marshmallows/ shelf space, breathing room

Food its all over my kitchen and yet I struggle with "whats for dinner" and grocery spending is way over the top to say the least.  So since this blog is about using what I have I wondered if that could translate into my pantry and overflowing cabinets. I have read so many bloggers write about their food waste ie.. frugal girl and how about they spend one month a year eating whats in the pantry (like this ) . And after feeling crappy by comparison and inspired, decided to see if I could do anything different.  So I decided to see if I could procrastinate grocery shopping and just see what happens...not for a month just for a week.  Now I can see enough of my fridge to actually clean it (no photos of that thank you) 

But I did have some fun with limiting myself joyfully. 

Yes joyfully. I decided that it was going to be fun to use up the random odds and ends. I admit that I buy 

strawberries and then the go bad because I was waiting for the best meal to make them HUH? Same with other things like sweet potatoes. Its like I have this weird fear of running out but then instead it goes to waste - sad. So this was also an experiment to say "GIRL you bought it to use it so USE it up" 

some of what we ate... 

Chili. (had lunch baggies of frozen leftovers so those all went in together. with our one purchase of the week whole wheat saltines) 

roast chicken with sweet potatoes and peas

roast chicken with oven fries (GO mE! I finally perfected oven fries... if it works out a second time I will post recipe)

vegetable soup 

homemade fried spring rolls with peanut sauce (red cabbage, bean noodles, turkey bacon, mushrooms, onions and garlic)

Waffles

oatmeal pancakes with homemade maple-ish syrup (thank you Tristan) 

chicken mushroom and olive onion and spinach pizza (made crust and topped with fridge leftovers)

chicken and rice soup

crockpot quiche (bacon, potato, onion )

spicy beans and rice

I made RICE MILK

and some other yuminess but the favorite here was.... 

MARSHMALLOWS - my kiddo loves some FLUFFIES! thats what she calls them and I found a bottle of unopened corn syrup so... we made some and I felt like an awesome mom. 

Results : we did not starve, I learned planning is EVERYTHING (while I knew this in my head - I proved it), yes dinner was a little late a couple of nights. Crock pots are friends. I have missed being creative in my kitchen. And Cameron did have to eat out for lunch a couple of days because there were not enough for leftovers. Viv and I ate Ramen for lunch 2 days. Yep not really a food but it does fill the belly

Going forward goals: menu plan at least 4 meals and no more than 5 a week

now that its a little lighter Label my pantry so no more stuff gets lost. 

take bag of unopened food to food shelf _ I found a few things that I am not going to eat.

Start a running list of what should be in my pantry

Continue for another week but allow one smaller grocery store trip.  Because it  doesn't have to be all or nothing .

After next week I am going to reorganize the pantry and then spend march building a more working one for us based on the running list. 

Project total

used up lots of food

donated 1 bag of food

space gained  approx 10/20 sq feet