A Quick Catch-Up

So where was I, before I was interrupted?

I feel I ought to write something in defence of the net; it's actually a good place.  Yes, I may have had unwanted contact from one individual and it's possible for a person's past to rear up its ugly head sometimes, but the web has also been responsible for me reconnecting with someone with whom I was very good friends, when we met at Royal Holloway during my first M.A back in 2001.  We've shared a couple of very long phone conversations since this initial discovery of me, by the lady in question, and it's amazing to feel as if the friendship is just where it was all those years ago!  Hopefully we will have the opportunity to actually see each other in person - and yes, if you are reading this, it is a plug from me to you to get on and apply to do that PhD; I want to proof-read that 100, 000 word book about Isabella!  I'm on the case of several friends about this particular issue, so all of you who are in that boat there is one thing I have to say - hop to it!

Aside from that, in the weird world of Eve and medication, things are afoot.  After another consultation with another doctor about blood sugar levels, it seems apparent I can not tolerate the Diabetes tablets, so we're looking at Insulin again, but not all the time.  I shall be on a fairly rigorous testing program and only using the drug when I need to, which may be three times in one day and then not for two.   This is, of course, assuming that I don't have some crashing reaction to it, as I did with Glipizide.  Ending up in A&E, unable to get my blood sugar above 2.6 was not a lot of fun. 

So, why didn't the doctors get my drug right?  Well, this is what my Paleo Pal will recognise as the 'Factor of Eve'.  I've used that phrase a few times too often in front of her!  And by this I mean two things.  Firstly, most doctors are completely in the dark when it comes to transplantation and the nitty gritty of medication requirements.  Secondly, my body doesn't react to any medication, the way it is supposed to react.  No, they don't know why. Harefield and I have been making this up as we go along, for the last 26 ½ years, based on what they know, compared with my observations about my own body.  For example, I am on one drug called Erythropoietin.  It seems that most people are on two doses a week, but that was too much for me, so with a bit of mathematical jigging of numbers from me at home and agreement from the hospital, I inject 700u every 5 days.  I've been counting days like this since I was 15.  I am the only patient I know who has this regime, but at least the hospital was flexible enough to allow me to do this!

However, back to the blood sugar.  Two things came into play regarding my departure to A&E hypoing on a drug that should not have caused hypos: the reaction time of the Glipizide should have been two hours and it extended to about 24 hours in me.  Then, the usual response to a hypo is to eat a sugary snack and something with carbohydrate to get you back on your feet.  This did not work.  In a two hour interval I ate 7 slices of marmalade on toast, two chocolate bars, 4 chocolate biscuits, a packet of crisps and 15 sachets of sugar.  My level remained stubbornly under 3 and I lost a kilo in weight over the course of the night.  My body doesn't react to any medication, the way it is supposed to react.  

And this problem is causing me another problem.  I was becoming anaemic on the vegan diet, despite injecting Erythropoietin, taking iron tablets and taking a multi-vitamin a day.  So, I ran a dietary experiment at the request of one of my medical teams - I had to reintroduce meat/fish/diary and see what happened.  Sticking aside any thoughts of animal welfare for the moment, the whole thing was rather interesting.  Well, it was rather explosive: my stomach now disagrees vehemently with dairy - although goats cheese and eggs are tolerated, as guests in the dairy department.  I ate meat and fish a few times in one week and my blood sugar sky rocketed.  I suspect the actual problem was that because there was something extra back on my plate, the vegetable content was a lot lower.  It was this, or the 'Factor of Eve' intervened and I have a suspected issue with animal fats (I read 'something somewhere' about transplant+diabetes+kidney disease+animal fat).    Briefly, back on the omni diet, my anaemia started to recover.  I also observed that my blood glucose was a lot worse with dairy than meat, and it was worse with meat than with fish.  

But, then I had to get back to the vegan diet to try and sort out the increased blood sugar.  My levels are coming back down again and my anaemia is going back up, despite the medical intervention as detailed above.  I could scream!  In a nutshell, it looks like I don't absorb the nutrients from tablets, I do in dead animal form.  My body does not react to medication the way it is supposed to react.  I have an appointment to discuss all of this with a dietician (poor lady) in November.  She's going to struggle with the next paragraph as well.

Diabetics are supposed to moderate their carbohydrate intake.  Yesterday, I scoffed down a bean burger, a wrap, chips and a cheeseless pizza.  My blood sugar was normal all day.  Today, for lunch I had a home made (no junk food in sight) broccoli and cauliflower curry - I had no rice, potato or naan bread.  My blood sugar shot up to 13.  My body does not behave the way it is supposed to behave.  This will be driving my Paleo pal nuts, if she is reading this!!  But it's evidence, I think, that when it comes to diet that one size does not fit all.  I would not cope on her diet, but I have to say, she looks pretty good on it!  On the other hand, I think she'd keel over in agony if she ate mine.

