am to be able to campare shop.  I have stores that I go to to get great deals that if I were living below the poverty line I probably could not afford to drive to.  For an example, there is a bread store by my place of employment.  It is an oulet.  I get great prices on bread and then if I spend $6, I get a free item.  The last time I went I bought some bread and three 24 packs of hot dog buns for $6.50 and got a 24 pack of bagel thins for free.  So I estimate that the bagels thins are $.05 each.  

My Breakfast was an egg with cheese on a bagel thin.   

The price of this breakfast was $.05 for the bagel, $.12 for the egg and $.07 for the cheese.  I also put some mayonnaise on it, generic brand, 1/2 tablespoon for both slices for $.05.  My breakfast sandwich was $.29.  I will probably eat the same thing tomorrow for breakfast because it was a great meal.

For Lunch,  I ate some ramen $.10.  I also had a coke $.25.  The coke was wonderful, and I might have to eat it again tomorrow just to have another coke.  Lunch cost me $.35.  This brings my total up to $.64.  Leaving me $.74 for supper.  I didn't take a picture.  It was Ramen, we all know what it looks like.  I also got some almonds from a co-worker, but they were free so I didn't count them in my total.  I am not afraid to mooch if it is offered.

For dinner, I got kinda lazy and made pasta and made up a recipe to flavor it up.  They were really good.  I cooked the 85 g pasta according to the directions adding 1/4 of a stock cube.  In a saute pan, I put 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon  sesame seed oil, about 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon of dried cilantro.  I turned on the heat to medium and let it heat up and reduce slightly.  When the pasta was done, I drained it and added it to the saute pan and tossed it in the sauce.  It was good.  I would definately make it again. 

 The cost of the pasta was $.29 and I am estimating the cost of the spices at $.20,  for a total of $.49.  Grand total of the day is $1.23.  I am trying to decide what I will snack on this evening.  Something less than $.27 a serving.  Yum!  Tomorrow at work, someone is bringing cupcakes for a birthday.  More free food, yeah for me!!

May 7th

It's the first day of living below the line.  It is difficult, but manageable.  I can't imagine doing this on a monthly basis.  Cheap food is not very healthy.  I could eat Ramen every day for $.10 but that is not very good for you.  Anyway, Here is my menu for the first day.

Breakfast: Oatmeal Porridge with honey

50 g rolled oats
1 cup of milk
1T sugar
1 T honey
dash of cinnamon

Mix rolled oats and milk and microwave for 2 minutes.
Stir, and add water if dry.  Add sugar and cinnamon, stir and put back in microwave for 1 minute. 
Sprinkle with cinnamon and add honey.  Stir and enjoy.

This lovely breakfast cost me $.21 for the oats.  $.15 for the milk and $.05 for the flavorings for a grand total of $.41.

It was surprisingly good and if I can afford it another day, I might add some banana. 

Lunch: Rice, Vegetables and Sausage

80 g of rice
1/2 cup frozen vegetables
1 or 2 sausages
1 cube stock
oil

Boil rice as directed using half of the stock cube.
Boil the vegetables with the other part of the stock cube.
Fry sausage until browned.

Mix together and enjoy.

The rice cost me $.23.  The frozen veggies cost me $.15.  The sausage cost me $.14 and the stock cube was $.03.  The total cost is $.55 and the total for the day was $.96 leaving me $.54 for dinner and a snack.

That's right Mom.......I ate peas (yuck!).  The sausage isn't in there yet.

Dinner:  Macaroni with Hot Buttered Corn

85 g of Pasta 
1/2 cup of corn (or any other frozen veggie)
3/4 oz of butter
In a medium saucepan, bring salted water to a boil and add pasta.  Cook as directed.  Then there is three minutes left, add the corn.
Drain and return to saucepan with butter.  Season to taste.

The cost of this was $.29 for the pasta, $.15 for the corn, and $.05 for the margarine.  I also added an egg matzo cracker for a whopping $.03 for a total of $.52, leaving me $.02 for the day.

