Are you ready?

     A few weeks ago I volunteered to be part of a project to spread awareness for extreme poverty, it's called the Live Below the Line Campaign.  I am getting really excited about it.  Myself, along with countless others have taken an oath to live on just $1.50 per day for 5 days starting May 7th.  Since there are 5 people in my home taking this challenge, we will have a full budget of up to $7.50 per day for the family.  I may reduce that budget to accommodate for school lunch which is provided.  That would leave me with $5.50 instead.  That is about $89 less than we would normally use in that period of time.  Talk about a challenge!
   I was foolish enough to blow my budget this month without leaving any for the challenge and since we don't get paid until the 4th day of the challenge, I will have to get creative and check weekly flyers for foods I already have.  I have already found $.99 eggs and bread which will be very handy to have.  I also took advantage of a local liquidation store a week or so ago and bought lots of cheap items.  Some of the things I bought were $1.49 cheese, $.25 Marshmallows and $.25 pasta bags.  I also picked up whole pasta kits for $.33 each, along with some other things.  I will be using some of those this week.  I have a feeling that we will be drinking lots of water this week and laying off the soda and fruity drinks.
     I FULLY encourage any and all followers to try this challenge.  It doesn't have to be the week that we are all doing it.  You can do it any time.  I expect it to be a real eye opener and probably even a waist slimmer.  Other things I expect are that name brands will be a thing of the past and so will second helpings and mid-day snacks.  I expect to have to shop at the liquidation store and so I will need to trust in the quality of the food, some of which is expired but still "good".  I also expect to learn some new recipes and learn how to stretch food.  It will be a learning experience and one I hope to repeat quarterly.

I leave you with a sample recipe from the Live Below the Line Cookbook:

Simple Bread

Ingredients:
• ½ cup Self raising flour
• Water to form soft dough
Method:
1. Combine flour and water until soft dough is formed. Divide into two
portions. Roll out thinly.
2. Heat hotplate, and grill until browned on both sides and cooked through.
Pressing air bubbles down with clean tea towel whilst cooking.
3. Serve with margarine and jam if desired and budget allows it.