I haven’t found day two of the Live Below the Line challenge too bad. Breakfast and lunch were pretty dull, both revolving around cheap, sliced bread that tastes like cardboard. I was too hungry to take a photo of the toast, which I ate with value strawberry jam and then the sandwiches I took to work were filled with cheap cream cheese and cucumber. I ate every last crumb but can’t say I particularly enjoyed the experience.

And despite there being more free food available in the work kitchen which I wasn’t allowed to eat, I didn’t really think about food too much as there was so much going on today to distract me.

Firstly it was my last day in Wells where I’ve been working for the Church of England for the last 18 months or so, covering a couple of maternity leaves. So there were lots of goodbyes and rather a fun, convivial atmosphere in the office.

Secondly, an RAF helicopter had to be brought in to rescue a woman who had fallen during a tour of Wells Cathedral towers, and as our office overlooks Wells Cathedral we had the perfect view of the dramatic events unfolding. Thankfully the woman was OK and none of the injuries she sustained were life-threatening.

So you can see why food was quite far from my thoughts this afternoon.

However, when I got home it turns out it was quite a different story for the rest of the family. Tempers were fraught when my husband brought the girls back from drama club. Both girls were starving, as was Jason, and they were in bad moods because they hadn’t been allowed any snacks, chocolate or ice cream while they were out, and everyone seemed just generally tired and grouchy.

We sorted out dinner as quickly as humanly possible, which restored some good humour, but it’s pretty evident my family are not happy with me for inflicting this challenge on them. Dinner was a Chicken Brodo, a simple chicken broth which I packed full of penne pasta as well as some carrots and peas, made from one of the chicken carcasses my butcher gave me for free.

Louisa at Eat Your Veg recommended the recipe, and it was really very good. I’d prepared most of it last night after the kids went to bed and was pleasantly surprised at how much meat I managed to pull off the bones.

It tasted incredible and our bowls were empty in minutes flat. We even shared an apple between the four of us and had a ginger nut biscuit each as a bit of a treat for pudding. Never has a ginger nut biscuit tasted so good.

So how much did I spend on my food and drink today?

Breakfast: two slices of toast and jam – 5.5p

Lunch: 4 slices of bread with cream cheese and cucumber – 17p

Dinner: Chicken Brodo – 18.5p

2 cups of redbush tea with milk: 10p

Quarter of an apple: 2.5p

1 ginger nut biscuit: 2p

Day two total = 55.5p

I really deserve another ginger nut tonight, I think.