The September challenge is a dare to eat your pantry!
If you are like us, you have things in your pantry that have been there a while. Foods that have been sitting there for months (or years!) because we lack the imagination and creativity to turn them into dinner.
When I stand at the pantry door and exclaim that there is nothing to eat, what I really mean is that there is nothing I want to eat.
This month we are going to clean out our pantry the old fashioned way, by actually eating the food we have. We expect to see our grocery bill to go down, and maybe even learn a thing or two about contentment while we're at it.
And by actually eating the food, we insure it won't come to the end of it's safe shelf life while still sitting on a shelf.
Obviously there will have to be some exceptions. We don't plan to use up the almond extract of corn starch. But the three different types of dried beans I've had for, well, um, ages? We'll be eating them this month. Even though I hate beans. (Don't ask why somebody who hates beans has three types of them in her pantry...I can't explain it.)
Will you join us? Will you commit to eating those beans and lentils and split peas in your pantry this month?
If you're planning to take the plunge with us, I've made a banner (it's 300 x 300px) for you to display on your own blog. Just cut and paste the code below.
<a
href="http://theyearofless.blogspot.com/2012/08/announcing-september-monthly-challenge.html"target="”_blank”"><img
src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-UJPG6gpRMfQ0kHIAU9YSfz7nHAgcRawWi5fYJi-tRM43sdNzoAhOCn3pNXWrYwcXchk_efRxTQ56w7JIKLA9-_BkMc-kPx7-AlL-x1C9AESNjgH8SX3kkkY4D-v9W8CCjdt4CzsztYw/s300/pantry%2520banner%2520300.png"
/></a>
OR
You can let all of your friends on facebook know that you are taking the challenge by visiting this photo that I've uploaded to our facebook page and clicking the "share" button!
OR
You can let all of your friends on facebook know that you are taking the challenge by visiting this photo that I've uploaded to our facebook page and clicking the "share" button!
Thanks so much for taking this challenge together with us! We can't wait!
Great minds think alike! I was JUST saying to my friend the other day that we should do this.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm in.
And I have some barley and some red umm, what are they called, lentils, in my pantry.
And almost a kilo of some sort of white fish fillets in the freezer.
I totally relate to your "there is no food I want to EAT" comment.
Here's to an interesting September!
You have to post the most surprising dinners :)
Ieva
Hmmm....I keep a 6 month stock pile in case my husband gets laid off..while it would be fun to do I think we would eat too much lol.
ReplyDeleteWe live on a very tight income so we eat our pantry every week. I won't buy more until it's gone. Some times the kids complain, but if they're hungry they'll eat anything I put in front of them. I really love all your posts.
ReplyDeleteWe eat our pantry every two weeks. I was tired of throwing away expired, stale or unused food. We now make a menu considering what's on sale that week, buy those supplies and use them.
ReplyDeleteWe do this one month of the year every year! It works great and it does lower the grocery bill! I'm in for doing it this month!
ReplyDeleteEating my beans..... what a challenge for me too! I'm with you :)
ReplyDelete*** I love your blogs by the way :o)
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas-even my dad loved them.
ReplyDeleteYes. Yes, i will. I have 8 kinds of beans in my pantry that we never eat! :) Thanks for this, it's a great idea.
ReplyDeleteI'm def. going to try it. My husband and I just got our first place about 4 months ago, but we've already got food that I'm going "ugh, why did we buy that? It's just going to sit there!" so I'll try throwing it down for dinner and see how it goes! Thanks so much for your blog, your amazing!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely going to try this. My husband and I have already planned a trip this Friday to go around to different farms in the greater Niagara region to pick up some beautiful fresh produce this province is known for. I usually like to store some in the freezer for the winter months so this will work well with all of the beans, lentils, barley, pasta, etc. already in our cupboards. I might try and extend this for two months! Thanks for the inspiration!!
ReplyDeleteI've been saying "I should do that" for awhile now, thank you for this well timed challenge. I'll update my progress at http://forallilearned.blogspot.ca/ as the month progresses. I'm imagining some interesting meals as we eat through our freezers and pantries!
ReplyDeleteI don't know that we'll eat entirely out of our pantry, but with fall around the corner I'm definitely up for using up some of our pasta and rice. That and breading supplies are our biggest space hoggers in the pantry. I just found a stuffed pepper recipe that's been a hit in my house, so I have a feeling using up the rice won't be an issue. :)
ReplyDeleteBrittny
Bsnovelwritingblog.blogspot.com
I recently cleaned my pantry and was horrified with the amount of food in it, yet we often have "nothing" to eat for dinner. This is a great challenge!
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking that I need to do this again. I'm on board! Thanks for the push!
