Eat ALL the food in your house

[tariskat]

I can absolutely get behind that. It probably freezes perfectly, too, thanks!

[swick]

Made a little dent in the freezer stocks today. Made some stewed rhubarb for the week, took out some spaghetti sauce, kale and green beans for supper tonight. Made a smoothie for lunch that empties "the last little bit" from three bags of fruit. Started some beef bones in the stockpot for broth. part of me feels awesome! The other part of me is going, wow I still have a long ways to go!

[Worsted Skeins]

I can absolutely get behind that. It probably freezes perfectly, too, thanks!

We freeze chimichurri, pesto, salsa verde, etc. in ice cube trays, then pop the cubes out into a zip bag.  Works well.

[Freckles]

We freeze chimichurri, pesto, salsa verde, etc. in ice cube trays, then pop the cubes out into a zip bag.  Works well.

That's a great tip!  Thanks for sharing.

[HappierAtHome]

I am doing great on this... pantry is looking significantly emptier than usual :-) used up some staples (tins of tomatos, basmati rice etc) which is pushing me to use the remaining items that are often hidden behind other things - so for example, having used up all the rice is a good prompt to use up the pearl barley in a stew, because I can't get lazy and just rely on rice as a grain for my meals.

[nottoolatetostart]

Made it through the weekend eating in entirely. Normally weekends are our downfall since there is nothing else to do around here and eating out is our entertainment.

We've spent 38 this month and this week, will probably spend another 20-22 on milk, onions, eggs, and maybe some oranges. I think I can hold out another day or two before going to the store.

[happy]

I've used up most of the recently expired foods loitering in the pantry/fridge, and am now moving onto those past their "best before" date. Still a way to go.

Currently going cold turkey on tea and 85% chocolate, my current substances of addiction. Ran out of both yesterday and neither were on special when I shopped, so I decided to cold turkey on the chocolate and use up some of the remaining beverages. Found a single Orange Pekoe teabag I'd been avoiding since it sounded awful, but it was delicious. Otherwise sampled a couple out of the opened peppermint teabags and used up a single serve of some truly awful instant Nescafe "Mocha". Only six more serves to go, expires 4/2014. How disgusting does something have to be before you can call it quits and chuck it?

I know this isn't an addiction thread, but it really is interesting just how unhappy I feel without my cuppa tea and little square of 85%.  Not sure I will make it until shopping day next weekend. Sigh. Breathe. Its just discomfort.

[horsepoor]

Since that Nescafe is processed crap, I wouldn't feel bad chucking it, and making a mental note not to buy processed crap in the future.  If it was say, a healthy vegetable that you happened to not care for, I could make a case for saying you should choke it down and at least gain some nutrition from the process.

[swick]

Since that Nescafe is processed crap, I wouldn't feel bad chucking it, and making a mental note not to buy processed crap in the future.  If it was say, a healthy vegetable that you happened to not care for, I could make a case for saying you should choke it down and at least gain some nutrition from the process.

This is exactly what I was going to say! just consider the health benefits of not drinking it:)

Need to start working even more quickly through our freezer to make room for our bulk chicken order. 2x year delivery they are organic and cheaper then any chicken we can buy in the store, but they come 5 to a bag and take up a lot of freezer space.

[happy]

Since that Nescafe is processed crap, I wouldn't feel bad chucking it, and making a mental note not to buy processed crap in the future.  If it was say, a healthy vegetable that you happened to not care for, I could make a case for saying you should choke it down and at least gain some nutrition from the process.

This is exactly what I was going to say! just consider the health benefits of not drinking it:)

You guys are the best, my thoughts entirely! I wasn't responsible for the purchase and predictably its sat in there for years and the purchasee has refused to drink it because its so disgusting.  BRB just going to bin it!

[happy]

OK, progress is being made in the hot beverages section. The mocha Nescafe is binned. The peppermint teabags  I thought I needed to use up actually are good until 2016, so they're now in an airtight container. I have green teabags use by 8/13 which I will use up next. Remaining are coffee bags and another pack of green tea..in date, kept for my parents when they visit. And special treat hot chocolate bought at 50% off for DD. And one other shopping blooper sugar free hot chocolate which is totally awful, now at its best before date, and nearly gone: we mix a bit in with the good stuff.

