What I Learned in the Pantry/Freezer Challenge 2025

 

I'm already thinking about Pantry Freezer Challenge 2026...  Seriously, I know I'm (almost) done with this year's pantry freezer challenge, but I'm already looking ahead to next year.  There are a few things I want to change about how I managed this year so that I can do better next year.  

1.  Meat.  I had more than enough meat on hand, except hamburger meat.  Truly we rely heavily on ground beef and chicken to help keep our budget under control and I had not realized that I had so little on hand.  Thankfully we had several roasts on hand that I'd 'saved' since I knew them to be the more expensive cuts.  But I want to be more mindful about my supply of ground beef and that means I need to buy at least nine pounds a month.  How do I figure that?  

We tend to get at least two servings (sometimes more) from 1/2 pound. I think it's reasonable to suppose we might eat ground beef 14 times in a month.  So, I need at least seven pounds each month.  If I'm going to build a stockpile...I need to increase by at least two pounds each month.  

We're far less likely to eat steak and roasts are generally bought in summer when they are most frequently marked down.  Because they tend to be a heavier, richer meat, I do tend to save them.  

That said, I'd really like to have steak more often.  John and I are at the point where a single ribeye will usually serve the two of us.  Sirloin is another option that is leaner and more affordable if still a bit pricey.  I'll keep my eye out for a sale on half and whole rib eyes.  That usually happens around the major grilling holidays.  The savings per pound is substantial...but so is the cost since you're buying far more than you'd typically purchase for a single meal.  

Typically, we eat boneless skinless chicken breast.  That's mostly because I personally prefer white meat over dark as a rule, and let's face it, over the years the boneless skinless portions just seem to be the go-to in most butcher cases.  That's fine but I'd like to have more whole chickens on hand.  I had only one when I started this challenge.  At just under $3 a pound (and sometimes cheaper) a whole chicken makes a lovely meal for the weekend with the bonus of leftovers.  If I buy broiler fryers, I have the option, too, of cutting them into pieces.  So that's something I'll be looking at stocking a bit more of in the future.

2.  Dairy. Next year I'd like to be better stocked with dairy.  I failed to stock up on milk during the sale in December and again in January and I ended up running out entirely and paying full price.  I typically freeze half gallons and usually keep 2 or 3 gallons worth on hand.  I started this challenge with half a gallon in the fridge and 1 half gallon in the freezer.   My second failure was that I didn't have nearly enough half and half on hand, so I bought that at least twice.  

It is utterly useless for me to stock buttermilk powder or canned evaporated milk.  The former just doesn't get used in my kitchen.  I can make 'sour' milk easily enough with lemon juice or vinegar which is always on hand.  

As for the evaporated milk, I avoid those brands with Carrageenan which I find triggers lung congestion in me.  Disodium phosphate is option two as a preservative in evaporated milk, and I am disappointed in this additive as it does not preserve the color and tends to cake in the bottom of the can.  

I might get away with shelf stable UHT milk (which resembles evaporated in flavor in my opinion).  And powdered milk would come in handy for baking and cooking, leaving the fresh milk for drinking purposes.  As well I do like the UHT milk well enough in my coffee should I run out of half and half.  

3.  Fruits and Vegetables.  We generally eat produce fresh.  However, this year I actually had lettuce spoil.  Something about cold weather and cold crisp salads does not go hand in hand in my mind.  I think next winter I will focus on long-lasting things like cabbage, carrots, celery, broccoli and longer lasting fruits (citrus and apples in greater supply than I had this year).  

I also recalled that in years past when we had a very tight budget, we leaned hard on applesauce as a fruit.  I could buy it without sugar, and it was shelf stable.  As well, we enjoyed having it with graham crackers or gingersnaps for an easy and filling dessert.  Yet when we came into this challenge, I had only 1 jar on hand.  We did eat some canned peaches and pineapple, but it was the applesauce I missed mightily. 

4.  Canned foods.  I generally keep a few cans of proteins on hand: tuna, salmon, chicken breast, Turkey Spam, corned beef and a couple of cans of ham chunks.  It occurred to me that I seldom think to use those proteins, hence I made myself plan to use some of those items in my last week of menus for this challenge.  But the truth is my mind seldom goes to that canned protein.  It tends to focus rather hard on fresh frozen meats.  

