So far, the pantry challenge is going well. On day 1 my parents and dad’s parents came over for lunch. We grilled all of the chicken legs with BBQ sauce, my mom brought over coleslaw and potato salad. We made 2 packages of brownies and ending having to freeze a bunch. We also made the last cornbread mix, and made some green beans. Earlier that day M had some frozen waffles and we made some tuna salad, which I ate on spinach and M ate on some of our frozen bread. We ate the leftovers over the next 2 days and froze 5 leftover cornbread muffins. Last night, I ended up making some chickpea noodles with ground turkey, leeks, and marinara. It was a lazy dinner, but G-man often takes quite a bit of my attention. At 6 months he is starting to eat solids. I blended some banana with breastmilk and froze it in 1 ounce containers, which he has thoroughly been enjoying. Tonight he might try something new, but haven’t decided what. Today, I had leftovers from last night with the last prepped smoothie bowl. I have also started roasting the tomatoes, onions, and garlic for a course dinner we are attending Saturday that will serve 10 adults. I will probably finish the soup today and freeze it until Friday night. I also plan to start a loaf of sourdough soon too so the bread has time to dry out for croutons for the soup. Now, I just need to figure out how this sourdough starter will work.

And so it begins. I have so many ideas for this blog, but I am beginning with a pantry challenge. With all the hype over the Coronavirus and after following an Instagramer who recently completed another pantry challenge, I have decided to do my own pantry challenge. It will be a fun way to challenge myself and a great way to save some money. On the plan, I want to see how long we can go without grocery shopping or purchasing food outside of the home, with a possible exception of purchasing greens at the farmers market when it opens at the beginning of May. This plan will exclude meals my husband consumes at work because he nearly always goes out for lunch to have a break from work. I am going to try to entice him to take some food from home occasionally. This challenge will run until May 22nd, when we take a weekend trip to Boulder, Colorado. I started this challenge on 3/1 and it is feeding our 6 month old, my husband and me. Here is the inventory list, recorded 2/29.

Fresh Produce

• 1 Butternut Squash
• 1 Acorn Squash
• 2 Green Apples
• 2 Fuji Apples
• 5lbs of Gala Apples
• 20 Roma Tomatoes
• 1 Large Bowl of cherry Tomatoes
• 17 Bananas (will freeze when ripe)
• 5lbs Mandarin Oranges
• 15 Sweet Potatoes
• 5 Red Onions
• 5lbs Small Potatoes
• 10lbs Yellow Onions
• 7lbs Carrots
• 1/2 Celery Hearts
• 3 Leeks
• 10oz Mushrooms
• 1lb Spinach
• Fresh Mint
• Fresh Rosemary
• Fresh Thyme
• 2 Heads of Garlic

Pantry

• 1 3/4 Gallon of Shelf Stable Almond Milk
• 1 12 Gallons Chicken Broth
• 4 oz Whole Wheat Spaghetti
• 1 1/2 Box of Red Wine
• 8 Bags of Microwave Popcorn
• 1/2 lb Dried Dates
• 1/2 lb Nutritional Yeast
• 20 oz Cocoa Powder
• 45 oz Chia Seeds
• 2 lbs Cocoa Nibs
• 25oz Ground Flaxseeds
• 1c. Irish Oats
• 1 package of Corn Bread Mix
• 3 – 80 oz packages of Old Fashioned Oats
• 6 – 16 oz cans of Chickpeas
• 4 – 16 oz cans of Diced Tomatoes
• 2 – 16 oz cans of Black Beans
• 1 – 16 oz can Kidney Beans
• 1 – 16 oz can of Coconut Milk
• 1 – 16 oz can of Bean Sprouts
• 6 oz can Petai
• 1 – 16 oz can of Pumpkin Puree
• 1 – Active Dry Yeast
• 6 cans of Tuna
• A ton of coffee, tea, and espresso pods
• 3 – 32 oz jar of Marinara
• 2 – 28 oz can of Whole Tomatoes
• 1.5lbs Protein Powder
• Many stored seasonings, dressings, vinegars, oils, hot sauce, and BBQ
• 4 – containers of Peanuts Only Peanut Butter
• 1 – jar of Pepita Salsa
• 1 3/4lb Honey
• Baking items (flour, baking soda, baking poweder, stevia, sugar, different startches, etc)
• 8 oz Agave
• 1 oz Panko Breadcrumbs
• 8 oz regular Breadcrumbs
• 5 oz Ranch Seasoning
• 3/4 Shelf Stable Oat Milk
• 12 oz Blush Wine Dressing
• 6 Packages of Brownies
• Air-Pop Popcorn Kernels
• Coconut shavings
• 2 jars Polenta
• 1 jar Green Lentils
• 1 jar Farro
• 1 jar Pumpkin Seeds
• 1 jar Almonds
• 8 oz Corn Meal
• 2.5lbs Chickpea Noodles
• 16 oz Quinoa
• 4- 32oz packages of Brown Rice
• 10 oz Sundried Tomatoes
• 30 oz Pancake Mix
• 70 oz Raisins
• 4.5lbs Walnuts (open packages frozen)

Fridge

• Many Condiments
• 34 Eggs
• 9 Chicken Apples Sausages
• 8lbs Chicken Legs
• 9 oz Salami
• 1/2 cup Apple Sauce
• 1 Meal (Leftovers)
• 3/4 lb Hummus
• Many Pickles
• 1/5 pint Mayo
• 1lb Maple Syrup
• 8 oz Peanut Butter
• 1/4 can Chipotle in Adobo
• 48 oz Minced Garlic
• 1/4 cup Jam
• 20 oz Vegan Butter
• 2 1/4 Kerrigold Butter
• 1 cup Half and Half
• 1 pint Cream
• 2 cups Veg Broth
• 2 Gallons of Oatmilk
• 25 – 2 oz containers of Guac
• 1c Sourdough Starter

Freezer

• 3.6lbs Ground Turkey
• 6lbs Corn
• 16 oz Cream Cheese
• 16 oz Spinach
• 1c Peas
• 4lb Blueberries
• 4 1/2 lbs Cherries
• 1 Smoothie Bowl
• 1 Fajita Bowl
• 40 Frozen Waffles
• 1 c Shrimp
• 8 oz Pineapple
• 4lbs Frozen Mixed Berries
• 1 loaf Bread
• 20lbs Chicken Breasts
• 2 Pizzas
• 4lbs Broccoli
• 6lbs Green Beans
• 2 Pork Chops