Author Topic: Eat ALL the food in your house  (Read 154962 times)

Hotstreak

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Eat ALL the food in your house
« on: October 23, 2013, 09:37:17 PM »
I'm forced in to this a bit.  After almost a year of mustacian living, I got and accepted an offer on a new job about 5 hours away from home.  Space on the move is a premium.  I'm tossing some cheap furniture so I can get a smaller, fuel efficient moving truck, and cutting back absolutely everywhere I can.  One thing I'm planning on is not moving ANY food.  I keep a huge freezer of meat, a full stocked pantry, and fridge with produce on a regular basis.  I am:

Eating all meat in the freezer
Using all condiments
Eating all canned food

This is not a challenge to go a certain period of time without buying food.  It's about eating what you have, mixing and matching odd ingredients, and ending up with nothing left! 

I can't wait to stock a new pantry without all the old hold-ons from purchases two years ago.

Anybody else in??!

Russ

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2013, 09:43:28 PM »
I keep a pretty low stock in the first place so I won't be participating, but I do want to point out that the Skip This Week's Grocery Shop thread has a significant amount of the "use up what's in your pantry" spirit along with the obvious "don't buy food for a while". Feel free to carry on here, but check it out for some inspriation.

tooqk4u22

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2013, 07:19:38 AM »
Do this probably semi-annually, probably more out of being busy or lazy - and usually when we do this it goes beyond the list you cited such that we use up all the grains and even try to extend it by making flatbread/dumplings so we use up the flour that we have. 

DW hates the fridge/pantry empty - I love it.  I hate it so much when I open the fridge and it is completely full - not because we waste stuff, because we don't, its because I hate the cluttered look and also don't like my kids having food always at their fingertips - its human nature to graze and thats what they do if it is full. Good news is that it is mostly fruits, veggies and dairy.

MandyM

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #3 on: October 24, 2013, 07:53:48 AM »
A friend of mine used to do this semi-regularly when she was a single mom as a way to reduce waste and keep grocery bills down. Her and her son kind of made it a game to see how bare the cupboards could get and hence, refer to it as Mother Hubbarding. I tend Mother Hubbard when I find myself looking into a pretty full cabinet thinking "there's nothing to eat." Its probably that time...

Good luck Mother Hubbarding! I moved this summer and although it was only across town, moving the food was one of the  most annoying parts.

ichangedmyname

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #4 on: October 24, 2013, 08:31:39 AM »
Yay! I'm already doing this! I like to make big batches of food and then get sick of eating leftovers. So my husband made a big pot of noodles (yummy!) and I ate the last bit of it last night (still yummy!) and now I'm working on the last bit of soup I made. I told myself not to cook anything new until those two are out.

I am so IN! We have a stocked freezer and lots of pantry essentials to go through.

dragoncar

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #5 on: October 24, 2013, 09:04:42 AM »
I do this on a weekly basis... Only way to ensure nothing gets wasted in a single bachelor environment

nikki

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2013, 02:08:02 AM »
OP: how's it going? You needed to clear out for a move, so maybe had much more motivation than other posters.

I'm *not* moving yet (I will be in four months), but I usually try to eat most everything I have before buying more groceries.

Zamboni

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #7 on: November 02, 2013, 05:32:39 AM »
I'm in.  I still have a bunch of nonperishable stuff from last year that needs to go.

There is not a move on my horizon, so I'll keep buying produce and dairy, but I'm going to try sticking to that "perimeter" of the grocery store until the cupboard is significantly more bare.

Gray Matter

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #8 on: November 02, 2013, 06:08:10 AM »
I'm in too!  My pantry is full, my freezer (small on on top of fridge is full), my fridge is full.  It'll be easier with my hubs out of town (not that he's a picky eater, but he is more likely to suggest stopping on the way home for take-out).

I'll even try to turn it into a game with the kids--love the concept of Mother Hubbarding.

I may have to fill in a little with fruits, veggies, milk, and eggs (have found egg bakes are a great way to use up random things in the fridge or cupboard).

Mr. Minsc

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #9 on: November 02, 2013, 06:22:37 AM »
I definitely should sit down with my two brothers here and set up "Operation: Eat Up All That Crap We've Been Avoiding/Forgetting".

RootofGood

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #10 on: November 02, 2013, 07:07:24 PM »
Can't do, must have fresh fruits and vegs.  I just stop buying things when the freezer approaches "full".  That's why I won't get a deep freezer - I would just fill it up.

cats

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #11 on: November 02, 2013, 07:29:18 PM »
I did this a year ago in preparation for a big move.  I was mostly successful, but wound up giving away a few things like almost a pound of dried dill (didn't feel too bad about that as it had been gifted to me by some neighbors when they moved!).

