Day 28: The real challenge

The challenge is definitely starting to wear on me. I'm so ready for this to be over. However, I'm compelled to push through with a strong finish, because there are so many who do not have a day 31. This is no challenge at all, I keep telling myself, compared to what they endure on a daily basis. They're the ones with the real challenge on their hands. They're the ones who need your support and encouragement, not me.

Usually when I visit the slum colonies where we work, it's dry season or at least not raining. One of the things I think about a lot is what they endure during the monsoons or other rain storms. Their makeshift homes are not in any way equipped to handle the downpours. As their settlements are situated in less than desirable locations, they're usually flood-prone. As a result, the conditions are unimaginable, mosquitoes rampant, snakes, cholera outbreaks, etc. The intense heat and humidity that follows the floods makes the conditions and putrid odors even worse. My heart aches for them during these severe weather conditions.

I'm dedicating day 28 to these kids I met in the slums of Kampala, Uganda who endure some of the worst living conditions I've ever witnessed. We've just begun an education & nutrition outreach here, another one of our "Children's Hope Centers" to try to improve their lives.

My intention in documenting and sharing these scenes is two fold, 1) to wake us up to be more thankful for what we have, and 2) to give you a real sense of the conditions that my words could never adequately describe.

This girl was showing me where here latrine is, as she stands in front of it. There's no sewage system here of course, and children play barefoot or in flip-flops in the sewage drainage.

A mother and her daughters make their way back from fetching their daily water supply, which is probably not from a safe source.

For those of you who might have been following along, I know I might be starting to sound redundant, but it's because I want to drive home the point. We could stop here. We could feel overwhelmed and despondent and throw our hands up in the air and say, "Oh well, the problem is way too big, there's nothing we could possibly do to solve this." But that's just not the case. You see, we can do something. We can do something one child at a time.

And as we all begin to overcome this defeatist attitude of indifference, realize we can do something, and then actually play whatever little part we can, we begin to be a part of the solution.

What's the solution, you ask? The solution is hope, hope through small steps of education and nutrition. Making sure that there's food in a child's belly before we educate them, so that they can concentrate in class. Allowing them a chance to break out of the cycle of poverty, child labor, and human trafficking that is destroying innocent lives every day as you and I go on about our daily routines. The solution is also found in achieving sustainability, thus we've empowered our native team here with a farmland enterprise. 

The goal is their smiles, but not just fleeting smiles. Smiles that come from the satisfaction of hard work in education, to achieve a solid foundation for their future. Smiles from a deeper understanding of God's heart for them, a heart to prosper them and not to harm them, plans to give them a hope and a future. But God's heart is expressed through the actions of God's people. That's where we come in to do our part in repairing a broken world.

Great news! Today we received $70 toward my goal, putting us just $410 short of our 17th scholarship! Please follow this link to give any amount you can spare, knowing that it all counts, and all can make a huge difference in the life of one of these children.

On the final stretch! Here's what I managed to create using just $1 of food today...

Breakfast. I enjoyed yesterday's variety of texture with the omelet-style egg, so I tried that again today with re-fried bean & rice mixture, topped with fresh carrots and pepper. ▼

Lunch. I tried boiling in a beaten egg with the pasta again. This really adds a nice texture and the protein is a good balance to the starchiness. Just drop it in one minute before your pasta is done, strain with the pasta, carrots and cabbage, then mix in pasta sauce and you're done. Oh, I think I also cooked in half of a cubed potato, so this was definitely filling! (Still benefiting from my conservatism in rationing earlier in the challenge). ▼

Dinner. The lunch had remained somewhat heavy on my stomach (all things considered) so I just wanted something light for dinner. Used some of the last banana slices I have left, added with raisins and standard 1/3 cup of oatmeal. With a little cinnamon, not a bad end-of-day meal. ▼

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!

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!