So what's going on?  As far as I can see, I have a reaction to my steroids.  My blood glucose is elevated (most days) 6 hours after ingestion.  It continues reacting to food for another 6 hours or so.  The doctor now thinks I am not strictly Diabetic.  I am just having a 'Diabetic-Style' reaction.  I have normal blood glucose from about 10pm until about 1pm the next day.  One day I skipped my steroids (ok, I was sick in Bognor and it came back up).  My blood glucose did not rise that day.

I'm a bugger aren't I?

Vaguely Vegan - Caffeine Conundrum

So I ended up eating beef, when I went out with a friend the other day.  There was NOTHING on the menu that I could eat, given my restrictions and my current lifestyle choice, but that lunch has served as an interesting experiment.  Well, I am the sort of oddball that finds blood sugar reactions interesting.   I should have done Science this time round at uni; maybe I'll take it up after my current interests have expired.

Anyway, I digress.  I'd been having some very nice glucose levels recently and then I ate *that beef.  Hmmm. It's taken me since Thursday to bring the spike in reading down from 13 to 9.  Let me be absolutely clear about this.  I now wake up with a reading of around 5; after brekkie I am under 7, by lunch time I am usually around 10 and then with a big gap until dinner, I am usually back around the 7, or 8 mark when I go to bed.  It's still not good enough, but the 13 I scored on Thursday was a bit of a shock.

On top of this, I've kind of given up caffeine.  Those that know me, know 'I drink tea, therefore I am'.  I had a coffee yesterday morning and since then, it has been water all the way.  I am not sure how much difference this may make, but dehydration can cause glucose levels to rise and tea is a diuretic.  The odd thing is that I haven't missed it - not in the slightest.  I suspect this will change at some point and I know I will have another cuppa, but it is odd.  Maybe the three litres of water that I am now consumming each day are actually doing the job!?

In a nutshell, I am now seem to sticking to this vegan thing and I am avoiding caffeine (chocolate is not disqualified yet). If I don't have glowing skin, a flat stomach and a healthy blood sugar by the end of the summer, I am going to want a refund.

April Austerity - Fallout 2

I really don't like cheap meat.  It's not just the taste, it's everything about the stuff.  It's not just an issue with animal welfare either.  The whole farming and food industry seems completely arse-about-face.  I do think all animals deserve a first rate quality of life, but especially so if they are ending up on our dinner plates - kindness costs little.  

Yes, I am an omnivore; I come from an Aussie family.  When mum was growing up on a farm, the animals had space, they roamed and dispatching one for dinner wasn't anywhere as inhumane as the intensive farming, shove it in a van, drive it 10hrs down the road and kill it routine that we have these days.  Slaughter on site? Would that be feasible in the UK?  or at least with in a short distance of the animal's 'home', so it doesn't have to suffer that stress and indignity.  Hmmmm.

After the animal has been dispatched, have you considered how we consume the meat?  There is no surprise that we are putting on weight and heading for a disaster zone in the UK.  The protein portion seems to have swapped places with the veg on our plates.  We used to eat predominantly veg, with a meat side.  Now you're lucky if you can see the vegetables using a microscope.  A portion of meat is the size and thickness of the palm of your hand - most omnis eat 2-3x this suggested allocation.  On my shoddy April diet, my meat intake spilled over into many, many meals, because of *that soup.  Normally, I eat meat/fish twice a week - although that's going to be harder with the whole soya/lentil/bean/dairy issue...  

So, a quick recap: bad farming, and an huge increase in protein and a drop in vegetable consumption is where we are at the moment.  Then...If you wander into any supermarket, 85% of the food on sale on there is just not food.  Ok, Ok, you can shove it in your mouth, chew on it and it'll taste great and fill a hole.  Who doesn't like a big, fat, greasy pizza?  But what is it doing to your insides?    Are you eating that, and the chocolates, crisps and cheese covered toast everyday?  Everything seems to be processed, packaged up, sent to another company, reprocessed and repacked and turned into something so alien from its original shape, colour, taste and texture that the original plant, or animal wouldn't recognise itself.  Cheese Strings?  I'm sorry, but WTF??!!  Do I eat them, or do I tie my shoes up with them?  I try very hard not to buy things in packets.  The crisps, biscuits, cakes, prepared meals etc etc are all gone - those ginger nuts with unpronounceable additives put me off.

