May the Food Be with You…or Not. Living on $2 a day with Hugh Jackman

My inspiration for this article comes from our very own hunky Hugh Jackman. No, I wasn’t dreaming of nibbling his deliciously beautiful lips. I know you were thinking it. Rather, it was something much more real than that, something that was much more serious than my girly dream-world.

This week, Hugh Jackman, Wayne Swan and countless other Australians (5000 of us) will be living on just $2 a day for five days to experience life under the poverty line and to raise funds for crucial anti-poverty campaigns.

This amount of cash - $2 a day or $10 a week – means no sugar in your coffee or tea and additional salt and pepper is strictly forbidden! Goodbye sweet apple pie. Sayonara pasta carbonara. Au revoir éclairs noir. Asta la vista enchiladas...and HELLO to…

Breakfast: Porridge (no honey)

Lunch: Rice, red lentils

Dinner: Mee goring noodles with frozen mixed veggies

Breakfast: Porridge (no honey)

Lunch: Pasta, black lentils

Well, you get the picture. While you are happily munching away in comparative grandeur I will be eating from a menu best inspired by cardboard. Think of the number of times we have all said “I’m going vegetarian, I don’t like meat anymore”, and it only lasting a month or giving up chocolate for Lent, only to sneak a bit of Lindt on the sly.

Ok, so most of my challenges have been ‘epic fails’ but since then I have learnt a lot and improved my self-restraint and over-indulgence habits. I’ve confined myself to consuming less meat than the norm, choosing vegetarian options where available and at lent I allow myself to eat everything that is not pure chocolate (so chocolate cakes, biscuits, puddings are allowed). At least I am halfway there since the challenges I learnt to balance my eating habits.

This time however, I am determined to live out the challenge properly with no corners cut, not just for those who have sponsored me to reach my target of $500. I also hope to succeed in this challenge for those who live everyday with the feeling of hunger and being under-nourished. Just try and imagine that. Sadly, 1.4 billion people live under the poverty line globally.

I hope to takeaway some lessons from this challenge. It started this Monday and goes till the 20th of May. So guys, it’s never too late to join a fantastic cause such as this one. There is also the incentive of seeing Hugh Jackman’s picture every
time you long on the fundraising page.

Just go to www.livebelowtheline.com.au and take up the challenge!