7 hacks to get you through the Ration Challenge

“Make plain rice the first day, then slowly add more interesting ingredients every day so it’s always getting tastier. Towards the end of the week, when your willpower is lower, you’ll really appreciate the hummus on flatbread!” - Rachel

“Before the challenge starts, do a test run of anything you haven’t made before, like baking bread. Messing it up mid-challenge would be a disaster!” - Peter

“Now, more than ever, make sure you don’t leave your cooking unattended. There’s nothing more heart-breaking than accidentally letting the chickpeas boil dry and losing some of your rations.” - Deborah

“Join a team and fundraise before you start so you can reach as many of the rewards as early as possible. Getting unlimited salt and a vegetable really helped me through. And having a group of people means that you can all support and motivate each other through tough temptations, like when someone brings treats to the office!” - Freya

“I chose paprika as my spice because I thought it would be the most interesting and the one I’d get least sick of. I was happy with my decision! Plus, it added some colour to the otherwise beige food and tricked my brain into thinking it was eating something more nutritious and exciting.” - Lola

“If you drink a lot of coffee, try to ease yourself off beforehand to avoid the cold turkey caffeine-withdrawal headaches on the first day.” - Sally

“Try to create different textures when you’re cooking – for example, I roasted some of my chickpeas to add crunch. Also, start bland and add flavour as the week progresses, I was in heaven when I finally ate my sardines which I’d saved until last! For my vegetable, I chose onion which was amazing; I confit them and used the flavoured oil in my dishes.” - Lucy

Are you thinking about taking the Ration Challenge? Find out more, sign up and show refugees we really are all in this together.