A Month Without Groceries - After Thoughts

September 17, 2009

I made my first visit to the grocery store yesterday and MAN did it feel good. I purchased some fresh produce to have a nice big salad with dinner and a few other items. My total was $56.67 which isn't too bad considering the state of my pantry. I expect that trip to the store will last us about a week for the produce and about 3 weeks for the other items (meats, cheese, etc). Not too shabby.

I have included a few pictures of our refrigerator, freezer, and pantry shelves after the challenge concluded. Pretty barren, but we still have a few things! With those few items we have remaining, I can make at least four dinners.

Rather than completely restock, I am really going to change the way I shop. Less focus on convenience and more focus on whole foods. Additionally, I will not purchase too much produce at a time to eliminate the possibility of things going bad or getting mushy before we can enjoy them.

I plan on keeping track of our spending over the next few months to ensure we stay on track and don't revert back to our old habits. I will likely post something approximately once a week or once every two weeks in the future.

Day 31 - A Month Without Groceries

September 12, 2009

Today is Day 31 and we would be finished with this challenge if it not for the wonderful generosity of our friends and neighbors. It seems that has been both a blessing and a curse. We absolutely love the fact that our friends have invited us into their homes, but in keeping with the challenge, it has resulted in an extension of the original 30 days to 34.

Last night for dinner, I made tacos. The meal was a little more interesting than anticipated. Expecting to find a bag of Mexican blend cheese in the refrigerator, I was surprised when it wasn't there. My husband seems to have used it in the chili last weekend when I was away. As a substitute, I had to use mozzarella. Surprisingly, it was not noticeable! Note to self: You an substitute mozzarella for cheddar jack cheese in a pinch.

On that note, I wanted to mention that I often freeze cheese to extend it's life. I just toss it in the freezer and take out what I need when I need it. This works best for shredded cheeses, especially since they usually have resealable bags. If you don't already do this, you should try it! You will eliminate mold and extend the life of your cheese significantly.

There is a bit of a nip in the air today so for dinner, I plan to make meatloaf with potatoes and vegetables for dinner. It is one of those comforting meals that I know both my husband and daughter will love.

Day 28 - A Month Without Groceries

September 9, 2009

I was looking through the ingredients I have left and noticed a strange trend in the refrigerator. I currently have seven open bottles of salad dressing. I am not surprised that I have not used much of it lately given the fact that we do not have any lettuce for salads. However, it seems a shame to have so many bottles open that are not getting used.

In the past, I have used salad dressings for more than salads. They make great marinades, dips, sauces, and glazes. I typically use Italian dressing for a marinade for chicken or pork chops. The flavor is fantastic! French is used for a glaze on chicken, pork or ham. Honey mustard is a great dipping sauce and thousand island is wonderful in tuna salad (as a replacement for the mayonnaise) or on other sandwiches. The possibilities are endless.

Tonight I plan to use some of that thousand island dressing as a spread on sandwiches. Although I don't have any fresh bread right now, I do have the ingredients to make a loaf from scratch. I plan to make Rachel sandwiches which are a twist on the classic Reuben. Instead of using corned beef, turkey is used. The result is fantasic. I think I will grill it on my George Foreman grill to give it a nice crunch. My husband has a dinner appointment this evening so it will be just me and my daughter.

Day 27 - A Month Without Groceries

September 8, 2009

Day 27 of the challenge. Things are still going pretty well although I have noticed the ratings my husband is giving my meals has been dropping in the last week or so. I guess that can only be expected when you get to the last remaining ingredients in the pantry and freezer things just aren't as appetizing. He still likes them, but he has indicated they aren't as tasty as the first couple of weeks.

For me, I really miss the fresh produce. Our frozen vegetable supply is fine in a pinch, but the texture of the vegetables is much softer than I prefer and I kind of feel like I am eating baby food at times. Yuck! I am really looking forward to hitting the farmer's markets to pick up some fresh seasonal veggies when this is over. On the positive side, I read that frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh and are a good substitute when needed (http://www.wisegeek.com/are-frozen-vegetables-less-nutritious-than-fresh.htm).

Tonight I plan to make Halibut with a Puttanesca sauce. Essentially, I will use the leftover sauce from last week's pasta and add a few new ingredients such as green olives, garlic, and red wine to freshen it up. I will serve it with whole wheat penne pasta.

Day 25 - A Month Without Groceries

September 6, 2009

I cannot believe today is Day 25 of the challenge. The last three and a half weeks have gone by quite quickly and I feel like I have made some significant changes our eating habits. We have not thrown away any leftovers and the only groceries we have purchased have been 2 gallons of milk. The foods we have been enjoying have been healthful and for the most part delicious. I can see this experiment turning into a longer term commitment to use what we have on a more frequent basis.

People have asked me what I plan to do at the end of the challenge and if I will end up spending a bunch of money to restock the pantry. Although I expect to make a grocery run to purchase fresh produce, meats, and additional dairy products, I don't feel I will need to spend too much money to keep my family fed. To challenge myself further to maintain the good habits I have developed over the last month or so, I am budgeting $100 for the restocking efforts. Beyond that, I will budget $250 a month for the family. I will keep you all posted on my progress.

I have not returned home yet to cook for my family, but they do have some food on hand I prepared before I left to get them through lunch. Additionally, tonight my husband and daughter are attending a neighborhood potluck party and should have plenty to choose from there. Our contribution to the potluck is a couple dozen cookies I baked right before I left home. All in all, I don't think they will have any problem eating well tonight. The hosts of the party indicated they are making carne asada. Yum! We sure have great neighbors.

