First day - we managed it!

A successful "No Spend Day" today, and no one has been hungry!

I have been following a thread on www.moneysavingexpert.com in which a lady called weezl and her followers are trying to put together a subsistence meal plan for a month, spending only £100, for a family of four and eating a lot of vegetarian foods. I tried their carrot cake recipe tonight for the FH and girls, and here is my version as I modified it a little:

200g sugar
300ml veg oil
4 eggs, beaten
320g grated carrot
200g mixed dried fruit
grated zest and juice of one large orange
350g SR flour
1tsp bicarb
2 tsp mixed spice

I zested and juiced the orange and then put the resulting zest and juice into a bowl with the dried fruit and left it to sit for about 10 minutes, before stirring it up really well.

I turned the oven on to 180C, and prepared two Swiss roll tins, greased and lined with baking parchment. One of my tins is only about 3/4 the size of a normal Swiss roll tin, so bear that in mind.

Then I put all the ingredients into a bowl and mixed them well. The resulting mixture was spread over the two tins, and baked for about 20-25 minutes. It went a lovely golden brown and I stuck a knife in to check that it was cooked, but it sprang back when I touched it too.

The FH managed to leave it to cool, although I could tell that the smell was really tempting him!! They have all tried a piece, and the FH and EFG loved it as it was, but the YFG had to pick out all the fruit and then had another piece! Maybe I will try a non-fruited version with a little more carrot sometime.

It smells delicious, and has absolutely no need of any icing - it is light and well risen, too. A success. Thanks, Weezl and friends!

Today's evening meal was jacket potatoes with beans (for me) and with beans and cheese for the girls. The FH had been out to his lunch club and had lasagne, so he just had a cheese and lettuce sandwich.