Saturday, May 18, 2013

The day after the week before


today's lunch was a feast, there was no way as part of being below the line I could afford this even though this all came out of the reduced section it came to £1.73.  I'm still feeling very tired and the best descriptive word yucky.  Grilled chicken kebabs and salad

Fresh squeezed orange juice never tasted as good as it did this morning.



Friday, May 17, 2013

Day 5



Day 5 the last day and to be truly honest I'm glad that it is. This week has been both a challenge and at times has brought out the imagination. I'm feeling pretty rubbish now resorted to taking some headache remedy earlier today. i'm found it hard to actually focus today and lacked any real energy to do much at all, but had to push through as friday is often a busy day. concentrating on the small thing seems to be a challenge and finding the also that the slightest thing was starting to annoy and being on a very short fuse. a constant horrible taste in my mouth and skin that felt as though it was sticky. The real hard part has been in the last two days and today especially the tiredness.

To be honest I wasn't really expecting that to to be the case. I've fasted for a week or 3 days on many occasions over the years so was expecting to have a similar experience as to these times. but this was very different. 

One thing that hit home was how the type of diet I've been on this week effected over the short term, must effect those who eat it on the long term. 

Tonights final meal was one suggested by one of my youth group, Pizza.

Two medium slices of bread, pasta sauce, Mozzarella cheese and the last sausage on top. it worked well. 

breakfast was pasta with soup for lunch. 

the week started with a passage from exodus to gather what what needed each day. we need as a community of Gods people to begin to think afresh on just what this means today. What was gathered for this week was not fully what was needed for the day. The meals may have supplied the body with some way to continue to function for a short time, yet there isnt the full balance to say that this diet is fulfilling this passage. 

tomorrow is already planned salad and grilled chicken with orange juice for lunch, cereal for breakfast. 


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Day 4

Today has been a struggle even with the feast last night of fish and veggies, I'm feeling tired and achey. 

Its been a long day too and it's not over yet. 

meals today 

Breakfast Porridge and Jam
Lunch Bread and cuppa soup
Supper tinned spagetti and sausage
   also ate some of the raw carrots left over.

had  serious amount of heartburn on and off all day

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Day 3

Really started to feel the effects today. Monday and Tuesday seemed ok, but today I really want my supper. Feeling really tired and energy levels sapping. Really missing my fruit and especially orange juice. The lack of fresh fruit and salad is noticeable. Started with a headache too.

Tonight for supper though there is a little glimmer of hope, in the bargain bin at the local co-op was a bag of mixed veggies reduce to 20p and to top it off was 2 breaded haddock filets reduced to 30p the last of my budget now spent. I really didn't want to face more processed foods tonight. Feels like the lap of luxury. 

Hoping that this meal will do something towards kicking a big of life back into my body. 

Thinking back to the passage I preached off on Sunday exodus 16 when after hearing the complaints of the Israelites in the desert God speaks and sends them  to gather what was needed for that day nothing more that he might test them.

What sticking today about this passage is that living below the line this isn't possible. It's not possible to actually have the five a day fruit and veg that government guidelines say is needed to live a balanced diet. 



Supper I have to admit I ate several bits of the veggies before they got cooked 



Meals today
Breakfast Porridge, jam and a cuppa
Lunch Soup and bread
Supper breaded haddock, carrots, broccoli and a small portion of pasta and sauce.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Day 2

Breakfast porridge jam and a cuppa
Lunch made too much porridge so ate that.
Supper sausage 2 slices toast ( very thinly cut the bread) and half tin of spaghetti.

Did a little treat for pudding doughnuts. Interesting but worked well.

2 slices thinly cut bread, using pastry cutter make 4 circles place lump of jam in the middle seal down edges with a fork. Using the little bit of fat out of the sausages heat pan then place in doughnut and cook till golden on each side. Actually worked well, I'd seen this on one of those wartime garden type programmes. 


