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Pantry challenge

baby monster

baby monster

Ideal_Rock
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Jul 2, 2007
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Is anyone doing a pantry challenge in January?

I did one last year to clean out my fridge, freezer and pantry and it was eye-opening how many of my grocery purchases were impulse buys. I definitely changed my approach to food shopping but still feel like my pantry could use a reset as uneaten items have accumulated over the past few months. So I'm doing an inventory today to plan out meals for January to use up all those wonderful ingredients bought with the thought of making new and exciting dishes, cans getting close to expiration date and some mystery frozen items "someone" forgot to label:???:.

First item on the list - defrosting overripe bananas to make banana muffins. Do anyone else's kids eat bananas like they're going out of style one week but refuse to touch them the following week?
 
I haven’t heard of a store cupboard challenge but love the idea to start the new year with a clean-out. I’m on a search for a few quick and easy dinner ideas that I can do from mainly cupboard ingredients so I’ll follow this thread closely!

And yes on the bananas here too! At least they freeze well, and I love them added to smoothies so they don’t go to waste.
 
Omg yes to the banana thing. I buy them one week and they go right through them, next week nobody touches them?! I swear they do this to make me crazy!!
 
My tiny pantry is a disaster and is not even functional at this point. I think there's a lot of stuff that needs to be tossed, which is a shame, but also a lesson. We need space for the most used items like rice. No more crackers or pastas we don't use. Part of the problem is we have to have gluten free everything available for our daughter, so it becomes GF vs non-GF fighting for space.
 
HI:

I was talking to my Mom the other day and we were discussing my empty fridge. LOL. I like to empty fridge and freezer out--this happens mostly over holidays when I have more time and do not stress about cooking after work.

cheers--Sharon
 
I do a pantry reset twice a year. I've had to learn to living here. The first reset happens at the end of hurricane season. I take stock of any old food in pantry and freezer. I clean the fridge once a month so I don't generally worry about that. So we have some genuinely wild meals for a bit....lol Start of Hurricane season is the other reset. Again I go through and start weeding out anything that might be old, especially if its in the freezer. again, the meals are a bit weird but nutritious. Freezer burned meat still gets cooked. If its badly freezer burnt, it belongs to the dog (she's got a stomach of steel) lightly freezer burnt can still be put in the instant pot for some type of meal.

My biggest issue is somehow someone who is not me likes to buy lots of fresh spinach and never seems to finish it. :roll: so I have bags of it stuffed in the freezer to keep it from going bad. That also means I will sautee it with garlic...a lot...to use it up.
 
I try not to buy too much.
If I end up with some vegetables that are going south, I will make a pot of soup.
When the bananas get over ripe, I toss them in the freezer, skin and all.
When I want to make banana bread or a smoothie, I just let the bananas defrost a bit, then the skin comes right off.
 
stracci2000 said:
I try not to buy too much.
If I end up with some vegetables that are going south, I will make a pot of soup.
When the bananas get over ripe, I toss them in the freezer, skin and all.
When I want to make banana bread or a smoothie, I just let the bananas defrost a bit, then the skin comes right off.
Click to expand...

I used to freeze bananas with skin on but they defrost much quicker and are less messy peeled. So now I always peel them before putting into freezer bag.
 
Arcadian said:
I do a pantry reset twice a year. I've had to learn to living here. The first reset happens at the end of hurricane season. I take stock of any old food in pantry and freezer. I clean the fridge once a month so I don't generally worry about that. So we have some genuinely wild meals for a bit....lol Start of Hurricane season is the other reset. Again I go through and start weeding out anything that might be old, especially if its in the freezer. again, the meals are a bit weird but nutritious. Freezer burned meat still gets cooked. If its badly freezer burnt, it belongs to the dog (she's got a stomach of steel) lightly freezer burnt can still be put in the instant pot for some type of meal.

My biggest issue is somehow someone who is not me likes to buy lots of fresh spinach and never seems to finish it. :roll: so I have bags of it stuffed in the freezer to keep it from going bad. That also means I will sautee it with garlic...a lot...to use it up.
Click to expand...

