I am in a Facebook group entitled 'Food - Surviving on 50p a Day' ... yes it's sad that in this day and age we even need a group like this, but it seems we do. I posted yesterday about The Why and the History and today is all about the where the idea came from and the food that I bought with my £3.50 budget. I will also show the store cupboard items that I have chosen to allow myself ... after all even in my worst times I think I have always had salt and pepper and usually a couple of things lurking in the back of the cupboard.
The Where ... did this challenge come from?
One day Pat, who is an Admin on the group asked the question:
' In the true spirit of this group, assuming empty cupboards, and that means not even flavourings, what would you buy?
Must be full price items and no freebies.
I will start you off with Aldi savoury rice 28p and Aldi spaghetti hoops at 16p. total 44p.
You only have 50p. Not a penny over! Just food for one day for one person. '
It triggered over 250 comments and lots of ideas, and this was mine, well you know me, I love a Challenge.
The above was my shopping and it came to exactly 50p.
Breakfast was my 14 p banana.
Lunch and tea were made from the onion, carrot and potato, with the peelings being cooked to make a stock to add some flavour. I simply lifted out the vegetables for the stew and then whizzed up what was left with my stick blender to make the soup for my lunch.
It was tasty but not that filling and if I hadn't already been on a limited diet no doubt I would have felt the small amount of food even more.
Then in the comments of the Facebook challenge someone mentioned how much easier it would be to be able to shop for a whole weeks worth of 50p days of food all in one go ... and I replied that for one week I would give it a go.
And so this Challenge was born.
Now quite a few times in the past, and usually documented on this blog or one of my others, I have shopped and lived on £1 per day, but this is a whole other, and half the price challenge. Could it be done?
So after looking on the Sainsbury's online shopping website and putting things into and out of my virtual basket many times, I came up with the basic plan and then I went shopping the very next day armed with £3.50 and a single shopping bag ... to see if it could really be done.
And this is what I bought:
One loaf of bread - 36p
2 onions - 24p
2.5kg White potatoes - £1.25
1kg Carrots - 50p
Can of Spaghetti Rings- 16p
Can of Peach Slices - 34p
Orange Marmalade - 59p
I was very lucky to see the 36p bread, I have never even noticed it before in our small branch of Sainsbury's, but there were four loaves tucked right in the corner on the bottom shelf, they obviously don't want many people to shop for such a cheap loaf.
My receipts (I totalled and paid before I realised the bread was still in my shopping trolley), and the 3p that I had left over. I could have bought jam for 39p instead of that extravagant 59p marmalade ... and I might be regretting that later on in the week!!
Unlike the 50p for one day challenge that we were originally set I decided that this time I would allow myself a very basic store cupboard of items ... and these are the items I chose.
Coffee - caffeine is a MUST if I am to remain sane by the end of the week.
Salt and Pepper
Vegetable Stock
Olive Oil
Curry Powder
Mixed Herbs
Garlic Powder
and Mayonnaise
If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them, but if you are just here to criticise don't bother. We don't learn more about ourselves or others by being critical and negative, it just shuts down the narrative.
This might be about to be a tough week, but hopefully it can be a friendly and entertaining one too.
Sue xx
My only concern is that this seems rather short on protein. Carbs, and vitamins a-plenty, and fibre too, but little protein. I think I might have swapped the spag-Os for beans, bought a small bottle of milk, and avoided the Marmalade. Part of the challenge should be to stay healthy. Maybe a cheap bag of lentils next week?
ReplyDeleteYes, it's very short of protein I agree. I did all the workings out and will share them on a future post, but just over 20g of protein per day is low. I couldn't have swapped the spaghetti rings for beans as the cheapest beans in our town on the day I shopped were 45p. Usually you can get beans from Sainsbury's for 26p but there were none in store that day, and even they would have been outside my budget. I can't drink milk, but it would have been no use to spread on my toast for breakfast and I don't see how it would have fitted into this shop anyway!
DeleteThis is a one week challenge, but even if I were to go on for longer there will be very few leftovers at the end of this week, and with lentils being £1.15 in Aldi and £1.90 in Sainsbury's they would not be a suitable purchase as there wouldn't be enough cash over to buy a weeks worth of other filling foods.
I was thinking along the same lines as Angela - if you are just doing this for one week as an example, then the overall nutritional balance is neither here or there. But for the people who HAVE to do this week in, week out? I often wonder what problems are being created now, with people having to cut back on their food expenditure and fill up on carbs & sugar, that will cost even more to sort out in the next decade?
ReplyDeleteThere was a programme during the week (Saving Lives in Leeds?) where a Consultant very pointedly said that lockdowns and Covid had meant a lot of children she treated had gone without procedures which meant that now they were far more ill and needed much more medical intervention than they would have done, and this was putting even more strain on an over-loaded NHS.
