No Ration Challenge ... But a Way of Helping Refugees

 

Any year when I am able to, I sign up for and take part in the Ration Challenge, and my family, friends and wonderful readers usually support me every step of the way.  It's a brilliant way of us all coming together and doing something really positive and helping some very deserving people in the process. 

 (Here's the very start of my journey last year.)

This year there is no Ration Challenge here in the UK, some real diehards signed up and took part in the Australian version, but I thought a year off would suit me better.  I am not always comfortable asking for sponsorship, and I really do believe that occasionally there can be simply too much begging for money especially online.

But when I get a comment like the one I got the other day from regular reader Alison, AKA Fat Dormouse asking for help for a charity that I knew absolutely nothing about, but one that also help refugees in a completely different way, I knew I would have to let my readers know about it to.

Rather than copy and pasting Alison's blog post I will share this LINK to take you directly to her blog entry which describes everything so much better than I could even begin too.  It also contains the links that you can donate through and helps you learn so much more about how this charity works.

I am sharing this today, as a generous individual has offered to double all the donations made over the course of this weekend up to a total of $10,000.  I'm off to donate right now, please could you give a small donation?

Sometimes it's good to raise money to feed people, sometimes it's good to raise money to enable them to contact their loved ones ... and feed their souls.

Thank you.

Sue xx

A Thank You from The Ration Challenge Team

 

I got an email from Matt at the Ration Challenge team on Monday and it seemed only fair to share it with you.  Between us we managed to raise the astonishing figure of £2,251, this includes the donations of some lovely people who had been unable to donate during the week but kept good on their promise to donate when they could.  Thank you all so much.

To quote directly from the email -

It’s been just over a month since we, along with many of you, finished the challenge, and thinking back, we continue to be humbled and inspired by everything you have achieved.

Over the past few months, you have shown the power of compassion and kindness, and together, you have raised more than £400,000 which will provide emergency food, healthcare and life-saving support to people who need it most. THANK YOU.

We are truly humbled by this community - by your passion and your dedication and by all the ways you supported one another. We have been inspired by your stories - the reasons you took the challenge and the learnings you are taking away from it. And we are grateful for your incredible fundraising efforts and achievements. We hope this video reminds you of the amazing experience we shared together.

https://youtu.be/1I1Zw1G1vS8

And here is the video for you to watch too, as you were the lovely lot that supported me so well during my Ration Challenge Week.  

We did it together.

Thank you.

Sue xx

Ration Challenge 2022 - Summary ... and Completely Ignoring Two of My Own Tips

 

So the Ration Challenge is over for another year and I have decided that this year is the final year that I will take part in it.  I will hand my baton over to another blogger to run with and raise money for this amazing cause.  If you decided to do it next year, please let me know and in lieu of taking part I will instead make you a donation.

This week my little home is getting back to normal, the tiny 'coffee jar' is back on the shelf.

The worktop is back to it's usual 'ready for anything' self and since this photo was taken the cardboard ration box has been flattened and is in the recycling bin ready for pick up tomorrow.

My food cupboards are ridiculously full ...

... at least these photos were taken after I had come back from shopping.

Yes, I now have 4.5 bottles of olive oil!!  I have not seen vegetable oils in our Aldi for weeks now, so each time I went I was buying one bottle of olive oil.  This week there were no more olive oils one the shelf either.  The gaps on the shelves would be worrying if I didn't have all this food ... there's something to be said for a well stocked larder.

As I mentioned on my last post I had gone shopping on the last day of the Ration Challenge, and I went after walking the dogs and before I had had anything to eat.  And I didn't take a list.  Breaking all my own rules and ignoring two of my favourite tips ... 

1.  Make a shopping list

2.  Never shop on an empty stomach.

So I obviously wandered around willy-nilly chunking into my trolley everything that my hungry little treat deprived tummy told me that I needed!!

Oh well, the cupboard is full and the freezer is full and there are a few bits in the fridge too, along with the fresh fruit and veg that you could spy in there yesterday.

My first 'meal' when I woke up on Sunday morning with the Challenge behind me, was a small smoothie made with two thirds of a frozen banana, a small apple and two pellets of frozen spinach.  It hit the spot as much as a glass of ice cold water after a two hour hike through the Sahara desert would.

A quick summary of the Ration Challenge this year would be, that it was hard, but invigorating in some ways.  I was amazed at everyone's generosity in these hard times that are starting to affect most of us.  I was blown away by the support I received, especially from all you lovely blogging buddies and blog readers, it really helped.

I found it hardest health-wise, my body is used to good nutrition and it's important that I keep those levels up.  Even though I took all my usual supplements by the end of the seven days I could feel myself going downhill.  This week I am in more pain that I have been for a while, I think that this is partly due to the diet but also due to the fact that being on my own all last week and weekend I had to walk the dogs and do all the usual doggy chores that Alan usually does.  So it was a question of less and poorer food and more to do ... not a good prescription for anyone.

The absolute best news of course  is the total of money raised ... which I thought I had completed yesterday, but thanks to two more donations it has gone up yet again.  Thank you so much.

.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who donated any amount to the ever rising total.  