Fellow spinach lover here. I made a very large pan of creamed spinach today to use up a lot of frozen spinach.
 
lyra said:
My tiny pantry is a disaster and is not even functional at this point. I think there's a lot of stuff that needs to be tossed, which is a shame, but also a lesson. We need space for the most used items like rice. No more crackers or pastas we don't use. Part of the problem is we have to have gluten free everything available for our daughter, so it becomes GF vs non-GF fighting for space.
Click to expand...

A few of my family members are GF so I keep some GF items on hand. I find that it helps to have baskets inside the pantry to corral similar items and better define space.
 
Great idea!! I need to do this for my freezer!
 
baby monster said:
1577734891126.png

Is anyone doing a pantry challenge in January?

I did one last year to clean out my fridge, freezer and pantry and it was eye-opening how many of my grocery purchases were impulse buys. I definitely changed my approach to food shopping but still feel like my pantry could use a reset as uneaten items have accumulated over the past few months. So I'm doing an inventory today to plan out meals for January to use up all those wonderful ingredients bought with the thought of making new and exciting dishes, cans getting close to expiration date and some mystery frozen items "someone" forgot to label:???:.

First item on the list - defrosting overripe bananas to make banana muffins. Do anyone else's kids eat bananas like they're going out of style one week but refuse to touch them the following week?
Click to expand...

Im like that with bananas, some weeks I'll eat 2 a day then next week they sit there and attract those horrible little fruit flies
After throwing out bananas for years ive now discovered a defrosted frozen banana is the best thing to bake with
i make banana pancakes about one a fortnight and a 4 banana banana bread

So since i brough a little plastic 2 step step ladder into the kitchen i can now more eaiserly see into the top pantry shelf and ive been endeavouring to use stuff up

This Christmas i used a big pack of peach passionfruit pie filling to make cheesecake, i found on the top shelf
it must have been 2 years old, the fruit had darkened in colour a little but it still tasted good
I also found a plain packet of vinnilia biscuits and a packet of jelly crystals so i think a cheesecake had been in the planning at some stage

Ive also been looking into the bottom drawer of the freezer where i keep frozen fruit- i made blueberry banana pancakes on Christmas day and made a blueberry loaf

for new year i just made a strawberry rhubarb cheesecake from fruit i found at the bottom of the freezer, the strawberries were last season and the rhubarb was shrink wrapped from the supermarket, maybe the winter before?
i cooked the fruit into a compot with the juice of an orange

A week before Christmas i examined what i thought was some frozen soup from the end of winter
I usually label and date things but this was a mystery dish of beef and mushrooms
i suspect it was a casserole my other half didn't like (i think it had too much red wine in it)
i managed to hack it in two and i cooked up half with lots of cumin and chillie and added more veges and served it with nachos and the rest im goung to make into a curry next week

Never ever have left over spinach here
We go through at least a bag and a half of frozen spinach a week,

I think the trick is to do regular stock takes of the pantry (and the freezer) and plan a few meals around what you find rather than just cooking up this weeks grocery shop

I had a lot of old dried fruit, i found it in an unopened moving box (we moved 2 years ago) - that stuff keeps for years, so i have been doing festive baking and the fruit plumps up in no time soaked in rum or whiskey but the nuts were all rancid, going to keep those in the freezer from now on

i must confess i did buy new frozen berries for the top but this is my strawberry rhubard cheesecake 20191231_202839.jpg
 
baby monster said:
Fellow spinach lover here. I made a very large pan of creamed spinach today to use up a lot of frozen spinach.
Click to expand...

I told him this year that he had to start looking before just buying a big ol bag... we shall see how long that sticks! :lol: The good is that it freezes well and thankfully we love it (dog will also eat it, I make her food log and utilize it at the main vegetable)

Last night was finger food night and will be until this stuff is gone.

I reached deep in the freezer for a lot of this stuff. He says he never remembers buying this, but I know its not me so......

I found a pack of bacon. Why I don't know but there you are. So I had already had chicken tenders out for grilling. Instead we did a chicken/ancho chile/mango bacon wraps.

There was some weird seafood medly in there in there that I thawed rinsed, seasoned, and baked.

Buffalo meat from who knows when but thankfully wasn't freezer burned, I made a panko meatball with cheese and chilies, put those in the oven too.

And spinach....I did a spinach garlic/ginger/cashew stir fry.

He bought a package of guyabano (never mind we have a freaking tree in the yard) and he swore up and down he would eat. OK whatever.:roll: So I made a guyabano/lemon sherbert.

