Day 20: Shocked into Action

Day 20: Sunday 20th January 2013

Sunday's Menu:
Breakfast: Porridge with water, sugar and frozen fruit
Lunch: 3 mini potatoes made into chips and cup a soup
Dinner: 5 Roast potatoes, half a can of beans and portion of mixed veg.
Dessert: Half sachet of strawberry whip

Torturing my self with these

I spent Sunday curled up on the sofa relaxing with the family and enjoying a warm fire. I have been really getting into Pinterest the past few days and spent hours getting mildly obsessed with creating boards of delicious foods and desserts, which I intend to make when the 31 days are over. I don't think this was necessarily the most helpful way to spend my time. All  I wanted to do was don the apron and get baking. I was so frustrated. I had started my day raring to go, loving the challenge and by the time we got dinner I was a massive grump. I don't know why I did it, spending a day looking at amazing foods, that I couldn't have, was hardly going to turn me into a ray of sunshine was it. I think my mood was also declining because the smell of the family roast was wafting through the house. Everyone says this about their own parents, but my dad's roast (in my opinion) is the best! He treats every Sunday as if it was Christmas day, I'm talking stuffing,  loads of different veggies, roast parsnips, potatoes, squashes and all the other trimmings. Its sooo good!

My version of a roast (on a side plate)

My family have been really supportive, every other week this month they have timed their roast for when I'm out of the house at church each Sunday (I know what heroes). However this week I was snowed in. I couldn't escape. I would have to endure a family roast whilst eating baked flipping beans. Ok as one off, this really wouldn't be a big deal, but, after 20 days of the challenge it felt like the straw to break the camal's back. I was feeling so sorry for myself. Even roasting my potatoes to give the meal a hint of a roast dinner wasn't going to help. The dinner tasted nice, and I was full (the old side plate trick is working a dream now), but I wanted to eat the roast dinner so desperately. I know this comes across as very spoilt, but in the moment I am afraid this is how  I was feeling.

Then that evening I came across the below photo. I felt terrible. How could I have been so ridiculous all day. I had completely lost sight of the reason that I am taking on this challenge. Why on earth have I been feeling so sorry for myself. I have a house, constant access to food, water and medicine, not to mention my family are all healthy. What have I got to complain about! This month is not about me. It is about raising awareness for the 1.4 billion people who are living in extreme poverty. Out of no choice of their own millions of children world wide are literally starving. No-one should have to live in a way that leads them to looking like this.

This is outrageous no child should have to live like this...

This photo is distressing and shocking, but we need to be shocked into action. Did you know every night 1 in 8 people worldwide go to bed hungry and every year 2 million children die as a result of malnutrition. Isn't that disgusting! Where is the justice in that! Despite there being enough food on the planet to feed everyone, poverty, climate change, land grabs and tax dodging is resulting in people not getting access to the food they need. We can all make a difference, we can all help to fight this injustice. Tearfund are fighting to change this. Please help Tearfund to fight hunger in some of the poorest countries in the world by sponsoring me today. The money you donate will help to sustain Tearfund's Global projects and save lives. Click here to be taken straight to my Just Giving Page.