Whew! Here we are at the end. The month has been crazy on multiple levels for many of us, but we made it. I’m pleased to say that I didn’t give into the boredom and I stayed out of the stores today.
This means that we beat my original goal of spending $600 on groceries. We only spent $511! I feel pretty good about that accomplishment and am curious to see how we can adjust our budget going forward into the year.
Saving $689 out of our normal monthly budget feels pretty good. I know it’s thanks to having stocked up well (maybe too well?) in the past, so we’ll see.
I’d love to put together a tally for our collective savings. Drop the amount you saved from normal in the box below and I’ll update this post at the end of the week and announce it in the newsletter.
In other news…. One kid is better. A second is now unwell. Bryan isn’t feeling 100%. We are having Chipotle for dinner, and that’s a good thing.
Re: the illness, as someone mentioned, my family is almost always sick during the Pantry Challenge, so the fact that we made it this far is miraculous. It seems just like a cold, no cough or fevers, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that it’s nothing serious.
Re: the Chipotle. We got takeout as a family a few times over the month, but nothing close to what I thought we might spend. I had intended our takeout to be from small local businesses, but there aren’t too many close to home that we enjoy. Driving 20 minutes means you end up with really soggy food, so Chipotle is it. There’s something for everyone, including high protein, low carb, and vegan — that’s pretty hard to swing elsewhere.
As for cooking, I spent a good amount of time in the kitchen this morning, making pancakes, baking hot dog buns, prepping salads. I also used a bunch of veggie leftovers in my eggs this morning, so we’re going into the week with a pretty clean slate.
Our meals on Day 31:
Breakfast: Pancakes, Eggs
Lunch: Bratwurst with Sauteed Peppers and Onions on Homemade Hot Dog Buns, big salad for me, vegan burger for my daughter
Dinner: takeout
How did your Pantry Challenge go?
Kathy in Denmark
Day 31
Brunch: Cornflakes, yoghurt, rolls. Everyone just had what they wanted.
S: Rolls and hot cocoa
D: HM pizza
I started and ended January with a migraine, which really isn’t normal for me. This did have an impact on some days, but I have also been going through cooking fatigue for some time. I’m usually really good at just opening the fridge and making something up if I don’t have a meal plan, but I haven’t felt inspired. I think it may have something to do with my picky eater (DD2). I got tired of making something and then she refused to even try it. She really has inproved and I hope I will get my cooking mojo back soon 🙂
Thank you to Jessica for hosting and to all of the lovely people who have posted. I really enjoy this challenge every year and it’s so fun to see the same names popping up. I hope everyone has a great 2021 and I look forward to seeing you next January!
Heather M
Oh I’m sorry to hear about your migraines. That is no fun at all. Neither is a picky eater. Hopefully February is already treating you better. I look forward to seeing you next January and hope you have a really good 2021. 🙂
KMM
Finished out the month of January with a savings of $55.25 off my already low $120 grocery budget (one person). I am going to continue with pantry challenge into February though at I still have stuff to clean out of my freezer.
Eating a lot of misc. leftovers out of the fridge this first week of February, then I am am going to make homemade pizza on on Friday (the 5th) to celebrate victory over the leftovers battle….
Julie
Saturday I had a huge baking/freezer cooking day. I browned 10 lbs of ground beef that I had bartered for with a friend over a few times (I bake for her, she gives me meat), cooked 40z turkey bacon, daughter made gf blueberry muffins, I made 2 big gf carrot cakes, big pot of pinto beans in the crock pot I made into refried beans at the end of the day and 3 batches of gf buttermilk pancakes. I think that’s it.
We ate a lot of buttermilk pancakes over the weekend, except my oldest didn’t. I can’t exactly remember what we all ate. I guess we ate one of the carrot cakes over the weekend! And probably random leftovers, the kids really enjoyed the turkey bacon.
Thanks for the pantry challenge! This is the highlight of my January every year. It’s such a cold month here, and Christmas is over, it’s nice to have something fun in the month. And yeah, I’m torn between buying foods as we can now, at today’s prices, vs trying to spend less this year since we spent more than usual last year stocking up. I bought a 2nd upright freezer last year and we really do use both, and then a 2nd fridge as well, which has been very handy, especially with egg sales, thawing turkey and things like that. I have 6 in my family and the kids are all growing and eating well.
