I decided to do some more foraging today. I needed to get some more lemons because I had already gone through the three I had picked, so I grabbed another three. I also found a bunch of blackberries — enough to fill three small containers.
Even better, I found a spot by the river that is covered (huge area) in blackberry bushes, but the bushes are just flowering now so it will be a couple of weeks before the berries start to ripen. When those begin to ripen, I should have as many blackberries as I want (as long as not too many others discover the spot as well).
This is part of a continuing challenge to eat well while spending an average of only $1 a day on food. You can find the beginning and the rules of this challenge here
Breakfast
Of course, after scoring all the blackberries, I had to try them out. They are still hit and miss with some excellent and others still a bit sour, but overall a great edition to have. For the early breakfast I had a bowl of Cheerios with blackberries on top:
For my later morning meal, I decided to give potatoes another go. This time I took some of the advice readers have left. I used a shredder to shred the potato into thin strips and then used a paper towel to get as much water out of them as possible. I placed plenty of oil into the pan and let them sit still until they started to brown. I added salt and pepper and finally made my first decent potato dish:
I was so happy that I just wanted to eat it plain and simple since all my other ones I had to add something to them to make them edible. After I finished it up, I also had a bowl of blackberries and banana:
Lunch
I still have deli style chicken that I need to use up, so I made myself a sandwich on whole wheat bread with a bit of the Dijon potato salad sauce, lettuce and a sprinkling of cheese. With it I had a handful of tortilla chips, my last Power Bar, a bit of the steamed carrots and broccoli and another small bowl of blackberries:
I also had my favorite peanut butter and banana sandwich (this now has to be a snack since my sister still doesn't consider it a proper meal that others would find appetising) on flat bread as a late afternoon snack with some toasted Wheat Thins chips:
Dinner
My nieces decided that they wanted BBQ hamburgers and wanted me to join them. Since I didn't have any hamburger, I took over a couple of the turkey franks to BBQ. I had the first wrapped in flat bread (the second was in whole wheat bread) with onions and a bit of the Dijon potato salad sauce. I then had the steamed carrots and broccoli on the side:
I also had a a big bowl of tortilla chips in the late evening because I realized that I wasn't going to be able to eat anything tomorrow…
This is the current list of what I have purchased:
Money Spent $34.13
Money left to spend: $26.87 ($0.51 must be spent at CVS)
Retail Value of everything bought: $733.09
The Beginning ::: Day 39: Blahhh
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The blackberries looked delicious. The hot dog, not so much. Your sister is using this challenge to get you to cook. Why aren’t you eating tomorrow?
Wow blackberries already? Ours are not ready until August/September in Northern Coast California. I actually still have some left in the freezer from last year. You need to make a cobbler or pie! Then forage for some vanilla ice cream to go with it!
I disagree with your sister on the banana’s and PB. It is a meal. Elvis used to eat them as a fried sandwich. PB&J is considered a meal, so should PB&B.
Your meals are starting to look better. And hurray for foraging! Please look up “lamb’s quarters” and “purslane.” These leafy wild vegetables are universally available. Even a light sprinkle of either added to other dishes adds nutrition, including the folic acid that your meals look like they’ve been missing. We collect so much lamb’s quarters that we freeze some for later in the year. Mulberries might be ready where you are as well. They are best when there has not been a rain within the previous 4 days.
Congrats! Those hash browns look yummy, you should be very proud of yourself! 🙂 Why oh why are you not eating tomorrow though????
PB and Banana is too a meal. Since I read your challenge a week ago, all in one evening, I have been eating PB and banana sandwiches. I used to eat them every once in awhile but I have had at least 4 in the last week because it sounded so good. Yum, yum!!
If you want a change you can use a left over pancake as a flat bread. My kids consider it a treat to get PB and banana in a pancake wrap. Cream cheese and any soft fruit also works as a filler (peach, pears, mashed berries, apple sauce etc).
Peanut butter and banana sandwiches are delicious. Has your sister actually tried one?
You can make some blackberry syrup if you boil the fruit with some sugar a and a splash of lemon juice. Add water to get the consistency you want.