Over on the Simple Living Net forums (which I also occasionally frequent, though not much of late), there's a monthly "pantry challenge" to live off what is in your pantry.

The food budget is tight for the rest of the summer, so I'm going to adhere as much as possible to that, though I'll buy weekly portions of milk, fresh fruits & veggies, & some sort of protein source.

A first step is taking an inventory of my existing refrigerator, freezer, and larder:

4 4 oz frozen salmon patties
3 frozen chicken breasts
2 boxes of veggie burgers (4/box)
5 various bags of frozen veggies
6 frozen burritos
1 frozen pad thai entree from Trader Joe's
1 chinese citrus chicken entree from TJ's
3 ready-made Indian meals from TJ's
one jar of hot & sour soup from TJs
one can ready-made Campbell's tomato soup
1 can Campbell's cream of celery soup
two small boxes butternut squash soup from TJ's
one can of chili w/meat & beans
6 oz canned crab meat
3 6 oz cans tuna
1 jar roasted red peppers
1 can mandarin oranges
1 can pineapple
half a box of dried felafel mix
4 #s pound of pasta (2 spaghetti, 1 macaroni, 1 # egg noodles)
two pounds of brown rice
a pound of red lentils
a pound of brown lentils
a pound of split peas
3 boxes of cereal
1.5 packages whole wheat pitas
1/2 jar pizza sauce
13 oz mozzerella
2 #s sliced deli turkey

1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen peaches
1 pint lime sherbet
2 popsicles

4 apples
1 plum
3 small heads romaine lettuce
3 tomatoes
2 #s carrots
1 bunch celery
2 cucumbers
1 quart of soy milk
2 quarts kefir
tomato juice (2 big cans V8)
orange juice (1/2 gallon)
1 cup plain yogurt
2.5 cups fruit flavored yogurt
2/3 loaf of 12-grain bread
4 slices rye bread
5 hamburger buns

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To buy during rest of month:
1 carton of eggs
soy milk
bananas
summer fruit (melon, nectarine)


In August, I'll need more of those frequently-used perishables mentioned above plus more dairy and bread.

But that's really about it for the rest of the summer.

I'm going to be focusing a lot on reducing my food expenses the next couple of months, as this is one expense I have where the expense is not fixed and I know there is room to cut.

Ironically, I started this attempt to reduce food expenses over the next couple of months by increasing the expense. Last week I spent $200 on groceries (gulp!) Much of this was that I took a field trip to the nearest Trader Joe's (over an hour away) and stockpiled "goodies" for the rest of the summer. I'm trying not to eat out this summer since I'm not working, but I do yearn for variety and the occasional prepared meal, so I went and loaded up on prepared burritos and frozen Asian dinners etc. One find was a hearts of palm/artichoke Bruschetta spread, a tablespoon of which turns my ordinary lunchtime turkey sandwich into a delicacy.

I also finally plugged in the downstairs freezer. I was lucky enough to "inherit" an upright freezer in the basement when I bought the house last fall. It's remained empty so far, but after my TJ's run, I plugged it in and started filling it up.

I also spent money to buy a bunch boneless/skinless chicken breasts on sale. I baked them in a soy-ginger marinade, and then sealed them in FoodSaver bags and tossed those in the freezer as well. Between that and the frozen salmon fillets and turkey burgers that are already in there, I won't have to buy much meat at least through July.