Maureen
Wow, you had an extremely productive day in the kitchen! I haven’t done a day like that in a very long time. Lately, I’ve tended to do smaller sessions more often. But, it’s always great to have prepped resources on hand to pull from. Maybe once I get my chest freezer defrosted I’ll get to work on filling it back up smartly. Enjoy the fruits of your labor and I hope you have a fantastic 2021!
Sandi
We cleared out a bunch of leftovers on the final day. I unexpectedly ended up with a work-all-weekend experience so I was happy to have those l/o in the fridge.
When I get a little free time, I need to make a list of everything Lily posted so I can find recipes to try some of them.
With as much food as we had in the house at the beginning of the month, we did not have much fresh/frozen veg. I’ve tried to be very conscious of eating more of them lately and apparently had depleted my supplies. While I did save money this month, it wasn’t as much as I’d hoped. However, I did change game plans mid-month. I reverted to making sure everything purchased was with conscious thought. I then made a list of things that had been in the house for too long and resolved to get those used up. I still have too many jars of funky flavored jams and cans of evaporated milk to use, but I do feel I made great progress in the modified goal. The secondary freezer is in desperate need of defrosting and I think once I do that, I’ll find I have more white space than I think I do. Every challenge, I focus on using up the freezer items and so dry goods in a corner often stay in a corner. I think I got 90% of those used up this time so I’m pleased with the results.
Lily R.
Hi Sandi, I still have my meal plan from last month so I’ll list the highlights here and that way you don’t have to go digging. Homemade croissants (takes time but you won’t regret it!), shrimp tempura, maple streusel bread, shrimp pumpkin curry, naan, pajeon (korean pancakes), west indian cookup, puerto rican pasteles, pear ginger coffee cake, pakora with chutney, ensalada de pulpo, falafel, tabbouleh, indian fish stew with dhal and rice, bagels, halal cart style chicken and rice with white sauce, crispy cheesy pan pizza (king arthur recipe- it’s our favorite), japanese salmon and rice breakfast, shakshuka, arroz con gandules, pollo guisado, tostones, mandazi, zucchini and onion cakes, dosa with eggplant and okra curries, borek, galbi (korean short ribs), banchan, trinidadian doubles, spanish spaghetti, huevos rancheros, cheesy onion bread, banitsa, bakewell tart, arepas, shish kebabs, tahdig, zhoug sauce, instant pot shrimp alfredo pasta (six sister’s stuff), mujadara, labneh, mofongo, gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), seafood chaufa, jerk chicken/fish, jamaican rice and peas, aebleskiver, pupusas, curtido, colcannon, jollof rice, waterzooi with frites, pancit, chicken adobo, lumpia, sachertorte, bostock, steak diane, french fondant potatoes, vegetable barigoule.
I hope you have fun trying some new dishes! I’d be interested in hearing which ones you choose : )
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
1/31/21
Last day 🙁
B: blueberry (freezer) pancakes, bacon-DH added an egg. I added a mimosa 🙂 I had champagne and orange juice I needed to get out of the refrigerator!! 😉
L: DH: Sloppy Joe on a lonely bun from deep in the freezer. Hubby was happy! Yay for Sloppy Joes! I brushed the top of the bun with melted butter and garlic, toasted it and hoped it wasn’t freezer burned. He said it was fine so that was a save. I ate some of the meat without a bun. He added chips and we both had orange slices (still working to eat all the fresh fruit I amassed)
D: DH had a portion of beef from the freezer (another pyrex dish now available), rice (freezer), leftover veggies and a fresh fruit salad. I had more of the shrimp and grits, a Caesar salad with HM croutons, and the fruit as well.
S: we both had some of the hm bread with butter and jelly, hot tea for me
It’s been a fun month that has flown by. I held at my $53.37 for the challenge, which I’m pleased about. Like Tasty, I have some items to replace, but I’m not going overboard in February. It’s been great to hear from everyone old and new. I have learned of so many different kinds of food that provided much inspiration over the month. Mentions of old fashioned comfort foods provided inspiration too (like Sloppy Joes)I have enjoyed all of our conversations and encouragement. As others have said, the accountability has been very helpful!
