Welcome! For those of you who are new to Meal Planning, go to my “Meal Planning” tab here to help you out while you are getting started – lots of great resources.
This is the last week of my month-long Pantry Challenge and I have to honestly say, for me it has only been hard in letting deals pass by. We have had plenty of choices for meals, and very few times have I felt like we could have hit the grocery store to finish out a meal. If I can do that for a whole month and not feel restricted, we clearly needed to do it. Mainly because we had plenty of stockpile to pull from. I did worry about depleting our stockpile only to be left with lots to replenish at higher prices, but I feel confident that we aren’t in that position.
I will be going to the Food Lion store closing sale this week, because this isn’t a cyclical event, it is a one time sale! Again, we have plenty, so my main goal with this trip is to be able to donate more. I will look for some items for our stockpile, but mainly I will be searching out free and inexpensive items to donate to some families we sponsor and to give to local food banks.
So, how about you? How has your Pantry Challenge been going this month? If you haven’t participated, has any of this encouraged you to start one in February? Be sure to join me next Tuesday, February 2nd for a Provisions Prep Day. I will be preparing foods to freeze for meals, snacks and just taking the chance to get some prep work done that will make the next few weeks smooth for me in the house. I will post my master plan for you on Monday so you can see what my schedule will look like.
What about you, what is on your meal plan this week??
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Meal Plan for the week of January 25th:
Sunday:
(Lunch) Leftovers
(Dinner) Community Group Dinner Out
Monday: Northern Beans, Corn Bread, green salad
Tuesday: Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff, steamed broccoli, garlic bread
Wednesday: Beef & Broccoli with brown rice
Thursday: Crockpot Beef Ribs (not sure what having with them, any ideas?)
Friday : Dinner out
Saturday: Butternut Squash Penne, garden salad, whole wheat bread
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Lunches:
Tuna and Turkey Sandwiches w/ applesauce
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, oranges
PB&J, applesauce
Black Bean Burgers, steak fries
Leftovers – Chicken Stroganoff, northern beans, beef & broccoli
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Breakfast:
freezer waffles w/ strawberries
strawberry smoothie, whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter
cereal, whole wheat toast w/ jelly
breakfast burrito (egg, cheese, & salsa)
egg sandwich w/ cheese, fruit
oatmeal, whole wheat toast, oranges
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Snacks:
homemade popcorn or mini-pouches
smoothies
apples w/ peanut butter
go-gurts (frozen)
string cheese
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:: Check out more menu planning ideas here.
What meals are you planning this week? Any tips on how to easily meal plan? Whether or not you posted your meal plan for the week, please take a moment to leave your ideas in a comment. Let’s help each other out in sticking to our budgets!
I thought this month would be hard but I have a freezer full of beef and a stockpile in my pantry and I haven’t been running to the store every week like I usually do. My grocery bill has gone down considerably plus I am seeing the light of day in the pantry! I still have plenty to get me through this week (and more). What a great idea!
Made the Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff with leg quarters I was needing to use up last week. Cooked them a little longer to account for more weight and it was fabulous. Did take a little work to get it all off the bone and pull the bones out, BUT you can use a little creativity and STILL make things work!
Ribs….sounds like you need some sweet potato fries with that and my simple broc/caul salad. Cut into florets (how ever many you want), marinate in fat free Italian dressing (Aldi’s doesn’t separate) for a couple of hours. Sprinkle servings with shredded cheese. This was the first way my kids would ever eat these veggies. You can also add some papers for color…we’re trying to conquer this area…can eat them cooked but not raw yet.
Will you be posting the master list NEXT Monday? I want to make sure I don’t miss it and have time to go to the store.
Holly, I will be posting my Master List next Monday, Feb 1.
I have been eating from the pantry this month and it hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be. Setting our own individual “rules” at the beginning made it easier for me. I’m pleased with how much we were able to clean out of the freezer by making meals from those bits and pieces of food I had saved!
.-= Tracey´s last blog ..A First Image of God =-.
What a great challenge! I’ve got enough food to keep going for another month (or at least a partial month). Once I finish, I plan to go to OAMC!
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Eat from the Pantry Challenge Update 1/25 =-.
Well, I am away on business this week so am off the hook for a few days! But you’re meal plan sounds great.
.-= Chris´s last blog ..Bridgestone Motorcycle Tires =-.
I took the pantry challenge this month, and it has gone surprisingly well! I am single and always on a tight budget, so my challenge was to see if I could make it the whole month without buying ANY groceries! This was especially tricky as I had used up my milk and most of my produce before visiting my parents over Christmas.
I really wasn’t sure how it would go, but I had a couple things in my favor:
1. Babysitting jobs (meaning I eat at other people’s houses a lot)
2. A well stocked freezer and pantry
Surprisingly, January turned into a quest of how I could make rice interesting. And it was more successful than I thought. It also helped me stick to a diet, as there was little in the fridge to tempt me. Late last week there was a great sale at Dominicks, and I broke down and bought some cheap produce, and yesterday I used some coupons that would expire at the end of the month to replenish my spaghetti sauce (which was completely gone).
Ultimately I resonate with much of what you said, that there was actually far more food in my house than I realized, and it was a wonderful exercise in using it up and acknowledging the blessings I already have.