On top of that, I am fast coming around to the idea that there is absolutely not one right diet for everyone.  I have friends who are wheat intolerant, lactose intolerant, glucose intolerant, meat averse, animal product averse, and a whole gamut of other intolerance/allergies/dislikes.  I personally can not go near grapefruit or pomegranate (no, I can't just pick bits off - what about the juice?).  I also  can't eat undercooked meat, any shellfish, undercooked egg (mayo, hollandaise sauce etc), soya (I don't tend to worry if there is a scratch of it in the packet, but don't offer me it in any bulk version (tofu, tempeh, soy, soya, miso).  I'm not supposed to eat from buffets (how long has it been sat there?), or have cold food which I have not prepared - no salads at restaurants, or at friends' houses - it's ok, I do trust you all enough to wash a lettuce leaf...and seeing as my food life is confusing enough, I tend to ignore the 'no salad' rule, based on using my eyes, knowledge of the establishment and a good old fashioned sniff-test!  I'm not supposed to have any pro-biotic stuff either.  Oh and now I remember, mushrooms only occasionally as they (like the soy) can set off gout attacks. Ouch.

So where does this leave me?  Trying to balance my wallet against the thought that I really should only be supporting organic farm produce.  I'm vaguely toying with the idea of going vegan for a couple of months - I bet most of you didn't see that coming.  It may give my body a chance to resettle the blood sugar question (there is some evidence for that).  I'm also fairly certain that the veggie/vegan friends will be rooting for the animal welfare side of things.    But then again, I am pretty certain that my transplant team will have a fit, if I decided to do this permanently.  I can't eat soya and I have to keep my consumption of 'staple' vegan foods down: beans, peas and lentils all contain Phosphorous, which can quicken my kidney damage (I only have 35% function left).  I also then have a lot of expensive cat food in the freezer (salmon!) - Harvey will be delighted :p

I think that ultimately, I'd have to keep the butter (Transplants at Harefield are not usually given margarine) for baking.  I'll probably have to have either fish or meat twice a week and I can see myself being told to maintain eggs.  However it pans out, I'd like to reduce my 'footfall' in terms of my agricultural/animal impact.

Watch this space.

April Austerity - Testing Times

I assume you know that feeling when you try to do something and nothing goes right?  Well, after the concerns that I could be diabetic, I thought I ought to get my finger-pricker kit out again.  I last had to keep an eye on my blood sugar in 2007 when I was being drip fed a truck load of steroids.  I found my monitor.  The battery was flat.  I bought the batteries; the test strips were out of date.  I bought new test strips; the insert was missing.. AARRGGHHHH.

Well, finally today, I had all the working parts together and after eating less than healthily I thought I ought to see what was going on: 5.8. That's fine.  What's happened?  I have no idea.  For the last seven years my blood sugar has been ok in the morning and then climbed steadily throughout the day, to return to the morning. So why, ¾ the way through the day is it suddenly normal?  My suspicion is that my diet has changed slightly.

I'm eating more regularly, because you have too when resources have to be counted out.  I've definitely reduced the amount of fruit that I used to eat.  My starch intake has increased, as I am eating rice, bread, or pasta with most of my meals.  My junk food consumption has dropped; well, sort of...  I made scones twice and I've eaten flapjack...then there was the Easter Egg from Carla.  Yes, that lasted 3 days.  Ooops.  I'm eating less veg.   Then, about ten days ago, the potatoes ran out (I finished my supply, they didn't charge out of the front door).  I've always been a bit suspicious that potato was my arch enemy when it came to my blood sugar.  I'll have to run a bit of an experiment, after this one is over.  

T minus four days and counting.

What if the reduced fund diet is the thing that has sorted out my blood sugar?  Hmmm, Harefield said that I'd be unlikely to make any difference to my blood sugar, because of the medication that I take. I guess I shouldn't get too excited about one reading.  I bet the monitor is faulty...

April Austerity - Dog-tired Diary Entry

Well, what a wash out today has been, I don't just mean in terms of the weather!  I'm knackered, very stiff and rather sore and I've spent the day in bed, ignoring the April Austerity and eating what I fancied, out of the cupboard - not ideal, but hmmm..my exhaustion level overrides everything.  I am not sure what that is doing to my blood sugar; I'm waiting for the lancets to be delivered in the post.

On top of this, at the back of my mind is the fact that I have a half written essay that needs to be finished and another one that I have not even started; here I am writing this.  Never let it be said that I don't know how to delay the inevitable!  I'll be back on the austerity wagon tomorrow and hopefully also the essay one as well.

I've just put through an online shop for Tosca to deliver tomorrow evening.  I've a little over a week left now and I can't be doing with this back and forth to the shops.  Besides, if I can't get dressed, I don't think I should be going to Tosca - unless I'm just the female version of Arthur Dent looking for a decent cuppa?  

