(LATE! SORRY!!) Day 5! I made it! YAY! Where's my chocolate cake??

[This post was written, but sat in "Drafts" until just now.]

Day FIVE!! I'm at the finish line! YAY!
For a brief catch up if it's your first time here, scroll down to the post Shameless Promotion for a Good Cause/PLEASE SPONSOR ME!!! and read your way back up to this post.

Some facts from Live Below the Line's website:

9. In 1982 half the world’s population was living in extreme poverty. By 2005 that number was reduced to one quarter. It’s feasible it could be reduced to zero if the world keeps its promises made under the 8 Millennium Development Goals and works to tackle the structural barriers that keep people poor.
10. The UN estimates it would cost just $160 million a year to achieve the Millennium Development Goals whiles he US alone spent more than $8.5 trillion on bailing out failed banks and car companies

Over the course of the day I had two cups of tea from the same teabag, each with one teaspoon of sugar. TOTAL COST: $.05

I made one big meal and split it into two different small meals. Black beans and rice. TOTAL COST: $.74

"RECIPE":
Soak 1/3 dry black beans in 1-2 cups of water overnight, drain and rinse, place in pot and cover with enough water so no beans are poking through the surface of the water.
Simmer on low (again, I use a heat diffuser) for 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes or until bean are tender.
Add 1/2 tsp of Goya of Annatto and Cilantro seasoning
Add 2 tbsp of "trinity" [recipe follows]
Add 1/3 of a can of diced tomatoes with juice
Add 1 oz of frozen corn
Add 2 tbsp of Frank's Red Hot
Cook until everything is cooked through
Serve over 1 cup of cooked white rice

If you eat a lot of rice and beans, stews, soups, jambalaya, et cetera, the "holy trinity" is easy to cook up on Sunday night and keep in the fridge as needed for the next week or so.

"RECIPE":
1 medium or 1/2 of a large onion (I prefer white or sweet) diced
1 medium bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
4 large stalks of celery diced
1 tbsp olive oil
Heat oil in heavy skillet
Cook ingredients until translucent
Let cool uncovered and store in airtight container in the fridge for a week or two.

[NOTE: We use glass storage containers as it have been proven that chemicals in plastic leech into your stored food. We use these but buy them cheaply at Costco. Costco is also great for buying many cheap foods in bulk and many other household items. If you can't afford a membership, find some friends who will share a membership with you or who will let you "ride along" on their shopping trips. You can also create your own "buying co-op" if you don't have a lot of storage space for bulk items. If you have kids in diapers and don't use cloth, I highly suggest Costco just for the diaper savings alone, but you will come for the diapers and stay for the rest of it. I also advocate Costco because they pay a living wage and treat their employees fairly unlike other warehouse clubs which are owned by the Walton family...]

GRAND TOTAL: $.79

Overall, I raised $345, which was $45 more than my goal. You can still click the link and donate if you'd like, since you know now that I did it, lol.

By the way, at midnight of the last day I celebrated with Kraft shells'n'cheese and two craft beers.

Day 3 & 4: Feeling Like I was Cheating When I Wasn't

Days 3 and 4 are done. Sorry I didn't post last night; I've been feeling really tired since Saturday. It might be related to some mold we found in the house as I am pretty allergic to molds. There wasn't much to recap, anyway, since I didn't really feel like eating. I wasn't terribly hungry today, either, so the past two days I feel like, by being sick, that I've been cheating by having a "leg up" because of being sick. Just wrong, right? Well that's the way my mind works...

For a brief catch up if it's your first time here, scroll down to the post Shameless Promotion for a Good Cause/PLEASE SPONSOR ME!!! and read your way back up to this post.

Some facts from Live Below the Line's website.

5. 75 Million Kids miss out on going to school, most of them girls
6. The end of extreme poverty can be achieved. The World Bank found the percentage of people living in extreme poverty has dropped from approx 52% in 1982 to 25% today.
7. In 2011, February 19, the US put forward a motion to make huge cuts in this year's budget. Poverty-fighting, cost-effective programs - which make up less than one percent of the US budget - were sharply cut.
8. Key programs that fight AIDS, malaria and hunger were cut by 40%. Programs that promote long-term economic growth were chopped up to 30%.

