A new week has begun.

[quark2008]

My local greengrocer is a going to do me a walloping great fruit and veg box that i can use for juicing and munching on, and i've also taken a liking to pilchards in a tin on toasted granary with a whisper of ground black pepper, yum. Mackerel fillets are also quite lush, on toast again with melted cheese, this isn't just food, this is IVA budget food !!!!

[Skippy]

I'm glad things have worked out for your Quark - I hope you're going to stick around on the forum.

A quick question - banana, honey and peanut butter (God's food!) smoothies sound lovely, but what quantities of each would I use and what else would I put in? Thanks!

[angela18]

ugh hate bananas.. phobia.. touch smell taste.. yak

not on my IVA menu.. just pasta, beans etc..

[quark2008]

Well, about 4 squashed up and battered fair trade nana's, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, sod the fat. it's mono, so all good and i'm allowed it anyway,and a about a good overflowing golden yummy tablespoons of honey, hanuka is best, but about 4 squid a pot, source out a farm shop and come back with pots and pots, now for the milk , if you want smooth then full cream is best, seek out a field locally, with gorgeous fat freesians chewing their cud with udders fat and heavy, there will be a farmer, who will ask a fair price for his milk, pay him what he needs and go home with litres of the stuff and bung it in the freezer

[quark2008]

End of Mondays,Wed and Fri are apparently the best pick up time for bargain veg, my box, ahem, costs a bargain tenner and is big enough to barrow home rather than battle on the bus with it.

[quark2008]

And so now, as the Pinot is flushing deliciously round my body and i am typing with long fingers, i make it my pledge to my fellow IVA and otherwise financially challenged friends, that i will share my recipes and food ideas with you, i intend to come in on budget, at about £7 per day, no laws will be broken, and i will no longer swap yellow stickers onto food items that i feel deserve to be much cheaper and are just crying out to be eaten. #13;#10;Can i say though how much Spirulina has helped in maintaining oxygen saturation over the last few weeks, oh dear, doctor pinot now just stop it !!!

[kallis3]

Hi Quark,

I've just got in, glad that you are all sorted now. Hope you enjoyed your wine and don't have too bad a hangover!

It'll soon pass!

[Soulgrowth]

Well done quark ... good to see you getting some resolutions. This now leaves your freer to continue with your training and make a really positive contribution to society [:)]

Debbie

[quark2008]

Many thanks again, no hangover of any kind !!!#13;#10;#13;#10;I feel much better in myself psychologically, physically i need to really start to pull myself together and get back to full physical health, lost so much weight it's horrid. and as for my skin, yuk.#13;#10;I have to go for a well man clinic appt with the GP, was going to go the other day but had to cancel.Now I have an allowance for prescriptions I can restart taking what he prescribed for my ticker and other stuff.

[Soulgrowth]

Quark ... make sure that you give your health the very greatest of priorities ... especially that old heart of yours [:)]

Debbie

[quark2008]

Dinner this evening is yellow label chicken fillets, yellow label stir fry veg, and a carton of orange juice, £2.89 the lot ! yum

[kallis3]

Do you have a prepayment certificate for your medication Quark?

[quark2008]

No, and i don't really know what that is believe it or not. Not sure i would qualify anyway, as i worl full time

[kallis3]

Anyone can get one. You need to work out how much you are spending per month on prescriptions. You can get a prepayment certificate for either £102 per year, about £25 per quarter, or as I do, just over a tenner a month for ten months.

If your costs are more than that, you need to go to your chemist and ask for a form, or you can do it online. That will cover you for all your prescriptions, regardless of what they are for.

I have had one for years - it saves loads.

[quark2008]

Oh fantastic, thank you so much, i pay £21.00 odd a month for my prescriptions.