This week I decided to boycott the grocery store and save some money by planning a pantry week and making meals only with ingredients we already have in our cupboards/fridge/freezer. Sometimes I think it would be interesting to see how long we could go without shopping before the words "There's nothing to eat" were actually true. Although, I'm never going to do that because I think I would have a panic attack if I completely eliminated my stock pile.
Anyway, I think I'm going to try to start incorporating a pantry week once every two months, if possible. It is a great way to save a little money or perhaps catch up if you went over budget earlier in the month. This was the case for me this month so I needed to slow down and get the bank account in order. I will say that I had one day this week that I was not responsible for feeding us, so it made it easy.
Here is what I came up with for my pantry week...
Monday
Breakfast and Lunch - we were still at my parents house after our mini-getaway (Did I tell you I feel completely and totally rejuvenated now?)
Supper - we were at my brothers where my sister and nephew surprised my mom
Tuesday
Breakfast - me, grapefruit; FD, I'm not sure I was still asleep :D
Lunch - me, grilled cheese on whole wheat bread with shaved turkey and an apple; FD, leftover chicken wraps/rice from the weekend
Supper - Chicken and Rice
Wednesday
Breakfast - me, grapefruit; FD, fried egg sandwich (I wasn't sleeping this morning)
Lunch - me, Couscous salad (leftover from Small group potluck on weekend) orange, yogurt; FD, leftover chicken and rice
Supper - French Toast with homemade French Bread (I had a craving, okay?)
Thursday
Breakfast - me, leftover French Toast; FD, whatever he wants, I'll be sleeping again
Lunch - me, Couscous Salad; FD, couscous salad, turkey sandwich
Supper - Mexican Enchilada Bake
Friday
Breakfast - me, Fruit smoothie; FD, toast or cereal
Lunch - me, couscous salad and fruit; FD, leftover enchilada bake
Supper - Pesto Alfredo Penne with turkey and peppers
Just to let you know, I don't normally menu plan our breakfasts and lunches. Breakfast is usually fruit, yogurt, cereal or toast and lunches are usually leftovers for the hubby and soup/salad for me. I only planned things out this week because I was doing the pantry week and wanted to make sure I could swing it.
Do any of you work pantry week's into your menu planning schedule? If so, how often? If you haven't tried it, I would encourage you to challenge yourself to spending $0 on food (or as close to $0 as possible) in a given week and make use of what you've got stashed in your cupboards and in the bottom of your freezer.
3 comments:
A pantry week sounds like a great idea! I should definitely do this!
I kind of did this last week. After 10 days of houseguests the week before, we had spent way more than normal on groceries. I wasn't completely successful; I did have to buy milk, fruit and a few little things, but I did not do a regular big shopping trip.
nice work! I have never done pantry week- but it seems like a good idea. (I too would have a panic attack if we ate all the food in our pantry though!)
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