Applesauce and pineapple aside, I seldom think to open a can of fruit unless hard pressed.  And I don't use the frozen fruits I have on hand either (a variety of berries and peaches).

I focus pretty hard on canned collard greens, green beans and tomatoes but ignore other items I might keep on the shelf.  Now I've learned the hard way that when it comes to vegetables, I don't care for the texture of most of them.  Carrots are mushy, potatoes too bland.  Squash is too squishy, and cabbage has a slimy sort of texture that fresh cooked cabbage doesn't have.  BUT...what's my excuse with corn?  I could purchase a couple of cans of rutabaga and save that freezer space.  A can would be just about right for me, since John won't touch it at all.

I guess the main thing I'm saying is that I seriously under-utilize my pantry and that is something I really ought to figure out.  I should stock those things I routinely use, that's true.  But if I'm not using something I think it's imperative to figure out if it's a taste preference (i.e. canned cabbage) and figure out a good substitute (sauerkraut is used often enough).  We like pears occasionally, but we use cranberry sauce fairly often...That's the sort of thing I want to be mindful of.  Knowing we will use what we have and not have it just sitting in a space on the shelf staring back at me when I open the pantry doors.

Finally, I want to touch on the subject of soups.  I much prefer homemade soups and pretty much gave up stocking any canned soup except tomato, and split pea soup (John's choice).  I do keep a few cans of cream of soups on hand but not a heavy supply.  

For the most part, I rely on frozen soups that I've made myself.  I think I'd perhaps like to can a few of the homemade soups (or soup bases) but there is no need in my opinion to stock more store-bought canned soups.

5.  Dried Goods.  I was low on pasta when I started this challenge this time.  My main reason was that I was going to make my own...ha.  Well, it's not impossible to make my own but I'm not going to be making elbow macaroni and that was what I missed having on hand.  Spaghetti, lasagna sheets, ravioli, I could manage.  But the hollow noodles I won't be making on my own at this time.  

 We had plenty of rice on hand which is always good but what I didn't touch at all was the piles of dried legumes.  I have lentils, butter beans, kidney beans, black beans, red beans, pinto beans.  I've got BEANS but did I use any of them?  Nope, not at all.  I'm torn because I know that dried beans are cheap good food.  But for convenience's sake, I lean hard on canned dried beans.  This is an area where I think I'm willing to rethink how I stockpile dried beans...Or make it more of a habit to use them!

I'll include dried fruits here only because I tend to keep a few on hand.  Very few.  But prunes (which hardly seem dry do they?), raisins and cranberries are my top three, with dates coming in behind.  I don't bother with apricots or apples or peaches.   I ran out of prunes very quickly this time around.  I'm looking at buying them in bulk.  I did that with cranberries this month and I've plenty now for the year ahead.  

And last, I'll add nuts in here.  I keep nuts in the freezer since the oils can quickly turn them rancid, but I ran out of pecans this year.  I haven't run out of pecans in years, but I did this year.  I prefer to buy those locally rather than from a grocery or mail order.  I need to up my supply of those for sure.  I have plenty of walnuts, cashews and Brazil nuts on hand.  Likely far too much of the last two.  

6.  Snacks.  Snacks are not something I'd say I stockpile but I do at the same time.  I generally stock up on chips when there's a great sale and Kroger is usually my go to for that as the prices are best there.  We actually came into this challenge with snacks stocked courtesy of the December sales and I think I bought only one bag in the two months.

Ditto for crackers.  The only cracker John wanted that I didn't have was oyster crackers which he insists is a must for all soups and chilies.  

I try to keep some chocolate on hand, and we did fairly well with the small stockpile we had on hand.  We never touched the chocolate chips which is our go to when we simply have none but must have some chocolate.

What we didn't use was pudding mixes (I think I'm going to start making my own), gelatins.  In fact, I see no reason to keep more than 2 of each on hand for convenience's sake.  Perhaps I might use them more often in summer?  We'll see.  I definitely don't need to stock them for winter months.

Overall, I think we did really well.  I know where I missed out by not knowing my inventory and I've become very aware of the stuff we seldom use.

I'd very much like to find myself in a position next year to truly save my two months' grocery budget.

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