In our current place we have a batch cook day every few months and stock up the freezer, then mix between freezer meals and fresher cooking.  At some point we realize that the freezer is *almost* bare but not quite ready for another batch cook, and then have a week or two of "must empty the freezer!" eating.  We're just embarking on one of those right now.  It's nice, as my grocery bill this week was only $25 (basically just fresh fruit/veg to round out the defrosted meals).  I think we're going to be working this way until the 16th, and there's definitely going to have to be a little inventiveness with the freezer contents to keep things interesting!

Today I pulled all the chicken bones I had been stashing in the freezer out and now have them going in the crockpot to make broth.  Some of that will be used to thin out some super thick zucchini and chickpea soup, some is going right back into the freezer to be used on batch cook day (so for our purposes, the freezer is effectively more empty).

legacyoneup

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #12 on: November 02, 2013, 09:07:13 PM »
I'm about a month into this operation. I bought a ton of dried lentils ( split gram, beans, black eyed peas, chickpeas, spices, etc) and some rice at the start of the year and am now sorely regretting it... especially the kidney beans. Somehow, they never turn out right.

Its going to take me a couple more months. I intend to soldier on and get this done... so I have an empty pantry that I can go shopping to stock up again!!!        facepunch.


Zamboni

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #13 on: November 03, 2013, 07:29:53 PM »
^That always happens to me when I buy dry beans.  It always seems like such a good idea at the time.

I made some progress this weekend by wiping out 2 cans of soup, 2 cans of tomatoes, 2 packs of Ramen, 1.5 cup of rice, 3 cups of flour, half a can of mushrooms, half a can of black olives, half a jar of pizza sauce, and what was left of the Cheerios from the pantry and some sausages and chicken from the freezer.  Now I'm plotting wiping out more pieces of chicken and some potatoes on Monday and the rest of the mushrooms and olives along with more flour and the rest of the pizza sauce on Tuesday.  I'm not going to keep track of perishables because they get polished so fast around here that there is no point. 

I did go to the grocery store tonight to get bananas, yogurt, and greens and ended up buying 4 boxes of Chex cereal that was a really good price to make homemade Chex mix.  Whoops.  That type of opportunistic purchase will likely continue to happen as I buy perishables, but I'm going to keeping trying to not go down the aisles at the store (the Chex was on the end of the aisle calling to me) until my canned goods and dry goods are mostly wiped out.

geekette

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #14 on: November 03, 2013, 08:31:01 PM »
Heh.  I ended up with 4 boxes of Chex for party mix too - but it was buy one get one free, and a $1 coupon that was doubled!  I rarely coupon, but that was easy.

I go through the pantry pretty well except for some weird stuff that was in a gift basket - sweet pepper jelly and apricot preserves.  No clue what to do with those.

Zamboni

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #15 on: November 03, 2013, 08:48:24 PM »
Either of those would probably be good in some curried chicken salad.

The apricot preserves will likely be great on just plain old toast.

Just google the ingredient name and see what comes up!  That's a fun way to make something new with a weird ingredient.  I've done it with spices like marjoram.

ichangedmyname

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #16 on: November 03, 2013, 08:49:54 PM »
I made the Italian wonderpot. Used ingredients in our pantry and freezer and had lunch for two days. Gonna make chicken and dumplings tomorrow.

ETA

Yummy!



I used budgetbytes' recipe for slowcooker chicken and dumplings. The only thing I didn't have already was parsley so I skipped it.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2013, 01:10:31 PM by hotforbacon »

153

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #17 on: November 08, 2013, 11:36:11 AM »
I reorganized the pantry a few weeks ago after realizing I didn't have any crushed tomatoes in. I would have sworn I did, since I bought by the case when they were on an unbelievable sale ~8 mos ago.

Realizations: I have 25lbs of pasta. Need to be mindful w/ this. I fell into automatically stocking up when it fell below my researched stock-up price, and wasn't evaluating how often we actually eat it.

Beans!!!!!

Hubs and I also set aside a section of shelf front and center for ingredients we want to use up.

All in all was pleased with the re-org, because I didn't find that many surprises that had been forgotten about, am motivated to use up some unusual items, and that running out of cases of tomatoes means we are using them to cook!