ReplyDeleteHaha... We just moved across country at the end of July (and also at the end of *last* July). It's like an automatic pantry challenge every year! :-)
ReplyDeleteSeriously- I know everyone else is saying this, but whatev- we are true kindred spirits!! I just told my husband last night that I wanted to save 300 between now and Nov, when we are buying a 1/4 cow, and so the only way I saw that happening was saving our food budget by eating from our pantry. Yay!!
ReplyDeleteSOOOOOO excited!! I have it on my todo list to take an inventory- or rather, update the one I had.
Also, as a side note from the last challenge...didn't reply to your question about how it went. I already do that, particularly in the summer to keep the electric bill lower since we have ac on. It was rough a couple of times, because we need to get an indoor hangy thing.
In the last few months we had to do this and I was surprised at how much I had in my pantry. We moved recently and I had thrown out anything we wouldn't use or that was out of date. Right after that, we were low on funds, so I shopped in my pantry and made meals. For that whole month, we made do with what we had on hand with only a few additions. However, two months later, I am still building my pantry back up. Each night when I go to make dinner I am usually surprised by not having what I need that I would always have had. It really speaks to my lack of planning. Good luck with your pantry - just don't forget to restock! =)
ReplyDeleteAwesome challenge! I always try to do this but I lack inspiration for certain things. I am planning to use the pinto beans I've had in my pantry for several months now... Hopefully they turn out- I've never cooked with pinto beans before....
ReplyDeleteYes!! We regularly spend more on groceries than our mortgage, and that's just for 2 adults and 1 toddler! It's crazy and must be stopped.
ReplyDeleteWe are going on vacation in the middle of September for my birthday (an extended family member owns a penthouse condo on the Atlantic Ocean side of Florida) but I am planning to pack a lot of food from the pantry to take with us. We'll be eating 100% from the pantry before and after though. I'm ready for the challenge.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I was just thinking about wanting to eat out the pantry and freezer. Thanks for the motivation! Happy pantry-eating!
ReplyDelete-Sandy
I go through our pantry a couple of times a year and if there are things getting close to expiration, I ship it off to the local food pantry - what goes in there goes out quickly to families who will use it. Some expired items we still eat (when in doubt throw it out) - they are perfectly fine and we haven't gotten sick yet! I try to write expiration dates on the tops or sides of items nice and big with a marker so I use the oldest items first. That helps a lot and only takes a little time. I like to keep stockpiled though, because you never know what might happen in the world these days.
ReplyDeletecrazy!! i JUST made an announcement that I am doing an "inventory reduction" this week and only menu planning from stuff in my cupboards. I am sooo excited that this is the next challenge!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I was just talking to my husband about doing a pantry and freezer inventory this week.I am planning to save that food money for our gardening projects next year as well as for Christmas this year. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteOh, I need to do this one so bad. Canned or boxed food that I absolutely will probably never ever cook or eat---will be donated to the local food pantry.
ReplyDeleteActually started on this on Sunday. Fed my husband and two grown sons Sunday dinner on things entirely already purchased either in the freezer or the pantry. Did the same for my husband and I yesterday. Today for lunch I fed my daughter, grandson, husband and I from things in the pantry too. So far this week only purchased a 2 gallons of milk and a loaf of bread. If I can find some time I have all the makings for some homemade bread. I love making meals with food that is already purchased.
ReplyDeleteWe have done this in the past and desperately need to do it now, but being pregnant the feeling I get when just looking at some items just isn't worth it - maybe when I hit the 2nd trimester I can join you all late!!
ReplyDeleteWe're more or less doing that, starting this month, and moving on into next month. Definitely on board. Just remember that beans really don't have a forever shelf-life, and after a year or so (usually longer, but it can happen that soon), may not cook well anymore. You'll know if this has happened if you cook them for a long time and they never soften up. You can try adding a little baking soda, but if that doesn't work either, your beans are probably just too old. But still good for planting, and always good for composting!
ReplyDeleteHa, I was *just* thinking about doing this. We want to have a super-low grocery budget this month for a variety of reasons. I'm totally in for this one.
ReplyDeletenice to know others do this too! we get paid once a month so we shop once a month. i always plan meals for 3 weeks and then we clean out the pantry/freezer for the 4th week. i call it "kitchen hodge-podge" and it makes for some very fun stuff indeed!
ReplyDeleteI'll join in where I can. We don't have a lot of protein stockpiled, just random side type things. And we have a birthday and the High Holy Days this month. I will do my best to eat up the soup and canned chickpeas and make the hibiscus tea and whatever else has been sitting in there for far too long. Thank you for this! I spend way too much on groceries.