I am just doing this for one week. I am sure there are problems being caused through people eating this way out of necessity for long periods, more so even than during the rationing of the war years when foods were mostly unprocessed. But as long as you have some vegetables in your diet and some carbs ... and actually mix these with less fats ... then that is healthier than relying on ready meals and processed foods. As you rightly say it's the carbs and sugar, and also the carbs and fats mix, that causes all the health problems. I fear our NHS is going to collapse under the workload in the relatively near future. Food education is sorely needed.
DeleteWow! I think living with this kind of budget isn't possible here where I live (food is much more expensive, not potatoes, but there's no 0,39 bread (cheapest is around 1€ if you can't find yellow stickered one) unless you grow, forage ja preserve everything... but your efforts and dedication is highly appreciated.
ReplyDelete(I have no idea why google won't let me be signed in when push "Comment" button, it always signs me out. oh well, I'll figure it out eventually.)
Ulvmor
You would have to work out the exchange rate to the pound for your country and then see how much you would have to spend. Then see what you could actually buy that you could stretch to last a week with that amount. The 36p bread was a happy 'by chance' purchase as I have never seen it in our branch of Sainsbury's before, although I had heard about it in the Facebook group. Food is going up in price at a scary rate isn't it.
DeleteBrings it home when you see that small amount of food that has to last a week. If anyone can do this Sue you will give it your best try.
ReplyDeleteI'm definintely giving it my best shot. :-)
DeleteGood luck as always with your challenge. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThank you Catriona. xx
DeleteGosh that is a small amount of food isn't it. I noticed in Sainsburys this morning that they had bags of carrots, potatoes and parsnips for just 19p each for Easter. You would feel like you won on the lottery if you got all those for 57p I guess. Yesterday Morrisons had cabbage at 19p too. With just £3.50 to spend I would use all the offers I could find. Are you allowing yourself any yellow sticker purchases, Sue?
ReplyDeleteI know ... I chose the wrong week to do the Challenge didn't I. :-)
DeleteStill because I had to pay full price for everything it does make it fairer and slightly more long lasting as a viable way of eating for a week on that amount. No, I purposefully didn't allow myself any yellow stickers, not that we seem to have many in our Sainsbury's these days. My whole week's shopping is in that photo ... and of course I have 3p over, one more skinny carrot perhaps?
Hmm...there's not much else you can buy for 3p is there 😒
DeleteI wonder what they would have thought on the indoor market if I had asked for one sweet from the sweetie stall? ... I don't think I dare find out. ;-)
DeleteI thought of you today when I was in our local Morrisons, they had the Easter veg offer, bag of carrots, bag of parsnips and a pack of two small savoy cabbages, all 19 pence each ,I also picked up a sliced loaf reduced to 12 pence, what a good start that would have been for your challenge . I have set myself a very small challenge compared to yours ,just to use everything in our fridge and small chest freezer before I shop again ,after years of cooking for three strapping lads I still haven't got the hang of shopping for two and it has been just the two of us for many years ,with regular comings and goings from the boys, ( still calling them boys, they are 40, and 43 !!!!!! )
ReplyDeleteIt could have been a much different week with all the cheap veg that is around for this weekend wouldn't it, and a 12p loaf would have been fantastic. Yes I still call mine 'the boys' as well and they are 36 and 42 ... it's a Mum thing. :-)
DeleteAs I always say with your challenges - Rather you than me!!
ReplyDeleteI think you can enjoy going back to eating your usual foods for a while now, then maybe you could try the shopping local challenge again. You had some delicious things last time, even if it did cost you a bit more.
DeleteGood luck, Sue. It is so very little to last a whole week but if anyone can do it, you can. xx
ReplyDeleteIt seemed such a little amount of food for a week when I unpacked it, but once I had sat down and made a plan I felt somewhat relieved that I could make it last.
DeleteThis is a tough challenge but then you have done many tough challenges before. I will follow with interest. For me the red wine is a budget blower every time! There again we have to manage with what we have and when things were tough and my boys were small there was no red wine. Now in retirement I can choose. I admire you for the challenges you do and for the help you give to the food bank too.
ReplyDeleteLuckily I usually drink quite cheap white wine as a preference ... unluckily it doesn't fit into this week's budget. And like you when times were tough it didn't fit the budget ever. :-(
DeleteThis looks a very interesting challenge and has got me thinking - I’ll be following closely.
ReplyDeleteOooh Yellow Shoes, you have a new name. :-)
DeleteI hope you find it interesting.
I just tallied up what your shopping basket would cost here in my province of Canada and converted it to pounds...9.5 pounds. I'm sure that you will make some tasty dishes. I'll be following your progress but not joining you!
ReplyDeleteIt's a huge difference isn't it. I do know though that when Alan was offered a job in Canada the wages were a lot higher than he was earning here for exactly the same job. Luckily his employer at the time matched the amount to keep him here and we didn't have to go through the upheaval of relocating.
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