Thoughts on the PANTRY CHALLENGE 2024 • one month without groceries #threeriverschallenge
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Did we run out of anything during January’s pantry challenge? Am I going to continue the challenge? How did it affect my kids?
What I do is grab my meat for my meal plan for 4 days at a time and bring it up to put in my fridge then I’m ahead and same with frozen veggies I just put those in my fridge freezer makes it easier on me lol.
Mindset. I like that word. I feel that my "mindset" was active because I made a monthly meal plan and followed it almost to the letter. A couple of day I switched a meal, but mostly stayed on track. I know what you mean about pulling from your pantry the simple foods we enjoy and not trying out a lot of new recipes that we really don't like. Slow and steady has been my mindset during this pantry so far. Nothing wrong with good healthy food to fill bellies that are hungry. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Isn't it amazing what a pantry challenge gives us in return?
Last year we put less veggies in the freezer. I wanted to keep that room for meats. So when we went to the store I did see a difference in the amount spent. We even got some deer meat giving to us and we was able to grind into hamburger! So thankful for that. It does feel rich to know you have what you need and some wants to do for your family.
I don't know if you can get it in the US but there is a small separate hand cranked machine from Marcato, called Regina Atlas which has several shapes for macaroni/pasta
My take away is that it has helped me use my canned foods and cleared jars for the new season. Otherwise I had been overlooking them and preparing "fresh" foods.
It sounds to me like you learned some great lessons this month. A month well spent. I found growing broccoli frustrating and not very fruitful. I’ll be interested to see how it goes for you. You may love it or you may find your time is better spent growing something that gives you a far superior product than you can buy at the store. (At least my broccoli wasn’t better than what I could buy, yours may be!). Experimenting is fun. Enjoyed your videos and look forward to your journey. Deborah from Florida
Great insight and a good plan going forward. I didn't do much of the pantry challenge this month because I had a big Azure haul, got 1/2 a cow a couple of weeks ago and 1 big haul at Costco. However, I'm ready for February except for the raw milk I buy from a local farm. That being said I have started my serious pantry challenge the first of February.
I’m going on month 3. I’m a city dweller. I made oat milk. We switched to oatmeal when we ran out of eggs. We subbed applesauce for eggs in baking. I’m taking better notes this year so I can better prepare my pantry
So I’m assuming that you are rotating through your pantry and putting new canned items in the back and eating the ones that are the oldest. I haven’t actually seen you do any canning videos and I don’t know if you do those. But how often do you have to replace the things that are on your shelf?
When I was a child, but richness meant that you had a big family and everyone was healthy and we had plenty of food. So I thought our family was rich. I had no idea my father was working three jobs to try to feed us. Even to this day when I drink a glass of crisp cold water, or it rains and the roof does not leak, and warm water comes out of my faucet so I can take a bath whenever I want to, and we have food in the cabinet, I feel rich. I think of all the people who do not have even the basics in life and I feel blessed.
Super, Rachel. Well done. Ty for sharing your “ah ha!” thoughts. What you learned and shared has helped us too. I love the wooden shelves you built. Awesome! I’m in the early stages of building a working pantry. It’s a process, that’s for sure. Happy bday to your Hubs. February is mine too.
I have a small area that is my in ground garden. I keep bird netting staked around the outside of it. So far I have not had squirrels, bunnies, or any of the other critters get in. The birds fly down into it but so they have not caused any damage, I assume they are eating bugs, and that is fine with me.
Pressure canning potatoes is very helpful for me, I make mashed potatoes regularly
In my experience, broccoli really attracts cabbage moths, like other Brassicas. I recommend keeping a row cover over the plants to deter the pests.
“I feel rich” I was like awwwww ❤❤❤❤❤ so pure cus it not all the shiny and luxurious material items that matter deep down inside.
I found you through the pantry challenge and loved your wrap up of the month of January and what you learned. Our family is also doing the pantry challenge and we just used the last of our potatoes and carrots that we grew last year. It let me know that I need to plant more this year. We planted a couple rows of potatoes last fall and will see if they will grow as we always seem to have random volunteer plants that come from our compost. All the best and good job momma.
Always encouraging to see a young homemaker learning those lessons early.
Totally agree!! I shopped less in January while trying to defrost my freezer. We needed cheese, eggs and milk which is why I had to go to the store. I store all my cheese in the fridge because we always use it up before the date on it. I also made the chocolate granola you shared which is my new favorite.
Finding your channel was a joy for this pantry challenge season – I, participated for the first time, and I greatly reduced my overall grocery budget – and I like to purchase my meat in bulk, too.
You might like Azure Standard. It’s taken me 6 months but I’ve changed 95% of my groceries to Azure. Love your sharing and your big smile when you talk about your family. 🙂
It is amazing what we realize when we really decide to do something. I don’t garden or can, I just love the grocery store lol. I’ve been a whole lot better at shopping the pantry and freezers during this challenge. I got a lot of ideas from watching you, thank you!
I’m coming to the same conclusion as well-cook what my favorite enjoys and simple meals, thanks
I love your enthusiasm and bright smile! Thank you for sharing the results of January’s adventure!
Good job. You can can the meat up. Then you have them shelf stable. Canning meat is easy. Good job, again. 🙏🏻♥️
If I had a dairy cow and a banana tree I would be fine, lol.