So despite thinking I'm pretty good at not buying processed crap even the hot beverages show we slip up every now and then. And really an excessive amount of choice. And this is after 2 years of whittling down a huge assortment. I really need to not reaccummulate. Also I'm aware I keep writing tea -bags and wonder if I should give leaf tea a go…this should slow down my tendency to grab cups of tea on the go.

Cravings for tea and 85% are diminishing, thank heavens.

[swick]

Also I'm aware I keep writing tea -bags and wonder if I should give leaf tea a go…this should slow down my tendency to grab cups of tea on the go.

I am a huge fan of loose leaf. It is much cheaper, you can customize your own blends , the tea tastes better, the ritual of making it slows you down - and there are lots of things that make me iffy about tea bags - inferior tea, harder to know the source and what was sprayed on them, not to mention the bags themselves. Most paper bags contain epichlorohydrin, the other mesh bags contain plastics that melt...there is a bit of summery here: http://foodbabe.com/2013/08/21/do-you-know-whats-really-in-your-tea/

[Noodle]

Had a good weekend on the clear-out project! Corn tortillas, a random jalapeno, frozen butternut squash and enchilada sauce went into a "stovetop enchilada casserole." Canned pumpkin and some fat-free cream cheese I bought by accident went into a low-fat pumpkin bread recipe. I am starting to see space in the pantry and fridge...

[happy]

I am a huge fan of loose leaf. It is much cheaper, you can customize your own blends , the tea tastes better, the ritual of making it slows you down - and there are lots of things that make me iffy about tea bags - inferior tea, harder to know the source and what was sprayed on them, not to mention the bags themselves. Most paper bags contain epichlorohydrin, the other mesh bags contain plastics that melt...there is a bit of summery here: http://foodbabe.com/2013/08/21/do-you-know-whats-really-in-your-tea/

OMGoodness Swick, thank you. The thought of tea is making my throat close over after reading foodbabe. I'll never look at a teabag the same way again. This might give me the kick I need to give up my time and money wasting tea habit.

[bkworm82]

I am so doing this!! We became vegan in mid-dec and now have a full pantry of beans diced tomatoes pasta etc. We also have a ridiculously high food budget that I want to drop by about $45 a week. Awesome idea!

[horsepoor]

Happy, you are making me look bad! Here I was just congratulating myself on starting to BECOME a tea drinker since it's a relatively cheap and calorie-free beverage, as compared to coffee with cream in the morning and beer or wine at night, or god forbid, mid-afternoon Starbuck's runs.

The organic chicken deal sounds awesome, Swick!  I really ought to look into that again, now that I'm habituated to paying $8-10 per small chicken.  When I was buying conventional chicken for $4-5, making the leap to $12 birds was too much for me, and $12 seems to be the going price for locally raised. 

[Worsted Skeins]

I think that the beans are reproducing in the pantry.  We keep eating them and it appears barely a dent has been made.  What a fortunate problem to have!

Whoever turned me on to Budget Bytes deserves a hearty handshake and a glass of homebrew! As I write, Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal is in the oven.  I'm still working on those zip bags of pumpkin from the two Long Island Cheese pumpkins we purchased last fall. 

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/09/baked-pumpkin-pie-oatmeal/

[limeandpepper]

I've been getting rid of stuff and have a thread on it, and I also occasionally post in there about the food I'm eating up. However, I am also going to join in this thread for extra motivation!

There are many things I'm striving to finish eating in the next few months, but recently I've been working on:

- black sesame powder
- quinoa flakes
- dried shrimp
- assorted teas
- assorted curry pastes and powders
- pea protein powder

I should also do more work on:

- dried mung beans
- dried cloud ear fungus
- brown rice powder

Yes, I have some "exotic" food in these here parts, alright. ;)

[Worsted Skeins]

Yes, I have some "exotic" food in these here parts, alright. ;)

This is why I prefer to shop with my husband at the Asian grocery.  Otherwise he comes home with all sorts of weirdness that is pushed to the rear of cupboards and forgotten.

[limeandpepper]

This is why I prefer to shop with my husband at the Asian grocery.  Otherwise he comes home with all sorts of weirdness that is pushed to the rear of cupboards and forgotten.

