A Pantry Eating Challenge

Part of being a savvy mom means shopping for deals and buying in bulk. This can be especially true of certain health foods because they cost more, and buying in bulk may be one of the few ways we can bring prices down. That five pound bag of raw organic almonds is none too cheap but perhaps it is a bit easier to digest when you buy a 25 pound bag and do the math.

The problem with bulk buying and shopping for deals and sales is that you may end up with a fridge and pantry stuffed beyond their capacity. Things get shoved in the back and they go bad, you have no idea what you have to work with, and you end up not even bothering to take inventory before your next shopping trip… which only exacerbates the problem.

This is a problem we have been having and we decided to start a pantry eating challenge… to avoid shopping for groceries as much as possible and just eat what we have. It is amazing how much money and time you can save when you do this. Plus I think I Iost 5 pounds because we ran out of stuff to “snack” on, LOL. Our fridge is almost empty now too, just some jars of bulk nuts, seeds, and Quinoa. This will be a perfect time to clean it!

After a couple weeks of meals like beans and rice and buckwheat pancakes with goji berries and nuts I think we will be sooooo ready to buy some fresh fruit and veggies. Although we did use up our frozen fruit stash making various smoothie concoctions and adding a little bit of everything and those are always good. This week I need to find some creative recipes for Quinoa.. cause we will be eating a lot of it!

This little lesson also helped me prove to my husband that we do not eat out of cans! Every time he goes to the store he buys up canned foods in bulk, despite the fact that I almost never cook out of can. The kids wouldn’t even touch the canned fruit cocktail… blah! So I may cook up some of the MSG free soups and perhaps use the beans but the rest is getting donated to someone who needs bomb shelter supplies.

What say you? What are your favorite things to eat when you have to use what is on hand in the pantry? I would love some ideas!

Top Photo credit: vigilant20