Shelfinthedark - Shelfinthedark

Broke af?

But still interested in feeding yourself? What if I told you that there’s a person with a blog who had to feed both themselves and their young son…on 10 British pounds ($15/14 Euro) per week?

Let me tell you a thing.

This individual (Jack Monroe, who has come out as nonbinary) saved my life last year. Actually saved my life. I had a piggy bank full of change and that’s it. Many people in my fandom might remember that dark time as when I had to hock my writing skills in exchange for donations. I cried a lot then. 

This is real talk, people: I marked down exactly what I needed to buy, totaled it, counted out that exact change, and then went to three different stores to buy what I needed so I didn’t have to dump a load of change on just one person. I was already embarrassed, but to feel people staring? Utter shame suffused me. The reasons behind that are another post all together. 

Cookingonabootstrap.com is run by a British person who was on benefits for years. Things got desperate. They had to find a way to feed themselves and their son using just the basics that could be found at the supermarket. But the recipes they came up with are amazing. 

You have to consider the differing costs of things between countries, but if you just have three ingredients in your cupboard, Jack Monroe will tell you what to do with it. Check what you already have. Chances are you have the basics of a filling meal already. 

Here’s their list of kitchen basics. Click the bold text for links!

Bake your own bread. It’s easier than you think. Here’s a list of many recipes, each using some variation of just plain flour, yeast, some oil, maybe water or lemon juice. And kneading bread is therapeutic. 

They have vegan recipes. Including a chocolate/beetroot cake. YUM.

A carrot, a can of kidney beans, and some cumin will get you a really filling soup…or throw in some flour for binding and you’ve got yourself a burger. 

Don’t have an oven or the stove isn’t available? They cover that in their Microwave Cooking section. 

/links

They have a book, but many recipes can be found on their blog for free. They price their recipes down to the cent, and every year they participate in a project called “Living Below the Line” where they have to live on 1 BP per day of food for five days. 

Things improved for me a little, but her website is my go to. I learned how to bake bread (using my crockpot, but that was my own twist), and I have a little cart full of things that saved me back then, just in case I need them again. Jack Monroe gives you the tools to feed yourself, for very little money, and that’s a fabulous feeling. 

Tip: Whenever you have a little extra money, buy a 10 dollar/pound/euro giftcard from your discount grocer. Stash it. That’s your super emergency money. Make sure they don’t charge by the month for lack of use, though.

I don’t care if it sounds like an advertisement–you won’t be buying anything from the site. What I DO care about is your mental, emotional, and physical health–and dammit, food’s right in the center of that. 

If you don’t need this now, pass it on to someone who does. Pass it on anyway, because do you REALLY know which of the people in your life is in need? Which follower might be staring at their own piggy bank? Trust me: someone out there needs to see this. 

Edit November 2016: I updated the post a long time ago to reflect Jack’s gender identity, but now I’ve fixed the links too.

PASS THIS ON, PEOPLE. 250k notes means that there is a real need out there, and this could save someone’s life. Even if you’ve reblogged before, do it again so that the new links are circulated. 

Thanks, ya’ll.

me, staring at the Moon, almost every night: I love you, I really do.

Why is my life all dark and no academia

Jenny Slate, Stage Fright (2019)

Love came in a bottle with a twist-off cap.

breaking news: ur actually gonna make it through and everything will turn out just fine

i can't stop watching sanam teri kasam edits please help

when you grew up as a lonely uncool girl it will never stop haunting you by the way. you will meet a cool person at a bar or the train station or at a friend's party and you can wear your most stylish outfit and striking eye makeup and you will swear that they can see through all of the facade and see the lonely terribly insecure teenage girl you used to be who desperately wanted to connect and you will swear that they know that there is like an insurmountable gap between you. this will happen forever

*Reclines in an armchair and reads fanfiction like a man from the 1950s would read a newspaper after work*

many people wonder what i do for work and i will explain. sorrow found me when i was young sorrow waited sorrow won sorrow they put me on the pill it's in my honey it's in my milk dont leave my hyper heart alone on the water cover me in rag and bone sympathy cause i dont wanna get over you i dont wanna get over you sorrow's my body on the waves sorrow's a girl inside my cake i live in a city sorrow built it's in my honey it's in my milk dont leave my hyper heart alone on the water cover me in rag and bone sympathy cause i dont wanna get over you i dont wanna get over you dont leave my hyper heart alone on the water cover me in rag and bone sympathy cause i dont wanna get over you i dont wanna get over you. sorrow found me when i was young sorrow waited sorrow won sorrow they put me on the pill it's in my honey it's in my milk dont leave my hyper heart alone on the water cover me in rag and bone sympathy cause i dont wanna get over you i dont wanna get over you sorrow's my body on the waves sorrow's a girl inside my cake i live in a city sorrow built it's in my honey it's in my milk dont leave my hyper heart alone on the water cover me in rag and bone sympathy cause i dont wanna get over you i dont wanna get over you dont leave my hyper heart alone on the water cover me in rag and bone sympathy cause i dont wanna get over you i dont wanna get over you. sorrow found me when i was young sorrow waited sorrow won sorrow they put me on the pill it's in my honey it's in my milk dont leave my hyper heart alone on the water cover me in rag and bone sympathy cause i dont wanna get over you i dont wanna get over you sorrow's my body on the waves sorrow's a girl inside my cake i live in a city sorrow built it's in my honey it's in my milk dont leave my hyper heart alone on the water cover me in rag and bone sympathy cause i dont wanna get over you i dont wanna get over you dont leave my hyper heart alone on the water cover me in rag and bone sympathy cause i dont wanna get over you i dont wanna get over you. DEEP BREATH. sorrow found me when i was young sorrow waited sorrow won sorrow they put me on the pill it's in my honey it's in my milk dont leave my hyper heart alone on the water cover me in rag and bone sympathy cause i dont w-