ReplyDeleteI am making some crazy southern dish with pinto beans, in my crock pot. I am completely amazed by the amazingly comforting smell in my house right now!! Thanks for the inspiration:)
ReplyDeleteI am making some crazy southern dish with pinto beans, in my crock pot. I am completely amazed by the amazingly comforting smell in my house right now!! Thanks for the inspiration:)
ReplyDeleteAnyone know what to do with Almond butter? (other than put it on sandwiches, I don't particularly like the taste of it) My dad gave me a jar but I have know clue what to do with it. I've heard of putting it in smoothies, but I would want to cover up the taste with another flavor, not sure how to do that. Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteExcellent on toast!
Deletealmond butter cookies!
DeleteCould it be that your almond butter is bad? I always have almond butter on hand and I really like it but bought a jar one time and it was rancid. Tasted terrible.
DeleteI'm excited to find this blog and take up the challenge. I'm amending the challenge to include our extra freezer. My hubby gets us 3 deer a year and hunting season is around the corner.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea plus it will help meget back on track with my commitment to even make dinner! I'm totally in.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting geared up for this challenge! I generally try to plan a meal or two a week based on what we have in our tiny pantry, but it gets tough trying to be creative so as not to eat the same thing all the time! I'll have to extend it to my freezer and use up all those goodies, too!
ReplyDeleteI would love some recipe ideas!
ReplyDeleteI just love your blog so much. I have literally read every post and am feeling awfully inspired. I have grabbed a button and am keen to try out this challenge- since I couldn't do last months challenge as I don't own a dryer so it's a bit defeating giving up something you don't even have anyway:)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading more about how you eat your pantry.
Lisa @ The thrifty challenge.
With school getting back this week, and I have a few extra days off work, I am totally excited to do this pantry challenge. I have SOOO many beans and want to use them up so badly. Being a single mom of 2 teens, makes for some challenges in meal planning. But I look forward to cleaning out my pantry this month. Can't wait.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about doing this for months now! So ... I'll be challenging myself to eat our pantry in September, too. Love your blog; I'm finding some great inspiration here.
ReplyDeleteI'm joining in on the challenge today on my blog. Your post convicted me about my discontentment with our food options, especially when I'm looking for a snack. Today's pantry eating challenge is to finally finish those apples that have been sitting in the fridge for three weeks now.
ReplyDeleteI love following this blog:) It's been really convicting and inspiring for both me and my husband. Keep it up!
Shelby @ www.thelittlemother.com
I, like another person that posted, have a huge stock pile of food and could not do this challenge. I'm an extreme couponer and well....no, too much food to try and eat, even with there being 5 of us. However, I like many others can stand in the middle of all that food and not have a clue what to make. A site that I just found is great for this. You put the foods you have in your "pantry", "fridge" or wherever you keep it and it will give you a recipe. The site is www.myfridge.com. It does all the work for you, well other than cooking it. Hope this helps some of you who feel like you have to many odds and ends type of food and how could you possibly make a meal out of that. Turns out you really can! Good luck :)
ReplyDeleteWe do this weekly! I don't even have a pantry. Our kitchen is so small. We did a program called War on debt and paid off over 39k in 13 months. And we did that by not wasting anything and cutting back on wasting money on food. We only spend $400 a month now for groceries for a family of five and a dog. :)
ReplyDeleteYou've motivated me to do something that's been on my heart the past month. To keep myself honest and motivated I blogged about it http://organized31.blogspot.com/2012/09/organize-your-pantry-by-using-up-food.html
ReplyDeleteAnd promised to post another picture after a month. I've pledge to eat or donate most of my pantry, leaving only what we would eat by the end of the year. Thanks for giving me the push I needed.
My husband continously says and tells other people that we have no food in the house. Then why does it continue to buy stuff that sits on the shelf, way pass the expiration date by atleast a year, until I throw it out. Well recently he said it and I do not plan on buying anything until the pantry is used up. I was brought up using the pantry, not having a grocery store in the pantry. Glad to hear that I am not alone! Thanks for giving us the idea!
ReplyDeleteLook up Cowboy Caviar on a food site and you will use up your beans -- you really can use any kind of beans in it -- and your corn too! The kids will eat and love it too! Some people make it as a dip for chips, but I make it as a salad to go witwh meals. It is a sweet-sour bowl of yumminess!
ReplyDeleteLooks like I stumbled upon your blog a month late. I already had plans of doing the same thing for the next 3 months. Oct, Nov, and Dec seem to be the most expensive months for us and I definitely want to eat out of our pantry and only buy whats absolutely necessary. I'm glad to hear that there are others out there thinking the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI also stumbled onto this blog late, but I think we will do this for October. I just reorganized the pantry the other day, so I am well aware of what we have available. There should be some interesting, but good, meals coming up over the next few weeks.
ReplyDelete