It has been a
year now that I’ve been doing my pantry challenge in order to use up a lot of
excess items I had accumulated so they did not go to waste. After a year of cooking from my pantry I’ve
been able to scale back the amount of food I have in my house to a much more
manageable amount for a single person plus one.
I like to keep enough food on hand to provide two people for a year so
that I am adequately prepared in the event of a change in circumstances.
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My goal this
year was to use up everything in my freezer that had a date on it prior to 2023
and I managed to make that happen with only one item, a whole chicken, going to
waste due to freezer burn (bummer).
Everything that is now in my freezer is new and dated as of 2023.
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Another area for
me to work on was to reduce my home canned goods using up the older dates
first. I still have a little bit of work
to do here. I have a couple dozen jars
left I’d like to finish up, but other than that everything else is newer and
current. I have lots of new jars of home canned foods that I added to my LTFS this year, mostly canned meats.
Having done this
challenge I now feel I better know exactly what I like, what I need to keep on
hand and how I would like to store certain items. I find I really enjoy having my own home
canned soups on the shelf for quick meals so that is something I will be
expanding on in the coming year. Having
canned meats on the shelf as well as a nice variety of dry beans that I’ve
canned makes for easy meal preparation, but it also gives me great peace of
mind as well.
While we’ve been
seeing grocery prices soar at an epic rate lately my pantry challenge this year
really helped me so much to not only stay on budget, but I actually saved a lot
of money. I was hoping it would work out
that way. Now as I move on into a new
year with a new grocery challenge I
plan to continue to eat from my pantry replacing items as I go along.
Did you do any
pantry challenges this year? Do you have
some goals for your pantry next year too?
What are some tricks you’ve developed lately to deal with the rise in
grocery prices?
Lately when I shop I look for the marked down items. My HEB does this on Thursday in the produce section and throughout the week in the meat department. Usually the discount is only 25%, but every bit helps. It does mean I either have to cook it right away or freeze it, but I would do that anyway as I shop weekly. If I were living in the country (as once planned) I would have shopped for a month at a time.
ReplyDeleteGood for you Gina. Every little bit does count!! :o)
DeleteYour posts are always so inspiring. This past month I have purposely been balancing cooking “regular” meals with random super inexpensive ones that still taste good: Cuban black beans over rice was my newest trial recipe last week and it was good! (I did have to add some spicy heat to it for my tastes lol). Also, this isn’t a money-saver per se, but have you seen or tried tomato paste in a tube? It’s so convenient for smaller households, and lasts at least a month in the fridge. I can add a tiny bit more tomato flavor to chili and pasta sauce without needing to open a new can of paste, then having to freeze the rest. It’s really just a fun, convenient thing that makes me want to reheat tomato sauce-based leftovers. So it might save me money in the long run after all.
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Beans and rice are so good and like you I like it spicier too. I've not tried the tomato paste in a tube yet, but have thought about it. Have you tried tomato powder? You mix it with water and make as much or as little paste or sauce as you need.
DeleteYes! Thanks for the reminder! I have a big can of dried, powdered tomatoes and it’s buried in my pantry lol. I need to dig it out and put a smaller amount in a jar within easy reach, so I’ll remember to use it. I have a bunch of the Auguson Farms cans of dried things, and I use the dried mixed red and green peppers weekly, bc I have them close at hand in a small jar. :)
DeleteSmart thinking! I have a lot of Auguson Farms too. I need to try the peppers, I have yet to get those.
DeleteI recently went through all of our food storage and almost everything is dated 2024 or 2025. I do have a few steaks that we'll be eating soon that have been in the freezer for a few months. I decided that this year we will have one meal each week that is focused on rice, beans or pasta since I have a huge variety of that to use. I'm trying to balance being well stocked up but not too stocked up if you know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteI do know what you mean. LOL It's kind of hard sometimes to find that balanced. I like your idea with the rice, beans & pasta. You've got me thinking...
DeleteI have quit Diet coke, eggs and dairy along with the usual white carbs saving a bit of money. I also started making up "frozen dinners" with leftovers for those nights when Chris is out of town. I have done meatloaf with sweet potatoes, pot roast with Sweet taters and black bean (you guessed it)SP chili. with no eggs my bfast is either chicken, mashed cauliflower and spinach or Kielbasa, sweet taters and spinach. I do want to try canning this winter but the start up is not in the budget just yet
ReplyDeleteWow! Good for you. Your meal ideas sound delicious. :o)
DeleteI love your pantry saving ideas and challenges! It’s amazing what we can save when we put our mind to it. We work hard for our money so we need it to work hard for us! I love your posts about your daily events and projects. Any ideas you have to save money are so helpful. You are a good writer!! Weather isn’t so cold in Michigan yet so heat bill is rising but not as bad as it could be!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Nora. We need to make those $$ work for us, for sure. Thank you for the kind compliments.
DeleteGreat job on your yearly budget.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to be mindful of watching my fully stocked pantry, by moving the older things forward, and newer things to the back. I have not always done this. This summer I had several things that got "really" outdated.
Freezer too. Had some beef freezer burned, had to throw away.. 😥
Hope you have a Merry and Blessed Christmas.
I don't want to have to throw out food either, but sometimes it happens. Merry Christmas Judy!
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