Hehe, I actually have the appropriate ethnic/cultural background (and some of those things were given to me by my parents when they visit), so I am actually familiar with the stuff and know what to do with them. It's just that I fall into patterns of using the same type of ingredients over and over again, while neglecting others. Then when I use the neglected ingredients, sometimes I'm like, gee, this is great, why don't I use it more often? I do this with clothes too.

[swick]

DH and I were talking and decided to do an experiment over the next little while. I may throw down a gauntlet but for now I thought I would share here because it strikes me as a fun idea.

We are going to make a commitment to not buy anything until we are sure we don't have something that can already be used at home. Groceries is the most logical place to start since it is our most frequent spending category and fits into this challenge.

Next time we go to the store on our usual grocery trip, we are going to open a notebook instead of grabbing a basket. We'll write down everything we were going to buy take the list and shop "at home"  Is there something we already have that can replace or substitute for this item? One area is fresh fruits and veggies (which suck in the store this time of year) when we have lots of beans/kale and rhubarb in our freezer.

We'll probably only do this once to illustrate the point and hammer it into our heads, then we'll take the money we would have spent and didn't and keep a tally. I'm hoping this will create a habit and spill over into all our other spending categories as well. I think it will be very eye opening to see how much we are spending on things when we could be more resourceful and creative in our thinking and consuming.

[happy]

Well I made it to the end of the week with no tea or chocolate. It was quite hard…what a wuss I am. I looked at leaf tea, but there was not much product on the supermarket shelves. It was all tea bags, barring what I'd call countryman's tea, you know good strong plain CWA type tea (which I don't like).  So  I'm going to investigate other sources…I did find some organic, unbleached paper teabags.

[limeandpepper]

Well I made it to the end of the week with no tea or chocolate. It was quite hard…what a wuss I am. I looked at leaf tea, but there was not much product on the supermarket shelves. It was all tea bags, barring what I'd call countryman's tea, you know good strong plain CWA type tea (which I don't like).  So  I'm going to investigate other sources…I did find some organic, unbleached paper teabags.

happy, you may have better luck finding reasonably priced loose leaf tea in Asian grocery stores. Otherwise, if you don't mind teas that don't actually involve tea leaves and caffeine, sometimes I make cheap spice or herbal teas with spices or herbs I already have, which is also in the spirit of eating all the food in my house! ;)

[happy]

happy, you may have better luck finding reasonably priced loose leaf tea in Asian grocery stores. Otherwise, if you don't mind teas that don't actually involve tea leaves and caffeine, sometimes I make cheap spice or herbal teas with spices or herbs I already have, which is also in the spirit of eating all the food in my house! ;)
[/quote]

Aha, interesting. Nearest Asian store is in town about 20km away, but will investigate on my next trip. Really I'm an Earl Grey, Lady Grey drinker.  But I do like peppermint which I've been surviving on.  I grow mint and have just got some ginger and turmeric to grow (not quite up to harvesting at this point). What spices/herbs do you suggest?

(I'm aware I'm putting my own twist on this challenge since I don't have to empty my pantry for any particular reason. Really I'm trying to eat all the food in danger of expiring, and push myself outside of my comfort zone and examine my relationship with food. )

[limeandpepper]

Aha, interesting. Nearest Asian store is in town about 20km away, but will investigate on my next trip. Really I'm an Earl Grey, Lady Grey drinker.  But I do like peppermint which I've been surviving on.  I grow mint and have just got some ginger and turmeric to grow (not quite up to harvesting at this point). What spices/herbs do you suggest?

(I'm aware I'm putting my own twist on this challenge since I don't have to empty my pantry for any particular reason. Really I'm trying to eat all the food in danger of expiring, and push myself outside of my comfort zone and examine my relationship with food. )

Awesome! I've made mint tea, ginger tea and turmeric tea, all the things you are growing! You could even try mixing and matching all the above. With mint, I just steep it in hot water for a while and it's good to go. Same goes for ginger and turmeric, slice them thin and bruise them, then steep, or you may also simmer gently for a few minutes.

I've just been using the spices I have - a recent love is a simple one made with turmeric powder and honey. I stir the two ingredients together in a mug, then top up with hot water and stir again. Sometimes I use other powdered spices as well - nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom all go well. I also add black pepper at times, which may seem odd, but health-wise it has a synergistic effect with turmeric, and gives an interesting spicy attitude to the taste.

