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LBTL Day 1

It is Sunday night. I’ve spent the past few hours trying to work out how I can get “the best bang for my buck”. I am attempting to complete a week of living on £1/day food cost, i.e “Live Below the Line”, in partnership with Oxfam GB.

If you haven’t heard of the wider situation beyond the UK’s well-documented recent use of food banks, 1.2 BILLION people live in extreme poverty, i.e. on less than $1.25 per day. And that’s not just food, that’s everything: house, clothes, health, the lot. It’s pretty shocking when you realise the rate at which you can spend pounds and pounds on meaningless indulgences like coffee and cake.

I have just costed this out and really surprised at the total. Porridge is a reasonably cheap option for breakfast, though I would typically do it with all milk, and usually treat myself to a bit more of an exotic topping. Tea time is the tough bit though, expensive noodles and vegetables but you could probably save quite a bit by buying and chopping the veg yourself. Looking like being hungry by dinner time…

Breakfast: Porridge (19p)

  • 60g oats (7p)
  • 175ml s/s milk (11p)
  • 175ml water
  • Sprinkle salt & sugar (1p)

Dinner: Banana (14p)

Tea: Stir-fry Noodles (66p)

  • 1 x nest medium egg noodles (23p)
  • 1/4 packet stir-fry vegetables (23p)
  • 1tbl soy sauce (16p)
  • Squirt Sriracha sauce (4p)

live below the line: breakfast day 1

live below the line: breakfast day 1

live below the line: dinner day 1

Snacks: cup PG tips, no milk (1p)

Monday total: £1.00

End of day update: I feel like I could quite easily eat another entire two dinners and the leftover Easter eggs scraps. My food intake today works out at about 600kcal. I’m not quite starving yet though, though obviously, starving is a very relative term.

Donate here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/donations

I write about Newcastle's latest and greatest (and some not so great) independent restaurants, bars, cafes, and regional food. Lover of pizza, seafood, and imperial stouts - not all at once.

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