Can you go a week without hitting the store? I did (well, almost)!
Last weekend I told my husband (Tom) that I didn’t need to go the grocery store this week. His response? He laughed! Okay, so I deserved it. I’m a grocery store addict. I love the Teeter, Trader Joe’s, farmers markets, or just about anywhere you can get yummy products. I adore scanning the shelves and learning about new spices and smelling fresh produce. What can I say? Cooking is my passion. Seriously, give me a complicated recipe, and I’m in heaven. Crazy, I know, but it really does relax me!
So, as Tom continued to laugh, I started thinking. When WAS last time I didn’t go to the grocery store for an entire week?! Yikes, the challenge was on. I did a survey of what was in my pantry and fridge, and I decided I was going to make it an entire week cooking meals only with what I currently had. Take-out wasn’t an option either. I didn’t even eat out for lunches, I packed sandwiches (hello pb & j) for outings and ate in. We had a full gallon of milk, apple juice in the pantry, and my creative will to prove my husband wrong! It was so on . . .
Well, guess what? I did it, well sorta! I DID have to stop by the Teeter to score goodies for my playgroup as I was hosting. I stuck to juice boxes and kid friendly snacks as I was clearly starting to run low! For me this challenge was satisfying because I “used up” tons of things I had in stock and learned some pretty handy things about cooking in a pinch. Oh, and I also saved myself a trip to the store AND some money! Here is what my week looked like, now you try it!
Monday:
BBQ Chicken, Corn, Green Salad. Using a “buy one get one free” BBQ bottle that was starring at me for months and a can of corn I doctored up with garlic and onions. Salad with oil and vinegar.
Tuesday:
Chicken Salad Sandwiches! Roasted some chicken breasts and used up some bread that I toasted up and added fresh greens for a crunch. Chips on the side. So simple and so summer!
Wednesday:
Whole Wheat pasta with homemade marinara sauce and a side salad. I used canned, crushed tomatoes and added onions, garlic, parsley, and basil (dried herbs). Simmered for 10 minutes and topped over the pasta. Yummy . . . and out of a CAN!
Thursday:
Pork Tenderloin (in my freezer from a good sale at the Teeter), baked potatoes (we each got a half because I only had one), and spinach (frozen).
Friday:
Breakfast for Dinner! Scrambled eggs & pancakes. You should have seen the look in Sutton’s face for this one!
Saturday:
Risotto with peas, cream, and onions. Packaged mushroom flavored risotto, frozen peas added at the end, sauteed onions on top, with a touch of fat free half and half (left over from my out of town guests for morning coffee).
Sunday:
Getting desperate, one more day to go. Macaroni and cheese with chicken fingers. Enough said . . .
Okay Smarties, your turn. Can you make it a week or am I the only silly one who thought this was fun?! Either way, I’ve got more freezer space AND one less can of corn in my pantry.
10 comments
Love this post, as this is my goal this week! I did have to stop and get a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread this morning, but that is it for the week…hopefully!
great idea. i need to clean out my freezer so i will see what i can do!
Love this idea – thanks for the challenge!
Great post! I'm sure I could do this, too, if I was allowed 1 trip to the farmer's market on the weekend, and 1 trip for just milk & bread.
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About 6 months ago I took stock of what was in my freezers (the deep freeze in the garage is a bottomless pit, I swear) and made a list and put it on the fridge so I would know that I had certain items. I was notorious for buying for that week's menu (I only grocery shop on Saturday mornings unless we're out of milk or bread) and not stopping to check the freezer. Needless to say, I was able to use up a lot of stuff in the freezers, and free up room for summer staples like popsicles and ice cream!
I'm pretty sure Harris Teeter would file a missing persons report if I didn't show up after two days! I better let LaJohn @ HT know before I even attempt to try the Grocery Store Challenge! Love the idea Krista!
I am a little behind on my CSP reading, so I am just getting to this one. It's so funny to read this! I am addicted to Target and started realizing I was going too often and spending way too much! So, I am now on week 2 without going at all. I think I will have to break down and go next week, but my goal is to go every other week now at the most!