Pantry Challenge week 3

The first 2 weeks of January were very easy to do this challenge. Not much going on. No hospital runs. Your basic run of the mill life. The next week was a little harder, but not too much. This week has basically ruined any chance I had of staying on this Pantry Challenge and really make a good go of it.

My grandma was at the er on Monday. IV fluids, some tests, and then discharged. We are back again. This time is a little more serious. She will be here at least overnight if not more. So lots of convenience food will be bought and eaten. Hospital food will be slurped down. Dr Pepper will be consumed via IV. Chocolate will be hidden in all hiding places and some new ones shall be found!

I must also admit that we eat out about once a week. Grandma could live on it every single day. She likes to buy for us. So sometimes I let her. But I digress. I have spent $200 this month on food and household supplies. That is very, very good for us. This challenge has gotten my creative juices flowing again in the cooking department. They had all but dried up. I have cleaned out all the cabinets in the kitchen and consequently we have used up a lot of those little things that hide out in the corners.

I still have lots of frozen veggies and fish in the freezer. I have seen lots of pins on Pinterest for roasted veggies. I think I will try some of those. Still need some ideas for the fish. Fish is not my favorite. However saving money is so the fish will be eaten. Brown Bear has a smoker that he wants to try the fish in.

Proverbs 31 Living is doing this pantry challenge also but has taken it a step farther. Her family is pretending they are caught in a blizzard so they are avoiding the stores and trying to use only what they have on hand. This was brought on by reading the Little House on the Prairie series with her children. After reading this I was so thankful that I have a 24 hour Wal-Mart close (even though I hate Wal-Mart!).

We have eaten just about everything up that we can without getting a few more things. I do plan on making granola this week. I have also been making bread that you mix up and then let it rise in the fridge overnight. You can bake it the next day. It has turned out perfect every time! What a great alternative to store bought bread. Alas the flour is all used up so we have been eating lots of leftovers for lunch.

One thing Abi mentioned was having snacks available for her kiddos to help with that feeling of not being deprived. I have found that this is very important for my kids too. If they don't have snack stuff they just prowl the house looking for something to eat. Most of them like popcorn. The one that hates it, really hates it. So he is usually the crankiest of the them all. This is a good piece of advice if you are trying to stick to a budget. HAVE SNACKS PEOPLE!