Day 14: Cheating

If you recall, my specific challenge is to live off of whatever food I could buy for $30, for 30 days. Mind you this does not include any other foods, just the food I bought for $30. Well, today I found it really hard to avoid some cheating. It was Easter Sunday so we made the road trip up to my aunt's house and there was a serious feast going on. At first I did pretty well to stay under the radar and no one noticed I was not eating. Then it was discovered I was not partaking, and I had to go headlong into the 30 day challenge story for everyone, explaining what I've been doing. But my dear aunt would have none of that. She could not stand to have someone in her home not eating on such a day of feasting. So she convinced me to at least have a little sample of some of the foods, and assured me it was valued at less than $1 (apparently she did not get the part about eating only what I bought for the 30 bucks). So, reluctantly, I enjoyed a few bites of some quite delicious morsels. Needless to say my taste buds were on overload and my sensory cortex was doing a dance. Then, on top of that, I went on a date with my wife for our 13th anniversary tonight. She insisted that I at least enjoy the free bread, olive oil and seasonings that they put out on every table, that it would make her feel less guilty about eating in front of me. There again, I gave way and enjoyed a few bites and felt like I had just scored a four-course meal, especially with that olive oil. Although my perfectionist side does feel that I've tainted my 30 day experience, I am glad I got a little "taste" of what it's like to appreciate the smallest pleasures. Pleasures I would have wholeheartedly taken for granted in the past. 

More absent-mindedness... I totally forgot to eat my "double portion" of pasta last night, so tonight I had a "triple portion" and it felt like a very solid meal when coupled with the rice, beans and corn tortillas. I think I will actually do this the remainder of my time, as it will add variety, and will also extend the life of my tomato sauce. (I used only 2 teaspoons of sauce for 3 rations of pasta, instead of 1:1). Thought I would include a photo of tonight's meal:

Prayer focus: Pray for India's children. When it comes to children in crisis, no country can rival India's need in terms of sheer numbers. Of India's nearly 400 million under the age of 18, over 70 million are child labourers, 10 million are bonded laborers (a form of slavery to pay off family debts), 13 million are homeless, and 2 million are orphaned street children without any relatives they can turn to. There is widespread child abuse, and there is a deficit of 40 million girls because of female foeticide – over 20,000 ultrasound clinics thrive on this illegal practice. There are an estimated 575,000 child prostitutes and there is a massive trade in Bangladeshi and Nepali girls sold into prostitution. (Data source: Operation World)

Estimated Savings for Day 14: I would have spent at least $2.50 on a snack and a drink on the road trip. With the anniversary date at a nicer restaurant, I would have spent quite a bit on an appetizer, entree, dessert and coffee, probably to the tune of $30. Add that to my normal estimated daily grocery cost of $7, subtract $1 for today's actual cost, and I wind up with $38.50 saved for my donation to the orphanage today (well over one month's wages among the poor of South Asia). This puts my running total at $220.87.