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Sunday, October 28, 2012

Weekly Challenge: Eating Out of the Freezer [#CTWW]

I am NOT going to the grocery store this week. WHAT?!?!? Can I really go a week without grocery shopping?!?!? Yes, I can! I decided that I am going to eat out of the freezer, fridge, and pantry this week. My freezer and my pantry are full. I buy stuff when it is on sale and "store for later." Then, I do not really go through it and some of it is nearing expiration/best buy dates. Plus, I thought it would be kind of fun to see what kinds of meals I can come up with. I remember there was a Change the World Wednesday challenge just like this, so I will have to read up on the participants' experiences.


The challenge for this week is to not buy food at the grocery store. I am stocked up on dairy products and fruits, so I should be able to last this week with no additional produce. My freezer is also full of frozen veggies, from the store and from our SCA farm. Yes, this is going to take more planning ahead of time, but not too much.

I have the next couple of dinners planned out below based on what is in the freezer and fridge. I also want to incorporate pantry items like grains, beans, and pasta sauces into some of the meals this week.

Monday's Menu:
Organic chicken, grilled or baked depending on weather (frozen)
Cabbage, sauteed, from CSA farm (previously blanched and frozen)
Quinoa (pantry)

Tuesday's Menu:
Pizza made with Trader Joe's pizza dough (frozen), chicken from Monday's dinner, onion left over from last Thursday's dinner, peppers from SCA farm (frozen), oven made sun-dried tomatoes from SCA farm (frozen), and chives from our garden (frozen).

>> What tips do you have for eating out of the freezer and/or pantry?
  
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5 comments:

  1. JenOctober 28, 2012 at 9:47 PM

    I think I could do this for dinners but breakfast and lunch would be really hard if I didn't have enough yogurt, produce etc in the fridge.

    Looking forward to seeing how this turns out for you.

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  2. UnknownOctober 29, 2012 at 2:15 PM

    @Jen - I completely agree about breakfast and lunch. We usually have leftovers for lunch. For breakfast, I got lucky this week because I picked up a case of yogurt at Whole Foods and my husband got a dozen eggs from the CSA on Friday. If I didn't have these two items, it would be difficult.

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  3. UnknownOctober 29, 2012 at 3:14 PM

    I remember this challenge from CTWW and it was a lot of fun ... especially towards the end of the week ... we ate some pretty creative meals. We always have oatmeal on hand so breakfasts aren't bad. We also try to think outside of the box and eat non-traditional type breakfasts ... rice with veggies, tortillas and beans ... things like that. And I personally love leftovers for both breakfast and lunch. I'm looking forward to reading about your progress this week. Good luck! :-)

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  4. LisaOctober 30, 2012 at 10:16 PM

    I don't have a lot of tips but I had to laugh at not shopping for a week because I only shop once a month and forget that most people shop at least once a week. :)

    If you haven't already be sure to take an inventory, it may help you decide what other meals to make.

    (visiting from Meet & Greet Monday)

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  5. UnknownOctober 31, 2012 at 1:26 PM

    @Lisa - Great idea about taking an inventory. I need to clean out the pantry, so that would be a great time to take inventory. Thank you for the tip!

    ReplyDelete

I am grateful for your comments!