Freezer Cookin’ and Pantry Eatin’ update
It has been 2 weeks since I posted my plan to stop grocery shopping, and I wanted to send out an update on the challenge.
I didn’t really have a clear idea of guidelines for this challenge, but after I posted, I did some more thinking on it.
My basic guidelines are:
- To eat out of my pantry and freezer for as long as possible without going grocery shopping
- Because some things are perishable, I have allowed myself a budget of $50/2 weeks to buy milk, fresh vegetables, and great deals that I just can’t pass up (more on this later).
- When I do shop, I will buy minimally processed foods.
These past two weeks have been difficult, not because of the cooking challenge but because of personal stuff. When life gets tough, it is usually easier to just go out to eat.
The main challenge that I have encountered is the wintertime blues setting in. Sunset is at 4 p.m. right now, and I have been feeling the wintertime blues setting in. Time to switch out the CFL’s for full spectrum lighting.
So I’ve spent $44 on groceries in the past 2 weeks. That includes a $20 trip to Pizza Hut on Friday night wen I was just too blue to think about cooking.
I got a great deal on turkey ($.27/lb), so I picked up a 17 lb turkey for $5.00!
I am trying to remember what I cooked over the past week. I can’t remember it all but here is the parts that I can remember:
- I cooked salmon patties which gave us 2 meals worth of leftovers.
- Brenton went on a trip and I made up a big pot of Lentil chili roughly based off the recipe from Hillbilly Housewife. It was a great deal more than sufficient, and after eating lentil chili for 5 days, I ended up throwing out about 2 servings.
- We grilled steaks one night, and the leftovers went into a salad later.
- I made a chicken and veggies meal in the crockpot and the leftovers went to sandwiches, salad, and soup.
- I think we had Ramen noodle soup one night too (shredded cooked chicken, frozen veggies, ramen noodles).
- Brenton made an incredible spaghetti last night, which I am currently enjoying for my lunch.
Things I could do better
The main thing I need to watch for is throwing away the last little tidbits. Throwing away food because it has gone bad in the refrigerator is wasteful and expensive. I need to be more diligent at putting extra servings in the freezer when I cook way more than we need.
Off to start another adventure this week.
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