I'm in. I've decided to do it. Ideally, I'd have a great stock-up and make sure that I'm covered for juice and fruits and dairy, but you know what? I just want to do this. And while I might end up going to the grocery, if I can manage to put it off for two weeks from June 1, just two weeks, then I'll count it as a success.
It's at this moment I wish I had a garden producing something, but since I do not, I'll be the producer and see what I can do to make things stretch. Mostly I just like to see what I can do with what I have and that's the truth. The harder part is keeping my family as satisfied with what I make as I am when faced with a challenge, lol.
As a back-up, I will allot myself a few dollars (like $25) each week to see to it that Caleb has his lactose free milk and yogurt, and some fresh fruit. I might well buy the fruit and veg at the mark down rack from the discount grocer but that's fine. Maybe I'll try and see if Caleb likes Almond milk instead of the lactose free...I'll see what's on sale and I'll experiment gently with the little fellow.
I'll use up the odds and ends and things that are languishing un-used in the pantry and freezers. We all have them...Why not put them to good use? Maybe I'll learn something new. I'm always open to learning new things, especially when it comes to my kitchen.
Well, that's all the chatter. Let's move on to the meal plan. No leftovers to worry about incorporating into the meals. I don't know what that's all about, lol. Have I just gotten super conscious of putting things in the freezer for days ahead when I might not feel up to cooking? Perhaps so. Or I've just been better at gauging how much to make for one meal.
Saturday: ??? We generally just scrounge around the fridge or pick up something on our way home from our day out for this supper. I know I have no leftovers to speak of so I'll see what we can pick up. I am shamelessly taking this whole day off, hang the expense! Katie went out, John and Caleb opted for cereal, John added in toast. I had sausage cheese toast and a cup of fresh berries from the farm stand. Yum!
Sunday: Glazed Ham with Pineapple, Sweet Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Rolls. Any leftover ham can be put in the fridge for sandwiches, though since this is only a quarter of the half that I bought after Christmas, so perhaps no leftovers. I know that I have Sweet Potatoes in the cabinet that really ought to be used. I'll make up a batch of rolls and make half the dough as cinnamon rolls.
Monday: Greek Chicken Skewers, Rice, Salad, flat breads, Tzaziki
Tuesday: Spinach and Cheese Strata, Bacon, Fruit Salad
Wednesday: Tacos, Skillet Street Corn, Green Salad. I'm trying to be more conscious of the fact that while we don't attend church on Wednesday nights, we do watch it online. Here of late, our meal has run right into the start of service, and I miss a portion doing clearing up after the meal. If I can plan my Wednesday meal to be less hands on, have most of my pots and pans cleared up and put dinner right on the table when Katie's in from work, I think we can watch the service in its entirety.
Thursday: Soup of some sort and Cornbread. The soup is meant to use up whatever bits and pieces I might come across that need to be used up. Leftovers, the last of vegetables rapidly declining in appearance and nutritional value, canned items that might have been on the shelves for awhile, etc.
Friday: Alpine Chicken, Green Peas, Mashed Potatoes.
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9 comments:
Morning after vacation and I must plan some menus. No more eating out for awhile.
I'm trying to do a pantry challenge this month, also. Allowing for purchase of fruit and milk. I'm lucky in that my husband will eat almost anything. I know I have a lot of stuff languishing in the pantry and freezer that I need to use up.
Unless I am misinterpreting what I am reading, you sound like you are doing this challenge alone---your family should be applauding this effort. Even if they don't love a particular meal, they are "eating one for the team." Maybe you need to present the food by leading a cheer using pom-poms! (Just a joke, obviously...) Maybe they should be in charge of some meals, just so they get the opportunity to see what a struggle it can be. (Sorry if I sound like I am defending you but sometimes I feel like you don't get enough credit for how much your good stewardship of your financial resources contributes to the success of the household.)
Lana, Planning is the hardest part, even if you do keep a full pantry and freezer. I'd say it takes way more though than actually making meals.
Cindi, John seldom makes a complaint over a food either. Katie will eat some of all foods I make but occasionally will just leave food on her plate if she doesn't care for it. Caleb eats or doesn't eat as whims carry him. I don't always like my own meals, but I was raised to eat it. However, I have some ground turkey in the freezer that I've just found to be unpleasant. It's not spoiled but I just don't like the texture or the flavor very much. I think I'll probably just end up seasoning it for sausage from here on.
Mable, Not sure what you mean? I am the sole cook and the sole meal planner though occasionally the family pitches in and asks for something or another and I try to make it. I do not get complaints. John always thanks me for whatever I make even if I can tell he doesn't particularly care for it. Katie and I tend to critique food and she might mention an amendment or simply not eat as much if she doesn't like it.
Defend away! I'm not offended. It's nice to have a champion, lol.
Terri, We had some ground pork that we did not care for so we made taco meat and added tomato sauce which really made it so much better that I will use that hack in the future for less than great ground meats.
Lana, one of the vloggers had said to use beef stock when making dishes, too and I thought that might help but it didn't. For these particular brand packages, I'll do sausage. I tried taco meat with it, and it just didn't work well. I really think it's the brand because I've used ground turkey in the past without the taste issue being so prevalent.
I think I misread the part about keeping your family satisfied while doing the challenge. I'm sorry. When I read it I thought, "How dare they worry about being satisfied when she is making due to help the family budget and not waste food!!"
I always love a challenge! I'm doing a challenge of my own this month but we're doing a Whole30 "diet" reset...so I'm buying a LOT. While there's a lot of pantry food I'm not using this month, I'm noticing all the oddball foods in cupboards/freezer I tend to look past, like sardines, sprout seeds, nuts, etc. and using them up!
Mable, I keep saying to myself that I will re-read and see if I gave the wrong impression but haven't been there yet. Full on survival mode here, lol.
Amalia, Yes...I think we all have those items we meant to incorporate and use in our daily diet. Mine are farro, hemp hearts and milled flax seed. All of which we were eating routinely enough and then I just stopped. Why?! But then my son stopped by on Monday and mentioned he had Farro and Barley that he hadn't used and he'd been responsible for buying both. Sometimes I know things just don't work as well as we want them to or we need such a small amount but can only buy five times what is required.
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