Challenge Seven - The Leftovers Challenge - Following On

I've been away for longer than I meant to be, but don't panic (Mr Mainwaring) ... I'm back and none of the food has gone off.

So, the basis of this new following on Challenge is that I am not wasting one single thing from the food leftover from Challenge Six - For the Price of a Coffee.  But will instead add to it without going shopping.

So a quick recap of what I have left in the larder to start this new Challenge.

700g porridge oats

636g spaghetti

2 cloves garlic

250g red lentils

800g brown rice

tub of gravy mix

3 tins tomatoes

1 tin chickpeas

1 tin mandarin orange segments

1 tin peaches

4 potatoes

1/4 sheet Puff Pastry
4 stuffing patties
1/2 tin beans

orange juice

2 slices of lemon (freezer)

2/3 red pepper

1 carrot

1 courgette

14 onions

3/4 iceberg lettuce

5 spring onions

4 apples 

1 butternut squash

The Rules of Challenge Six - The Leftovers Challenge

1.  No food is to be bought from the shops - at all !!

2.  Every main meal must contain at least one of last weeks leftovers food items.

3.  Each day of the Challenge up to five items in total can be taken from the food cupboard, the fridge or the freezer.

4.  Once a new item is brought into play it is considered to be part of the new 'larder' and must be used up over the course of the Challenge.  No wastage is allowed.

5.  Once daily blogposts will record my progress.

One loaf of bread has already been removed from the freezer to thaw out and this is how it looks now.

The drawers are looking good.

I didn't even know I had some more pastry in there until I started rummaging about.

As usual here at the Van the little food cupboard is looking very full ... which for the purposes of this Challenge is very good 😁

The reason I decided to do the Challenge this way and not to simply buy additional food to keep the Challenge going, is that the caravan park closes soon for the Winter break and I will be leaving just any tins and jars of food that are left in the cupboards and taking everything else home to Wales.  Obviously the electric goes off too so the fridge freezer has to be emptied completely.

This is not much of a problem in the case of the fridge, but you can see from the photos how full the little freezer is.  Time to get working my way through the food I have here and the food leftover from last week's Challenge then, by merging the too I should eat very well for the next seven days.

Sue xx

For the Price of a Coffee - End of Challenge Round Up

 Breakfast from Day One

So over the course of the last seven days I have had the price of seven cups of coffee.  Seven times £2.75 (the price of a large filter coffee at my local, and most regularly frequented garden centre) which is a grand total of £19.25.  Spent daily as though I had bought a coffee each day.  I managed to shop each day for six of the seven days, but something always goes wrong on a Challenge week and I decided to roll with it and one day spent two days money and set it up as a Challenge Within a Challenge.  It worked well overall.

Here are some of my highlight meals.

Dhal and Rice for Tea on Day Two

Day Three - Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce with Broccoli

Shared with Alan, who had sliced chicken with his.

Tea on Day Four Red Lentil Dhal and a freshly baked Baguette

Looks boring … tasted delicious.

Dinner on Day Five - Vegetable Samosas and a Simple Salad

followed by Grape and Melon Fruit Pot

Challenge within a Challenge Day

Day Six - Tea - Roast Dinner with Gravy

Day Seven - Stuffed Red Pepper served with Boiled Potatoes

The Food Remaining at the End of the Challenge

In the fridge:

1/4 sheet Puff Pastry
4 stuffing patties
1/2 tin beans

orange juice

2 slices of lemon (freezer)

2/3 red pepper

1 courgette

1 carrot

14 onions

3/4 iceberg lettuce

5 spring onions

4 apples 

1 butternut squash

Other foods:

700g porridge oats

636g spaghetti

2 cloves garlic

250g red lentils

800g brown rice

tub of gravy mix

3 tins tomatoes

1 tin chickpeas

1 tin mandarin orange segments

1 tin peaches

4 potatoes

Cash leftover at the End of the Challenge - 1p

Donated to charity.  

It's been a good Challenge and just shows, that if you ditch a coffee a day habit you can actually, and very easily, eat three meals a day instead.  What a result.

I knew I could do it as I have successfully managed one pound a day challenges in the past and coped with them reasonably well,  so this seemed a very easy one to attempt.  This time, however, I was aiming for healthy foods, and had a trying to reach a 5 a day target on my mind, something that I am guessing at todays prices would be that much harder to achieve on just one pound a day, but that I thought would be possible on £2.75.  Of the seven days of the Challenge I averaged at four of my five a day.  The lowest day being a two and the highest a six. Not too shabby but not quite good enough.  Could do better and all that ... well looking at the veggies over, I could have made it if I could have managed to eat bigger meals!!

So in my mind a very successful Challenge.

BUT ...

… there's way too much food over just to end the Challenge here and simply add it to my 'normal' foods, it just wouldn't be right.  So I'm currently working out what to do next incorporating all these lovely leftovers.

I will be back tomorrow ... when I have a plan of action!

Sue xx