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frugality

Pantry-only meal challenges

r ransom

steward & author

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Location: Left Coast Canada

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posted 1 year ago

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save money by eating from the pantry

Lindsey Harrington just completed what she calls "no gro' January." During the first month of the year, she doesn't go to the grocery store. Instead, she uses whatever's left in her fridge, freezer and pantry.

"I probably could have even went another week or two," Harrington, a writer in Halifax, told the Cost of Living.

The 39-year-old estimates she saved between $200 to $400 during the month by eating only what was already in her house, and avoiding any trips to the grocery store.

...

I do a variation of this from December through until winter ends. I hate the bustle of holiday shopping, so I stock up while staples are sill on sale in the fall. Some prices almost double the cloeser to mid winter we get. Then there is a chance of snow. So basically, it's once a week to get milk and fresh fruit and veg, and exchange my library books.

A frugal time of year.

Do you do anything like this?

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Riona Abhainn

pollinator

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Location: Milwaukie Oregon, USA zone 8b

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posted 1 year ago

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My husband works at the grocery store, so for us it makes more sense to buy things as we need them, based on the sales of course. People remark on how sparse our fridge and cupboard are, but we prefer this arrangement because that way things don't go bad or expire or get freezer burnt. There's only 2 of us in the house.

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Tereza Okava

steward & manure connoisseur

Posts: 5478

Location: South of Capricorn

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posted 1 year ago

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I have been without a car for a while now, so when I have the car I tend to go shopping to the big stores, and stock up once a month or so, and then the specialist cereal/bean/spice place every quarter or so.

After a while this tends to lead to weird levels of supply (2 bags of chickpea flour left? but no wheat flour? black eyed peas but no beans?), and I need to do just this kind of Iron Chef pantry cleanout. It's usually a few times a year, and I'm doing it right now in fact.

It's just to open up space in the freezer, pantry, and overflow storage I use. In fact the overflow started during the pandemic and shortages, followed by crazy inflation... It's hard to let go of these tendencies. Maybe I can keep that extra stock space just for the really rare stuff (my marmite, fancy tea, Chinese wine, etc).

Rebekah Harmon

Apprentice Rocket Scientist

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Location: 4a, high mountain dessert

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Hello, R!

Yes, I usually do this in the fall as well. There's so much coming into the kitchen and pantry in harvest season! My scrappy new recipes can be just to clear space. But for three years Ive avoided grocery stores in purpose. I usually end up buying fats; oils and butter, when I end it. But this year, I invested in an oil press! So maybe I'll make it longer!

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Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

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Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

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posted 2 weeks ago

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I'm a bit like Riona, in that I own a small grocery store so never have to go shopping (or go shopping everyday...). It means I sometimes end up with food past it's 'best before' to use that I wouldn't normally have bought for myself, but can't bear to waste. Poppy seeds are one and linseed another that I struggle to make use of....

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Anne Miller

master steward

Posts: 19839

Location: USDA Zone 8a

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Nancy Reading wrote: Poppy seeds are one and linseed another that I struggle to make use of....

Poppy seed cake and muffins would work for me.

Linseed is called flax here in the US and is an egg substitute.

I posted a Flax Bread recipe here on the forum though it is not coming up in a search.

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Tereza Okava

steward & manure connoisseur

Posts: 5478

Location: South of Capricorn

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Anne Miller wrote:Poppy seeds are one and linseed another that I struggle to make use of....

My mother makes a poppy seed cake that involves huge amounts of seeds- she buys this filling in a can, but you can make it from scratch, a recipe for the filling is here and there are some ideas for how to use farther down the page. https://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/recipes/russianrecipes/homemade-poppy-seed-filling/
(here for many years it was illegal to import poppy seeds, now i can get them sometimes but have lost the habit of eating them. still, i do like kutia, a wheat/poppy dessert, and make it every so often https://www.polonist.com/christmas-kutia/ )

Burra Maluca makes biscuits with linseed meal, if I recall 50/50 with wheat, I tried it and found them fabulous with stews and soups and also very healthy!
I also make brownies with linseed - the recipe uses 1/4 cup, I use brown rice flour (it's worth reading the whole page to understand the flour situation, i also skip the chocolate chips). They are 'brownie-ish" but more of a confection than a classic brownie, that said everyone LOVES them. https://thefitcookie.com/double-chocolate-fudge-brownies-gluten-free-vegan/

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 14805

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Wow - thanks Tereza! That poppy seed filling looks quite easy - like an egg custard with poppy seeds. The little rolls like croissants look interesting....
I'll have to try out Burra's method of adding linseed to flour. There was a bit of information here on the 'what's for dinner' thread.

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Ac Baker

pioneer

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posted 2 weeks ago

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You can use ground, soaked flaxseeds/linseeds, or soaked chia seeds, as a partial egg replacement in a lot of baking. This or water combined with chickpea flour, you can replace the eggs entirely in some recipes. The drained off liquid from canned chickpeas (or home-cooked, if you let the chickpeas cool in the cooking water) can be used as-is or whipped up as an egg replacers in many recipes too. Farinata - chickpea flour fat pancakes - are a traditional alternative to the egg in egg tortillas too.

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Cathi Allen

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Location: Central Ohio

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posted 1 week ago

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I just started back at work after 3 months of medical leave with no paid leave of any sort. We've been doing a partial-to-total pantry challenge the whole time and will continue for a few months as bills get caught up. The worst part was finding stuff that I'd let go so long it really wasn't usable (usually I packaged it wrong, thinking it would be used faster). That and what had been hit from behind by rodents that chewed through plastic storage bins to get to the boxed goods inside! There will be a yearly short pantry challenge from now on to make sure this never happens again.

Anne Miller

master steward

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Location: USDA Zone 8a

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posted 1 week ago

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Cathi, it is to hear from someone who is making this work.

Sorry to hear about the rats though.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

Cathi Allen

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Location: Central Ohio

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Anne Miller wrote:...
Sorry to hear about the rats though.

I would have thought rats too, or something big like squirrels (the bane of my solar system wiring) or even chipmunks. But it seems to have been plain little bitty field mice!

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