I can't begin to imagine how some people cope with 'this', when they are not well.  I do actually know a couple of other people with no-one around them, whose health is even worse than mine - well, that is kind of a given isn't it?  I have to say, this experiment terrifies me in terms of what *could be - say when my lungs fail.  Life is definitely a LOT easier when someone else brings your shopping over and you can chose to eat a carrot dipped in houmous, if you feel too tired to cook..  Mum's hopefully buying me a bar stool for my birthday, so I actually have something in the kitchen to sit upon when preparing stuff; it will certainly make days like this a bit easier.

I did spend over the £20 Tosca limit to pick up my £5 off another shop deal.  In amongst the shop is stuff like cat litter, cat treats and other bits and bobs and odds and sods for the end of the month.  For this month, there's more milk, veggies, some houmous and apples etc.  I had already spent 98p the other day getting butter to make the flapjack, so I was down to £9.25.  I think I am about £1 over budget, but I shall tot up the actual price when the goods get here.  Besides, if I hadn't actually put a shopping order in with them, they'd probably have sent round someone to see if I was ok, I've spent so little this month!

So, what have I learned this month?  

1) I really don't need to spend as much as I do on food; I could live perfectly healthily and happily on a bit less.  See point two.

2) I don't actually need a lot of the junk food that I nibble one - I nibble on it because it's nice, but I'm going to make an effort not to buy any more biscuits, or crisps.  It'll be better for me and I can bake 'healthy' versions of junk.  Actually shopping online stops me putting the junk in the trolley!

3) People don't seem to notice when I don't actually put all the sugar in my baking.  That's an interesting one, because we all like our scones and cream teas, but I've been regularly putting only ½ the amount required when baking without dried fruit and only ⅓ of the sugar required when dried fruit is added.  The flapjack and the chocolate brownies still seem to disappear just the same.

4) I don't like cheap meat and I really, really don't like how animals are kept to make sure it is cheap.  Yes, I am a meat-eater.  No, this is not going to change.  But I do think that the animals have the right to be free-range - properly free range, with shelter and with healthcare that is appropriate for their needs.  'Free-range' isn't always what it is cracked up to be.

5) I really need to get through the stuff in my freezer that I had already prepared for another day; there's about £20 worth of cheese in there too!  I can think of a couple of people who would volunteer to help me eat that lot..

6) I don't drink much (I had half a bottle of Becks on New Years Eve) yet I really have fancied a glass of cold wine almost every evening.  How odd!

April Austerity and Medical Malfunctions

Those of you who know me well enough, will also know well enough that I have a few dietary restrictions.  I think it's about to become a whole world more complicated.

Currently I avoid the following items:

• Grapefruit - this one is a case of 'come hell, or high water'
• Pomegranate 
• Shellfish
• Undercooked meat/fish - no rare steak etc
• Undercooked eggs - anything from boiled eggs to Hollandaise Sauce!
• Buffets - hot, or cold - bacterial growth
• Any 'natural remedies' such as St John's Wort, incase of interactions with my immune-suppressants

I am supposed to avoid the following, but the occasional brush with them would be ok, in terms of the transplant team:

• Cold food in restaurants and at a friend's house, or with family (so that means I am not supposed to eat salads etc outside of my own home - although I do trust my friends to wash a lettuce thoroughly...)
• Soy 

Consume very occasionally

• Deli meats
• Pies/Pastries
• Crisps, biscuits, cakes etc - The usual junk food

Harefield's dieticians generally recommend a lower fat, salt, sugar, calorie diet, tell you to eat your fruit and veg (1 fruit, 5-6 veg) and throughout the last 26 years I have managed to maintain my weight, for most of the time.  I had a 4yr weight problem, just after a major rejection, when I was 11 years out.  Since I got the weight off (11yrs ago), I've maintained myself consistently between 44-47.5kg.  My target weight is 45kg.  My eating regime is not 'that bad'; it's not perfect, I do like chocolate digestives, crisps and home baked goodies, but I do eat a lot of the good stuff.

Unfortunately, on Thursday I was told that the inevitable had probably happened; I've more or less ceased to produce insulin, my blood sugar was up high (non-fasting bloods) - I'm now awaiting an appointment to see a local Diabetic doctor.  Hmmm - in case that is not clear, I am waiting to see a doctor who specialises in Diabetes - not a doctor who has the condition ;)

As an aside, I have never understood why Diabetes is called a disease.  It's not something you catch, like Malaria - it's something you acquire; it's a condition.  In my case, the immune-suppressant drugs have mucked up my body's ability to produce its own Insulin.  A change in diet is not going to make this go away; I won't suddenly start making more of the stuff.  I can only eat to try and stop the blood sugar spiking quite so rapidly.  To complicate matters further, I have a raft of other major medical malfunctions that all come with their own food rules and regulations: some example include high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis (furry arteries), Osteoporosis and it also looks like I have Rheumatoid Arthritis - again waiting to see a doctor.

