I woke up at 2pm, as this is when I usually wake up. I go to
sleep around 4-5am and wake up around 1-2 pm. Weird, I know, but this is what
my sleeping pattern looks like at the moment. For this challenge it is actually
great because I am technically skipping breakfast, so I need less food.
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| mmm.. my favourite tea.. |
I woke up, showered, did my usual routine and then at 14.42 started
to grab for the Twinings Mango and Lychee green tea with a big smile on my
face, as I was really looking forward to sipping it. When I took the box and
opened it, the sweet aroma of my favourite tea entered my nostrils, but when I
started to grab for the bag of deliciousness, I suddenly remembered – I am
doing the Live Below the Line challenge. With a disappointment, I put down the
pretty green box of my favourite tea and open the 26p ASDA Smart Price tea box.
Instead of the gorgeous sweet aroma, the smell of wood welcomes me when I open
the bag. I am suddenly not really looking forward to that daily morning tea. I
let the teabag to soak for 4-5 minutes and take it out. I hesitantly take the
mug and smell the tea – to my surprise it is not too bad! It reminds me of my
grandmom in russia – she always drinks her black tea in the morning, for lunch
and after dinner. Yes- the tea does not smell as aromatic as some of the more
expensive teas, but for the price, it is great. Without any big expectations, I
take the first sip and think to myself – hmm, this is not too bad! It is actually
quite nice. It just needs a teaspoonful of sugar or honey and it would be very
nice. For this challenge – sugar is a luxury, so I decide not to use it until I
go to uni tomorrow and cheekily steal some sugar from the coffee vending
machine.
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| Smart Price tea |
When I finish my cuppa at 15.15, I think to myself that it is
probably time to have some breakfast, or should I rather say lunch? Breakfast
is always the favourite meal of the day for me, as it usually means fried eggs
and toast. I love fried eggs and toast. I take the fancy polish rye bread out
the freezer (I bought it for 15p for the discounted price, as it was going out
of date the following day) and pop it into the toaster. This is what I normally
do on my mornings anyway, as I do not eat bread that much, I always put it in
the freezer for it to last longer. While my bread is toasting, I open the box
of my smart price eggs. The only difference that I notice between the normal
eggs and the Smart Price eggs, is that the SP ones are all noticably different sizes.
It does not bother me. I obviously grab for the biggest one and panfry it
without any oil. I sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper on it and it is done. I
like my eggs rare, with the yolk still bright yellow and runny. Mmm... Oh
bugger – I forgot about my toast! As I take it out of the toaster, it is burnt.
As the bread I bought is not very big and as it is only one corner of the toast
that is burned, I cut off the burned piece and still use it – no wasting in
this challenge! I place the egg on top of the small toast. My usual rocket and
tomato are missing from my toast, but it does not bother me that much. For the
finishing touch, I open the can of Smart Price baked beans and warm up a couple
of tablespoonfuls and place them on the plate next to my toast.
I do a taste test for
the beans first and once again to my surprise – they are lovely! The egg and
toast are also yummy, but you could still taste the burned parts of the toast.
All in all I was very pleased with my breakfast, however I am not sure if I am
full yet. I sip on the remaining of my now cold tea and get on with my day
doing dissertation.
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| Budget breakfast |
It is 4pm and yes, I am still hungry – so hungry I cannot
concentrate on work. I grab for the banana I had bought for the challenge. I
enjoy every single bite of it as it is the only sweet thing I can have during
the challenge. Suddenly a banana seems like luxury. Unfortunately I am used to
eating everything really quickly, so that banana is also vanished in no time
and I am left again with no snacks or sweets to wait for my next meal – the dinner.
I couldn’t wait until dinner, so I had half a slice a toast
at 5pm on its own, which did not help much with my sugar cravings. At 7pm I
cooked myself dinner – 5 Smart Price chicken nuggets, Smart Price cauliflower, Smart
Price vegetable rice and some shredded carrot. The portion was huge, so I was
more than full afterwards. Tomorrow I will definitely make less.
 |
| Huge dinner |
The evenings are the worst for me for cravings as this is
the time I am watching TV and I always like to have snacks or sweets. Made
myself some tea, but the cravings are still there. I know I have a piece of
smart price dark chocolate in my cupboard and I cannot get this thought out of
my head. I decide to cheat – yes people, I took 3 pieces of dark chocolate. I
started thinking to myself – this chocolate cost 30p, I am taking around 1/10
of the chocolate so basically I am eating for 3p. I can maybe skip one of the
noodle packs I have and I can have the chocolate in my cupboard which is worth
less than 10p. So technically I am not cheating.
I have tried different diets in my life and I have noticed
that if you restrict yourself of eating something, then this will be the thing
you want the most. It is the same with this challenge – I could not afford to
buy any sweets or many fruits, but these are the foods I am craving the most. I
am craving a juicy apple or my favourite – sweet and fresh mango. I am the kind
of person who really enjoys food and it plays a big part of my life, so this
challenge is very hard for me.
Tomorrow I am going to the library and I am panicking
already as usually I always buy coffee or crisps or chocolate on campus, but I
dont know how I can cope without all these things. We’ll see...
Talk to you tomorrow!
Jane x
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