What to Eat During a Pantry Challenge? Week of 3-19-18

The month of March is dedicated to a month-long pantry challenge! I’ve committed to spending only $25 a week on fresh produce, milk, and eggs for the whole month of March. Curious about what to buy on a pantry challenge? Read on to find out, and click here to sign up and join me!

We’re officially over halfway through the pantry challenge! How are you all doing?

I have to admit I’m getting a little frazzled. Mostly with my darling daughter who lives on crackers and pretzels for snack time, and we’re all out. I’ve been trying really hard to avoid buying anything besides fresh food, so I did a search for homemade crackers. Luckily, I came across an easy recipe for homemade Cheese-Its that I’ll be attempting this week; and I’m praying they turn out okay and Allison actually eats them.

Besides that, I’m really trying to get creative with things like snacks and desserts. We’re using up the random pieces of candy and chocolate we always reach over to grab the good stuff; and although our snack bar containers are almost empty, we’re doing really well and I think we can just stay resourceful until the end of the month!

Speaking of being resourceful, I’m reminded of how much I love keeping basic baking essentials in my house. John found out he has a work carry-in this Friday; and when he told me last week, I had already finalized my grocery list. I took a look around my cabinets and found enough ingredients to make these cheddar biscuits! Didn’t have to buy a thing.

Here’s what I hope to use up in my pantry/freezer this week:

• Hamburger buns from freezer (For the BLTs)
• Ground sausage from freezer (For the spaghetti bake)
• 1 can of pumpkin- Luckily, I only have two cans at the moment!
• Chia seeds- I’ll make chia seed pudding for breakfast, but may have to find some dessert options to use them all up.
• Popcorn kernels- We were on a huge popcorn kick for awhile but then stopped; this has been in our pantry forever.

Aldi

Bananas, 3.57 pounds: $1.36
Strawberries, 1 pound: $1.29
Roma tomatoes: $1.49
Spinach: $1.49
Red grapes, 1.51 pounds: $2.25
Zucchini: $1.69
Block of cheddar: $1.79
Cabbage: $.79
Romaine hearts: $1.99
Black beans: $.55
Red potatoes, 5-pound bag: $1.49
Coffee creamer: $1.89
Vinegar: $.79
2 gallons of milk (1 not pictured): $1.07 each
Salsa: $1.49
Roast beef: $2.99
2 dozen eggs: $.78 each

Weekly Total: $27.04 (We had a small overage the past couple weeks)

Menu

Lunch is always leftovers. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were purchased in previous weeks.

Dinner
Small group potluck- Making roasted red potatoes and bringing the salsa
Cheesy Spaghetti Bake, salad
Stir fry- Chicken*, rice*, frozen stir-fry veggies*, shredded cabbage, with Easy Peanut Sauce
BLTs*, Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Pancakes (Using some of my instant mashed potatoes)
Black bean and cheese* quesadillas, roasted zucchini
Waffles, fruit

Breakfast
Healthy Pumpkin Banana Bread (For Allison)
DIY Egg McMufins (Crack an egg into a muffin tin, scramble around if desired, and bake at 350 for about 17 minutes)- English muffins from freezer
Peanut butter Chia pudding*
Smoothies (Chocolate protein powder*, frozen bananas*, spinach, PBFit powder*)

Allison’s Lunch
Roast beef, cheese cubes, raisins*, energy bites* (From freezer), homemade popcorn*

Miscellaneous
Whole Wheat Cheese Biscuits for a carry-in at John’s work
Homemade Cheese-Its

What’s on your menu for this week? And how’s your pantry challenge going? Share in the comments below!

Jaime Bacon

Jaime is a Nutrition Coach through the ISSA and professional writer. She has 4 years experience coaching and 9 years experience in writing. She enjoys cooking easy meals, running, and learning more about food.

Jaime specializes in helping women with ADHD learn to meal plan and cook healthier meals without getting overwhelmed.

See full bio here