Day 5 of Live Below the Line
By Johanna Lees in New York City
Today’s meal plan from Kezia:
Breakfast – 2/3 cup oatmeal cooked in water with 1/2 banana
Lunch – 2 hard boiled
Dinner – The same egg fried rice and simple banana/oat/chocolate chip cookies
The day began with some rather cold banana oatmeal. But I arrived at work early so I ate by breakfast whilst people watching at Grand Central. Lunch was a welcome change from rice or lentils; despite being small, 2 boiled eggs were actually a great, light, yummy lunch. A tad on the simple side, but made more interesting by a quick break and a sunbath on the roof.
I’m really starting to feel the strain of the week so I couldn’t have been happier to make the simple cookies for desert this evening. One thing the LBTL week has shown me is that that simple food isn’t necessarily a bad thing. These cookies were made from 3 ingredients and were genuinely amazing and filling.
Living Below The Line this week has been hard, but in ways I hadn’t expected. I had thought I would just be hungry for a week, and conclude LBTL with lots of empathy, having raised a bit of awareness. In reality, I think I’ve realised a bigger issue. I was always full, but just really lacking in energy due to the absence of a variety of fruit and veg in every meal. I’ve realised that whilst this was a week of cheap, clean food, living like this day in day out, would make me run to the frozen meal aisle quite quickly; this was the better choice, but it was much, much harder.
Poverty is such a problem and it is right on our doorstep. Whilst there are many different factors that make up this issue, my main realisation during LBTL was that more needs to be done to help the people for whom this is a daily reality. Whether it is through government or charities, a lot needs to change to make it not just possible, but realistic, for people on a low income to live healthily. Because it really is very hard.
To see the rest of the week and read the meal plans for living on $1.50 a day click on the ‘Live Below the Line’ tab at the top of the page. To read more about the Live Below the Line campaign or donate to the cause (thanks!) click here!