[nikki]

I really like rosemary tea!

This challenge has a whole new spin for me: I joined an organic CSA after all. This first week slapped me in the face with a mountain of leafy greens, and I'm struggling to get through them all before they go bad. I might have to freeze some.

Here's what I got last Tuesday:

--Red Pepper Powder (100g)
--Spinach (250g)
--Assorted Salad Vegetables (200g)
--Strawberries (200g)
--Eggs (6)
--Onions (2, 300g)
--Carrots (1, 250g)
--Potatoes (3, 400g)
--Oyster Mushrooms (200g)
--Winter Grown Cabbage (400g)
--Bok Choy (200g)
--Mallow (300g)

I'm currently eating http://paleosavvy.com/asian-chicken-soup-recipe/ (- Napa + winter grown cabbage), which used up some of the cabbage, bok choy, and the carrot.

Tomorrow I'll tackle the mallow with http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/saladsandsidedishes/r/mallow_salad_bakoula_khoubiza.htm paired with http://arab-recipes.org/moroccan-style-chicken.html which will finish up the onions. I'm going to just cheat and eat the mallow salad with homemade tortillas. I don't have yeast and I'm not sure I'd enjoy tackling a Moroccan bread recipe in addition to all the other cooking going on!

Then I guess I'll just have to eat lots of salads and stir frys until it's all gone. I get my next box Tuesday, though--it's weekly! Here's hoping for more root vegetables and less fragile leafy things.

[naturelover]

I buy organic salad mix in the package (which is pricier than making my own, I know, and I'm willing to shell out a little more for the convenience). I had been buying the regular size of spring greens which is a 5 oz. package for $2.99. I recently noticed that they have a 16 oz. package for $4.49 - more than three times the salad for only 50% more cost. Yay! But the problem is that sometimes I can't get through the big package before it goes bad (and I eat salads in such a large quantity that it might strike fear into the hearts of many Americans! Lol). So, I decided to switch to baby spinach salad - very healthy and once it starts to wilt and go bad, I steam it and put it in soup. No waste!

Speaking of salad, I saw many mentions of kale in this thread. I like to very lightly steam kale, refrigerate it, and eat it cold on my salads. Eating it cold takes away the strong "greens" flavor that some people may not like. I also love it by itself with sunflower seeds and salad dressing. Delicious!

[horsepoor]

Threw together a really good casserole from random ingredients last night:

Spaghetti squash, ground beef, onion and asparagus with sundried tomatoes, olive tapenade, preserved eggplant and pesto mixed in, then topped with some shredded Italian blend cheese.  Filling, pretty healthy, and used up some random things that I had no plan for when I walked into the kitchen after work.

[swick]

happy, you may have better luck finding reasonably priced loose leaf tea in Asian grocery stores. Otherwise, if you don't mind teas that don't actually involve tea leaves and caffeine, sometimes I make cheap spice or herbal teas with spices or herbs I already have, which is also in the spirit of eating all the food in my house! ;)

Aha, interesting. Nearest Asian store is in town about 20km away, but will investigate on my next trip. Really I'm an Earl Grey, Lady Grey drinker.  But I do like peppermint which I've been surviving on.  I grow mint and have just got some ginger and turmeric to grow (not quite up to harvesting at this point). What spices/herbs do you suggest?

(I'm aware I'm putting my own twist on this challenge since I don't have to empty my pantry for any particular reason. Really I'm trying to eat all the food in danger of expiring, and push myself outside of my comfort zone and examine my relationship with food. )
[/quote]

Chai concentrate is awesome, I usually use loose leaf black tea, but you can make it without tea at all just with the spices and it tastes great :)

[Freckles]

I buy organic salad mix in the package (which is pricier than making my own, I know, and I'm willing to shell out a little more for the convenience). I had been buying the regular size of spring greens which is a 5 oz. package for $2.99. I recently noticed that they have a 16 oz. package for $4.49 - more than three times the salad for only 50% more cost. Yay! But the problem is that sometimes I can't get through the big package before it goes bad (and I eat salads in such a large quantity that it might strike fear into the hearts of many Americans! Lol). So, I decided to switch to baby spinach salad - very healthy and once it starts to wilt and go bad, I steam it and put it in soup. No waste!

