This means battening down the hatches, using up leftovers, and looking to reduce the amount of stuff we own down as little as possible - including our food!
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| Check out all of our boxes. |
So for these last couple of weeks I have challenged myself to get rid of as much of our food supply as humanly possible and to try to prepare all of our dinners with NO trips to the grocery store. You heard me, I said NONE!
It came to mind that perhaps this is a good ritual for many people to go through. It can reduce your food budget for a week, teach thrift skills, encourage you to try new recipes, and teach you to be less wasteful. And... maybe I'm just a masochist, but I found it rather fun!
The Empty Your Cupboards Challenge!
Steps
- Inventory all of your food right down to the last bottle of ketchup. Yes this takes time, yes it is a little annoying, but it will help you reduce waste and make it easier for you to plan. Also, take this time to empty your cupboards, fridge, and freezer of all expired and old food.
- Prepare a Meal Planning Sheet. This does not have to be pretty, or organized in any specific way. Simply write down the days you want to cover with this meal plan and leave space to write in your menu. See mine below.
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| Not pretty, but it works. See my calculations? Hint: Do not try to multiply past midnight, it does not go well... |
- Find Main Dish Ingredients on your Inventory. Get creative with this. Main dishes are not just meat! Think outside the meat and carbs box. Think of all of those things you intended to use for something or other and then never did. Now Circle Them!
- Start with foods with a close expiration. I had most of a rotisserie chicken left in my fridge. Wonderful, but it needed to be used quickly! Therefore the first few meals on my list involved this item. First, I de-boned and shredded it all. Half became terriyaki chicken. They other half was seasoned to make chicken tacos.
- Look to the Freezer. Freezer items should be used up second as they won't expire as quickly but are very difficult to transport during a move without going bad. I had a lot of frozen veggies and some chicken nuggets.
- Examine Your Cans. These are the last items that need to go. They can be transported pretty easily but also will not expire and can go to a food bank if not used up. I had some black beans, tomato sauce, and a few other goodies.
- Check it Off! As you figure out each meal, go through your inventory and check of every ingredient you will use. For example I plan to make falafel in a few days. This uses bulgar wheat, chickpeas, tahini, my remaining lime, leftover hummus, yeast, flour, and oil for the homemade pitas, and oil for frying the patties. As I grabbed the recipe I checked all of the ingredients off of my list.
- Make a Scramble. On the last day of your meal plan, especially if your goal is to use it all, make a scramble. This takes remaining ingredients such as potatoes, lunch meat, and frozen veggies and turns it into a meal. To do this: Toss everything you think will be good with eggs in a pan with a little oil, heat, beat your remaining eggs (I suggest 6-9) and add them to the mix, stir gently till cooked through. Enjoy! My scramble will have prosciutto, frozen hash brown potatoes, and leftover frozen veggies.
- Eat your Goodies! We all have that bag of marshmallows, half a thing of sorbet, a bottle of wine that we have been saving for the right time. Well this is it! Use them! But in moderation. Share with your family members and friends, and if you overindulge, start packing some boxes to work up a sweat!
- Enjoy! Even though you are being frugal, make delicious food when you can. Our meal plan involves Terriyaki chicken, chicken tacos, carrot soup, sausage, kale and potato soup, gyros, pancakes and lots of our favorites. It doesn't have to be bland just because you are using up leftovers. Get creative and make it good. If you have any questions on how to use something please make a comment, I relish a challenge!
Ok so I will go to the store before I leave, but only for a few staples like bread and milk which my husband lives on. Other than that, I think it will be a successful experiment! I'll post pictures of whatever is left at the end, and I hope that it isn't much!
