Here is the menu, and the shopping list is here.
Monday: (B) Eggs and Toast; (L) Mielies; (S) Roast Veg (No-Meat-Monday!)
Tuesday: (B) Oats (butter, no sugar); (L) Toast and Lentil Soup; (S) Rice, bangers and Veg
Wednesday: (B) Eggs and Toast; (L) Mielies; (S) Noodles, bangers and Veg
Thursday: (B) Oats; (L) Toast & Butternut/Potato Soup; (S) Fried Rice and Veg (carrots,beans,etc)
Friday: (B) Oats; (L) Fried Rice, Lentils and Veg; (S) Noodles, bangers and Veg
So it’s sparse, I won’t lie, but that’s the idea. It is very, very difficult to eat healthy and balanced meals on this budget let alone to include VARIETY! That’s the point – if it were easy and nice and delicious and attractive then I bet you more people would be doing it.
On Afternoons and Coffeespoons 
I have my oats straight, no butter. Bangers is a luxury that many poor go without. May I ask why you are frying rice? You should look into a steamer. Once you have it, you can forsake all frying. It’s much healthier for you too. Stick with more soups and have leftovers for lunch.
hi Maurice, thanks for all the suggestions! Will definitely give some of your suggestions some more thought and possibly make changes but definitely some cool ideas for others also doing the challenge. We actually very very rarely use any oil or oil substance (e.g. butter/margarine) in our cooking so the spread is more for toast. When I say fried rice I just mean reheated and mixed in with veggies so not traditionally “fried”. We steam all our vegetables but I wasn’t aware you could steam rice? Yip, bangers are definitely a luxury but the budget allows them – I guess this one is a bit of a mental thing, the idea that meat = real food. ha ha. Obviously we know this isn’t true and we can get the nutrients we need from other substitutes but still – also adds cool taste to the food. I might be convinced to do away with the fat spread (we wouldn’t use that much but that is the smallest quantity it comes in at our shops) and add avo on toast instead. Good idea! I’m also leaning towards adding in some swiss chard cos it is so healthy and I recently got a pack for R4 and it has lasted 3 meals! THanks again for all the input!
Sorry, the rice is just cooked in a pot as normal 😉 the steamer is used for most vegetables. This is what I use these days. I used to be a big meat eater but gave it up slowly for health and personal/religious reasons. There is a lot of protein in beans and lentils. I stay away from Soy though. I have friends who partake of meat but do try convert them. People usually discover vegetarian paths on their own. If you can find good priced mushrooms, they are an excellent protein source.
Another thing to consider is the idea of breakfast, lunch and dinner may not really be necessary unless you enjoy the tradition of it. We used to meditate and work in the day, and would eat one meal per day which was a rather large meal consisting of rice and the stew mix. This would be lunch or an early dinner around 5pm or sunset.
Other suggestions are: peanuts, nuts, fruit. Peanuts mixed in with the rice adds a nice texture, cook them with spiny onions like a Kung Po, Chinese style dish.
At the commune we’d use our own grown vegetables and picked mushrooms- be very careful if you pick them and only do so with an experienced mushroom picker. Potatoes, vegetable stock, or make your own from peels and skins of vegetables – it must be strained like a tea bag to filter out the skins. These skins go to the compost heap. Carrots, barley, onions, lentils, beans, peas, spices, chillis, cauliflower, cabbage, brocolli etc. It’s amazing how many were fed with a big stew pot.
Your menu looks quit appetizing. Let us know how it goes.
I meant I do not try convert them.
I do not eat soya as it tends to bloat one up. I am not a big fan of pap either. If your oats is too dull, add a chopped up banana which is very cheap. I continue to have oats for breakfast, but skip lunch or supper.
When I go to fruit n veg, I see the poor always buy big bags of oranges, rice, gem squash, butternut, potatoes and carrots.
Sweet potato is much healthier than regular potato.
Val, I’m so impressed with you guys – please let me know how it goes!!!
Also, sorry had to laugh at the 70% off gourmet burger groupon ad at the bottom of your post! 🙂