Good solution to your problem, but I just wanted to tell you about mason jars.  If you put your spring greens in a mason jar, they stay fresh for much longer.  I've been making salads for lunch at work.  I make them all on Sunday, in mason jars, and have one for each lunch.  Friday's lettuce is just as fresh as Monday's was.

[Noodle]

I also have a CSA which is heavy on the greens just now. (I may not do the winter season next year, but we should be coming into the goodies pretty soon so I will stick with it for now). I did a really successful "green soup"--basically, I sauteed onion, sweet pepper and garlic, then threw in a bunch of asparagus that was on the wilty side, let that cook till it was good and soft, then tossed in a small bunch of kale and arugula that was getting too wilty to eat. Took it off the heat and pureed (immersion blender) with half an avocado, some cooked greens that were hanging around the fridge, and the juice from a large lemon. Only seasoning was salt and pepper. I was a little dubious but it came out really well. 

Also cleared out some bits and pieces with a pizza involving several ingredients that were hanging around the fridge.

[ashley]

I've been doing pretty well at killing off lingering items in the pantry and freezer. I just keep screwing it up by buying more new food! But, generally, my stock is dwindling and I'm happy about it.

Today's little victory was using up the last of a massive bag of ground flax seeds I've had in the freezer for ages. I made a couple of delicious loaves of whole wheat flax sandwich bread.

I'm thinking about taking a detailed pantry inventory and crossing off items as I use them up. I think that might give me more motivation to eat the random stuff.

[horsepoor]

Today's casserole/frittata:  bacon, kale, olive tapenade, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese and pine nuts baked up with scrambled eggs. 

The fridge is much less clogged, and the pantry is looking cleaner, too. Freezer is in between, but slightly improving.  Need more improvement before I can justify buying a beef quarter or lamb. I think tomorrow I'll put all the non-perishable stuff I want to use in a basket on the counter so that it's front and center and I can work on getting it into this week's meals.

[1967mama]

@ashley -- great idea about making a list of what's in the pantry/freezer!

Had a container of frozen turkey vegetable soup from the freezer along with some buns that were in there. Fine dinner and no extra money out of pocket!

[Noodle]

I second the list idea. I LOVE crossing things off. I used to do it on paper, but have now switched to the reminders app on my phone. I like that because if I add something new, it's easy to amend--I can also do meal planning wherever I happen to be. I also love the growing space in my pantry/fridge/freezer. I can actually find stuff in the back without starting an avalanche!

[1967mama]

Was asking my husband to go pick up cold meat and buns at the local grocery store for dinner when I realized I had: buns in the freezer, 1/2 a ham in the fridge (still good), and 1/2 a big container of leftover turkey soup from the day before!~ DOH! Probably just "saved" us twenty bucks! (big family)

[swick]

Was asking my husband to go pick up cold meat and buns at the local grocery store for dinner when I realized I had: buns in the freezer, 1/2 a ham in the fridge (still good), and 1/2 a big container of leftover turkey soup from the day before!~ DOH! Probably just "saved" us twenty bucks! (big family)

Good save!

We buy cold cuts occasionally (usually if we are doing pizza) but they are soo much more expensive here. Hubby turned around last night and said..."you know, for only a couple of dollars more then the salami we bought last week,  which gave us one pizza and a tiny bit of left over, we bought this whole picnic ham. We get cracklings! We get broth for soup! We have really tasty potatoes that we cooked at the same time! We have probably 8 meals worth of meat! I think I have to embrace Ham and pineapple pizza!"

Had a small win, I thawed some very badly freezer burnt artichoke hearts which I think I have moved at least three times with? Steamed them and food processed them up into a dip. It was very tasty - I was pleasantly surprised :)

[4alpacas]

I buy organic salad mix in the package (which is pricier than making my own, I know, and I'm willing to shell out a little more for the convenience). I had been buying the regular size of spring greens which is a 5 oz. package for $2.99. I recently noticed that they have a 16 oz. package for $4.49 - more than three times the salad for only 50% more cost. Yay! But the problem is that sometimes I can't get through the big package before it goes bad (and I eat salads in such a large quantity that it might strike fear into the hearts of many Americans! Lol). So, I decided to switch to baby spinach salad - very healthy and once it starts to wilt and go bad, I steam it and put it in soup. No waste!

