pantry challenge

[WolfpackWife]

We usually do this if we know we're going to be out of town or I won't have time to grocery shop. It stops us from ordering take out or going out to grab a bite. I'm a picky eater, so I'm usually the problem child. DH would eat beef jerky with ramen noodles and frozen peas if left to his own devices. I usually make large batches of soups and meatballs/spaghetti sauce so that yields about 5+ containers of each for the freezer. When the pantry is getting bare, we will have soup or pasta three nights in a row. We always have some from of cheese as well, so we'll default to grilled cheese or baked potatoes if the pantry gets bare as well. I should point out though that we have a tiny kitchen and our "pantry" is no more than a kitchen cabinet we had to devote to pantry items. Flour, sugar, coffee, crushed tomatoes, garlic, rice, and a handful of other pantry staples live little room for other stuff.

My newest goal, while trying to strictly stick to a per-month $$ amount for groceries, is to shop with buying versatile staples in mind - various cuts of chicken, veggies, etc - instead of planning a menu for the week and then making my list based off of that. I guess it's because I get it stuck in my head that I want to try out five new recipes in a coming week, but some of them call for things that I wouldn't otherwise buy and as such, usually won't finish up after I use them for their intended recipe. Some people are so good at looking in their pantry and fridge and throwing something together but I get so uninspired. I know it costs us way more for me to shop for specific recipes instead of useful staples that can be used to make multiple dishes. That's my new goal, though.

[peggyfromwastate]

Ah yes... I remember the days pre-tween and teens that we had actual consumables in our pantry. Shrug. Now we have random crackers, leftover cookie crumbs, and cereal.

We go through food so freaking fast now. I shop Costco weekly and we are always out of food.

[MarissaNicole]

I tend to stock up when things are on sale or when I am at a certain store. But I've been stocking up more than cooking lately. My freezer and pantry are exploding. I think for the next month I should be able to save a ton by just using what we have and only buying fresh milk and fruit.

Wife to PGY4

[GrayMatterWife]

My pantry is probably a joke to most of you--it's a small cabinet!

BTDT!! When DH was in medical school we had no pantry and very limited cabinet space. I bought a jelly cabinet--just a cheap faux wood one--from Target or somewhere, and it was a life saver!

[Alacrity]

Not if it means running out of white chocolate Mac cookies

[DrBandMe]

I am just finishing a pantry purge right now. Food was out of control. The freezer was overloaded and there was no more room in the cabinets; I'm going shopping on Wednesday but I haven't stepped foot in a store in a month. I am resolving to not let it get that out of hand again.

I think the issue is that we eat all our leftovers diligently and sometimes that means we will go three or four days on one meal but we were still shopping each week. I'm cutting back on the shopping from now on.