On the plus side, because this has been a long time coming, I have already started making adaptions to my cooking.  A few examples:

• I tend to use plain yogurt for sauces, instead of mayonnaise (or cream) - but I haven't been able to afford it this month.  
• I grate cheese and therefore need to use less of it
• In scone, or cake baking I've switched 50% of the flour over to ground almonds
• When I make flapjack, I halve the sugar content and add almond flour, mixed seeds and nuts and some fried fruit 

Years ago, being diabetic meant NO SUGAR!  Now it means following a diet, in which you eat predominantly from a set of foods that register as low on the Glycemic Index.  Sugar, in small quantities, is back on the diabetic table...but we should all be watching our sugar intake anyway!  Just in the same way that 20 years ago we were told to watch our salt intake.

The problem for me now in April, is that massive batch of soup that I made at the weekend.  High on the Glycemic Index are swedes, parsnips and potato.  Aside from the fact that I have been eating the stuff for three, or four, days straight and I am BORED OUT OF MY TINY LITTLE MIND, can I now 'afford' to eat the rest that is sat in my fridge, in terms of the probable Diabetes?  In terms of April,  I can't afford to chuck it out, or give it away!  If you were on £10 a week for food and suddenly had to change your diet, you'd have a problem.

The reality of the situation is that whilst I don't have the diagnoses and I am still 'healthy' (in terms of Diabetes), I can probably still eat the stuff. I have one bowl left for tonight and 8 servings in the freezer.  I'll just have to space them out - that should also help save my sanity...

In any case, I guess if I do decide I am not eating any more of the soup, there is always a willing volunteer to help me out.

April Austerity - Stockpiling Syndrome

This was dinner last night.  It was the first time I'd sat down actually hungry!  Because of my medication regime and my exhaustion levels, I tend to graze through the day - I'm not usually one for big meals - but the lack of nuts to nibble on is causing a bit of a problem. 

I had 80g of fresh broccoli; there's still another 4 portions left, so 50p was great!  I had 60g of Savoy cabbage; there's still ⅔ of the original item left and I had the last 50g of a carrot that had made its way grated into a wrap and 4 portions of coleslaw.  Potato wedges went nicely with the pie.

And well done Tosca!  Originally £3 and I paid £2 for this pie.  I didn't look too closely at the ingredients, but on taste alone this can't be faulted for 50p a portion!  That said, I think a normal sized adult may find the size a bit small...  If budgets are tight and you want a little bit of comfort food, then this is not bad.  Obviously, again, you have to cast aside any consideration for the chicken's quality of life before it wrapped itself in pastry, but flavour and texture were pretty good, and who doesn't like puff pastry?  It probably worked out at about 95p for the meal.

Last nights dinner actually happened after a quick trip to Tosca.  I spent £4.92 on this lot.  I didn't have the energy to go over to Aldee to pick up cheaper bits and bobs.  If I had to get by on £10 a week, I'd sturggle for the simple fact that I find supermarkets exhausting.  Normally, Tosca comes to me once a fortnight with a two week supply!

The swede, carrots, onion and parsnip was a deal for £1.  Adding up the items individually bought, it would have been nearly £1.50 - so keep an eye out for the packs with the largest produce as they are not sold by weight!!!  Eight apples? 94p instead of £1.60.  I wish I'd gone a bit later; the discounted produce may have been better!

 So... £10.54 for the month remains - heck!  I won't be going back to the shops until Sunday/Monday next week.

Which is why I spent most of today making stacks of soup.  I took two of the manky Aldee chicken breasts, the turkey bone, some of the soup mix (split peas, beans etc), ½ of the swede, the onion, some potato and the parsnip and made soup.  I also added a bit of the veg stock from the cupboard, a load of dried herbs and seasoning  I was going to put in one of my lovely new carrots, but I decided to keep them and instead spent 5 minutes removing frozen carrots from the veg mix!  It seemed sensible; I'd be getting some fresh veg, but bulk out the soup with stuff that's fairly lame, if eaten just cooked.  I had it for dinner; there's 8 portions in the freezer and about 6 in the fridge.  

Hopefully they'll make life a bit easier as I am becoming too tired to cook again.  I normally only cook 2-3 nights a week; I get too tired to prepare a hot meal every day, so this exercise is already making its mark, from that point of view.  If this was my reality, it would probably have quite serious consequences for my health, especially if I didn't have a car to go to buy goods.  On this budget the shopping is not delivered.

Tonights dinner: homemade, plenty of veg, all blitzed together and it was pretty good, if I may say so myself.  Nothing unpronounceable in this bowl and the chicken passes muster like this.