Day 3
I had a cup of tea with a teaspoon of sugar. TOTAL COST: $.045
Later, I had a bowl of cooked barley with a tablespoon of honey. TOTAL COST: $.14
For dinner I had two eggs fried in part of a tablespoon of Country Crock Spread and a piece of Martin's potato bread toast with the rest of the tablespoon of Country Crock. I also had 3 ounces of applesauce. TOTAL COST: $.50
For a snack, I ate half of a banana. TOTAL COST: $.09
GRAND TOTAL: $.78

Day 4
I had a cup of tea with a teaspoon of sugar. TOTAL COST: $.045
Later, I had an open-faced tuna melt. TOTAL COST: $.73

"RECIPE":
Mix 1 tbsp mayonnaise with 1/2 can of drained tuna (packed in water)
Toast a piece of bread and spread tuna on toast
Top with a slice of American cheese
Broil until the cheese is melting. (We have a toaster oven, so broiling one tiny thing isn't as "decadent" as it sounds.)

I had another cup of tea with a teaspoon of sugar, but I had to use an new teabag, as Nate had thrown my used one into the trash. (Not even the compost, sheesh!) TOTAL COST: $.045

Then I had a bowl of full-fat Greek yogurt with half of a banana sliced and six chopped almonds (which is approximately 1/4 ounce) and a tablespoon of honey. TOTAL COST: $.68
GRAND TOTAL: $1.50

I'm pretty sleepy, so I'll see you tomorrow. Last day! You still have time to sponsor me by clicking through the link in the title of this post. It's a secure and tax deductible donation.

Day Two: Hit it on the nose!

Day two is done. Still doing pretty well, thanks for asking. For a brief catch up if it's your first time here, scroll down to the post Shameless Promotion for a Good Cause/PLEASE SPONSOR ME!!! and read your way back up to this post.

Some facts from Live Below the Line's website.

3. 884 million people do not have access to clean drinking water leading to 2.2 million deaths per year – mostly children under 5. We spend globally $60 billion on bottled water this year. – twice what the $30 billion the UN believes is needed to give everyone clean water
4. One child every 3.5 seconds dies from hunger and entirely preventable diseases. This year American households will throw out millions worth of food – more than three times the budget of the World Food Program which has $5 billion to support the World’ hungry.

Today's menu:

When I woke up I had a cup of tea with one teaspoon of sugar. TOTAL COST: $.045

My first food of the day was a pack of instant oatmeal with apples and cinnamon (already in the pack). I made a second cup of tea with the same teabag (total old lady chic, dontcha know?) and added a teaspoon of sugar. TOTAL COST: $.155

About two hours later I had one egg over easy fried in a portion of a tablespoon of Country Crock spread and a piece of Martin's potato bread toast on which I spread the rest of that tablespoon. TOTAL COST: $.28

My late afternoon/early evening snack was half a banana. TOTAL COST: $.09

Now here comes the BIG ONE!! For a late dinner I experimented. I made stir fried mixed sprouts and sweet potato over rice. TOTAL COST: $.78 (I know!! I thought it was expensive, too!!)

"RECIPE":
4 oz. cubed sweet potato (about 1/4 of a large sweet potato)
1 oz Protein Powerhouse Sprouts
2 tsp stir fry oil
1 tbsp The Ginger People Ginger Peanut Sauce
1 tsp Sriracha (which, if you seriously don't know where to buy it near you, you can buy online here)
I steamed the cubed sweet potato in a covered pot for about 10-15 minutes. During the last two minutes I threw the sprouts into the steamer basket as well.
Heat the stir fry oil to the point where water sizzles when you drip it into the oil. DO NOT let it start to smoke. Throw all of the sweet potato and sprouts in and stir fry quickly adding the ginger peanut sauce right at the end, but be sure to coat all of the food with the sauce. Serve over rice and garnish with Sriracha.

This was pretty good, but if I made it again, I'll use more ginger peanut sauce and serve over one of the Lundberg Gourmet Rice Blends.

My "second dinner" or big snack was--drumroll!--a pack of ramen. TOTAL COST: $.15

GRAND TOTAL: $1.50

Again, today was a day of much water and more peeing. Yay!

You still have three days to sponsor me if you are so inclined. Even a dollar or two. The donation is secure and tax deductible.

Day One: Chocolate and change to spare...

Well, I made it through day one. I did drink a lot of water. And I did pee a lot. Other than that, it wasn't too bad.
In case you don't know what I'm talking about, read this and this.

Some facts from Live Below the Line's website.