I won't cook until Friday with all this.

On friday I have to do the dogs food logs. This is how I thankfully keep meat from going to waste so much.
 
@Arcadian , would you mind sharing the recipe for your dog food logs? One of my dogs is almost refusing to eat and we need to start being proactive about it, because she's lost so much weight. (Been to vet several times.)
 
lyra said:
@Arcadian , would you mind sharing the recipe for your dog food logs? One of my dogs is almost refusing to eat and we need to start being proactive about it, because she's lost so much weight. (Been to vet several times.)
Click to expand...

Will dig it out tomorrow.
 
@Arcadian , great use up of all those frozen items.

Finally pulled out a bag of shrimp that has been pushed to the back of the freezer for a while. I bought unpeeled kind by mistake and who has time to defrost, peel and de-vein shrimp in their regular life. But today was the day. I also found a packet of Alfredo mix and made shrimp in spinach Alfredo sauce with pasta. That was the last of frozen spinach in my freezer.

Kids aren't fans of shrimp or Alfredo so I found a box of shells and Velveeta with Feb 2020 expiration date. No idea it was in the back of the pantry. Made it with a bag of frozen broccoli that was sitting next to the shrimp. Wrong purchase again, non-microwavable bag instead of steamable one but I had the time to cook it today. They loved it.

Also pulled out some unidentified dried beans from the pantry. Beans are soaking overnight so rice and beans are on the menu for tomorrow.
 
No pantry challenge here.
Keeping a continuous stock of healthy ingredients and cooking everything from scratch is a top priority for me.

The top priority for most people is sitting while staring at a screen as much as possible, then whining about this result.
We all get what we choose.
 
@lyra These are my measurements and its a book!. I've done this so long that its just easy for me and I know what my dog is getting. Starting out though, its a little hard but well worth it IMO.

Your pup is smaller so don't hesitate to scale it back for your dog (My dog eats roughly 4 cups a day of this + eats turkey necks!). Its different each and every time I make it as its depending on whatever I have already on hand. When feeding this way its also essential to supplement with a good multi. I use Life Extensions Multi for dogs (powder) and I make a bit of a sauce with it and any meaty liquid I have on hand (the other reason to save the stock you make!) Also a good fish oil for healthy omegas. (they all stink and any of them will work)

I had to go back and get the notes because some of this is really important if you're homecooking for your pet.


Protein
Meat: up to 4 cups. if bone is in the meat, separate the meat from the bone. For every cup of meat, you should use only 1/4 cup of bone. Use less for smaller dogs.

You can also do "by products" like chicken gizzards, hearts, liver, kidney, tripe, but don't use too much. For every cup of regular meat, use only 1/4 cup of by product.

Be careful of using canned fish with too much oil can cause stomach upset. Also be aware of salt content of any meat you use. Drain any canned fish, do not use the juice.

Bone/Bone meal:
Remove the bone from the meat when its possible and be sure its bone meal (pulverized) or puree. Bone can be very healthy for dogs but too much can cause constipation. Never add bone that is sharding, can't be broken with fingers, is too bendy, or has sharp edges.

Cooking methods:
For frozen meat I put this in the instant pot with enough liquid to cover and cook for 1.5 -3 hours (or longer, depending on the meat and bones). For slow cooker 8-10 hours on low.

Frozen fish takes a lot less. you can cook fish for 30-60 minutes in an instant pot or 4-6 hours in a slow cooker depending on how much it is. if there's bones, you might need need to remove them if not soft enough that they're mushy. Be careful of certain types of seafood as they can be fatty (they'll taste good however!) Yeah she had squid...lol long story....

Eggs: If I have eggs on hand, use 1-2 pureed (egg shells and all) You have no need of using eggs if you're using bone from another source.


Reserve the stock, you'll need it not only for cooking but sometimes after as a meal topper.

Grains are good, so I add
Rolled Oats: I add a 1/2 to 1 cup of oatmeal
Rice: 1/2 -1 cup of rice

Start small on the oatmeal and rice. If its uncooked, you will need to add some liquid to your final mix so its not hard. If its cooked, you won't need to. depends on your situation.

I did this with groats (whole oats) which have to be really really precooked to death.


All the veggies..a little fruit
Vegetables 8-10 oz: I usually have some mixed vegetables in the freezer . I indeed will use spinach too...lol Can be cooked with your meat if you choose or just put in raw!

