Day 1 – Live Below the Line

Day 1 of Live Below the Line is complete, and no tummies are rumbling, although I did have a wobble about 4.30pm so decided it was time to make the evening meal!

Today was meatballs and pasta day.  I based the meatballs recipe on my usual, but DRASTICALLY stripped, as you can surmise!   Instead of the usual basil, oregano, white wine vinegar, sugar and chicken stock I only had gravy granules for seasoning.  I usually use olive oil to brown the meatballs but instead used a small amount of the sunflower spread ….. and found there’s a reason they state “not suitable for baking”.  I had originally costed-in an egg for binding the meatballs, as per the usual recipe.  The Live Below the Line team had suggested the egg could be pro-rated rather than having to cost a full box.  However, on mixing the meat, breadcrumbs & onion, the mixture seemed bound-enough without it.  This saved us £0.17, which of course could go onto other food items.  The down-side was that the combination of no egg and “not suitable” spread meant the meatballs stuck in the pan a little, but on the basis I usually cut the two youngest boys’ meatballs up anyway, this was no great loss.

The main aim of this day was to manage the boys’ expectations in terms of “treats” and food availability throughout the day, and they did brilliantly.

“What do you think of the first day of the challenge, Dominic?” I asked.  “Good,” was the reply.  Ending the day with pineapple, a biscuit and a chocolate cornflake cake was a good strategy!

See our food intake and what today’s food cost at Meal diary MONDAY, and don’t forget, you can still donate at www.livebelowtheline.com/me/teamwhiten