TGod

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #18 on: November 08, 2013, 12:47:59 PM »
I just jumped on this challenge this week. In an effort to get our grocery bill down as well as eat the food in our freezer I’ve challenged my husband to only buy fresh food (veggies, dairy etc) for the next month. We moved a few months ago, and even though we knew the move was coming for a few months,  we still had 2 FULL medium sized freezers, plus the fridge freezer. Granted, the move happened in August, so we had a year’s worth of Salmon and berries from the 2013 stored, but still as we were emptying the freezer there were things that I’d completely forgotten about, including fish heads from 2 years ago that I kept meaning to bury in the garden…I still have them.
My goal is to eat all of the frozen veggies, as well as completely eat through anything in the fridge freezer. We will eat the salmon sparingly because we want it to keep till next year as well as enjoy the berries over the long term, but everything else MUST GO! I have a plan this weekend to go through everything and come up with a meal plan for using it all. There are going to be a lot of beet recipes on that list….
My goal is to spend $300 of our usual $800 on groceries for a family of 4. I’m hoping this process will kickstart us on a smaller food budget, I’m hoping closer to $500 on a regular basis.

Pollyanna

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #19 on: November 08, 2013, 01:03:27 PM »
After finding some bulk white kernel popcorn way in the back on the bottom shelf of my pantry the other day (after thinking I needed to go buy some), I had decided DH and I really need to consume what is in our cupboards and in the freezer.  I used to have a full separate freezer, but gave it up when we got a new fridge with the big bottom drawer (instead of the narrow side-by-side style).  I always have to keep in mind the available space in my freezer when I go to Costco!   My pantry shelves are full and are no longer organized.  Reading this post is good motivation to commit to what I knew I needed to do -- consume what is already purchased -- it will avoid waste and save me grocery money for the next few weeks.  Time to get creative without having DH say yuck, let's eat out! 

ichangedmyname

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #20 on: November 08, 2013, 09:15:51 PM »
I threw chicken wings and drumsticks in the crock pot added a can of crushed pineapple, 2 bags of frozen vegetables, soy sauce, red pepper flakes. Ate it with rice.

swick

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #21 on: November 22, 2013, 03:03:28 PM »
I was originally not going to join this challenge because we need to keep a fair stock on hand during the winter as we can be cut off from the rest of civilization if our one highway out of town is closed.

But...then one of my freezers died and while moving everything I realized I do have quite a lot of food beyond what we need to have stock piled, and if something happen to our other freezer we would be out thousands of dollars worth of food. So We are going to cook from the pantry and freezer (and ironically, probably eat better then buying from our store in town)

I have been going through our frozen chickens, crock potting them, shredding the meat and returning the bones for stock. Been using the chicken in soups and stews (lots of cornmeal dumplings because we got a 25 pound sack of organic cornmeal in the summer)

Anyone have any ideas for candied ginger? I got a really good deal on it (you usually can't even find it here)  and Hubby loves the stuff as a snack and in oatmeal and such - but we still have a ton.

I also have a ton and ton of dried spices - need to figure out something to do with these too.

4alpacas

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #22 on: November 22, 2013, 03:11:49 PM »
I love this!  We're slowly working through our freezer and cupboards.  I think we're going to eat a lot of pasta in the next few weeks!

jks1985

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #23 on: November 27, 2013, 08:53:37 PM »
I love this too! 

I usually have things like rice, macaroni and cheese, cans of tuna, frozen vegetables, etc.. usually i can throw together quite a tasty meal that costs me nothing

kkbmustang

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #24 on: November 28, 2013, 01:13:55 AM »
I was originally not going to join this challenge because we need to keep a fair stock on hand during the winter as we can be cut off from the rest of civilization if our one highway out of town is closed.

But...then one of my freezers died and while moving everything I realized I do have quite a lot of food beyond what we need to have stock piled, and if something happen to our other freezer we would be out thousands of dollars worth of food. So We are going to cook from the pantry and freezer (and ironically, probably eat better then buying from our store in town)

I have been going through our frozen chickens, crock potting them, shredding the meat and returning the bones for stock. Been using the chicken in soups and stews (lots of cornmeal dumplings because we got a 25 pound sack of organic cornmeal in the summer)

Anyone have any ideas for candied ginger? I got a really good deal on it (you usually can't even find it here)  and Hubby loves the stuff as a snack and in oatmeal and such - but we still have a ton.

I also have a ton and ton of dried spices - need to figure out something to do with these too.

