Wednesday 21 May 2014

Live Below the Line Day 2

On Monday I felt fine.  About 3pm yesterday I realised I was heading for a crash. I had to eat the pear and very nearly ate the stalk too.

OH was working late so before he came home I was irritable. Couldn't read, write,  the garden went for a Burton (what does that even mean?) and I realised my TV planner was full of food programmes.  Agh!

By the time OH came in I was so ravenous that I couldn't be bothered to wait to take a picture of my food.

Maybe you can see one tomorrow as I am eating the same today.

Dinner : dahl and vegetable rice.

To feed 2:

200g plain rice cooked with 160g mixed veg and a teaspoon of gravy granules.

Dahl was 200g cooked yellow split peas. I'd soaked these overnight and cooked in the slow cooker all day after a quick ten minute rapid boil. I had plenty of time to just boil them up when I got in to be honest.

The mush was added to  sweated onions, a chilli,  half a clove of garlic and about a tablespoon of cumin. Later I added a tablespoon of passata and more gravy granules.  Thankfully it didn't taste like gravy, but it needed some flavour dammit!

The result: not too bad,  but boy did my energies remain dipped and I could feel a sore throat coming on, in spite of all the water I've been drinking.

I then tried to book a train and failed to realise the option for my travel card had unticked so I paid £40 too much. Something to be sorted out today.

I decided to look at Jack Monroe's attempt at doing this to see how she had fared. Unfortunately,  she gets a lot of trolls and commenters who didn't get this challenge at all.

The reason this challenge is a challenge is because it's generally thought that the people doing it are going to be comfortable most  if not all of the time.  The reason it's short is because it's not an a lifestyle plan or diet. It's not meant to be sustainable because it isn't sustainable.  It's not nutritional or sufficient: I barely scraped 1100 calories yesterday.

Is it self - serving?  Well the idea is to raise money for Africa,  similar to when I ran the 10km last year. There is something to be said for the psychology of doing stuff for charity as it generally makes people feel better about themselves.  I am pissed off that we live in a world where charity is needed for anything though.  Mind,  I am busy,  and doing this sort of thing takes a lot less energy and fewer risks than say, agitating for change,  direct action,  fighting in a war zone or giving away all my possessions to go live like an ascetic hermit. I don't care if you think I should.

Anyway,  I'm not finding it fun. Please donate!
https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/donnabond

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