The final amount now stands at £2,187.  My highest ever figure and one that I am so proud to have raised.  Together we have raised enough funds to feed 13 refugees for over a year.

An amazing achievement. 💝

I am now easing myself slowly into eating normally again, and I am also having a slow but steady decluttering session all around my tiny home.  I just had to sink my teeth into something that was not in anyway food related for a while.

Thank you once again.  💖

Sue xx

Ration Challenge 2022 - Day Seven - The Final Day

The final day and I just could not face a bowl of rice for breakfast!!

The dogs and Ginger had woken me up at the crack of dawn and the sun was shining, so before I had even had my breakfast we were out walking along the canal by 7.15am and very nice it was too in the early morning sunshine.  When we got back I decided that I would go shopping while the shops were quiet and by 9.30am I had done a tour of Aldi, Sainsbury's and Booths picking up all the things I needed to restock the fridge, the cupboard and some treats that I fancied for my first day off the Ration Challenge.  

Then it was home to put away the shopping and warm up the pasty.

When I put the new food into the fridge the look of the shelves really jumped out at me, definitely a fridge of two halves.  Normal shelf, ration shelf.

A door shelf of two halves.

And enough fresh veggies and fruit to keep Bugs Bunny very happy.

This little array of foods stopped me in my tracks.

  Ignoring the almond milk and the nuts ... I had spent more on Ginger's tuna, and his and the dogs treats than it costs to buy a ration pack for a refugee for a month!!

For my lunch I made up my last pan of ration challenge rice and served half of it with the last Lentil and Kidney Bean burger crumbled up, and topped with my last spring onions.

I wasn't really hungry at teatime, that lunch was surprisingly filling ... so I just made myself a garlic bread using the last little bit of garlic, which I had sliced and smooshed up and left soaking in a couple of spoonfuls of oil for the afternoon. It was very garlicky and very tasty.  

No vampires will get me tonight!!

Next I wanted to measure out what I had left, there was a surprisingly large amount of rice left considering I feel like I have been eating it until it was coming out of my ears!

So all that is left from all the food that I started the week with, is the raw rice, the cooked portion of rice and about 80mls of oil.

And then after a look at my final total, I decided to pay a fine to round it up to the next hundred and treat myself to a cheeky cup of coffee while I watched television.

One cheat during the whole of Ration Challenge Week ... not a bad result!!

Thank you to everyone that has supported me both with donations and moral support, it has all been invaluable and I am so grateful.

And for the final time ... my FUNDRAISING PAGE IS HERE just in case you want to nip on over and see what the final total is.

Thank you, I'll be back tomorrow with a final summary of my thoughts from the week.

Sue xx

Ration Challenge 2022 - Day Six - Extra Flour

 

This morning I added some turmeric to the rice again, with the sunshine of yesterday vanishing with the thunderstorm that hit us at teatime, a blast of yellow was needed to start the day today.  Once again I made a double portion so the main part of my tea was ready and waiting.

For some reason this year I have got my calculations slightly wrong and I have no lentils left for the planned Lentil Pancakes for lunch and I also seem to have less flour left than I thought I should.  Happily though one of my teammates who started two days early than the rest of the team as she had plans for this weekend, offered her leftovers to the rest of us.  I asked for the flour and there was 114g on offer.

Just perfect for me to be able to make some pastry to wrap two of my leftover Lentil and Bean Burgers from yesterday.

They looked pretty good once the burgers with their dahl topping were wrapped in the pastry.

And even better once cooked, although I've noticed that with pastry made with oil you don't get the same browning, and of course I had no milk to brush them with.

My tea was virtually the same as my breakfast, the only difference being a sprinkle of chopped spring onions.  The onions have made a real difference to my food this week.  As well as the flavour they add to the food, there's something about that pop of green that makes you feel that the meals are just a tad healthier.

It's the final day tomorrow, and as you saw yesterday I have lots of rice left, I think I have just about enough of everything else to make three good meals.  Of course I also have just under a teaspoon of coffee left, but I'm planning to have that tonight, to be drunk in lieu of a glass of wine while I sit and watch Gogglebox, one of my favourite programmes.

Thank you so much for all your support, the total is currently standing at £2,056 ... an amazing amount and one I really didn't expect to reach.

THANK YOU 💖

Sue xx

Ration Challenge 2022 - Day Five - Not Moaning Honest!!

 

Breakfast - Spicy Rice and Dahl.

Today has been my worst day mind-wise all week, talk about feeling fuzzy.  It's been very hot and there's been a Rowntree's stripey ice lolly calling my name all day from the freezer.  At one point I thought about putting him out on the patio to melt to death ...  but I resisted.  He's still in the freezer the little b**tard!!

I kept myself busy, putting up net curtains, watering the garden ... now that was a pointless exercise considering that we've just had a thunderstorm ... and cleaning.

I thought I would have a tasty a lunch as I could make.

Spicy rice, with kidney beans and spring onions and the leftover falafel from yesterday.  It worked for a while and I felt full and satiated.

