The Pantry Challenge. Should you do it???

The Pantry Challenge

We’ve all seen the blog posts – Let’s do a Pantry Challenge! But should you?

First what is a pantry challenge. It’s a food challenge where you try to use up all the ingredients in your pantry, fridge, and freezer without buying any new food.

The goal of the challenge is to save money and reduce food waste. How many times have you thrown out expired food from your pantry.

So yes, you should do a pantry challenge.

How do we do it? Look in your pantry, fridge, or freezer. What’s there? Meal plan around the ingredients you already have on hand. That’s pretty much it.

Maybe you can get creative with your recipes. Look online for new ways to use up the ingredients.

During the challenge, try to avoid buying any new food and focus on using up what you already have.

I used to be a stockpiler. So these challenges really helped me. I had no choice but to dig deep into the back of the pantry and all the way in the back of the freezer. I’ve learned how to reasonably shop and stockpile. Every once and a while I still have to throw out a can or two but it’s much less than it used to be. My stockpile is much smaller.

I wish I could have stockpiled eggs.

How long should you do the challenge? That’s up to you.

By the end of the challenge, you may have saved a few bucks, reduced your food waste, and ate some delicious home cooked meals.

I love eating out but there are few things better than a home cooked meal shared with the people you love.