Now that March is here, I decided it is a great month for a pantry challenge. I am going to try my best to spend only 100 dollars for food (milk, bread and salad fixings) this month and use my freezer and pantry storage for meals. I know I have a boatload of food here and can certainly use it, but it will take some prep and planning, which is not my strong suit. And wouldn't you know it, Lent begins today also, so goodbye sweets. Drats! it would be a nice diversion while doing this challenge to at least make homemade cookies, or cakes, or sweet breads, or . . .
To keep me honest I will be posting each week what I have bought and what I cook for meals. Some will be much better than others so please, no judgement, unless you are laughing at what horrendous combinations I come up with. Please feel free to comment and add suggestions or possibilities that I have not thought of, or just register your horror and sympathize with what I am making TheHub eat.
Fingers crossed that this month will see enough used from the freezer to make April's spring defrosting a little easier. And so it begins!
p.s. It is nearly 1 pm and wouldn't you know I forgot to take anything out of the freezer to thaw. Plan Anne, plan!
Fingers crossed that this month will see enough used from the freezer to make April's spring defrosting a little easier. And so it begins!
p.s. It is nearly 1 pm and wouldn't you know I forgot to take anything out of the freezer to thaw. Plan Anne, plan!
Put it in water - thaws out way faster! Can't wait to follow along, take pictures too. My hubby is way too picky for me to even try that, I don't know why he is so picky as was raised on a farm and had to eat whatever his Mom put on the table. Oh well, he is an adult and I don't want anyone force feeding me either. I could eat the same thing day in and day out. He, not so much.
ReplyDeleteI am lucky that TheHub is not a picky eater at all!
DeleteYou will do great. What do you mean no sweets, you can cook sweets. Or bake them. I am craving cranberry lemon scones so bad right now.
ReplyDeleteEvery year during Lent I forego sweets, so it is a Lenten thing rather than a baking thing.
DeleteI need to NOT go to the grocery store next week except for milk. After using up so much in the freezer I seemed to have restocked it with as much or more buying instant discount meats today. I guess it's a good problem to have, right?
ReplyDeleteI'll be watching you eat it all down in March. Who knows? Maybe you'll inspire me!
I have already been to the store today since I started this challenge with zero milk and only greens for a salad. Now I have milk, cukes, tomatoes and chocolate milk (TheHub drinks it every single morning. Thank goodness for Aldi since it is half the price there than all other stores around me)
DeleteYou got this! Can't wait to see what you come up with! =)
ReplyDeleteI hope I have it, but I still have TheHub as my wild card. He loves to go to Publix and buy crap we don't need.
DeleteI love your challenges so will be following along intently. Being a bad Lutheran, I do not give up sweets for lent, but would like to keep challenging myself with something. Maybe my challenge will be to cook like Anne.
ReplyDeleteCook like? Not sure about that, but plan like? Never! I have no idea why I start things without planning them out. Now I have to run grab a few things from the freezer so I will have some options for the next few days. Since I forgot to do it earlier for tonight I feel a less than stellar dinner headed our way.
DeleteI never remember to plan ahead... So I've gotten to do the "can I make dinner out of what I've got?" game.
ReplyDeleteThat seems to be the way I roll too and some nights it is the "Gee nothing here remotely goes together but it is still food" game
DeleteGood luck! I have basically the same goal -- I think we can do this!
ReplyDeleteI know I can do it. The unknown is how bad some of the meals might be!
Deletegood luck I should also try to do it also.......
ReplyDeleteWell it started and no one complained about dinner tonight. Just 30 more days!
ReplyDeleteGood luck. My smaller portion loves shopping. Including grocery shopping. And is a picky eater. I would fail miserably at this challenge but will cheer you on.
ReplyDeleteTheHub will be fine with it until he starts rooting around for some goodies, which are nonexistent here. I might break down and bake him something. I could easily make a peach cobbler since I hate cooked fruit
DeletePlanning is the key, for sure.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for having a stockpile but we have too much. I really hope to use ours down as well
My freezer is bursting at the gills! I have to tame the beast so I can defrost it and get ready for summer harvesting.
ReplyDeleteOur freezer broke a couple of months ago and we haven't replaced it. That took care of any stockpiling I might have done. I think you are in your element when you get to be creative and wing it. Except maybe for the thawing ahead part, I think this will be fun.
ReplyDeleteRemembering to thaw something is always my nemesis. Are you replacing your freezer any time soon?
DeleteGreat challenge. I'm hoping to do a lot of eating out of ours. My grocery plan is to take advantage of a few coupons to fill some gaps, pick up the snack type foods I need for packing lunches (still less costly than eating out), and then of course, milk, eggs, etc. I don't think I'll keep it as low as you, but I am hoping for a lot lower than usual.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you too !
DeleteI think, it is going to be a lot fun to read your experiments. Love to see what you do with all the frozen items.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting at least!
DeleteSounds like a great plan! I've actually been using up my freezer stash, in anticipation of our move. And, let's be honest - also just because I've needed to rely on those meals during my crazy busy few months of packing & preparing to move.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read about the experiments! :-)
You are in that cleaning out before the move phase plus needing to maximize your time. I have lived in the same house for the past 18 years and do not look forward to our next one. I need to start getting rid of stuff right now.
DeleteSounds like a great challenge, I'll be excited to see how you do!!
ReplyDeleteTania
Thanks, it will be fun if I can get somewhat organized.
DeleteYou've got this, Anne! Looking forward to reading about all what you manage to put together. Can you thaw things in a microwave, if needed?
ReplyDeleteThanks Bless! I can thaw in the microwave, but I prefer not to so I am trying and failing to remember to take things out the night before to thaw in the refrigeator.
ReplyDelete