Post-Challenge Pantry Assessment

After two months of making a genuine effort to use on-hand items first, I have finally made a dent in the dry pantry and freezer.  I can find things now, and hardly ever need a step ladder (except to get a better angle for the photo).  I even got all of the home-canned goods into a single cabinet!  No more going down the hall for pie filling.

This does not mean I'm back to my old habit of four days of food in the house.  I wish, but that just isn't practical these days.  I still have a whole chicken, a lamb roast, and way more bacon than I was expecting in the freezer and about 20 servings of assorted plant-based proteins in the pantry.  There's still weeks of various kinds of rice and a month of oatmeal.  I have four kinds of wheat-based flours and five of other grains or nuts.  I have whole nuts and peanut butter as additional proteins, and a winter garden for fresh greens and herbs.  And there are still several cans of meat and other ready to eat foods in case the power goes out and I don't feel like hunting for someplace that's open.

All that the two months of pantry challenge did inventory-wise was get rid of several rarely-used items and allow me to organize what's left.

It did give me a better idea of how long things last.  I put a sticker on the new container of coffee when I opened it to learn exactly how long it would take to go through one that size.  I don't remember how many eggs I had at the beginning of January, but I didn't run out that first month.  Ok, I did also have a pint of egg whites, but I wasn't rationing either of them.  I also didn't run out of sliced bread, probably because I made an effort to eat the Chef Boyardee for lunch instead of grilled cheese.

I wasn't going to do any kind of grocery haul, but recent world events changed my mind.  Mostly, it was reasonably priced meat that has since been broken down into freezer baggies, including chicken thighs for what I want to make for Seder and a chuck roast for corned beef.  I realized that I don't like canned vegetables for the most part and bought frozen instead.  I didn't buy much in the bean/pulse/legume family, as I'm still doing quite well.  I'm going to have to play Tetris with the kitchen freezer when it comes time to do the annual chest freezer defrost.  And the word "haul" is relative.  Cooking for one person who doesn't eat a whole lot, that was less than $80 for two months of long-term items.

There was some serious sticker shock when I did start going down aisles I had not visited yet this year.  Over $3 for a dozen eggs, assuming they were even in stock.  Most other items were 20¢ more than I was used to.  The online coupons are not as good.  And oatmeal is up 30%.  I'm going to have to get creative with that one.  The brand I found at the 99¢ Store is passable, so I bought two pounds.  One advantage of prepping and cooking for a later date is that you can postpone the effects of inflation while looking for better options.  And the 99¢ Store is underrated for produce.  Less variety and often smaller product, but it's still safe and delicious.

One change I might continue is meal-planning a month at a time.  It allows me to take advantage of sales on items that I might be using a couple of weeks down the line.  I can see how pantry items interact, and not schedule two similar meals near each other.  It also keeps me from wandering the grocery aisles looking for inspiration, which leads to unnecessary purchases.

I really suspect I'll be doing some form of Pantry Challenge through May, with the one-week hiatus for Passover.  It just won't be as obvious.  Maybe more asterisks on ingredients than average, but there will be one item I've bought just for that recipe.  I'm able to skip one freezer stock-up I had planned, since the avocado embargo with Mexico only lasted a week.  I don't even use avocados that much, but had intended to freeze some in case this dragged on past Cinco de Mayo.  Maybe I'll do a post then with any leftover avocados I might have bought.