This is getting serious...

I didn't realise there'd be so much maths involved in this living below the line thing.  Every meal time is punctuated with remarks from Alice and me like "How much?!" and "What, 30p just for a lemon?!".  Meanwhile Mick eats quietly... and occasionally reminds me that I'm not supposed to enjoy the experience.  (He says this with a hint of a smile that reveals he is quite looking forward to watching the show.)

Yesterday I got cooking.  I made nut burgers for dinner and put a couple in the freezer.  After I'd done the maths and discovered they'd cost 45p each - nearly a whole day's budget just for two little burgers - I took them out of the freezer and decided to eat them today!  I'm going to try making them with cheaper ingredients for next week - brown rice, peanuts, onions, carrots, mushrooms and bread.



How much was this lot do you reckon?!



I had much better success with chick pea curry and aduki bean soup - 38p and 24p a portion (it's the spices and the lemon juice that push the price up).  Hooray!  I've decided that Indian food is the way to go and plan to knock up some chapatis later.  Good job I've got the week off work to prepare for this - I had no idea it would be so time consuming! 

The thing is, I have no idea how much I spend on food.  It really is incredible once you start totting things up just how much it all costs.  Here's a rough idea of yesterday's bill:

Porridge with fruit, seeds, honey and milk - 18p

Large cappuccino at Baraza's - £2.50

Buttered toast with cheese and chutney followed by a banana - 60p

Nutburgers, cauliflower cheese and banana chutney (are you following the theme?  I'm being honest here!) £1.60

Fresh coffee and homemade cake (banana of course, with walnut and a splash of bourbon) £no idea!

... and then there are all the cups of tea.  That's more than a fiver.  A whole week's budget wiped out in just one day - and apart from the cappuccino it was a pretty lean day with not even a scrap of meat in sight.