Doughnut waiting to be cooked.

Feeling pretty good today was ready for supper though. 

Monday, May 13, 2013

Day 1

So day 1

Meals today,

Breakfast porridge with Jam and a cuppa
Lunch cuppa soup
Supper 2 sausages some of the pasta sauce and pasta.

Chopped  up the sausages and did it it bit like meatballs. 

Today I've noticed that the timing of meals is going to be a major factor in how My days goes.  Keeping the balance so that the gap in the day is enough to last until the next meal. Snacks of fruit or other stop gaps are not an option.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Below the line

So here it is, a week living below the line. It took a while on Friday as I walked round the supermarket looking longingly at the things I would normally be putting in my basket.

£5 for a weeks shopping so here it is 


porridge 75p
Jam 29p
Sausage 56p
Mozzarella Cheese 44p
1lt lactofree Milk £1 on offer 
Bread ( bargin cheap bin) 14p
veggies ( bargin bin) 20p
Pasta 30p
Tinned spaghetti 16p
Tea 27p
Pasta sauce 39p
Cuppa soup 20p


Monday, March 11, 2013

Below the Line..


recently I've been writing my Dissertation Hence the Quiet times on here and on Facebook. As part of writing social action in different ways became a focus again. For a long time when asked my political view the answer has been - fight for the forgotten and marginalised. ~So this year for a week I'll live on a £1 a day for christian aids Livebelowtheline.



 I live on a small budget most months, but this is way less than that £5 for a weeks food, and anything in the cupboard has to be accounted for in that. I tend to look at the price of things when it comes to food but, above all tend to watch out for fair trade or free range products. I guess its a good job i like porridge :)- the money for my weeks shopping  will go to Livebelowtheline..

How Does It Work
 Live Below the Line, but you’re not sure what you’re getting yourself into. Ok so here are the basics:
  • From the 29th April – 3rd May you can spend no more than £1 a day on food and drink.
  • This means you have a total of £5 with which to buy all ingredients for your meals.
  • The full cost of all the items you consume must be included in your budget. This means budgeting for whole packets of food items such as rice, pasta, noodles and eggs etc.
  • For items such as salt, pepper, herbs and spices, simply work out the cost of each item per gram and budget your shopping proportionally. Separate your items before the challenge so there’s no need to be digging around in your cupboards.
  • You can share the cost of ingredients amongst a team, as long as no participant spends more than £1 a day or their total £5 budget. Working as a team will allow you to pool together funds and do more with your cooking.
  • You can’t grab a cheeky snack from the cupboard unless you include the cost of buying the item new in your budget.
  • You can use food sourced from your garden as long as you can account for the price of production!
  • No combination of meals on any given day can exceed the £1 spending limit. Remember this is a challenge to eat creatively and be enjoyed – don’t at any point deprive yourself of three meals a day.
  • You cannot accept ‘donated’ food from family or friends, but monetary donations towards your fundraising goals are acceptable, and encouraged!
  • You are allowed to drink tap water – remember you should try and drink at least 6-8 glasses of water each day.


If You'd like to donate to the £1 campaign  heres the link to my christian aid page   Belowthelinekasbee.. the money goes direct to christian aid via paypal..  



Monday, January 21, 2013

Snow feet

If you hadn't noticed the UK is currently covered under a blanket of snow. Yesterday here in Leicester it snowed all day. In a gap as the snow fell lighter I went out yesterday afternoon to check the bird feeders.

In the light snow under a tree one set of of footprints tracked their way to the feeders.


Those footprints got me thinking about the famous footprints poem.

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

As the day went on the little birds footprints were slowly covered and know longer was there any evidence that the bird had been there.

So often that's how it is for each of us. Just like the footprints when the tide comes in and covers the trail. What then came the question what happens when we when I no longer can see even the one set of prints in the snow or sand as I journey. What things are there to help see in the good and the bad times those moments where God picked us up and carried.