Live below the line: $2 a day

Hi Lovelies!

I will be embarking on “Live below the line” next week, and I wanted to share with you a bit about it, and why i’m doing it. Basically live below the line is an initiative to increase awareness of poverty, and how it affects food choices for the poor. Its also a personal journey to discover what it is like to live on the poverty line. The challenge is to live on $2 a day for food for 5 days. Iv’e taken quite a bit of time to prepare for this, and it’s going to be tough!I am personally doing it to experience what food choices are like for people with little money. We live in a culture where poverty is around, but we are unaware of it, and the reality of it. I hope to use my experience to help those in need, and to increase awareness. Having studied Nutrition for the last 3 years, I know that the food I will be eating for these 5 days is in now way reaching the recommendation for macro and micro nutrients, there is just no way to get it all in. Below is my plan for what I will be eating, I have tried my best to include as many fruit and veg as possible, but what I found was that it was too expensive to fit more in. Also, it was hard to afford protein, I really wanted eggs, but they were too pricey.

$10 total	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Day 1	Oats with grated apple and cinnamon	Chicken meat with rice and pumpkin patties	Chickpea and pumpkin curry with rice	Bone broth, flatbread, carrots
Day 2	Oats with grated apple and cinnamon	Fried rice with chicken, zucchini, carrot and fresh herbs	Mashed pumpkin with sautéed carrot, zucchini and onion	Bone broth, baked potato, carrots
Day 3	Oats with grated apple and cinnamon	Chicken meat with rice and pumpkin patties	Lentil dal with flatbread	Bone broth, carrots, baked potato
Day 4	Oats with grated apple and cinnamon	Carrot noodles with chickpea patties	Chickpea and pumpkin curry with rice	Bone broth, flatbread, carrots
Day 5	Oats with grated apple and cinnamon	Fried rice with chicken, zucchini, carrot and fresh herbs	Lentil dal with flatbread	Bone broth, carrots, baked potato

Shopping list:

Item	Amount	Cost	Item	Amount	Cost
Olive oil	100mL	$19.90/4L = $0.50	Carrot	1kg	$0.99/kg = $0.99
Canned toms	1 can	$0.79	Garlic	1 whole bulb	$0.99 for 6 = $0.165/1 bulb
Oats	200g	$1.28/750g = $0.34/200g	Potato	500g	$0.99/kg = $0.50
Apples	2 small	$2.38/kg = $0.60	Chickpeas	1 ½ cups cooked (1 cup dried) = 250g	$0.304/100g = $0.76
Cinnamon	2 tsp	=$0.10	Curry powder	2 Tbsp	=$0.15
Chicken drumsticks	2-3 small (300g)	$3.99/kg = $1.20	Onion	1 whole 180g	$1.99/kg = $0.35
Rice	6 serves = 3 cups cooked =200g	$0.30/100g =$0.60	Zucchini	1 whole	$0.50
Pumpkin	2kg	$0.69/kg = $1.38	Lentils	½ cup = 120g	$0.63/100g = $0.76
Flour	2 cups= 500g	$0.75/kg = $0.375

Iv’e calculated it from mostly things I already have in the cupboard. And I usually buy stuff in bulk, for example I bought a 10kg bag of rice for around $15, and I found pumpkin on special for $0.69/kg (Score!). and olive oil I buy in bulk too, so I was able to put in a little bit more. My local grocery store always has great specials too, so ill keep an eye out for great fruit and veg special next week. I am counting fresh herbs from the garden as free, as well a anything else I have grown (I have a single tomato growing!). I should have some greens, to add to the fried rice and curries, and if I will have some fresh mint which I will use for making tea. I would love for you to spare a few dollars for the cause, my goal is to raise $300, and so far I have $72. You can donate here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com.au/me/brittany_smith

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