Could you throw some of the candied ginger in a sugar cookie?

swick

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #25 on: November 28, 2013, 02:06:18 PM »
Could you throw some of the candied ginger in a sugar cookie?
My sister has an amazing recipe for chewy triple ginger cookies, I am going to be making A LOT of them as soon as I get the recipe :)

I was also thinking if I decrease the sugar in the sauce, candied ginger might make a very tasty addition to ginger beef.

mm1970

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #26 on: November 28, 2013, 10:27:42 PM »
I have to work on this.  We are STOCKED (freezers especially) and...there is a chance that will may need a termite tenting as a condition of our refinance.  Oh goodness I cannot imagine double bagging everything we have.  So...I'm going to do my best to eat up what we have in the next couple of weeks...

dcheesi

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #27 on: November 29, 2013, 09:10:08 AM »
I was going to do a no grocery December, since I've gotten overstocked on several items due to sales. But maybe I will extend that and try to clean out everything. I've got emergency rations in the basement, so I'm still covered there. And it would be more of a challenge (I think I have enough to do the December plan without much change in my routine). Plus it's a reminder of older times, when stocks ran low as winter progressed....

Gray Matter

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #28 on: December 09, 2013, 05:56:02 AM »
Just wanted (well, didn't really "want") to report in and say I've failed miserably at the challenge.  My life is so chaotic right now, with many people coming and going in my house and the holidays and entertaining and being overwhelmed with my husband out of the country...SO, I would like to give it another go in January!

dcheesi

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #29 on: December 10, 2013, 09:55:13 AM »
Yeah, for health reasons I've added some new, mostly perishable foods to my diet, which pretty much killed the no-grocery plan for me. I  can still whittle down the stockpile, but it won't be the "pure" make-do experience I was anticipating...

nikki

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #30 on: December 10, 2013, 05:15:07 PM »
I've started working on consuming all of the spices, condiments, flour, rice, rice noodles, etc. that I have so I have less to move at the end of February.

I actually have to make sure I don't eat the rice too quickly. I don't have much left, and I don't intend to buy more before I move, so this will be a balancing act.

But I have lots of flour! Tortillas galore incoming.

I don't want to eat the rice noodles ever, which is why I still have them after months, so that will be a perhaps unpleasant challenge.

The condiments are interesting so far, though. Who knew egg sandwiches with thousand island dressing were so delectable?

islwynn

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #31 on: December 11, 2013, 01:24:56 PM »
What kind of rice noodles are these? If they're the asian style ones you're in luck =)  There are some amazing stir fried rice noodle dishes. Check this one out, or google 'mi fen'

Good luck

http://savory-bites.com/2010/03/mi-fen-%E7%B1%B3%E7%B2%89-fried-rice-vermicelli/

nikki

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #32 on: December 11, 2013, 05:04:24 PM »
What kind of rice noodles are these? If they're the asian style ones you're in luck =)  There are some amazing stir fried rice noodle dishes. Check this one out, or google 'mi fen'

Good luck

http://savory-bites.com/2010/03/mi-fen-%E7%B1%B3%E7%B2%89-fried-rice-vermicelli/

Yep yep--asian. I live in Korea, so they might be thicker than the ones in the linked recipe. It looks nice, but I'd have to make it without curry powder.

Worth a shot!

JPinDC

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #33 on: December 11, 2013, 06:57:09 PM »
OT, but this thread title reminds me of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DleceyAO34M

CommonCents

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #34 on: December 12, 2013, 11:47:58 AM »
I'm not going so far as to eat down spices and such but as I posted in the declutter thread, I'm working down my stockpile so items don't expire on me and I don't have to move things.  Other than items such as milk, and fresh green beans for my contribution to thanksgiving dinner, we haven't been grocery shopping since the beginning of November, I'm pleased to say.  (Unfort, we have done takeout several nights though.)  I can see space in my cabinets and freezer!  We've eaten down about 20-25% of our stockpile.

Items left to eat include (woe is us...): Girl Scout cookies, homemade canned applesauce and peaches, frozen fruit for smoothies...

nikki

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #35 on: December 12, 2013, 05:16:30 PM »
Items left to eat include (woe is us...): Girl Scout cookies, homemade canned applesauce and peaches, frozen fruit for smoothies...

:O  I'll eat all that!

My list is such a total bummer in comparison.