Day 19: The benefits

There is something very physically cleansing about doing this challenge. Little ailments and things that usually bother me faded away after the first two weeks. There must be so many things we are putting into our bodies from processed foods and preservatives, unaware. Although hungry, I feel "cleaner" and more focused, if that makes any sense. I think the steady dose of fiber from the beans, oatmeal and brown rice definitely helps. And another side benefit—I'm losing some unneeded pounds, which is probably helping with the sensation of feeling "cleaner" and "clearer" minded.

For anyone out there looking for a challenge to cleanse and shed a few pounds, the blueprint I've established with this 30 day "route" might be somewhere to start. You might adapt to offer a bit more variety, but the premise of buying a set amount of healthful foods to last you X number of days, and then figuring out how to live from that alone, is a good way to set boundaries and follow a plan. The bonus to me is, the plan must be improvised and draw heavily from your own creativity, thus exercising not only self-discipline but also stretching your resourcefulness. You'll feel quite surprised by what you come up with as you push yourself to persevere and adapt!

Another positive outcome of doing the 30 day challenge is the huge reminder it brings, of what I take for granted. A significant part of my focus here is to empathize with those wrestling with extreme poverty every day of their lives, these who have no day 31. Many of them are praying that they could someday have an electric stove like mine (or electricity at all), running water, or just a roof over their heads that does not leak when the rains come. They're praying for their kids to be able to attend school, for an indoors job that takes them out of the heat... just basic things you and I take for granted.

Here's what I was blessed with today, using an extravagant $1 worth of food...

Breakfast. "Hash browns" breakfast taco with beans underneath the fried egg. Really satisfying! Just wish there was enough to make one more! ▼

Lunch. My own version of Korean Bibimbap (비빔밥), one of my favorite dishes ever. ▼

Dinner. This was a real unexpected blessing tonight! Had a bit of an inspiration! The usual tostada recipe with re-fried beans, but a twist: lightly pan-fried potatoes, carrots and brown rice, with a bit of pasta sauce! A wonderful treat! For about 35 cents! ▼

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!

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!

Day 13: Out of the trash heap

I'm dedicating day 13 of the challenge to this boy I met in the Secunderabad landfill scavenger's colony of the metro Hyderabad area of India. It's a metropolitan area that ranks among the 40 most populous cities in the world, and one of the fastest growing of those 40. The alarming urbanization rate has spawned over 1,400 slum settlements across the city. Here he and his parents sift through raw garbage at the edge of the landfill looking for plastics, vinyl, metals, shoe soles, and anything else they can find that might be of some value to the recyclers.

However, there's great hope for him and the other children of this colony. Why? Because just down the road, just a 10 minute walk over to the next colony, is our Children's Hope Center, where kids his age are getting an education, clean water, hygiene supplies and access to wholesome nutrition they would otherwise never have had. And because readers like yourself have chipped in whatever you can afford toward scholarships for these kids to enroll in the program! Many are giving $5, $10, $25 or whatever they can spare, and it's all starting to add up!

Please follow this link to donate any amount, no matter how small, toward my goal for 20 scholarships. We're just $110 away from changing the life of a 4th child!

These kids and their families make about 4 cents per kilo of redeemable materials they can gather. All told, it's very true that they are earning about $1 per day, per family member. This is just enough to scrape by. My challenge is by no means any kind of challenge compared to theirs.

On a happier note, here's the result, at our Children's Hope Center in Hyderabad, just minutes from where I shot the above photo... girls rescued from a life of child labor, now receiving nutritious meals and a great education!

Here's what I was able to prepare using just $1 worth of food today, in my attempt to relate to the extreme challenges that the world's poorest face daily...