Be careful of Legumes, they can cause issues with dogs. You can use them but only used cooked ones, never use canned. Also keep the content low. 1/4 cup to every cup of vegetables. Don't use too much of them and they should not be considered major protein source.

Veggies that I've used without issue; Peas (limited), beets, carrots, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, green beans, corn (limited) spinach, mustard greens, asparagus, turnips, cabbage (she can get a little farty so I keep that low)

Avoid canned vegetables if you can (usually because the sodium can be high), and also be extremely careful of anything that might have lots of sodium, onion or garlic. Too much garlic can be very harmful. Canned tomato is OK, but watch for sodium and any added garlic or onion.

You could puree these vegetables if you want. I would cook them first, then put in food processor.

cranberries: 1/2 cup of dried cranberries. I do cranberries because my dog loves them. You don't need to but they're pretty good for pups use them sparingly because the sugar content. Likewise you can add a fresh apple if you have it. again be careful of the sugar content.

A decent yummy oil
Coconut oil: up to 1/4 cup. I use a good organic non refined oil. mainly for the flavor but it also smells pretty darn yummy.

Mixer da mixer
You will mix everything in a large bowl. If its too stiff, add small amounts of the reserve liquid from the meat until it loosens up. You want it to be able to be formed into a loaf about the consistency of slightly liquid meatloaf without being too liquid. (especially true if you use uncooked grains!) Pour into your baking pan (I will use wax paper on bottom to avoid using oils.

in 325 degree oven:
cook until poked in the middle comes out clean Mine can take an 1 1/2 hours. I cook 2 loaf pans at a time after an hour I check every 30 minutes for doneness. your liquid content will determine how long (more liquid means more cook time) You want to cook low and slow not only because of the vegetables if they're raw but also the oatmeal/rice.

Once done let cool, then cut into serving sizes. This can be frozen without any issues!!

Yes, humans can actually eat this. its not terribly tasty but if you had no other choice, it ain't gonna kill you.
 
Thank you so much @Arcadian. I think this could be helpful with reducing our produce waste, not to mention freezer burnt meat.
 
My husband hated when I used to do that. After a while it became a challenge to see how long I could put off grocery shopping. Now he tends to cook most of his own meals because he needs a lot of protein since he started lifting weights. So I can only torment myself now.
 
I just can't. That means I would have to eat all the brussel sprouts in my freezer and I lost my taste for them.
 
LisaRN said:
I just can't. That means I would have to eat all the brussel sprouts in my freezer and I lost my taste for them.
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Send those my way. Brussel sprouts are #2 vegetable at my house. :lol-2:
 
That’s a fantastic idea. It feels like we eat a very small percentage of what’s in our pantry. But ugh. Where to start???
 
Tonks said:
That’s a fantastic idea. It feels like we eat a very small percentage of what’s in our pantry. But ugh. Where to start???
Click to expand...

This is what I did for my first pantry challenge last year:

1. Pull everything out. There are some gems hiding all the way in the back of the pantry.
2. Separate into 3 groups - A) still edible and will eat, B) still edible but don't want to eat, C) inedible.
3. Group C goes into garbage or compost bin, if you have one.
3. Group B can be donated to a food pantry or shelter, shared with coworkers or extended family.
4. Take inventory of Group A and make a meal plan for a week using only items on hand. Be creative, search recipes by ingredient on Allrecipes, pinterest, foodnetwork, etc.
5. Continue step 4 until you feel your pantry is in good shape.
6. Stop buying food your family doesn't eat.
 
baby monster said:
This is what I did for my first pantry challenge last year:

1. Pull everything out. There are some gems hiding all the way in the back of the pantry.
2. Separate into 3 groups - A) still edible and will eat, B) still edible but don't want to eat, C) inedible.
3. Group C goes into garbage or compost bin, if you have one.
3. Group B can be donated to a food pantry or shelter, shared with coworkers or extended family.
4. Take inventory of Group A and make a meal plan for a week using only items on hand. Be creative, search recipes by ingredient on Allrecipes, pinterest, foodnetwork, etc.
5. Continue step 4 until you feel your pantry is in good shape.
6. Stop buying food your family doesn't eat.
Click to expand...

Thank you!!!
 
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