Several of the youtubers I watch always do a pantry challenge for the month of January. Some seem to be extending it through February this year. It’s a great time to go through the pantry and use up what’s there that needs to be used.
Vince and I had a discussion today about buying groceries. He loves to go to the store and I do not. But, when I go, I go with a list and if something isn’t on my list, it has to be pretty exciting for me to buy it. Vince, on the other hand, will buy ANYTHING. He came home the other day with two boxes of pasta mixes – he never looked at the ingredients or the nutrition info. The sodium and carbs were enough to make me cringe. I told him . . these are being donated. I am not cooking them and you are not eating them. There are quite a few things like that in the pantry. He buys it, and I stick it in the pantry and never use it so once a year, I’ll go through everything in there, donate anything that hasn’t expired and toss the rest. I think the one thing that I’m going to dislike using the most is some canned salmon . . not home canned . . storebought canned. I don’t even know why we bought it but I’m going to cook it.
Some will not buy anything but “pantry” to me doesn’t include milk, salads or fresh veggies. We have canned and frozen veggies, as well as some fresh veggies.
I will keep a list of what we buy and I’ll share it at the end of January and then I’ll decide if I want to go into February.
Elle says
I have an ask. I have about 6 packages of vacuum sealed blanched fava beans in the freezer. How do you use them? Hub isn’t a fan and they come in our CSA every year.
I spend the winter attempting to empty the freezer until garden production begins. Jan 1 and it is stuffed to the gills. I don’t even have room for flash frozen sockeye salmon from Alaska right now (local family fishes the season and comes home to sell).
Cheers to a happy and healthier 2024!
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Fava beans is not something I’ve cooked but hopefully someone else will see this and help you out.
It’s amazing how quickly those freezers fill up and how long it takes to empty them. It seems I have to cook and cook and cook before I see any space opening up in the freezer.
Roberta says
I’m in for the pantry challenge. I even have my own can of the dreaded salmon as well, and yes, hubby bought it!!
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Find us a good recipe and let’s get it out of the pantry. I’m afraid to look but I actually think I have 4 or 5 cans of it because why buy one can when you can buy 6. I did make something with it and it was awful.
Joyce says
My mother always made salmon salad. I know it had crushed up crackers in it and vinegar. I’m not exactly sure what else went in it. Once in a while I made salmon cakes. I generally use the recipe I use for crab cakes (which are sooooo much better than salmon cakes.) I’m trying to do my own freezer/pantry challenge. I bought so much stuff during covid, and I haven’t been good about using it up. The drawer in my deep freeze is so full I’m going to really have to work at it to get it to open. Ugh.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
Thanks. I’ll look at crab cake recipes. Yes, it’s easy to accumulate and hard to use it all. I’m pretty good . . not perfect . . about not buying things on my list and checking the pantry before going to the store but when Vince goes, he buys whatever he sees. He came home with canned cranberry sauce the other day. When fresh cranberries are on sale, I buy a lot and make and can the best cranberry sauce. He forgot! 🙂
Rosalie says
Judy, even if your food has passed its expiration date please donate it. Good pantries have a much more flexible dating system- or ask them before tossing food.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
The places I know of here won’t take it if it’s past the best by date. I had checked when I was unpacking things brought from Texas that had stayed in the boxes a little too long.
Marie L. says
My mother would make salmon salad the same way she made tuna salad, onion, pickles, celery, apple, boiled egg and mayonnaise.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
It’s funny/weird that I love sardines and canned tuna but I don’t think I will ever learn to love canned salmon. I’ll try though!