I am slightly thinner, and a much wiser woman as a result of this challenge which has been interesting in a whole raft of ways. I learned a lot about myself, and my shopping, cooking and eating habits. I used a number of cookery books I haven't opened for years. I've been creative in the kitchen and cooked, from scratch, for the whole thirty days (not a morsel of convenience food has passed my lips). I've rediscovered kitchen equipment that I'd forgotten I'd owned and realised the benefits of planning, batch cooking and sensible use of the freezer, oven and microwave. I've also begun to realise how easy it is to confuse luxuries with essentials and to take for granted the blessings of an adequate income.
Undertaking this challenge of a few weeks has had its fun moments. It's been good to try out new recipes and to resurrect old ones. I haven't been hungry, and for the most part I've not been bored by my food. I have lost 4.5lbs - and I suspect this has occurred because I've not been eating the hidden sugars and fats found in convenience foods (palm oil, etc) and there has been precious little alcohol (not completely absent however, as chicken-feeding duty provided wee perks!) and no chocolate. I've also - and rather surprisingly - been more active this month, or so my pedometer tells me. I imagine this is due to the miles I've walked looking for bargains and comparing prices at different supermarkets. It has also been heart-warming the interest that friends have taken in my challenge, and the generosity of people in both supporting me with windfalls and garden produce (and indeed soup and bread) and in asking after my health and progress.
The rather unexpected downside of the challenge was how much time it actual took up. Making £30 last for a month and eating reasonably healthy, balanced meals took a lot of time, planning, preparation and cooking. I found for most of my waking hours I was thinking about food -- not because I was hungry but because I was considering how best to make use of what I had in my store cupboard and what I would have to buy. How one does this whilst job-seeking, looking after a family, or dealing with a disability or long term illness, I have no idea. Yet the sad fact is that low income households often have these additional stressors.
There have been a couple of low points. I'd once again offered to help out a friend in her fabric shop this week while she was away at a show. The last time I did this I took a packed lunch that included poached salmon sandwiches, a peach and chocolate biscuits. On Monday this week the bread was homemade, the cheese had to be grated as it was too dry to slice and I used the very last of a jar of chutney that had seen many, many days. The only fresh fruit that I've had since the start of the challenge has come from neighbours' and friends' apple trees. I ate the last of the apples last weekend and have missed my daily dose of vitamin C. I found myself slightly resentful and looking forward the the end of the week and the end of the challenge, but it has an end - the 12% of people in Stirling living in income deprivation are not so lucky.
I pledged to give the difference between £30 what I normally spend on food in a month to the charity (about £180) but I am so pleased that Start-Up Stirling will receive significantly more than this through the generosity of friends. Your sponsorship has been incredibly motivating and the monies will be put to good use I am sure. If you haven't yet, but still want to donate, the Virginmoneygiving page remains live for a few weeks yet. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Will the challenge have a lasting effect on me? I'm not sure. I would like to think that I will shop, cook and eat in a more canny fashion than previously, but only, I suspect, if it doesn't involve too much thinking. My home cooked food has been far more enjoyable that most of the convenience food I usually buy, but I am looking forward to Sainsbury's vegetarian sausages, chocolate and a tad more wine. And on that note, I'm off to pop a cork now in celebration of the end of the challenge. Cheers!
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