Our family is participating in a Pantry Challenge for the month of September. Basically we commit to using only what we have in our pantry, freezer and fridge for the month of meals. Read here to learn the basics of a Pantry Challenge. Here are my past updates: Pantry Challenge Update, Pantry Challenge Mid Month Update. , The Final Week- Pantry Challenge 2019.
I cant believe September is over! I have really enjoyed sharing with you all of my ups , downs and food of the last month. Our whole family really pitched in and helped by trying new things, helping me in the kitchen and going without some foods they really like. Here is our last three days of meals :
9/28
B- Cereal
L-Out for the day
D- Beef Stew
9/29
B-Eggs and toast
L-Pot Luck at Church. I made BBQ pulled pork
D- Pancakes
9/30
B-Eggs and toast
L-PB&J for the boys, Zuppa Toscana soup and a loaf of bread for myself and some guests.
D- BBQ pork and rice casserole
Breakdown of my shopping trips :
2x Misfits orders- $47
Shaws- $33
Walmart-$19
Shaws-$47
Renys- $17
Shaws-$42
Total= $205
I used just about all of the meat from our last order from Weston’s Meat Market and that really helped us through. I made a lot of casseroles because it was easy to use lots of small amounts of ingredients like rice and pasta and I needed the ability to bring it to the football field.
Here is what our family learned and relearned while doing this Pantry Challenge:
-You really can make a meal even when you think you have nothing left in the house.
-Grocery pick up at Walmart and Hannaford makes things easier to avoid impulse purchases and see your running total to keep you in your budget goal.
-I used my bread machine a ton. Toast, warm bread and butter with dinner, quick PB&J’s. My Bread Machine worked hard this past month and helped me save.
-Even though you don’t want to eat what is put in front of you, you wont be hungry after you eat it.
-There are people whose cabinets actually look like ours all the time. It was a solid lesson in appreciation for my boys.
-I manage my portion sizes more when I’m working this hard on the budget. It’s not a coincidence my jeans fit better when we run out of chocolate chips.
All in all, I’m very happy with how the month of food went for us. I’m tired of it and ready to buy a few things I hadn’t all month. The boys are very excited to have applesauce again! I hope you have enjoyed and maybe even been inspired to reduce some waste and save money. Thanks for reading!
Such a great idea! It’s a great way to reduce food waste and also keep your budget in check. Love this!
Eek! You have no idea how excited I was to read your post!
I do the same thing!
I wrote about it here https://steakandkale.com/3-small-ways-to-save-big/.
I haven’t ever committed to JUST the pantry for a WHOLE month. I think I’m going to try it!!! I love to save money. 🙂
Report back and let us know how you do and what you make!
I live by Walmart grocery pick-up! Makes me stay in budget and buy exactly what I need to cook for the week.
Super great idea. I read a finance book that said most people in the Is have enough in their kitchen to feed them for 5 weeks. It’s nuts! We tried this too! We did pretty well and had to go back for milk (my daughter is 3) but we learned the same things. It’s not a bad idea to keep some of those lessons on the regular!