Re: Does this £1/day include energy costs ?
ah.. but how many calories do these bacteria have.. that is the question ?
:-)
Fried-egg sarnies kick off Reg man's quid-a-day nosh challenge
Coffee, bacon and black pudding were strictly off the menu this morning as this hack kicked off his "Live Below the Line" challenge with a couple of fried-egg sarnies and a mug of builders' tea. Until Friday, I have to subsist on just £1 a day for food as I participate in "an innovative awareness and fundraising campaign that' …
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Monday 29th April 2013 13:02 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Does this £1/day include energy costs ? @ stu 4
"- Just made enough leek and potato soup at the weekend for 6 meals: 3 quid. (2 leaks, potatoes, onion, stock cube)"
Stock cube? You paid money for a cube of pressed salt and sh!t? Noooo.
Next time you roast a chicken yourself (or even buy a roast one from the shop), stick the carcass in a slow cooker for five hours, or a pressure cooker for twenty minutes. If there's any to hand, hoof in any stale carrots or onions (or even peeling and offcuts, green tops of leeks, wilting celery, or the bits you won't eat (mud and all). Shallots, green beans, stringless beans can all be added, but I'd avoid most brassicas or veg with strong smells or tastes. Left over cooked veg, uneaten meat from the plates and what have you can all be thrown in. If you want you can add dried or fresh herbs, but I prefer to do that in the final dish. No salt or pepper, of course. Same applies to the left overs of a meat joint on the bone (if there is any left over meat), although meat stocks are generally less versatile than chicken.
That should produce about three pints of stock per carcass, far better then any stock cube you'll ever buy. Fabbo in a risotto or paella, great in home made soups or sauces, or in things like shepherd's/cottage pie. Freezes a treat.
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Monday 29th April 2013 12:09 GMT Brewster's Angle Grinder
Re: What did you fry the eggs in?
Non-stick as in "having a special coating"? Because the teflon tends to wear away, and I can't see it lasting fifteen years. The pans are perfectly serviceable, once the coating has gone, but it's back to fat. Conservatively, I'd say three years, which is still good value.
PS I notice Tesco do bars of chocolate for 30p. Three bars a day would fill up anyone! White for breakfast; milk for lunch; dark for supper.
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Monday 29th April 2013 13:25 GMT James Micallef
Re: What did you fry the eggs in?
My experience is that even expensive pans with hi-tech coatings don't last more than 2-3 years of regular use (or at least, the pan is still fine but the coating no longer non-stick). However by your calculations even with a 3-year lifespan instead of 15, it would be 5c a day, so still a bargain.
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Monday 29th April 2013 13:44 GMT Thecowking
Re: What did you fry the eggs in?
Conversely, the more basic the pan, the longer it seems to last.
I've got a wok my father brought with him to the UK the best part of 4 decades ago which is still perfect. I need to oil it after I use it, but that's par for the course for caring for metal for me.
Got a cleaver of even more ancient provenance which I don't know how old it is, but the handle is worn nearly smooth and it's bamboo. Oil that after using it too and it's going strong too.
I actively avoid non-stick coatings and the like, I find they wear out in short order and tend to flake. Plain old steel's good enough for me.
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Monday 29th April 2013 11:11 GMT Anonymous Coward
Bait
Make a trap and use a few of your chickpeas to attract some birds (the feathered type) which you can kill and cook (or go mad trying)
That bone tied to a strong rope would surely attract some of the local dogs which you could beat to death with a stick, thereby leveraging up the protein content of your diet. (if you can entice a pitbull they lock their jaws when they bite so you don't need a hook of some sort)
You are going to end the week both miserable and grumpy, enjoy !
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Monday 29th April 2013 11:25 GMT Anonymous Coward
It's the local equivalent
The £1 per day is in the UK, Lester gets 6E because they are comparable economies (ie. rich but both going down the pan)
In Africa it is the amount of money it would cost to buy a similar amount of groceries.
If you are forced to live on so little for an extended period then you end up malnourished, Lester will probably loose a couple of pounds over the week but he will put it all back on (plus some more) on Saturday and Sunday as he pigs out on bacon butties and steak and chips.
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Monday 29th April 2013 13:24 GMT Anonymous Coward
I often wondered this, and whether it was my ignorance, but when it is reported that x% of the world's population live on less than a pound/dollar a day, I wondered how they actually survived.