1. There are 1.4 Billion people still living in extreme poverty despite the fact that there is enough food to feed everyone one and a half times over.
2. Half the world’s population are women yet 70 % of the world’s poor are women. They work 2/3rd of the world’s working hours and earn only 10% of the world’s income and own less than 1 % of the world’s property

On to the food!

I don't usually eat when I wake up. I'm just not hungry and my first pills of the day need to be taken on an empty stomach, so I had a cup of tea with a teaspoon of sugar. TOTAL COST: $.045

A few hours later and I was hungry so I had a bowl of cooked barley and water to drink. TOTAL COST: $.085

"RECIPE":
1/4 cup dry barley (rinsed)
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup water
In a small covered saucepan simmer ingredients over a low flame (I have a gas stove and use a heat diffuser under the pan) until the barley are tender. Don't let them get mushy or you won't get to enjoy chewing your food.

Through the afternoon until dinner I had two snacks: 1/2 ounce of raw almonds (about 15 almonds) and an ounce of applesauce (two tablespoons). I drank as much water as I wanted through the day. TOTAL COST: $.14

Dinnertime! I had black eyed peas, rice and spinach with some Frank's Red hot. TOTAL COST: $.42

"RECIPE":
1 cup soaked (overnight) black eyed peas
Place beans in the bottom of a small saucepan cover with water so no beans are "poking up" through the surface of the water.
Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, checking occasionally for tenderness.
When the beans are tender stir in 1/4 teaspoon of Goya cilantro and annatto seasoning and 1/8 teaspoon of Goya ham seasoning.
Cook for another minute or two to ensure the the seasoning is cooked through the beans and "bean juice."
Stir in one ounce of frozen chopped spinach and cook until spinach is heated through.
Serve over one cup of white rice. (Cook rice with water at a 1:2 ratio. For example: 1/3 cup of dry rice plus 2/3 cup of water. If you don't use a rice steamer, simmer the rice and water on low in a small, covered saucepan and DO NOT stir at all. You stir: you get sticky rice.)
Serve with one tablespoon of Frank's Red Hot sauce.
NOTE: Goya seasonings contain MSG which some people do not like and/or to which they have sensitivities. I use it because I enjoy the slight saltiness and the strong umami flavor. If you can't use them, experiment with your own herbs and/or spices.

As the evening went on I snacked on a mixture of 1/2 ounce whole, raw almonds, 1/2 ounce of craisins and 1/2 ounce of raisins. TOTAL COST: $.23

I stay up pretty late, so I have my third "meal" between 10:30 p.m. and midnight. Tonight I ate one pack of cooked ramen noodles. TOTAL COST: $.15

After my noodles I finished the dried fruit and almonds from before the ramen. And then I ate three Hershey Kisses. TOTAL COST: $.12

GRAND TOTAL: $1.27

In case you are wondering how much "a lot" of water is, I drank 3.75 liters and just refilled my 750 mL bottle to take to bed. On an average day I drink about 1.5 liters.

Anyone wanting to know how I arrived at specific prices, please email me with your question(s).

The Night Before Day 1

In case you did not see my previous post, go read it now. Go on; I'll wait.

From Live Below the Line's website:

The Rules
The “what”: Feed yourself on $1.50 per day for 5 days
The “when”: May 16 – 20, 2011
The “how”: Each day’s food budget is $1.50. However, you can spend the entire week’s allotment once. So you can go shopping at the beginning of the week and spend $7.50, but you won’t be allowed to purchase anything else for the remainder of the challenge.

The Goal
Live Below the Line was designed to give you a glimpse into what it's like for the millions of people living in extreme poverty. It’s an experience meant to be shared with others, as well as an important opportunity to raise funds for the campaign to end extreme poverty.

It's Sunday night and I've done a lot of my prep work for the next few days.
Beans are soaking:Beans and seeds are sprouted: Price list is nailed down:(A note on my prices: We do almost all of our shopping at Costco and the rules allow for using partial packages. I've based the price list on these two factors.)

Some "holy trinity" is cooked up:
I'm planning on eating little bits of food many times a day instead of a few meals and I'll be drinking a lot of water.
So, other than weighing and math and cooking and eating, what will I be doing this week? When I'm hungry and not busy, I'll probably be painting my nails. It keeps me occupied and you can't eat with wet nails.
I finished tonight with a few leftover blueberry pancakes, then some Hershey kisses, then a hyooooge gin and tonic. See you next week, old friends. Sigh.