Good solution to your problem, but I just wanted to tell you about mason jars.  If you put your spring greens in a mason jar, they stay fresh for much longer.  I've been making salads for lunch at work.  I make them all on Sunday, in mason jars, and have one for each lunch.  Friday's lettuce is just as fresh as Monday's was.

What do you do with the mixed greens?  I have vacuum/mason jar set-up.  I'm not buying spring mix because it goes bad too quickly.

[ashley]

I love the sharpie idea! I have a few items I've been hanging onto for years and I'm pretty sure I will never use them up. Malt powder? What do I do with that? (Not malted milk. Just straight barley malt.)

[Freckles]

Good solution to your problem, but I just wanted to tell you about mason jars.  If you put your spring greens in a mason jar, they stay fresh for much longer.  I've been making salads for lunch at work.  I make them all on Sunday, in mason jars, and have one for each lunch.  Friday's lettuce is just as fresh as Monday's was.

What do you do with the mixed greens?  I have vacuum/mason jar set-up.  I'm not buying spring mix because it goes bad too quickly.

Me?  I mean mixed greens is what I put in the mason jars and it keeps fresh much longer than if I left them in their plastic bag or container.  I don't have a vacuum, but just keeping them in glass with the metal lid works pretty well to extend the life of the greens.  I usually buy "mixed baby greens."

[1967mama]

Used up a bag of frozen raspberries and a couple of cups of blueberries from the summer and made a fruit crisp for dessert.  Will serve it later tonite with some aged vanilla ice cream also found in the freezer ;-)

[swick]

Made a totally awesome "garbage" soup (as my Grandpa called it) With leftover chicken stock, some leftover roasted onions and potatoes, some leftover rice, bit of instant potato I found in the drawer, some dehydrated jalapenos I have had a hard time using up, a scoop of leftover red pepper walnut dip topped with some shredded slightly dried out cheese end. It tasted like a loaded baked potato soup some people spend money on in restaurants, I was pleasantly surprised.

[ashley]

Today I'm cooking a jar of split mung beans I've had in my pantry for at least 5 years. Probably longer. I hope they're edible.

[swick]

Today I'm cooking a jar of split mung beans I've had in my pantry for at least 5 years. Probably longer. I hope they're edible.

Hope you'll update with how they turn out! I have a bag I have been ignoring :)

[horsepoor]

I like the creativity that this challenge is inspiring.  Tonight I remembered the jicama from the co-op basket that has been rolling around in the produce drawer.  Combined it into a slaw with some pears, and made a dressing from tahini, chile paste, ouzu, and some other random ingredients.  DH raved over it.

[ashley]

Today I'm cooking a jar of split mung beans I've had in my pantry for at least 5 years. Probably longer. I hope they're edible.

Hope you'll update with how they turn out! I have a bag I have been ignoring :)

I was expecting to have to choke them down, but they actually turned out great! I couldn't even tell you everything I dumped in there (a little of everything vaguely Indian I had in my spice collection, plus a LOT of ginger and garlic), but it worked out and I'll be happily eating dal for the rest of the week. Bonus: I used up the last of some super old spices, so overall a successful pantry meal.

I think the key was soaking the beans for a few hours, draining, and rinsing well before cooking. Last time I cooked mung beans I skipped the soaking, and they ended up tasting and smelling really funky. So, I highly recommend soaking.

[swick]

Soaking it will be, thanks for the tip :)

[sunnyca]

Working through the homemade sauerkraut I made during a fermentation phase... pretty tasty.  I'm not sure why I don't make this more often.

[LudicrousSpeed]

I've been calling this "making post-apocalyptic meals" as if some sort of zombie apocalypse was upon me and I HAD to eat what is left.

It's so great to find like-minded people.

[horsepoor]

Took cabbage, onion and ground beef in an Indian direction tonight with coconut milk, curry powder and some other random spices I don't really know how to handle properly.  Used up the last dab of maple syrup counterbalancing the tart from the tamarind paste.

Last night, used up some pears and tahini in a jicama slaw with an Thai-inspired dressing.

Need to do something with capers as I have them almost used up, and they're really not something I need to keep on hand.