Many thanks again to Jessica for providing this forum and her many great ideas re: the pantry challenge. I think this year, especially, that the camaraderie has been so welcome. Let’s hope and pray that the rest of 2021 will be an improvement. Everyone stay safe and healthy and have a wonderful rest of the year. “See” you same time next year!
Heather M
Seems to me you did really great with the Challenge, Lynn! I’m so happy for you! Best wishes for a good 2021! I really look forward to seeing you here again. 🙂
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Thanks Heather. It’s been great to “see” you again and to chat frequently. All the best to you and yours as well. Same time next year!
Alice E
Thank you to everyone who participated and congratulations on all your savings. I have used up some things that needed to be used and will be continuing on with this. For the last couple days, here is the breakdown.
Brunch –egg casserole, orange, hot tea
D – l/o veg soup from freezer, home-made bread
snack – muffin and dried fruit
B – l/o egg casserole orange, hot tea
L – cube steaks from freezer fixed like Salisbury steak, WW couscous, carrots
D – lentil beef casserole, corn bread from the freezer, vanilla pudding
snack – dried fruit
I put most of the egg casserole servings in the freezer to use one at a time and kept out one for tomorrow. Today was oats and eggs for variety. Most of the lentils went in as single servings also. I really like having a variety of choices available in the freezer and since I’ve been eating them down lately I will be deliberately re-stocking in the next week or two.
I’ve used up some of the beans and rice that I’m overstocked with in the pantry. Also some of the tea I’m not as fond of drinking. I like to have a variety on hand, but am working on limiting it a bit.
I have enjoyed everyone’s postings and the inspiration you all provide. Hoping to see you all in the next pantry challenge whether it is summer or next January.
Heather M
Jessica, thank you so much for hosting this every year! It really is a great exercise and an awesome community. You did so well in your spending! SO impressed!
We had a good last Challenge day, and will be continuing through February to use up random things that languish in the cupboards, etc. I need to research a few items to come up with more than one use for them. I ended up spending $199.77 which is exactly where I hoped to be. Yay! I also kept waste to a minimum, which was a big goal as well. And, ate things up, just have more to get to.
Sunday was a solid Challenge day:
Breakfast: L skipped; I had roll(leftover homemade hamburger bun) with homemade jam from my BFFs daughter
Lunch: Leftover ham and swiss waffles (froze the last 4 for another time), this time with sauteed apples slices in maple syrup (I used the other half of the apple from Saturday night’s apple-celery salsa!); fresh fruit salad on the side
Dinner: I dove into the yeast again and made a homemade pizza, from the crust up. This time I followed the specific recipe, next time I’ll try Jessica’s dough. This was a little labor intensive, as it wasn’t a traditional pizza, but it was worth it. So good. Zucchini, ricotta, roasted tomato pizza. Crust, then a layer of ricotta mixed with chopped fresh basil, garlic, etc, then thinly slice lengthwise zucchini, then goat cheese(I strayed from the recipe here-preferred the goat to feta for this), then when there was about 5 minutes left, spread already roasted halved grape tomatoes. I also added fresh basil leaves at the end. So good. We have enough left for lunch one day this week. We also had a caesar salad on the side.
I’ve really enjoyed this past month with all of you and look forward to seeing you next January, if not before. Have a wonderful 2021. We all deserve it. 🙂
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Those savory waffles sound good. I’ll have to remember that. And you are expanding your baking skills. Good for you! It’s been great hearing from you again. See you next year! Hope the rest of 2021 will be great for you and yours. You are right-we all DO deserve it!
tasty
A good day to end the PC here in Ontario.
Breakfast was the usual fruit and yogurt and an English muffin for each of us. Lunch was scrambled eggs on toast. Supper was a leftover pasta sauce with spaghetti and garlic bread. Everything for the day was from fridge or freezer.
It`s been fun. Now I have to try and keep it up for at least another month because there is enough in the freezers to last until the summer. One month at a time. Chat with you all again, either July if Jessica does a summer Pantry Challenge, or next January – hopefully there will be one then.