Day 24 - A Month Without Groceries

September 5, 2009

Yesterday when I was making dinner I noticed something interesting about the tuna I was using. The name brand albacore tuna (Bumblebee) for the Tuna Noodle Casserole was mushy, kind of gray in color, and broken into very small pieces. Not at all appealing. I wanted to use a couple of cans in the recipe so I decided for the other can, I would use one of the cans of Costco's Kirkland brand albacore tuna I had on hand to do a side by side comparison. Interestingly, the Kirkland tuna was one large piece of tuna, that was light in color and quite firm. Just what I would expect.

If I recall correctly, Kirkland brand tuna is less expensive than the other brands AND the can size is one ounce larger. I have seen a number of comparisons of products (grocery and otherwise) in Consumer Reports over the years, but hadn't really paid much attention to the food items. I figured food items are taste specific and the commentary from the testers was subjective. After my own little comparison, I think I will start paying more attention to those tests in the future.

Coincidentally, the September issue of Consumer Reports has an article on Name Brands versus store brands. The results were mixed as far as what products were recommended, but quite a few of the recommendations were for the store brands. This, although not completely surprising, will definitely sway my purchases in the future.

Tonight the family is having the chili I made yesterday before I left home. It should be better after a day in the refrigerator.

Day 21 - A Month Without Groceries

September 2, 2009

Yesterday's dinner was, well, interesting. The red beans and rice were just fine. It was the chorizo that concerned me. It didn't cook down very well and rather than feed my family an orange gelatinous mess, I switched out the chorizo for turkey breakfast sausage. I think the chorizo may have been in the freezer too long. Yet another casualty. On the positive side, the turkey sausage is a much healthier alternative. I just feel thankful I had some on hand to use.

Today is Day 21 and marks the end of the third week of the challenge. I am starting to notice that some of the meals I had planned may be “at risk” due to old ingredients. If that continues to happen, this is going to become a whole different type of challenge.

One of the ingredients I have on hand with an expiration date that is looming is cream cheese. I had bought a variety for breakfasts when we had house guests a while back and it never got eaten. Now, I have 2 tubs to use. I have found a good way to use cream cheese is as a base for cream sauces. I use it in chicken and seafood enchiladas, in pastas, etc. If you have some extra cream cheese, try it!

Tonight for dinner, I plan to make calzones. I have the ingredients to make the crust and have leftover pasta sauce, mushrooms, sausage, and cheese for the filling. Everyone likes pizza, so this meal should go over well. The cost for the ingredients is approximately $6.00 to feed everyone, so this is not only a meal everyone will like, but a good bargain as well. That is the best kind!

Day 20 - A Month Without Groceries

September 1, 2009

Today is Day 20 of the challenge and we are two thirds of the way through. At this point, we have no fresh fruits or vegetables. Fortunately, we do still have some that are frozen, but it isn't quite the same. Once I go back to the grocery and to the farmer's markets, I am going to have to make sure I don't overbuy produce. Fresh produce can go bad quickly and that is such a waste.

If you find yourself with fruit on the verge of the trash can (wrinkly, getting brown, you know what I am talking about) try a few of these ideas to give it a new life:

• Cut off the brown parts of berries or stone fruits, remove pits/seeds, roughly chop, add a little cinnamon and sugar, and warm over medium heat to make an excellent compote. It is great over ice cream, in smoothies, or just as a sweet treat. You can freeze the compote to make it last even longer or if you have canning supplies, that works as well.

• Use brown bananas for banana bread, muffins, or pancakes. You can also freeze the bananas to use them later.

• Use citrus fruits that are getting dry to flavor water, tea, or as a home fragrance by adding a little cinnamon or cloves and heating on the stove. If the fruit is too far gone, slice it into pieces and dry it even more for a nice alternative to potpourri, for use in wreaths, garlands for the Christmas tree, or put the pieces out for the birds. They will love you for it.

For vegetables on the verge of going bad, try using them for vegetable stock. Just be sure to cut off anything that may be spoiled.

For dinner this evening, I will be making Red Beans and Rice. I had a mix in the pantry that I will use and will add some Chorizo I have in the freezer for the protein. I will grab one of the frozen bags of vegetables to round out the meal. I suspect the vegetable won't really match the meal, but that's okay. At least we will have something balanced.

This challenge is getting significantly harder!

Day 19 - A Month Without Groceries

August 31, 2009

Yesterday was our first casualty from the pantry. I went to use up some of the oyster crackers in the soup last night and I noticed they were exceptionally stale. Not just tasting a little stale, but completely inedible with a potent odor. I had to discard them.

On that note, I have heard feedback from a lot of people about donating the extra food I may have around the house to a local food bank. This is a fantastic idea and one I support. However, it is important to note there are specific guidelines that need to be followed for individual food donations. Specifically, food banks typically do not want:

• perishable items

• rusty or unlabeled cans

• noncommercial or homemade canned or packaged items

• alcoholic beverages, mixes, or soda

• open or partially used items

In our case, we had a lot of perishable (fresh and frozen) foods as well as many open packages. Rather than have those items we are not able to donate go to waste, we are choosing to use them in a creative way. And, just for the record, we donate food via local programs (9 Cares Colorado Shares, US Postal Service Food Drive, and the Boy Scouts of America) on a regular basis and will continue to do so. I would strongly encourage others to do the same.

For tonight's meal, I will be making cod with an orange glaze. I will make the glaze out of some marmalade I have in the refrigerator. I don't have a recipe, so this will be more of an experiment than anything. I will try to post the recipe and response from the family a bit later after I have the chance to put the ingredients together.

If you have an interesting way to use ingredients, please post some comments and share your ideas. I'd love to hear how others are able to cook with what they have on hand.

Just finished dinner. I used 1/4 cup orange marmalade with 1/8 cup dijon mustard and 1/8 cup water. It was delicious!