And so it begins – living below the line, for Farm Africa, again!

Why? Because 20% of the world’s population live on less than £1 per day (and that includes education, supplies, medicines etc – not just food)! The international poverty line, below which you are said to be living in extreme poverty, equates to £1 in the UK. And before you say, well £1 would go much further in some countries – think again. It’s been calculated using Purchasing Power Parity – it’s £1 of UK MONEY.

Luckily I have Leeds market to get lots of cheap fruit and veg – you can see our week’s worth of food in the picture above!

I’m supporting the amazing charity Farm Africa again, because I really believe in what they do. During my short period of charity work in Africa I actually experienced a lot of cynicism about charity work. Where I was in Zambia, for example, there were no longer any local farmers growing rice – how are they to sell it if charities are providing it for free? I began to realise that giving without thinking can be as damaging as not giving at all.

Farm Africa believes in enabling the local population, supplying skills and a foot up – not a simple, senseless donation.They pioneer new techniques to help farmers maximise harvests, reduce local poverty and also maximise the natural resources available to them locally. Providing tools, expertise and training ,they want to help to end Africa’s need for aid.

Find out more about this amazing charity here: http://www.farmafrica.org/what-we-do/what-we-do

Today’s breakfast and lunch – feeling pretty chuffed I can afford a banana today! No drinks except water (that includes free tea & coffee at work..I somehow doubt that those living below the line have the luxury of free tea & coffee at work, or a Waitrose card to pick up free drinks there!

Meanwhile…my first Live Below the Line recipe!

Soup recipe Live Below the Line: Broccoli, potato and celeriac soup

Soup is a great Live Below the Line staple – it provides veggie nutrients, is filling and is also so cheap. I made a batch which I hope will serve 8 portions. It’s also great to fit a potato in our soup, to make it more filling and hearty.

I went to the market as you can see from my Live Below the Line haul post, so lots of my veg ingredients were thankfully extra cheap!

Ingredients:

onion – 7p (market)

1 tbsp cheap oil, plus seasoning – 1p

1 vegetable stock cube – 8p (99p for 12 from 99p store)

1/5 of a celeriac – 3p (reduced to 16p in waitrose)

2 potatoes – 10p (£1 for 20, market)

broccoli – 66p (three small bunches for £1, used 2)

= 95p for 8 portions, so 12p per portion.

Method:

Fry your onion in the oil over medium heat until until it becomes translucent. Now add your celeriac and potato, washed and finely diced (approx. 1cm cubes). Fry these for a couple of minutes whilst you fill and boil your kettle.

Pour your boiled water over your stock cube, and add to your frying potatoes and celeriac. Now cook until the potatoes and celeriac are soft – 10-15 minutes. Now add your broccoli, not wasting stems or leaves – just cut chunks of stem into cubes, similarly to how you cubed your celeriac and potato. As soon as the broccoli is done, whip it off the heat – you don’t want overcooked broccoli! Season with salt and pepper and blend until smooth.

If you can, donate to this amazing cause via my link here:

https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/theediblewoman

thank you!! xxxxx