Heather M
I hope you have a good 2021, Tasty! It’s been so fun seeing you here again. See you next year!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
So good to hear from our neighbor to the north again, Tasty! Hope that by this time next year that things in Ontario and here in the states will be safer and healthier for us all. See you then!
lisa s
L: meatballs
D: navy beans n’bacon; chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
Nice to have a day with most everything just sitting around in crockpots cooking for me!
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I love crock pot cooking! Good for you for being so efficient!
Sarah
B: coffee w/ cream
L: Freezer beef veggie soup + GF grilled cheese
D: GF waffles + chicken tenders (freezer) for me; chorizo + eggs for BF
S: M&Ms
My pantry challenge went well but I am really going to miss the daily check ins. They definitely kept me accountable with sticking to the challenge/meal plan.
Jessica Fisher
Now that you’re in the Club, feel free to continue your check in on Slack! Several people are doing the same, Pat included, I think.
Pat
It has been a fun month with all of you! I have enjoyed see what you all cook and hearing about your successes!! See you all next year!
Jessica –Thank you for hosting this again. Congrats on your total savings-you did amazing! Also happy the sickness didn’t start till the end of the month and the illnesses are minor.
Day 31 was supposed to be steak, but we had that at my son’s on Day 30 we opted to try a new recipe for a chicken salsa casserole. We had everything we needed. I used white onion instead of green and dehydrated cilantro. Hubby and son loved it-me not so much. I will make it again but, cut the chicken in bite size pieces. The rice, black beans, corn and salsa with cheese also makes a great dip.
This challenge was a success for us and I will continue in February. It will be much more expensive because we need so many pantry staples. The good thing is that the will last more than one month so that’s a win!
Kari
Any way to gauge how you might have stocked up too well? I read this along with your post about the USDA food plans budget. We come in at thrifty, but we are spending more than we used to, but, the kids are getting older and we’re in the middle of a pandemic, so it’s nice to have things on hand. We’re working our way through all the vegetables we froze last summer, so I guess it’s all good. Keep up the good work! Another pantry challenge in June??
Jessica Fisher
Well, I think it’s a combination of factors, but mainly: I have an emergency supply stashed away under the stairs, but my pantry still looks really “full”. We did not eat things to the bare bones, partly because I stocked up on baking supplies after last spring’s flour shortage, partly because the things I stocked aren’t things that we’re all really into right now. My kids would much rather have ramen over regular pasta.
I think once things open back up and we all “recover” it will be easier to gauge.
That said, I expect taxes and food costs to go up in the next couple years, just a natural result of current politics and economic recovery from the shutdowns. So, I’ll need to keep my chops up and be more intentional with purchases, not just buying something because we’ll “eventually” use it up. Hope that makes sense.
Maureen
The girls all had leftovers for lunch. Hubby was running errands, so he grabbed something while out. Then, he grilled burgers for dinner. I made fries and we pulled some cut fresh veggies from the fridge. Not an impressive challenge day, but I’m very happy with our monthly results. We did a fantastic job of reducing waste and have done fairly well clearing out small bits and older items. There’s more work to do, so I’ll be limiting my shopping in February, too (that seems to be the best way to get myself to focus on getting rid of the items that I want gone). I also learned a few things about what we like and don’t, so I’ll be more careful shopping in the future. It was great to catch up with everyone. I’ll pop back on tomorrow to get the last updates and will look forward to “seeing” everyone next year. Hopefully, I will have conquered my freezer and will only be clearing out the 2021 accumulation by then (especially since DS will likely be in college, so we’ll be down an eater). I will certainly need to adjust. Wishing you all a happy and productive 2021!
Heather M
Maureen, our month sounds so similar re the challenge! Reducing waste is a big one!! I’ll be limiting shopping in February too. It may not be as good as January, but I’m going to limit as much as possible. I hope when your son heads off to college things go smoothly. We have both of ours in college, one living away full time now, as she takes her time getting through, and the other a mix. It’s an adjustment and also a good thing. It is exciting times for sure. I hope you have a good 2021 and look forward to seeing you again next year. 🙂
Jennifer
Last day of the month! I didn’t do as great as I had hoped, but when I look in my pantry and freezers I see a lot more space, so I guess it went ok.