Au

April Austerity - Cheese and Chooks

I've said it so many times before, but not all chicken is created equally.  Aldee, you fall way short of the mark as far as frozen chicken is concerned.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say (and I can't believe I am saying this), that the Aldee frozen chicken (and not their cheapest) was several levels below the taste, texture, smell of Tosca's Everyday Value.  Wow.  

Putting aside all thoughts of battery farming, life quality of the animal in question and looking only at the situation people sometimes find themselves - having to chose the cheaper option - if this chicken is the standard of meat that I would have to eat, then I would turn vegetarian.  Yes, I'd rather go through the rigmarole of discussing this with my medical team and then trips to Harefield for regular blood tests to make sure my immune-suppressant level hadn't dropped.  Yes, the person on a restricted diet would drop yet another food-group off her eating list, rather than face the thought of such poor quality.

In case you are wondering what made it so bad, I can tell you it was dry, rubbery, lacking in flavour and didn't have a particularly nice aroma.  How they managed all of that, I don't know.  

Hmm, whilst we are on the subject of last night's dinner, Tosca's frozen everyday vegetables? 50% win and 50% lose.  The carrots were diced and vaguely carrotty, the broccoli florets were green - and that's the best thing I can say about them.  The peas were peas and fine, but the cauliflower actually held it's shape, was firm to the bite and actually tasted like cauliflower. 

The best thing about this dinner was the pesto, and the savoy cabbage!

Tonight's dinner should be more appetising, especially as I know what's in the vast majority of it.  I made courgette, cheese and herb scones; a couple of those will be accompanied by coleslaw made with cabbage, carrot, onion, courgette and Tosca's everyday mayonnaise.  We'll just ignore the Asorbic Acid for now ;)

April Austerity - Perfect Pizza

Well, I've survived three days of Panebello Pizza: two dinners and a lunch.  I have to confess that I caved last night and made a very basic Coleslaw, to try and mix things up a bit.  

I missed throwing a handful of seeds, or nuts over the salad; the tomato, pepper and avocado were also conspicuous by their absence.  I wasn't hungry after dinner, but I could have eaten a bit more - sure enough, ten minutes later my hand was reaching for the packet of Disodium Diphosphate (or Ginger Nuts) and two quickly disappeared.

So, if I am a little unsure about eating unpronouncable additives in biscuits, I thought I'd use this rant to see what was in that boxed pizza that I won.  I have to say, I NEVER buy frozen pizzas and I am not a fan of deep pan pizzas; the topping to bread ratio is simply not satisfying.  The topping on the Panebello wasn't bad, it tasted ok (damned by faint praise?) and I could see vegetable representation in the form of several large chunks of pepper.  Unfortunately, they sort of dwindled into nothing upon cooking; a real shame considering my liking for peppers.

You can follow the link underneath (or copy and paste), if you wish ;)  The first 'thing' is that the Dr Oetker site says the pizza contains four portions - my bad.  Well, actually at the time of picking this up, the Tosca website said the pizza should serve two.  Um.  Cut into four this would not feed a gnat, or a homunculus like myself.  Heaven help you if you happen to be a normal sided adult!  

In the crust there are some more of those sodium phosphates, so I'll ignore that for now.   Let's rummage a little further.  

1) Mono and Diglycerides are present.  That's a cunningly disguised E number - E471.  It's commonly used as a binder.  Funny thing is, when I make pizza bases, I don't reach for the bottle labeled  E471.  I wonder how I manage?   The pizza that I ate was a pepperoni one.  But veggies and vegans beware:  E471 is usually derived from vegetable oil, but it can come from animal fat and no, they don't have to say which...buyer beware!  If you want to avoid animal products, then your best bet is to avoid anything with this additive.

2) Ascorbic Acid was also present - E300, another one hiding under a title, so unsuspecting consumers may not be aware that the product contains E-numbers.  This one is generally used as an anti-oxidant food additive.  What they don't tell you, is that it can also be used as a reductant in photograph development and in the production of plastics. 

3) Amylase: E1100 - yes, this is a naturally occurring enzyme found in human saliva.  But, again, veggies beware; in food it can derive from the pancreas of a pig.  

You may wonder why I am bothered about potentially non veggie products in a meat dish - just check the 'cheese' options, in case they are in there.  If there is no meat, is it vegetarian/vegan?

I'm pretty certain I remember general 'flapping' about the presence of E-numbers and additives in food.  If I can make pizza bread with flour, yeast, salt and a dash of milk, then surely big companies can use simple ingredients too?

Do we *really know what we are eating, when we buy pre-made food?  

http://www.oetker.ca/ca-en/our-products/panebello/pepperoni/pepperoni.html

April Austerity - Tea Tasting!

