Day 1: Kielbasa hash (with bell peppers from frozen supply)
Day 2: Easy gluten free meatballs with homemade pasta sauce (from frozen supply), Herb potato salad
Day 3: Homemade pizza, Carrot sticks
Day 4: Basic Whole Roasted Chicken, Roasted root vegetables with garlic thyme dressing
Day 5: Creamy carrot soup, Pumpkin date muffins
Day 6: Winter squash pancakes with maple butter (from frozen supply), Fruit smoothie
Day 7: Grandma’s goulash
Notes: Shop Your Pantry
Using your pantry is a great way to save money and prevent food waste. I like to stock up on staples when they are on sale. These are the things that can be used in a lot of recipes and know I will use in the future, like beans, diced tomatoes, pureed pumpkin, potatoes, and carrots. But, sometimes I forget that I actually have to use the food!
Last week when I was unloading groceries I noticed I was having trouble packing the cans and jars away. That was my clue to go through what I have on hand and plan my meals this week around my pantry. I consider my freezer to be an extension of my pantry too, so I peeked inside to see what needs to be eaten up.
The awesome thing about a pantry dump every once in a while is that my grocery list is really short and I only spent 15 minutes shopping today!
Make this a habit for your meal planning too. Start looking in your pantry and freezer, then make a note of what has been sitting in there for awhile and come up with a meal to use it. If you come across something you bought on a whim and don’t think you will ever eat it, take it out and bag it up to drop at a food pantry.
Money saved, food averted from the landfill, less time in the grocery store, delicious meals, and food for others in need. Pantry shopping is worth a few minutes of your time!
