Cleaning out the pantry.

Times are tough. Very very tough. Business is slow for me and it has been since January 1st. It's a bummer and there's not much I can do except keep on looking out for a part time gig that will help me out. In the meantime, take a look at my shop, you might find something you like!

I've been reading up on the vegan blogs and came across some great ideas at Melomeals. Melody is on a strict budget and has been spending $3.33 per day on food. She has been using up all of the food in her pantry which is what I plan to do this month. I've got a ton of stuff in there that I haven't used and/or have forgotten all about. My challenge this month is to use up as much of it as possible and try to spend less than $15 per week on fresh veggies/fruits and any miscellaneous ingredients that I may need. I told my non-vegan husband that if he's not too keen on eating out of the pantry, he may go ahead and make his go-to pastas, grilled cheeses and whatever he wants to make for himself.

I, on the other hand will try to work with these items:

-brown rice/white rice/sushi rice
-corn pasta/white pasta
-quinoa
-bulgur
-millet
-pearled barley
-oats
-TVP (textured vegetable protein)
-whole wheat flour/all purpose flour
-split red lentils
-green lentils
-yellow split peas
-instant mashed potatoes
-black olives
-roasted red peppers
-tomato sauce/tomato paste/canned diced and stewed tomatoes
-2 cans white beans
-1 can black beans
-1 can fava beans
-1 can refried beans
-2 cans kidney beans
-5 cans chickpeas
-dry aduki beans
-dry red salvadorean beans
-sundried tomato pesto
-chinese style plum sauce
-1 large can pure pumpkin
-plain soymilk
-2 cans coconut milk
-various curry pastes
-frozen corn
-frozen spinach
-russet potatoes
-onions/garlic
-white bread loaf
-german rye bread
-whole wheat pitas
-corn tortillas
-flour tortillas
-taco shells

Lots of things with potential to be great meals! I see a few curries happening, maybe some tacos, burritos as well as casseroles (my favorite kind of dish!). I think it will be a fun challenge. To those of you out there going through tough times and having to pinch pennies, all the best to you and hopefully you are eating well.