Day 1: Fried banana peels!

I'm dedicating day 1 of this challenge to the girls of our Philippines Girls Home, which was hit last night with an attempted burglary. Thankfully everyone is safe, but two of our guard dogs were killed and our electrical connection was sabotaged. We're in the process of an emergency response to complete their security wall, a project which has been put on hold due to lack of funds. It's not the focus of my fund raising goal here, but if you feel compelled to help with our Philippines security fund you can donate toward that here.

To be honest, at the moment I am very distracted with this crisis and will have to delay sharing more about the focus of this challenge. But I am very encouraged that we received our first donation toward the goal today--from Poland of all places! It all adds up, and remember, we can make a real difference if we all overcome indifference--the feeling that your contribution will not make an impact. Please read more about the kids of the slum colonies where we work, and donate toward my goal of 20 scholarships here.

Now, on to what I came up with to get me through day 1. 

Breakfast. Something I never actually tried on my previous challenges. An Asian inspiration. I added some seasoned pinto beans to my oatmeal, along with a fried egg and raisins. Definitely plenty of protein and it held me over just fine. A 33-cent power breakfast! ▼

Lunch. I was in a hurry to get back to work in the midst of a hectic day, so I had to throw a quick and basic lunch together. This is a very simple re-fried bean recipe with homemade corn tortilla chips made in my toaster oven. The secret ingredient that really makes the beans is a splash of soy sauce, I bought from my existing stock with my seasonings allowance. ▼

Dinner. Tostadas! Easy recipe! Baste or spray tortillas with a bit of cooking oil, place on cookie sheet in an oven preheated to 450F/230C flip once at 5 minutes, bake 5 minutes more, or adjust to desired golden/brown result. Add re-fried beans and brown rice, chopped carrots and cabbage on top. Delicious and hearty meal for only ~$0.33. ▼

Midnight Snack. Day 1 is a little bit of a struggle adjusting to the lower caloric intake, so I broke down and made myself a couple of snacks! Tore into my new banana to add some sweet fruity goodness to a small cup of oatmeal with a few raisins, too. Froze the remainder of my banana for later rationing. ▼

Experimental Snack. Literally as I was about to throw my banana peel away something stopped me and I thought, wait, there's got to be some serious nutritional value in a banana peel! Sure enough, I looked it up and there are several recipes calling for banana peels, and the health benefits are numerous! One of them is reportedly that it works as an anti-depressant! Washed the peel thoroughly, chopped and fried in a small amount of cooking oil with a pinch of flour and season-all from my seasonings/oils allowance. Truly delicious! ▼

Day 1, done! Thanks for following along!

Take Action!

1) Please consider giving toward scholarships for children of the slums. Our goal is to cover a scholarship for 20 kids to get an education this next year. Every little bit helps! Currently at $25 of my $10,000 goal!

2) Please visit my unofficial sponsor, Amazon.com through this link. 7% of your purchases made through the link are given to Peace Gospel. If you're in the UK, use this link.

3) If you're compelled by my effort here, please share it with friends. One of the main goals is awareness. So if you can help with that, huge.

4) Leave me feedback. Please comment on this post, especially if you have any ideas about what I should try to cook with these ingredients I have available. I love hearing from you! It really helps!