If I were to do the challenge again, I would figure out a way to afford the jolt of caffeine. I did buy ice tea, but it's just not the same.

As for the hunger part, I've always been a healthy eater. I do splurge once in awhile, but I try to stay on track as much as I can. What I've learned from the challenge, is that I probably eat too much of the good stuff. I've really become aware of portion size, since I'm having to stretch the food I bought for an entire week.

The good news is I made time last night and today to cook my dinner. It only took 30 minutes to make the Beef and Rice Florentine (recipe included below). Plus, I soaked the black beans overnight and finished them up this morning.

Here's what I've eaten today:

Breakfast:

1 cup oatmeal

1 banana

1/2 cup skim milk

Lunch

1 peanut butter sandwich (two pieces wheat bread, two tablespoons peanut butter)

1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt

Dinner

1 1/2 cup Beef and Rice Florentine

1 cup black beans

I also had two glasses of iced tea and several glasses of water throughout the day.

Ingredients:

¾ pound lean ground beef

1 tablespoon onion, diced fine

1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed

1 teaspoon oregano

1½ cups cooked rice

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese or ¼ cup

of grated cheddar cheese

1 medium tomato, diced

1 cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Wash your hands and clean your cooking area.

2. Brown meat and onion together, drain fat.

3. Push meat mixture to the side of the pan and add

spinach, water, tomato, salt, pepper and

oregano.

4. Break up the spinach and bring the mixture to a

boil.

5. Stir in rice, cover and remove from heat. Let

stand 5 minutes.

6. Top with cheese and serve.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Cost per Serving: $0.77

Other nutrition information: total fat=