Comments on: Menu Plan Monday: Eating From The Pantry Challenge

By: Joy@Frugal Menu Mamas

Joy@Frugal Menu Mamas — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 14:33:35 +0000

We did this while in the process of moving! It sure saved us some cash.

By: Jessica - This is Worthwhile

Jessica - This is Worthwhile — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:46:25 +0000

I do this every once in a while because finances get tight. I love the challenge of having to be an intuitive cook based on what I have on hand.

It’s fun!

By: S. Mullinax

S. Mullinax — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:58:02 +0000

I have a piece of paper hanging on my refrigerator titled “I have ingredients to make the following” and went through my pantry and ended up with 18 meals!!!! I was excited but I also felt a little guilty because if I had not taken the time to sort things out I would have gone to the store and spent $$$ for no reason! Thank you for challenging me!

By: Beth

Beth — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:55:30 +0000

I was told about a website the other day where you enter in all the ingredients you currently have in your house, and it brings up all the recipes you can make with what you have on hand. Might be helpful for those accepting this challenge.
It’s http://www.supercook.com/
Have fun everyone!

By: Sami Arends

Sami Arends — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:22:36 +0000

I love this idea. Normally I feed a family of 4 for $100 every 2 weeks(yes, without coupons and i buy mostly name brand). But over the past few months my pantry has begun to ‘overflow’ with side dishes. Maybe i’ll feed my family for $50 instead of $100 for the next 2 weeks

I love all your tips by the way. You have taught me the ways of saving money in other areas of the shopping realm.

By: Grace from Mansfield OH

Grace from Mansfield OH — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 01:28:44 +0000

I just read about your meal plan from the pantry, and it gave me many ideas. Thanks for encouraging me to save $100 this week!

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:01:40 +0000

Great idea! I just took an inventory of what I have on hand http://theworkingmomblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/menu-plan-monday-plan-my-menu.html

By: Tasha Via

Tasha Via — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:47:29 +0000

This is a common “game” around our house=) Excited to see how it goes for your family!

By: zsera

zsera — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:27:22 +0000

We had stir fry tonight All I had to buy last week at the store for it was peanuts and a seasoning packet. So I spent about $3? Already had the rice in the cupboard and chicken in the freezer. I love meals like that!

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:52:25 +0000

BTW for those of you who don’t buy organic raw milk, Kroger has their milk for $2.38/gallon and Aldi’s is 1.99/gallon. There is a “milk war” going on with the grocery store. I sometimes buy eggs from friends that have chickens, but also Aldi’s eggs went from $1.29 to 1.09 to this last week, .99. We keep our $$ down by using ground turkey ($1/1lb)instead of ground beef. When Kroger had it on sale recently, I was able to get some plus got a rain check. I bought a TON! Also with Easter coming up, be sure your readers know pretty soon it will be a GREAT time to stock up on Turkey’s and Ham. We usually buy 3-4 at Christmas and Easter and it will last us majority of the year until Thanksgiving or so.

By: Angela

Angela — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:36:14 +0000

Too funny!! I’m doing the same thing while my husband is on a mission trip for the next two weeks. The kids and I are currently on day 5 of our 15-day no spend challenge. Good to know I’m in good company!
I’m tracking my progress and outlining my meals on my blog:
http://www.thecouponproject.com
I’ll be sure to watch yours as well this week! It’s sure made for easier time balancing the checkbook!!

By: BusyMom

BusyMom — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:28:05 +0000

Does your no shopping challenge include milk? I think i could do it. i picked up some fruit the other day and will pick up milk later this week, otherwise eating from our stockpile/freezer stash. I just couldn’t do it without shopping for milk.

**********************
Money Saving Mom here: Yes, I’m not planning to step foot into a store until Friday.

By: Leah

Leah — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:32:19 +0000

Great idea! I’ll join you. I have 6 children and the youngest is just 5 weeks old, so getting to the grocery right now is a challenge anyway. It will be fun and useful to stick with what is in the pantry and freezer (2 big freezers full of food).

By: Megan

Megan — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:25:21 +0000

We’re in the middle of trying to sell our house & we could move at any time so we’ve been doing this for the past couple of months to use stuff up. We had a big deep freezer that’s almost now empty and our pantry is very depleted. I’m glad you’re doing this as I hope it sparks some new ideas of combinations I can come up with. I’m very thankful that none of this food has gone to waste and we’ve been able to eat it down so much.

By: Kristin Gjertsen

Kristin Gjertsen — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:58:02 +0000

Great idea. My family was sick last week and I have tried to stretch the food we have in the house for 10 days. It is day 8 now, and the only meat left in the house is 4 strips of bacon, 1/2 pack of Aldi’s frozen salmon and leftover chicken salad. Since my husband is a “meat and potatoes” guy, I need to go to the store tomorrow or make my spouse very unhappy. You have inspired me to see if I can limit my grocery purchase to dinner-related food. The kids and I can continue eating out of the pantry for breakfast, lunch, and snacks for a few more days and stretch the family dollar for a few more days. Miss Kris

By: Deni

Deni — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:33:38 +0000

I recently had to live from my stockpile due to moving! It was so nice to spend a few weeks without grocery shopping while I packed, moved, and then unpacked! I’m just getting back into the swing of shopping and refilling my stockpile and I moved a month ago today!!

By: Cara

Cara — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:17:06 +0000

I spent way too much at the store this week – I made the mistake of not adding as I went and spent a whopping $96 at Kroger, only saving 21%. My weekly budget is $75, so, that means that next week we’ll be eating from the pantry!

Off topic: don’t get me wrong, I LOVE coupons and have gotten amazing deals from them. After this last “bad” trip, it had me thinking that I might not focus as much on couponing and focus more on frugal menu items (which tend to not have coupons – think beans, rice etc…). I was so frustrated because I spent so much time matching deals and spent so much money!

By: Prudent Homemaker

Prudent Homemaker — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:04:33 +0000

One of the things that helps me go further is having powdered milk in my pantry.

Another thing I used to do is go shopping every two weeks. I would buy fresh produce for the first week, and eat canned, frozen and dried (ie. raisins, dried apricots,etc) produce the second week. I also liked to buy things like apples that I could keep fresh in the crisper for 2 weeks or more.

Now my chances to shop are much further apart than two weeks. My garden is the fresh produce, and we eat fruit salad from home canned items several times a week.

By: Jenna

Jenna — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:02:37 +0000

I like the challenge – I think I’m going to give it a try. I was supposed to go shopping today, and just never made it out. I think I’ll spend some time tonight digging through the pantry and coming up with plan B!

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:28:42 +0000

I actually try to specifically do this before Christmas. I only go shopping every two weeks because that is how often we get paid. If I stock up enough and scrimp and save for those two weeks, I don’t go shopping and that is what I use to buy the majority of our Christmas presents!