Everyone, who has half an idea about what makes me tick, knows this: I drink tea, therefore I am.  Or something like that...

Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner ladies and gentlemen:  Aldee tea at £1.99 for 160 teabags is brilliant.  It is as strong as the £2.69 for 80 box that PG Tips produce, or the £4.76 box of 160.  At the time of typing this Tosca are also selling 240 PG Tips for a deal of £5.00 and 460 for £6.99.  Which ever way you look at this, the Aldee box is the cheapest!

As for the Ginger Nuts?  Well, actually, they're not bad either.  Your options at Tosca at the moment are the Everyday Value 300g pack for 25p; the 'normal' Tosca pack of 200g for 39p, or Mcvities packs of 250g for £1.09 (or 2 for £2).  On a budget?  My money is on the 25p pack.  It's the cheapest and it's the biggest!

But... I looked at the ingredients of all three varieties and they all contain Disodium Diphosphate - otherwise known as Disodium, Pyrosphate (sounding even less appealing).  Aside from being used as a raising agent, this little charmer can be used in the treatment of leather, to remove stains off the hides.  It's also used to remove the scurf and hair off of pig skin.  NOM!

I wish I hadn't had that second biscuit now...

April Austerity - Wimbledon Wombling

Ok, so I don't live in Wimbledon, but surely you remember the philosophy of those chaps?  They picked up rubbish other people left behind; this afternoon, I picked up a Tosca Price Promise.  There it was, all £1.42 of it.  It was left in the floor.  Someone's 'chucked away' very valuable money! It paid (almost) for 1.3kg of frozen veg and a huge courgette.  I contributed 12p.  I'm quite prepared to stoop to cheap tricks to come in under £45 - although Freeganism may be one step too far!

I've priced up the remaining odds and ends in the fridge - 3 apples, ½ a cucumber, ⅓ of a lettuce, 3 eggs, ⅓ jar pesto, and a large carrot.  I also grabbed milk (95p), 13g of mixed herbs (49p) and 4 garlic bulbs (59p).  So the total spend now stands at £29.54, leaving me with about £5 a week!  eep!!  That probably doesn't sound a lot, but if you scroll back over the last ten days, then you'll see a lot of stuff has already been squirrelled away.  

I said before I think I *could do this, but it has been nearly two weeks in planning - and it could still go wrong.  I can't imagine having to think like this ALL the time, just to survive.

April Austerity - Clucking Chickens

Not all chicken is created equally, but that is hardly news.

The meat I'll be eating over the next month falls way below the standard of welfare that I'd like my dinner to have experienced before ending up in front of me.  So, why didn't I turn vegetarian for the month?

Firstly,  I am a meat eater and to turn veggie for 30 days seems like a fake change, especially in view of the fact that I am trying to get a feel for what it may be like for someone who is having to live like this on a permanent basis. Whilst some may chose to give up the meat, in favour of veggies, many probably won't.  This exercise is not one in animal welfare, but one in people living on the breadline.

Secondly, there's the question of my diet and the transplant drugs.  The last time I was up at Harefield I overheard a conversation between another patient and her family.  She'd decided to swap herself onto a diet which was substantially different from her normal routine.  Her blood test results took a nose dive and from the way she was talking, I think she'd had one heck of a telling off from the doctor!  Not only were several things like her iron levels out (no, I can't remember them all), but scarily her immuno suppressant levels had dropped to dangerous levels.  Basically, if you reduce the fat content in your diet, then you reduce the amount of immune-suppressant drugs that your body absorbs.  If you increase the fat content, then you absorb too much and are at risk of scary things like kidney failure.  The bottom line is, don't change your diet without supervision, eat regularly and eat similar types of food in similar quantities.  Discussion with a transplant doctor, about a lifestyle change is essential if you are making changes and be prepared for weekly blood tests and subsequent mucking about with doses until they are satisfied you are stable!  On top of this, I am already eating a restricted diet.  This all seemed far to complicated to factor into something that is really a social experiment.

Anyway, back to the chicken.   It's been a loooong time since I've had the misfortune to knowingly eat anything quite so revolting as Tosca's value frozen chook breasts.  The 1kg bag, for £3.99, has to be the worst thing on the market at only 82% chicken in their 'Chicken' - the rest is made up of added water, dextrose and salt - for 'added succulence'.  Apparently adding salt and sugar makes something juicy; the water (we all know) just leaks out upon cooking.  So, you've actually only bought 820g of chicken, not 1kg!

Aldee 1kg frozen chicken 'value' breasts come in at £3.99 as well.  I avoided this because this had added water and again, I actually wanted to pay for what I was getting, if you see what I mean.  That said, there was no added salt and sugar, so it is an improvement on Tosca's efforts.