Breakfast. Breakfast taco with hard boiled egg, re-fried beans & rice, chopped carrots on a corn tortilla. It was enough to get me to lunch, for about 30 cents! ▼

Lunch. Potato Salad. Thanks to the suggestion of a reader, I was inspired to make my own home-made "mayonaise" from an egg yolk, vinegar, salt and a bit of canola oil. Fried the egg white to add some protein to the boiled potatoes, chopped half a leaf of cabbage to add texture. Chilled for a few minutes in the freezer and although it left me hungry, it was really tasty! ▼

Dinner. A slight variation on the usual tostada. Re-fried the beans with the rice together, steamed the cabbage and topped with two tablespoons of the pasta sauce. Not a bad dinner for about 30-35 cents! Imagine what you could do with 60 cents! ▼

As always, thank you for your encouragement and for taking the time to read this far. I did not see any donations come in today toward the goal, but that's ok--it's the weekend and I know it will pick back up soon!

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!

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!

Day 11: Exhausted

I'll be very honest with you tonight, day 11 has left me feeling very exhausted and a bit overwhelmed. With everything I've got going on leading the organization while also concentrating on my meal "puzzles" three times a day, there's just not as much time left for this blog as I'd like to dedicate to it.

I might take a day or two here and there where I really scale back on the blog content and just document the essential info of getting through the challenge. But tonight I will do my usual dedication, because I just can't keep from telling their story. I'm dedicating day 11 to these kids I met in the Thapathali colony of Kathmandu, Nepal. This is the colony where we've just begun a new program to offer better nutrition and education access for the 200+ children we estimate live here in make-shift homes with no electricity or running water.

The evening I met them they were eating what looked like a very basic soup for dinner. Visit my personal Flickr page for many more shots from this colony. It makes my soup from today's lunch (see below) look like a feast in comparison.

So, here are today's basics. I'm very happy to report that we received a very generous donation of $35, bringing our total up to $1,640. This leaves just $360 to go until we reach our 4th scholarship for a child of the slums!

Please follow this link to donate any amount you can afford toward the goal and help us provide a hopeful future for these kids!

On to what I was able to concoct with 1/30th of this limited ingredients list... 

Breakfast. I used some of my frozen banana rations to add to the 1/3 cup of oatmeal along with a few raisins, for a wonderful new flavor. I did a quick fried rice & fried egg breakfast taco. Anything to mix up the variety! ▼

Lunch. I mashed some boiled potato cubes to mix into the broth of this soup for a new texture. Along with carrots, cabbage, pasta noodles, 1/3rd of a ramen brick, an egg and one corn tortilla cut into strips, this was enough to do the trick for lunch. Although I will say, I sure did pick the worst month of the year to do this challenge. Hot soup during the hottest month of the Houston summer, not the most brilliant idea. But with the right seasonings, it's delicious nonetheless. ▼

Dinner. Adding fresh cabbage to the top of my usual tostada creation (re-fried beans and brown rice on a baked corn tortilla) was a welcome variety-enhancer. It's not much, but it's tasty. ▼

Thanks for your support! Definitely dealing with the doldrums of the challenge, craving my favorite foods and, another thing about doing this challenge—you notice wasted food everywhere! I'm like, "Oh my gosh, you're throwing that away?! If you only knew!"

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!

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!

Day 9: Stand together

I'm dedicating day 9 of my challenge to these girls in the slums of Kathmandu, Nepal. I think their pose says so much. In the slums, it's kids taking care of kids as the parents are away looking for work. So they have to stick together. And to make any real difference in this world, those of us who are brave enough to stare poverty in the eye need to stick together, too. (I consider you brave just for visiting this blog and taking a look at the photos of the realities of extreme poverty). Alone, our voice is weak and ineffective. But when we stand together, our collective voice and our actions are much stronger. 

Funds raised through this blog will help children in this slum colony. We're in the process of launching a new "Children's Hope Center" here. The center will offer nutritional support and access to education that these kids would otherwise never have. It's being modeled after our Hope Centers in Hyderabad, India and Manila, Philippines. Please give any amount you can afford toward my goal to provide 20 scholarships for children of the slum colonies where we work.