In case you were wondering.  I drank water all day which was quite difficult because I am a sodaholic.  I may eat Ramen for lunch tomorrow and splurge on some coke for $.25.  We'll see.  Planning my food for tomorrow and cooking my breakfast and lunch now.  See you tomorrow.

May 6th

Dear Friends

From May 7th - 11th I am going to be living on just $1.50 a day for all my food and drink as part of the Live Below the Line challenge. It's a wonderful opportunity to raise money and awareness for crucial anti-poverty initiatives and it would be great if you could take the challenge too.

$1.50 is the US equivalent of the extreme poverty line. Living on so little will give us a glimpse into the challenges faced by the 1.4 billion people who have no choice but to live below the line every day – for everything - food, medical care, transport, education, everything.

You can find out more about Live Below the Line and sign up at www.livebelowtheline.com/us.
If you aren't able to take part you can still support this great campaign by sponsoring me at www.livebelowtheline.com/me/adaisy1120.

I hope that you will join me in this exciting challenge and help to fight extreme poverty.

Angela

This is a project that I will be participating in all week.  I will post my meals each day and how much I spent.  I am looking forward to spreading the news and helping others defeat hunger.  I have been planning my menu which you will see throughout the week.

Cinco de Mayo

This is a little late, but in honor of cinco de mayo, I made flautas.  Cinco de Mayo is the day that the mexican people held back the Spanish Army from invading their country.  It is not independence day for Mexico, but it is definately a good day to celebrate.  So I started by making shredded chicken and shredded beef.  I actually made this about a month ago, but I tend to make big portions and freeze some for later.  Here are the recipes for the chicken and beef.  I made them both in the crock pot.

Shredded Chicken or Beef

2.5 lbs of chicken or chuck roast
1 vegetable stock cube
2 cups water
1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1/2 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 Tablespoon Onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Juice of 1 lime

Boil 2 cups water and add 1 vegetable stock cube.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, whisk together chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.  Place chicken or beef in slow cooker, pour vegetable stock  over and then squeeze fresh lime juice over.  Sprinkle with spice mixture.  Cover slow cooker with lid and cook on low heat 8-10 hours.  Remove from slow cooker and shred removing fat and return to slow cooker.  Cover with lid and cook for another 30 minutes.  Remove from slow cooker and drain.
I use this for tacos, tostados, salads and pretty much any meal with a mexican flair.

Now for the flautas. 

Chicken or beef shredded
1 8 ounce jar of picante sauce ( I used salsa verde for the chicken and picante for the beef)
Shredded Montery jack cheese (Any cheese would work) (I used this for the chicken)
Shredded cheddar cheese (I used this for the beef)
Corn tortillas
Vegetable oil
Toothpicks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
In a bowl combine the chicken or beef with the picante sauce.  I used the salsa verde for the chicken and it was delicious so you might want to try it.

IN a small skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium high heat.  PLace a corn tortilla in the oil for 1 or 2 seconds on either side to soften.  Place tortillas on paper towel to soak up some of the oil.

Put 1 Tablespoon of the chicken or beef mixture in the center of the tortillas and sprinkle some cheese on top.  Roll Up tortilla and insert toothpick to hold together.Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Repeat with the rest of the meat and tortillas.  If there is cheese leftover, sprinkle on top.

Bake tortillas in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until the tortillas are a little crispy and golden brown.  Serve with whatever garnishes.  I like just sour cream, but you get what you like.  This is the first time I made these, I enjoyed them, I hope you do too.

Whoops!!

I have fallen down on my blog.  I have a post for yesterday and I have a post for today.  I will put them both up today.  I was feeling sorry for myself because no one had read my blog, but I also have not been promoting it.  I have a project for the next week that I will be telling you all about starting tomorrow.  It is a worthy cause that I am excited to participate with in a challenge.  I'll let you know more about it later, but let me finish my project fro today and I will come back and finish.  I apologize, but it begins again today.