Sodsbury's 1kg frozen chicken breasts were a whopping great £6.49!!!  I can't afford that!!! Moving swiftly on and back to my current scrimpery fave - Aldee: £3.79 for 6 breasts weighing in at 700g.  Given the water and junk content in the Tosca cheap version, I think this should be better value...  Only a taste test next week will prove me right, or wrong.

Clearly I have had to cast aside any guilt I feel about battery farming, as I am pretty sure that animal welfare is not particularly high on the agenda of the cheap end of supermarket shopping, or in the minds of people looking for pennies to be able to afford to feed the family.  Hmmmm.  Maybe I'll have to atone for this with a month of ethical eating, including total freedom food and see what that does for my wallet.  

April Austerity - Preparation Problems

Whose daft idea was this anyway?  £45 is a miserly amount of money for a month's worth of food, even though I am a scratch under 5ft and weigh 7st 4.   

After spending forever on price comparison sites, it has become abundantly clear that being broke means being canny, organised and it's a full time job sourcing food at a reasonable price.   I've become obsessed with the changing prices between Asbo and Tosca.  I am annoyed that Aldee doesn't put all it's prices online.  Why don't Moccasins run a nationwide delivery service?  But, be careful; their cheap range bread is a lot more expensive than Aldee and Tosca!  Well, it was when I checked last night...

I haven't even started the month and I am very much aware that to eat this cheap, you really should be growing your own vegetables.  I have neither the strength, nor the health to do this.  So, what can I do to make sure I am not starving by day 19?  I'm organising my cupboard, fridge and freezer.  I've decided that I'll allow myself salt and pepper as 'freebies'; I have enough to last a lifetime and if I lost all my money/income overnight, I'd still have that in the cupboard.  

I'm lucky, I have three other freebies at my disposal - ½ a pack of Manchego cheese and ¾ of a pack of pasta (I belong to Tosca's 'Orchard' Scheme and get sent vouchers to try and review products); I also won a pizza in a competition.  If you are having to be more than thrifty, you can still enter competitions and go to the library to take part in reviews online.  You can also take advantage of reward schemes and use their appropriate vouchers that come in the post - thank you Tosca Clubcard.  Is this cheating?  No, this is being a savvy shopper - collecting coupons and then using them against a deal.  Two packs of Mission Wraps (£2.00 each = £4.00, but they were on offer - 2 for £2.00) may have been out of my price range for April, but Tosca obliged and sent me two 50p coupons - 16 wraps for £1.00, is acceptable (better than the original start price of £4.00!!)

I've priced up some of the odds and ends in my cupboard and fridge freezer that can contribute.  If it's less than a packet, I have worked out the price based on the percentage.    Living with very careful account balancing, you don't throw everything away at the end of the month and start again with £45 - you use up everything.   If I run out of something and need to replace it, then the cost has to come out of the money that remains.  I hope this seems fair; it's more in line with normal living.  After all, we all have some daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly costs in a rolling fashion.

These are the items hanging about at home at the moment that can go towards April - the cost of the goods will be deducted from the monthly sum of £45.  TEV stands for Tosca Everyday Value.

£0.89 - Tosca Coffee (I weighed my morning coffee: 2g.  200g jar - £2.98: 2.98/200x60=89.4p

£0.99 - TEV Honey

£0.75 - TEV Oats 1kg

£0.18 - TEV Self Raising Flour (600g out of 1.5kg, 45p bag)

£0.60 - TEV Sultanas (355g from 500g, 84p)

£0.24 - TEV Baked Beans 

£0.30 - TEV Kidney Beans

£0.68 - 2x TEV Tinned Tomatoes    

£0.35 - TEV Peaches in juice 

£0.63 - 5 flatbreads out of pack 6 (reduced - 75p)

£1.00 - 2x8 pack Mission Herb Wraps (buy 2 for £2 + £1 coupon!) 

£0.49 - 620g Tate & Lyle Sugar from 5kg £3.99 bag

£0.31 - TEV 1kg Long Grain Rice 770g out of 1kg, 40p bag

£1.37 - New Potatoes

£0.88 - 125g Seriously Strong Cheddar Ctr (50p coupon - in freezer)

£0.75 - TE Salad Cheese (in Freezer)

£1.49 - Mince Turkey (in freezer)

£0.20 - TEV ½ jar Mayonnaise

£0.34 - 26g of Boullion Vegetable Stock, from 150g at £2.00

£0.33 - 56g Chicken Bisto from 500g tub at £2.99

£0.00 - Pizza won in comp (Free)

£0.00 - 80g Manchego Cheese (Free Coupon)

£0.00 - Tosca Finest Pasta (Free Coupon)

£12.97 - Total Spend

£32.03 - Remaining (eep)