I've spent some time in this colony on my visits to check up on our programs in Kathmandu. As a photographer, I love chronicling the lives of the people here through photography, to get to know them, and to better equip me to tell their stories. On my most recent visit I was able to give back by presenting some framed prints of their portraits. Most here would never have a chance to own such a valuable family keepsake. Their reactions were priceless. Shots from this series are among my favorite photographs.

I'm happy to report, that while we didn't raise as much money toward our goal today as we did on day 8, we still had some strong participation at $100. This brings us just $395 shy of our 4th scholarship! Please chip in any amount you can afford to help us rescue a 4th child!

Day 9 was ok. I'm hanging in there but at this stage it starts to sink in, options for variety are dwindling. A little bean & rice fatigue, but I'm thankful for seasonings, and have managed to keep it mixed up just enough to overcome the monotony of my limited list of ingredients. Here's what I came up with...

Breakfast. An improvised breakfast taco. The yolk of a runny fried egg is like free sauce! ▼

Lunch. Ahhh, the standard egg fried rice, you can't beat this timeless Asian classic! Add a few splashes of vinegar for a tart kick and beautiful variety in the zesty flavor! Added a few pinto beans to give the dish a little more heft. (See how you can get excited about the most simple changes when you're hungry? The things I learn to appreciate when doing this!) ▼

Dinner. Was tired and uninspired with the limited rations I had left for the day, so I just threw together a quick bean & rice tostada. It wasn't spectacular by any means, but it was enough. ▼

Thanks so much for your support and for reading this far! Your participation is encouraging me. Knowing that we've already raised enough funds to forever change the lives of 3 kids makes each of these 9 days so worth the effort!

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!

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!

Day 5: Bite-sized progress

I'm dedicating this day to a girl I've now met a couple of times in a landfill scavenger's colony in Hyderabad, India. It's a colony very near our slum outreach center, "The Children's Hope Center." She's one of the ones we have not yet been able to reach. She does not go to school because her parents cannot afford the bare basics of what she would need to enroll, and plus, they feel they need the extra few rupees she brings in from her work looking for valuables in the trash. Here's a shot I took of her back in May.

If we're successful with this fundraiser, providing 20 more scholarships for children like her might just open the door of opportunity wide enough for our effort to reach her colony, too. There's also a ripple effect we can each create as we not only chip in what we can toward the immediate goals of this campaign, but also in reaching others with the awareness that they too can make a difference!

And the result is wonderful. It's really about hope--a girl like her, with new shoes, hygiene items to keep clean, a new backpack strapped to her back full of school supplies--an almost tangible hope as she then thinks, "Wow, I can do this, I really have a chance to succeed in life!"

A scene from our Children's Hope Center near her colony reveals just that look of confidence I'm speaking of...

Another piece of great news today! We received a donation of $50 toward our goal! We're making "bite-sized" progress, which is great! Now we just lack $400 until scholarship #1 will be funded! Please follow this link to donate whatever you can afford toward the goal! Any amount, even $1 or $5 can make a difference, when we come together!

Your gift, no matter how small, will equip a girl like her with a piece of the puzzle we must put together in order for her to have a chance!

Today marks the completion of 15 of my 90 meals, and although I get a little weak before meal times, I'm feeling pretty strong overall! Thank you for all of your support! Here's what I put together with just $1 worth of food today...

Breakfast. Nothing too special here--breakfast is a meal you've got to throw together sometimes, just to get the day going. Standard 1/3 cup of oatmeal with a few raisins and some seasoning. Breakfast taco with pinto beans, brown rice, one scrambled egg, topped with an ounce or so of chopped raw carrots. The key to surviving this challenge is trying to keep the textures mixed up just enough to trick your brain into thinking it's getting more variety than it actually is. Or at least, that's my little theory. ▼

Lunch. Soup really is good food, as the Campbell's Soup ad campaign claims. Here's another hearty ramen stew I came up with. 1/3 brick of ramen, 1/3 cup of elbow macaroni, plus a little cabbage, carrots, brown rice, and potato. Seasoned with the a "spicy" variety of the ramen noodle pack (highly recommended to go with the spicy versions--not too spicy, just right for added zest) and some Season-All, and wow, this really was a winner. My estimation is this cost around 30-35 cents. ▼