Is food cheaper? As in, because the locals have little to spend, local traders offer low price items.
(Conversely if I turned up in Monaco to do my shopping, I'd not be able to buy anything.)
Is the type of food cheaper? eg. a bowl of rice vs. a UK full meal
Thanks
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Monday 29th April 2013 13:55 GMT Anonymous Coward
"Is food cheaper? As in, because the locals have little to spend, local traders offer low price items. Conversely if I turned up in Monaco to do my shopping, I'd not be able to buy anything.)"
Yes, you're broadly correct. But because the cost base of differing economies can be so radically different, along with behaviours, diets, and everything else, to compare like for like at exchange rate prices means nothing unless you can easily, quickly and cheaply move between the compared places.
For this reason economists sometimes use "purchasing power parity" exchange rates that are intended to make a credible fist of the fact that food is cheaper in cash in poorer countries, as are typical incomes. If you're a Western tourist, you can (usually) benefit from these differences, because everything seems so cheap in developing countries when you go on holiday with savings from your thirty pound an hour job. But it won't seem cheap to those who live there, and earn two quid a day. Also worth noting that differences are regional - take a whippet racing Northerner to London, and he'll be shocked at the prices, but the same would be true of an Indian peasant transported to the more affluent areas of Mumbai.
The food price difference isn't just about what the locals can afford, but about the cost base. If you're paying a shop worker in London the on-costs and overheads will be far greater than a shop worker in Nairobi, even if the food were bought on the same global commodities markets. Add in the varied impact of shipping costs and subsidies (many developing countries subsidise food & fuel prices) and you have a complex picture, but in the grand scheme.
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Wednesday 1st May 2013 10:17 GMT Anonymous Coward
A good answer, @Ledswinger, have an upvote!
Good point too about the wage v living cost affect locally (within the UK), I remember the student loans were greater for London based students and that estimated graduate salaries are greater in the big smoke, but their rent would probably pay for a large house anywhere else in the UK.
@jonathanb
Last time I was in Nice, judging by the amount of Russian registered Bentleys, I wouldn't be alone in exploiting the price difference :)
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Monday 29th April 2013 11:21 GMT Anonymous Coward
It is hard to subsist on £1/day for a single person when taken in isolation. But longer term, you can buy/cook in bulk and store for later use. Also, it's much easier to cook for more than one person, if done right you can serve a meal for 4 x people for £1.
While this campaign is useful for bring awareness of such issues, it isn't entirely meaningful.
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Monday 29th April 2013 11:28 GMT Efros
shoulda
gone with the Scottish soup, 2lbs each of potatoes (£1.30), carrots (69p) and one swede (65p). One smoked ham hough (£1), 1 onion (19p), lentils (45p) or barley (60p). Boil the ham hough in the largest pot you have in lots of water until the meat is falling off the bone. Remove the bone and skin then add the grated carrots and turnip, the chopped onion and the lentils/barley bring back to the boil. Simmer until the lentils/barley are nearly done add diced potatoes and water if needed and simmer until potatoes are done season with salt (taste it first) and pepper, serve in the largest bowl you have with bread. Should be enough for at least four days. Make sure you boil it every day otherwise it will ferment and taste kinda funky and cause all sorts of gaseous emanations from you, lay in a supply of loo roll, very high in fibre! This is also a cure-all for New Year hangovers, tattie soup!
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Monday 29th April 2013 11:34 GMT Colin Miller
On a slightly more serious, and worrying note malaria is becoming resistant to artemisinin, the last drug that can control it.
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Monday 29th April 2013 11:35 GMT Big-G
Make some Real (additive free, fresh and honest) Bread cheaper than bought
Best of luck , and if it helps, here is a recipe for making a loaf of realbread,
Tasty, Nutritious, longer lasting and cheaper than anything bought. Makes you feel good having made it too!
Strong Bread Flour 500g (When you buy 1.5Kg can be as cheap as £1, but avg is £1 per kg)
Water 300g (if flour is white, 320-340gr if wholemeal)
Salt 9g
Yeast 10g (avoud this cost by making your own "sourdough starter" with just flour, water and recipes from Google.
Mix water with salt, and add to tflour, then add yeast, and mix, then cover and rest fr 5-10 mins, then knead for 8-10 mins. Shape into a ball and place in a bowl, covered and leave for about 45 mins (if in spain. 1.5hrs if in cooler blighty. When doubled in size, re-shape into a ball, place on a baking tray and again wait 45mins/1.5hrs, until doubled in size, then bake in a preheated oven at 250degC for 10 minutes, then reduce temp. to 210degc for 15-20 mins. Loaf is ready when a tap on the bottom side sounds hollow.
