A huge part of homemaking revolves around food. It’s what sustains us and brings us together. Great enjoyment and memories are made around food. It’s basically my full time job preparing three meals a day plus the inbetweens.

For the month of January I followed the #threeriverschallenge hosted on Instagram by Jessica of @threerivershomestead. The purpose is to have a time of “taking stalk” so to speak. It’s an opportunity to use all the things preserved from summer. Also a chance to reduce food waste, save money, and reassess the best way to stalk your pantry. The rules can vary from household to household. For myself I didn’t want to go to the grocery store. I allowed the purchases of milk and eggs which I get from sources other than the grocery store. I also said I could purchase some fresh produce should I feel the need.

At the start we had two freezers well stocked with meat with a little bit of frozen fruits and veggies. My shelves were well stocked with canning. I had 100 lbs of potatoes and some squashes hiding out. I had lots of dry goods. I was never worried we’d run out of food. I did wonder though if what food I prepared would be “crowd pleasing”.

Things I learned over the month

Very quickly once the easy go to things got used up I realized it was going to take some concentrated effort to come up with fresh ideas. I think my cooking style hugely revolves around using things up. So once the fresh produce disappeared that system had to shift a little bit. My canning pantry didn’t have a ton of vegetable option. I think I had corn, beans, pickles, and a few jars of beets. All my tomato efforts last year where all central to pasta sauce. So, I think I want to diversify my canning a bit more to include more items and maybe not do as much of certain things. With what I’m not entirely sure yet. Cooked vegetables seem to be a bit of a struggle bus for us. My kids will devour raw veggies but the instant I cook them (and I promise I’m not turning them to mush) they become “unpalatable” according to certain sources.

I think of my pantry as a savings account. Unexpected things happen. Whether it’s a power outage, natural disaster, job loss, or who knows what; we as the homemaker/mother/wife still need to feed our families. When I’ve been faced with some of these unexpected things my first thought was, “What’s in the pantry?” I’m not an over the top prepper but I do appreciate the wisdom of being prepared. I also absolutely hate running out of stuff because it usually happens at the most inconvenient times. So over the past month I did start to feel the squeeze so to speak. Things were being used up or getting low and my impulse was to buy stuff asap. It was interesting to me how we still had months worth of food available but I was starting to almost fret about running out. Is that a bad thing? I’m not sure.

I learned how to create new things because I didn’t want to run to the store. My prime example was sour cream. I knew it would be desired for a certain meal I had in mind. So I had to plan ahead and get it started 2 days ahead of time but we avoided the store!

Our snacking habits have altered for sure. For the kids and I, we usually have some baked good, like cookies or banana loaf on hand for a quick snack. They have also been loving the unlimited apples. My husband has been pleased with his weight lose results because we don’t really have chips in the house. For myself, during the Christmas season I always wanted a “treat”. Now the idea of some of the junky stuff I was indulging in is bleh sounding. Although I’d likely be hard pressed to say no to M&Ms or Bailey’s chocolate just saying. Which has just now reminded me Easter is around the corner and mini eggs will be plentiful!

Did I cheat?

Short answer, no. I followed my rules. We didn’t buy any pantry items from the grocery store. What I did buy was some fresh produce like oranges through the Flashfood app (reducing food waste at the grocery store). I also invested in 5 bushels of apples from a local orchard to preserve. I’m still working my way through them. Towards the end of the month I did a produce order through Produce Express ( https://fresherproduce.ca/ ) which got delivered right to my door. We did eat out 2 times but that was for fun not out of necessity.

Now did my mom happen to send a few bags of taco chips and part case of zevia my way? Perhaps but that’s just what lovely mothers do.

Will I do the pantry challenge again? Absolutely! Although I’m wanting to alter my buying habits anyway. Reducing the amount of shopping trips being the main focus. We saved money and ate well. Challenge accomplished!

Would you do a pantry challenge? What are some ways you wish you could change your pantry?