Dinner. Another tostada variation. These are really my favorite defaults when feeling a little uninspired on the recipe brainstorm front. Re-fried beans, brown rice on baked corn tortillas, plus steamed cabbage as a topping! Seasoned with Season-All and black pepper, this was a satisfying, yet simple meal. Just pick it up by hand and eat like a taco! It works! ▼

Thank you for reading this far! I'm really grateful for your interest and support of my goals here.  

Please, please take action on one or all of the points below! Every effort counts!

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 $100 of my $10,000 goal! And just $400 to go until we reach step one--funding the first scholarship!

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!

Day 4: My birthday!

I'm dedicating day 4 to the children of the Payatas Landfill Scavenger's colony in Manila, Philippines. It's a slum colony situated right on the edge of a huge landfill. This is the kind of child labor that is rampant here. They sift through the garbage looking for recyclable materials to redeem for a few pennies a pound. I took this shot during my April visit this year. Yes, that's tar on fire right behind him. As with all the images on this blog, just click/tap to enlarge.

But just a few blocks from here there's a glimmer of hope. At the Children's Hope Center of Manila, we're offering children a chance to break out of the cycle of extreme poverty, through proper education and nutrition. Here's a shot of some of our kids learning basic computer skills at the center. That look in their eyes, it's hope.  

Great news! Yesterday someone donated another $25 toward our first goal--one scholarship to help rescue a child from child labor and get her enrolled at one of our education centers. This means we just have $450 to go to reach our first scholarship for this campaign to reach a total of 20! We can do this! Any amount, $1, $5, $10, $25--it all adds up when we come together!

Please donate anything you can afford to help us rescue one of these kids!

On to the food... Today was a good day in terms of variety. Here's what I was able to come up with using just $1 worth of food.

Breakfast. Had time to throw together a breakfast taco to go with my standard 1/3 cup of oatmeal with raisins and a pinch of season-all (yes, savory seasonings work well in oatmeal!) Living near the border of Mexico in Texas has made me a lover of Mexican food, so breakfast tacos work well as a staple for me. ▼

Lunch. A pasta primavera improvisation. Since I only have 1/3 cup of pasta noodles per day, I'll sometimes have to supplement with 1/3 brick of ramen noodles to make a pasta dish substantial enough. Added cabbage and carrots, then after cooking, I sauteed with two table spoons of pasta sauce and a splash of canola oil. Seasoned it with 1/3 of the spicy seasoning pack that came with the ramen. Waste nothing! A smaller portion yield, but really delicious! ▼

Dinner. Tostadas! This time a variation--hard boiled egg on top of re-fried beans and brown rice. Baked the corn tortillas using my usual method--baste with canola oil, bake 4 minutes each side on cookie sheet, oven at 450F/230C. Crunchy goodness, while not leaving the tortilla too brittle! A great result for what I have to work with here! All for less than 40 cents if you can believe it! ▼

Birthday "cake." I splurged for my birthday and blew the rest of my frozen banana ration for the week. And "bought" a little jelly from my existing stock using my seasonings allowance, topped the frozen banana slices with the jelly, a few raisins and a pinch or two of cinnamon. This was seriously delicious! ▼

Thanks so much for your support! Today I was blown away that one of my favorite Instagram accounts (@50shadesoforange) featured my photo from yesterday (of the two kids wearing orange) and mentioned this blog in the caption! This kind of awareness-raising for my effort is really appreciated. Thank you for sharing this blog with friends!

Take Action!

1) Please consider giving toward scholarships for children of the slums. My goal is to cover a scholarship for 20 kids to get an education this next year. Every little bit helps! Currently at $50 of my $10,000 goal! Just $450 to go the first step- scholarship #1!

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!

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!