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Monday 29th April 2013 12:40 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Make some Real (additive free, fresh and honest) Bread cheaper than bought
"Loaf is ready when a tap on the bottom side sounds hollow."
I find the loaf is ready when the machine goes "beep...beep....beep".
This being a technology website, I hope you'll approve of my suggestion of doing simple repetitive tasks by automation?
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Monday 29th April 2013 13:57 GMT Big-G
Re: Make some Real (additive free, fresh and honest) Bread cheaper than bought
Machines ok , but recipes usually call for more (unneccessary ingredients, like sugar an dried milk) plus you may need to experiment to get it right, cos it's darn difficult to feel and adjust midway and if it ain't right you get waste...ergo use of the original machines.. hands...have a look at them, they really are marvels of engineering. But really...whatever makes your toast, freshly home made is still in the long term cheaper, more nutritious, fresher and longer lasting, and tastier, than the bought stuff.
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Monday 29th April 2013 14:34 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Make some Real (additive free, fresh and honest) Bread cheaper than bought
"but recipes usually call for more (unneccessary ingredients, like sugar an dried milk) "
Generally yes, but my Panny has an excellent "French style" programme that is just flour, salt, yeast and water. Seems a bit odd at first having a sandwich style load with the texture of a baguette, but tastes great.
And on the other recipes I never bother with dried milk, just slop in half milk and half warm water, use vegetable oil in place of butter. In fact, if you've got it, soya milk works better than dairy. As you say, can involve some experimentation, but always fun trying to make things your own.
For any Panny bread maker owners reading this, try the fast white loaf setting, using 25% wholemeal flour and 75% white bread flour, a whole sachet of yeast, and normal amount of lukewarm water/milk (plus sugar and salt in appropriate measure). You might need to play with the ingredients a tiny amount, but when you've got that sussed it could be the best everyday load you'll get out of the machine.
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Tuesday 30th April 2013 01:25 GMT TheRealRoland
Re: Make some Real (additive free, fresh and honest) Bread cheaper than bought
I find the whole wheat / regular flour bread result to taste sweeter than 100% regular flour. Or maybe i just mixed up my measurements this one time...
But yes - i do love my bread machine - if only for it to do my kneading. Baking is done on either a french loaf pan or just my pizza stones. On 4 cups of flour, i use 1.5 whole wheat and 2.5 regular flour.
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Monday 29th April 2013 11:36 GMT Vladimir Plouzhnikov
Peas v pancakes?
Not the way I would have split the budget but once you've already gone for eggs and milk - maybe you should consider trading your chickpeas for some flour - you can make decent pancakes with eggs, flour and milk and do the stew (or soup) using just rice and meat.
I'm still concerned with the lack of fresh/canned vegetables - one week is fine, but if you live long enough on such diet you will face a real possibility of scurvy...
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Monday 29th April 2013 11:59 GMT Colin Miller
Re: Peas v pancakes?
If you grind the chickpeas in a food processor, then you can make pancakes from them. However, I doubt if I'd do it as part of this experiment, as Lester can't really afford for anything to go wrong. There's no eggs in them, as chickpea flour can be used as egg replacement (as a binder) for vegans.
http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/tipsandtechniques/ht/How-To-Make-Chickpea-Gram-Flour.htm
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Monday 29th April 2013 11:55 GMT Phil Atkin
I reckon I am nearly there, pretty much all the time ...
Since I decided to kick the 'fat bastard' habits of a long and pretty fat lifetime, I've been eating 2 meals a day of porridge with 'jampote' (basically foraged fruit - blackberries, hedgerow damsons and plums - collected for free and frozen in season, then cooked up in big batches with a bit of sugar to make a low-sugar jam). The liquid to cook up the porridge is about 30% water, the rest cheap as hell LIDL UHT semi-skimmed. So for sure my breakfast / lunch budget is about 20p a day. And has been for 3 1/2 years. Dinner is a 'real' meal.
At that rate surviving a week with dinner for 80p and no coffee should be easy (ish). The absence of coffee will be the problem.
Pictures (i.e. porridge is good for you) - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121102617700?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
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Biting the hand that feeds IT