But then I started drooping again and I decided that the time had come for my second cup of coffee of the week.  I have enough left for one more cup or two half cups, as long as I don't mind it a bit weaker than usual.

I wont mind!!

I had switched the planned lunch and tea meals from my menu around as come lunch time I realised I hadn't cooked the lentils to make my Lentil and Bean Burgers.

A panful of mush, but tasty mush.

I got the burgers in the pan and realised that the photo shows what food I have left on the tray ...

... so I took another photo showing what's left in the fridge.

Oh, and there's three spring onions left too.

The burgers when they were cooked.  I simply had one of these with a large glass of water for my tea and then that was it ... day five over and done with.

I've been going to bed pretty early and falling asleep easily, and if it hadn't been for the dogs and Ginger waking me up at the crack of dawn every day this week while Alan has been down South at work, I think I would have gotten much more sleep this week, something that I think I am really needing at the moment.

Tomorrow is another day, the penultimate day of the Ration Challenge.  Thank you so much to everyone who is supporting me and who has donated their money to this worthwhile cause.

My fundraising page is HERE.

Sorry, I have no more words left in my head.

Sue xx

Ration Challenge 2022 - Day Four - When your Food Gets Stuck in the Plughole!!

 

Well it was only one chickpea ... but it still elicited an 'Oh no!' when I saw it.

I was tempted to pop it into my mouth because it was cooked, and very well rinsed, but Mavis was stood next to me so she got it instead.  The dogs have not had any leftovers this week, there haven't been any!!

Breakfast was Paprika Rice and Dahl and pretty tasty although the paprika flavour was very mild, and salt and pepper was needed to make it a little bit more tasty.  The other portion of rice was left to cool and will be added to my tea if needed and be in the fridge ready for breakfast tomorrow.

Just before lunch I got out my Falafel recipe and got the ingredients ready to make it.

Not that there were many ingredients!!

I did add half of my remaining garlic to the dish to ramp up the flavour a little bit more.

Once again I decided to make both the flour products together to save time and mess later.  I'm fast running out of energy.  This was as near to 100g as I could get it.

The larger ball will be for my teatime pizza and the two smaller balls were for flatbreads to go with my lunch.

Lunch - Two flatbreads, three falafels and a good dollop of hummus. 

 Gosh it was filling, I'm glad I decided to save one of the falafels for another day, if it has been on my plate I might have eaten it just because they were so tasty.

My tea was delicious and I could have eaten it four times over.  It was just a simple flatbread pizza cooked in the pan to save putting the oven on. Topped with hummus, red kidney beans and a finely chopped spring onion.  Another recipe that I will be repeating in non-ration times.

Day Four is traditionally known as a tough day for the participants of the Ration Challenge, this morning we all got this email.  Which puts our four days into perspective!!

https://youtu.be/jyck3pmAPwY

Thank you for all your donations, together we are at least making sure that they have food and some of the help that they need.

Sue xx

Ration Challenge 2022 - Day Three

I started my day as usual with a cup of hot water and then two hours later after washing my hair and then walking the dogs I had breakfast.  It was nice having the component parts already made and in the fridge, all I had to do was make a bit of space in the dish that the rice was is and tip one of the little pots of dahl into the space.  Three minutes later breakfast was cooked.

A Ration Challenge ready meal. 😁

I looked at the menu and realised that I needed two lots of floury items today so I decided to make up 100g of flour, salt and water and start the prep for both of them.

I wasn't all that hungry so I divided the dough into two thirds and a third.

First I rolled out the larger piece and cut my tagliatelle strips ready for teatime.  As you can see the little end pieces were not wasted but balled up together to add to my lunch.

I wiped down a coat hanger, and then using the edge of the knife to pick up half of the pasta strips at a time I draped them over the bar, and they stayed like this all afternoon to dry out.

Now it was time to start on lunch, one nice thin large flatbread and one teeny tiny offcuts one.

Which cooked nice and quickly all on it's own in the pan.

Lunch for day three was a lovely crispy flatbread and my little dish of Kidney Bean Pâté, with a glass of ice cold water straight from the fridge ... something I doubt a refugee gets to enjoy. 😟 

I remembered to soak my chickpeas overnight last night, thanks mainly to my menu being stuck on the side of the fridge, I do find that I am referring to it a lot to keep me on track.  So this morning while I got on with other things I cooked them for an hour.  Even though I knew I wouldn't be eating the hummus I was going to make with them until tomorrow,  I wanted to use the remnants of the hummus left in the Nutribullet cup to make the basis of the sauce to go with my pasta for tea.

I decided to use 100g of the cooked chickpeas for the hummus ...

... and followed this very basic recipe.

The crossed out words are 2tbs of Peanut Butter ...I gave my peanut butter away!!

The hummus went into a tub to go into the fridge and the rinsed out Nutribullet cup went into the fridge as well for later

And here is my tea ... Pasta, with Hummus and Spring Onion Sauce.  

 It was very filling, a lot more so than it looks like it was going to be.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has donated to this worthwhile cause.  The last four donations were all matched pound for pound by another mystery Ration Challenge benefactor, and have made a big difference to my fundraising total.  THANK YOU.  💖

Sue xx