label/Meal%20Planning

The January Eat from the Pantry Challenge has come to an end and I’ve come to the conclusion that we could eat from our pantry for many months to come!

At the start of the challenge I set some goals I wanted to accomplish:

My Goals in the Challenge:
1.) To inventory items in our pantry and freezer. UPDATE: I’m happy to report that I inventoried both the freezer and the pantry!

2.) To reduce our grocery spending in half, allocating $40 for the month of January. This $40 will be available to purchase eggs, milk, and fresh produce as needed. I’m also allowing myself to purchase items at the grocery store that are free or at “stockpile prices” as long as it doesn’t exceed the $40.00 limit. Update: This was a close one!! After adding up our grocery store receipts the total came to $40.00 even!

3.) Create a monthly meal plan with existing items from our pantry. Update: I accomplished this by participating in Menu Plan Monday.

4.) Donate the other $40 I normally allocate to the grocery budget to a charitable organization (TBD). Update: In light of the Haiti earthquake, our donation was made to Compassion International.

Lastly, because I took the time to inventory the pantry I was able to collect items that I knew we wouldn’t be able to use before they expired. Instead of letting these items expire I made a donation to our church pantry .

Did you survive the Eat from the Pantry Challenge?

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