Pantry-only meal challenges

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?  

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.

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).