In 2019, I have been concentrating on three main goals with regards to our food budget.
- Use items that I have stored in the freezer. As the growing season approaches, I need to clear out space in that freezer so that I can get this year's crop in there!
- Use items in my pantry. I have gotten some killer deals on canned veggies, tomatoes, and beans. But, it does me no good to buy it and then not use it, instead heading to the store every time my fresh food stash looks a little lean.
- Keep a lid on my winter grocery bill. Our total food/household budget must average no more than $450 a month. This includes our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share, all food, plus household necessities like shampoo, toilet paper, napkins, garbage bags, etc.
In January, I bought a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share membership for $600 and a farm produce card to the same local organic farm for an additional $100.
So, I started the year already having already spent $700 of my grocery
money. After I subtracted this amount, it left me with just $390 per
month for both food and household items - for five people (six when our
oldest is home from college). Remember, I have four sons, all of whom
have very healthy appetites!
From May to October, our CSA share
allows us to pick up a bushel basket of food every single week from a
local organic farmer. So, during the 25 week growing season, my $390 per
month food/household budget is a piece of cake! However, in the winter, when we
no longer have a weekly influx of fresh produce, my budget
quickly gets out of control.
I have often justified my crazy grocery spending during the first three months of the year, by saying, "Well, we need to eat!" But, I have discovered that If I overspend in the first quarter of the year, hoping to spend less during the growing season, thus making up the difference, it never works. I am constantly "Robbing Peter to pay Paul!"
So, this year, I decided ahead of time that I would take measures to insure that I was not overspending on food. Thus, my self-imposed "bulk cook-from-the-pantry" challenge.
Is it working?
Thanks for asking! It's going quite well! Here are my actual totals!
January - $244.84!
February - $309.57
I am a happy camper! These are two months which traditionally hit $500-$600 for us!
One good thing about me is that once I see that a game plan is paying financial dividends, I am "all in"! Bulk cooking works!
January - $244.84!
February - $309.57
I am a happy camper! These are two months which traditionally hit $500-$600 for us!
One good thing about me is that once I see that a game plan is paying financial dividends, I am "all in"! Bulk cooking works!
In case you missed this month's bulk pantry cooking posts:
Here's the post of Week #1 bulk pantry cooking day.
Here's week #2 where I share three food prep tips guaranteed to save you money!
This week:
My fridge was, clearly, once again, nearly empty. So, it was time to get creative and clear out some more space in that pantry and freezer.
Here's the all the fresh food I had on hand.
- 2 celery stalks
- 2 carrots
- 1 medium onion
- 4 heads of garlic
- 1/2 a large jar of unsweetened applesauce
- 8 sweet potatoes
- 1 pound of mushrooms
- 1 pound fresh spinach
- bottled lemon juice
Was I depressed? Well, ... a little. 😁 But, I forged ahead, grabbing two cookbooks off the shelf.
The 14 year old sous chef sat down with me, pen and paper in hand and we got to work! I had to pull more from the pantry and the freezer than last week. But, that's the goal, isn't it?
What other ingredients did I add?
Here's a list of everything I grabbed from my pantry and my freezer.
(This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. Thank you. When you click on the product links you will be taken directly to a link, showing you my recommendations.)
Pantry
- apple cider vinegar
- flour
- cornmeal
- date syrup (Be sure the label reads "dates only" with no added sugar)
- red vine vinegar
- tomato sauce
- diced tomatoes
- 2 pounds dried black beans
- Vegan low-sodium vegetable broth cubes
- ketchup
- mustard
- oats
- tomato paste
- brown rice
- low sodium soy sauce (Coconut Aminos are great too!)
- 1 can pineapple
- baking powder
- baking soda
- sugar
- chia seeds
- vanilla extract (Here's my post on how to make your own!)
- walnuts
- hazelnuts
- 1 1/2 pounds brown lentils
- LOTS of herbs and spices
Freezer
- broccoli
- mixed veggies
- sliced summer squash
- cilantro
- sliced jalapeno peppers
- grated zucchini
- banana peppers
- roasted squash cubes
- leftover roasted red pepper sauce
- greens
*Most of these items were items from last summer's growing season.
For detailed instructions on how to preserve produce, read my three-part
series on "putting food by for winter".
What did we make?
Soups:
Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
Everything Minstrone
Ethiopian Stew
Entrees:
Quick Burgers
Tropical Sweet-n-Spicy Lentil Burgers
(This is my recipe and it is one of my favorites! You can download a free PDF here.)
Chickpeas and roasted red pepper sauce over brown rice
Breads:
Cornbread
Zucchini Muffins
We added strawberries and they turned out a little too moist. But, the taste was amazing!
Side Dish:
Broccoli Pasta Salad
(The 14 year old sous chef and I just made this one up as we went along).
Life Lessons:
I am learning that although I often feel that there is no food in the house and no ingredients with which to make dishes, that's not really true. Instead of running to the store, I am learning to see what I have on hand and use it! It's really quite emotionally freeing, not to mention monetarily freeing!
What about you? Do you bulk cook? Have you ever tracked exactly how much money it is saving you each month? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Hope
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