In the pantry: Flour, rice, rice noodles, baking powder, bread crumbs, French onion soup mix, sugar, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, black tea, chamomile tea, green tea

On the spice shelf: salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, rosemary

In the fridge: Thousand island dressing, red wine vinaigrette, ketchup, mustard, bulgogi marinade, donkassu sauce, a few packages of pizza delivery parmesan cheese, salsa

In the freezer: My vegetable scraps I use for stock (gotta do that this weekend--it's full now), frozen ginger I have no idea what to do with

Also: A large box of processed snacks my students gifted me. They'll be good for another year at least, but I'll probably eat most of them away before I move anyhow.

For me, it's not really a matter of trying to beat expiration dates--I just want less to move. And it's a fun challenge to try to use up what I have!

Of course I buy fruits, vegetables, and eggs weekly to make actual meals possible. Meat? Not so much lately.
« Last Edit: December 12, 2013, 05:18:47 PM by nikki »

153

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #36 on: December 13, 2013, 05:53:33 PM »

In the freezer: My vegetable scraps I use for stock (gotta do that this weekend--it's full now), frozen ginger I have no idea what to do with


Ginger: gingersnaps, chai tea, Thai curry/stir fry.

stripey

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #37 on: December 14, 2013, 01:39:25 AM »
I do this (with my fridge only) every time I go away for more than four weeks. Which is about once every year.

However I keep a well stocked pantry, including food I have 'put up' myself, and so using all that up doesn't make sense. Also, I purchase some commonly used items (such as passata) in bulk because it is that much cheaper. So to keep the inventory rolling, this is what I do:

- Purchased items: every six months I put a sticker dot on everything in the pantry. All the stickers need to be gone from the pantry in six months.
- Everything I 'put up' is dated when I dry/preserve it. Everything older than eighteen months gets a sticker dot on it and needs to be either consumed or given away in the next six months.

However, I think the challenge is admirable, although i will not take part in it. Wishing you all the best in your creative food journeys!!!

ashley

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #38 on: December 16, 2013, 08:47:26 PM »
I tried to do this without buying anything at all, but it started to get pretty rough with no fresh food. So, I've amended my rules to allow myself to buy only produce and almond milk (and tea, should I run out). It's MUCH easier this way, and healthier.

I've managed to mostly work my way through a huge stash of grains and various flours. Now to tackle the many varieties of pasta I've been avoiding, as well as the 5lbs of millet flour I can't remember why I bought.

mrfilthyrich

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #39 on: December 19, 2013, 06:44:00 PM »
I tried to do this without buying anything at all, but it started to get pretty rough with no fresh food. So, I've amended my rules to allow myself to buy only produce and almond milk (and tea, should I run out). It's MUCH easier this way, and healthier.

I've managed to mostly work my way through a huge stash of grains and various flours. Now to tackle the many varieties of pasta I've been avoiding, as well as the 5lbs of millet flour I can't remember why I bought.

We are going to do the same thing, Ashley.  Planning on only replenishing fresh produce as we run out.  We have been doing it since this past week and already the freezer is becoming more and more depleted.  It's cool to see it go down.

legacyoneup

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #40 on: December 19, 2013, 06:57:32 PM »
Hah!!! I'm finally down to the last packet of kidney beans. I will never buy this in bulk again. After this, I'll move on to better items like black eyed peas, chick peas, and split dried lentils.... which always turn out fabulous :-).... especially with Ciabatta rolls or garlic bread and cheese!!
I'm down to my second last packet of egg noodles, second last bottle of olive oil and finished half the bag of rice.

What would be good substitutes for rice? tofu? I want to try something different in 2014. Like different types of bread that I might not have tried as of now. Any suggestions?

I've got 2 extra large containers with whey protein.... which were supposed to help me build muscle. Just never got around to the strength training part. Is there any dish I could make with them ?

My exercise this year has mostly been a brisk walk. I have a very high metabolism so cannot gain weight.......... which reduces my resolve to persist with strength training.

CommonCents

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #41 on: December 19, 2013, 08:33:51 PM »
You are better than me.  I got tired of eating cans so started to order pizza instead.   :(  Time to go grocery shopping for a few things to mix it up.

ashley

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #42 on: December 19, 2013, 08:34:39 PM »
Legacy, how to do you feel about other grains as subs for rice? Quinoa? Barley?

I LOVE tofu (I'm vegan and eat a lot of it), but I wouldn't think to use it like I'd use rice. If you decide to try it, I recommend buying the firm or extra firm variety, pressing it between plates or cutting boards (weighted with cans or something else heavy) to get all of excess water out. Then slice or cube it up, let it marinate like you might do with meat (even if all you use is balsamic vinegar and soy sauce, it will be good), and then bake it in a hot oven until it gets nice and crispy. It's delicious this way with rice and vegetables, or cold in a sandwich. I think tofu scares a lot of people because they have never had good tofu and associate it with flavorless mush. If you cook it right, it's excellent.

legacyoneup

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #43 on: December 19, 2013, 09:01:58 PM »
Ashley, thanks for the tips on tofu. How long do you marinate it for ? How long does it need to stay in the oven?