B – pancakes and homemade sausage
S – starbucks after grocery store
L – late lunch at around 2 – I roasted a chicken, paired with rice and fresh veggies. The chicken has been in the freezer since June and was 6 lbs. So when I found out that 3 kids were working tonight, I cooked early so everyone was around to eat it. i still have enough for leftovers tomorrow night.
D – kids at at work. Dh and I eat some bread with cheese, blackberries, cucumbers. It was plenty for me, but dh has been scrounging all night and finishing up random leftovers in the fridge. Clearly he still needs a real dinner even after a big late lunch.
Heather M
I know how you feel re still seeing space but wishing more had been done. I’m the same- I feel like since we eat a lot of fresh produce the other goes more slowly> we also had our college kids around until 1/7 and 1/17 and we did continue to do takeout with them around(enjoying their favorite places they don’t get where they are in school) and that led to leftovers too. I love that you decided to make your big meal earlier in the day so everyone could enjoy a good solid meal before work. And that it got a chicken out of the freezer- that is space indeed! Have a good 2021!
Janet
B: the usual assortment
L: Pepper poppers
D: Baked chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans
We did well this year. We have white space in the freezer. More importantly, we cleared out a bunch of boxed and canned items that had been languishing in the pantry for sometime.
Heather M
Yay for clearing out boxed and canned items that had been hanging around too long! That’s something I’m still working on- reading your success inspires me to keep going this next month and get creative with the random things. Have a good 2021, Janet!
Janet
Thank you Heather. Surely 2021 will be better than 2020!
Alice E
Applause for cleaning out the boxed and canned items. I have cleaned out some items, but will still be working on it in the weeks ahead. Unfortunately, I really need some variety in my meals, which means it takes longer to use things up when you are over-stocked, especially since I’m the only one eating them.
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Alice E, take good care. I’ll be thinking of you as you continue to negotiate your new and changed circumstances. ((hugs))
Lily R.
Day 31
Breakfast: I made bostock and cappuccinos.
Lunch: we finished up the pancit and chicken adobo.
Dinner: steak diane, french fondant potatoes and vegetable barigoule.
I am pleased with the progress we have made in eating down what we have. Since I don’t want our supplies to get too low, we will continue for another couple of weeks before we start shopping normally again. It was so much fun “meeting” you all and going on this culinary adventure this month!
Heather M
It’s been so fun meeting you here and following your month of cooking and eating adventures! You’ve been an inspiration and just all around fun. Hopefully we’ll see you next year! Also, yum for the French food breakfast and dinner you had Sunday!
Lily R.
Same to you, Heather! I hope to see you next year as well : )
Kim
Oh, yumm! I just looked up bostock and that looks delicious! You have inspired my new recipe for the week!
Jessica Fisher
Try this version. It’s so yummy: https://goodcheapeats.com/sweet-almond-toasts-poormans-bostock/
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
I’m glad you re-posted this Jessica. I remember when you posted it originally, but had forgotten about it. Now that brioche is more easily found in the bread aisle, I think I’ll make this the next time I buy a loaf. Thanks!
Nancy
One thing I’m confused about Jessica, while I’ve really enjoyed following along and doing a pantry challenge in January, were you actually doing a pantry challenge yourself since you did a big Costco stock up in the month? I know you used your money back so you didn’t spend more, but was there really a challenge involved? Just curious about your take on this.
Jessica Fisher
As always, I encourage people to set up their challenges to fit the parameters they’re working with, make your own rules, etc. As for my particular situation, I was already operating in “challenging” circumstances without refrigeration and freezing for the weeks and months prior so we were already out of a lot of things that I would normally have had on hand.
Lily R.
Kim, I’m so glad you’re going to try it! If almond paste is expensive in your area or you just don’t have any on hand you can use this formula: equal parts butter, ground almonds and sugar, an egg and use half the amount of flour that you used for butter. It won’t be quite the same but it works in a pinch! I hope you love it as much as we do : )
Lynn from NC Outer Banks
Thoroughly enjoyed your menus and expanding my knowledge of food from all over!
Lily R.
I’m glad you found some things that you might try! I just take the ingredients I have in my pantry and look for different ways to cook them.
Julie
I meant to comment on your dinner roll comment, but they’re really easy! If you want my grandma’s recipe, I’m happy to share.