What if I skip marinating the tofu and pan fry in sesame oil ? Any chance that would come out right? I've had mushrooms sauteed in sesame oil and they were delicious.

ashley

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #44 on: December 19, 2013, 09:26:52 PM »
The longer you let it marinate, the better it is. If I'm planning ahead, I will do it overnight. If not, an hour or so is fine. You just want to get some flavor into it because on its own it's more or less flavorless. I usually bake it for maybe 30 minutes at 425, but it will depend on the thickness or your slices and how chewy/crispy you want it. If I don't have time to marinate, I will just brush it liberally with soy sauce (and sometimes sesame oil!) and it's still good.

Pan frying will be good too. Just make sure to press it. That is the most important step, regardless of how you cook it.

nikki

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #45 on: December 20, 2013, 01:28:39 AM »
What kind of rice noodles are these? If they're the asian style ones you're in luck =)  There are some amazing stir fried rice noodle dishes. Check this one out, or google 'mi fen'

Good luck

http://savory-bites.com/2010/03/mi-fen-%E7%B1%B3%E7%B2%89-fried-rice-vermicelli/

Yep yep--asian. I live in Korea, so they might be thicker than the ones in the linked recipe. It looks nice, but I'd have to make it without curry powder.

Worth a shot!

Okay--I tried it. I hate it. I just really don't like rice noodles when I make them. Maybe I'm making them wrong, but the texture is just gummy and bleh. No me gusta.

I have to find some willpower to finish eating this mess. I used the rest of the package to get rid of it in one fell swoop.

herisff

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #46 on: December 21, 2013, 07:54:12 AM »
rice noodles should not be gummy. I suspect that you are oversoaking them and/or overcooking them. They also need to be strongly flavored (much like tofu) to taste luscious and yummy.

I found this on thekitchn.com: "Make sure you're not overcooking the noodles. As you note above, the best way to cook thin rice noodles is to simply submerge them briefly in hot water. Drain and rinse with cold water. They will finish cooking in your stir fry or in the hot sauce. But if you overcook them they will turn gummy and get much more clumped up. It is normal, though, for them to clump up to a certain extent; tossing them with your sauce in your stir fry should loosen them as they get coated with the sauce."

With that being said, some people simply don't like the texture of these noodles. If so, then those noodles will be your last!

nikki

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #47 on: December 21, 2013, 04:32:34 PM »
rice noodles should not be gummy. I suspect that you are oversoaking them and/or overcooking them. They also need to be strongly flavored (much like tofu) to taste luscious and yummy.

I found this on thekitchn.com: "Make sure you're not overcooking the noodles. As you note above, the best way to cook thin rice noodles is to simply submerge them briefly in hot water. Drain and rinse with cold water. They will finish cooking in your stir fry or in the hot sauce. But if you overcook them they will turn gummy and get much more clumped up. It is normal, though, for them to clump up to a certain extent; tossing them with your sauce in your stir fry should loosen them as they get coated with the sauce."

With that being said, some people simply don't like the texture of these noodles. If so, then those noodles will be your last!

It sounds like I've been overcooking/oversoaking (I've tried both preparations) them, then! I just followed the instructions on the package. Oh well--not buying those ever ever ever again. ;-D

Because I *did* order pizza instead of stressing over cooking another meal after that failure, I haven't eaten anything the past couple days other than pizza and a banana. Oops.

Right now I have a lot of fresh produce to eat through. Potato spinach tacos tonight, methinks.

ashley

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #48 on: December 22, 2013, 10:15:57 AM »
Last night I made a huge pot of seriously gross pumpkin soup, and I'm so mad at myself for using the last of my vegetables on something I don't even want to eat. I will force myself to eat it, though. 6 torturous meals coming up!

swick

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Re: Eat ALL the food in your house
« Reply #49 on: December 22, 2013, 04:48:34 PM »
Last night I made a huge pot of seriously gross pumpkin soup, and I'm so mad at myself for using the last of my vegetables on something I don't even want to eat. I will force myself to eat it, though. 6 torturous meals coming up!

Any chance you can save it? What  flavour profile did you use?

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!