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Post by megsb on Nov 30, 2015 18:12:47 GMT -5
Hi all Been following this thread Wow - not sure where I am headed with this. But I am just going to speak from my life experience And I have three friends - ( I have a few more, but I am referring to 3 specific friends) BFF - from high school days (many decades ago) - successful realtor And two others - 25 years plus friends - who are/were medical professionals And they ALL struggle with this pantry issue! I never thought much of it when I noticed over the years. Kind of just accepted the fact. They also have varying degrees of clutter/squalor issues. Which I am recognizing now. As I work to deal with mine. Which is a lot.... Bottom line. WE ARE NOT ALONE WITH THIS ISSUE. I wonder HOW MANY others out there are like us? And at least we here at SOS acknowledge and are trying to deal with our "issues". It is none of my business about how my friends are coping or dealing or if they even are. I still love them. And I make no judgment calls. They are WONDERFUL people!! But boy am I glad I found SOS and can get ideas and hope from the members here. Meg
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2015 18:54:39 GMT -5
I just got a new fridge. Now my pre new years resolution is to keep it from getting grody!!!
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Post by dtesposito on Dec 11, 2015 18:15:55 GMT -5
Hello abubu! Is your new fridge still clean? I have not posted in a while. I have not gone crazy and bought a whole bunch of new food to eat, but I'm not focused on eating up the extra, like I was before. I was given so much food that I find that I'm buying a few things to go with the food I was given (for example, my friend gave me a couple of boxes of Triscuits--so I bought some spaghetti sauce to use to make little pizzas out of them...). I've been eating the burritos that I got, I have only one left and I'm eating that tonight. So, I'm still working on the freezer. My pantry is actually down to a reasonable amount of food--there are still a couple of cans of soup I would like to eat, but after that there are just a few cans of beans and tomatoes, which is okay. Oh, and a couple of extra things that will go into my next crockpot dish. Here are the things I've been given since my last visit with my friend. 2 oranges and several more slices of bread from my senior client, and 3 loaves of bread from my sister. Because of my freezer efforts, I was able to fit all 3 loaves in there, so I can eat it slowly. My last shopping trip was not too bad, I bought the items I mentioned to help me eat up stuff I already had. I'm planning a trip to Aldi's in the next few days, that will be for bagels, cream cheese, and some veggies and/or fruit. Oh--I did forget to report that I stopped at the produce store last week and bought enough stuff specifically for some fresh salads, I've eaten about 3/4 of that, some is still in the fridge. How is everyone else doing? Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Jan 8, 2016 20:12:05 GMT -5
Well, it's January now, and I've continued on with my pantry challenge for January/February. I'm not doing too badly, but I did notice that when the extra food in my pantry was gone, I did immediately start to want to fill it back up again. There was also the holiday issue of wanting to stock up because the stores would be closed.
So I did buy a few things I didn't need, but in general, I didn't do too badly.
As far as people giving me things, since I last posted--let's see, here's what I remember: 3 loaves of bread from my sister, a loaf of bakery cinnamon raisin bread as a holiday gift from a client, half a bag of citrus fruit, a pint of strawberries, some lima beans, and some slices of whole wheat bread...that's all I remember right now.
I would like to start posting here again a couple of times a week, and make a suggested menu for a few days, incorporating what I have in my fridge and freezer.
I think this will be an effort that will take me quite a while to master.
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Mar 7, 2016 11:08:01 GMT -5
I'm bumping up this thread again because I really need to try to keep posting here--as soon as I turn my attention to other things I forget about the food in the fridge. I'm going to try to have a results posting day every Saturday on my challenges, so I'm going to aim to come here once a week and post how things are going.
I just did a fridge cleanout and of course, threw out more food. And as it happens, this week was a week where people gave me so much stuff. I'm switching my checking account over to a new bank, and that has made me think about money and how much I spend, and how I need to not waste anything on food. If I made sure I ate everything I bought or that people give me, I should spend a lot less.
Last week people gave me: burritos from Taco Bell, a box of Triscuits, 3 slices of bread, 2 apples, 6 mini-tangerines, some lima beans, a can of vegetarian chili and a whole package of cheese! Granted, this was a very unusual week, but I shouldn't be spending ANY money on food on weeks like this.
I have a few items written on my dry erase board that need to be eaten soon, so I'll see if I can keep up with eating what needs to be eaten first.
Diane
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Post by Arid on Mar 7, 2016 14:57:34 GMT -5
Hi, Diane:
I may have mentioned this on another thread some time ago, but back in January, I was following along at "Good Cheap Eats" where a "pantry challenge" was being held.
I didn't post there, but I *did* try to scale back on my usual grocery purchases somewhat. I **thought** that I was doing a great job of it, but when the figures were tallied, I could see that I "saved" (i.e. spent less) only $91.65 for the month compared to what I spent in January of 2015. (However, to his credit, Mr. Arid reminded me that he had spent a *LOT* of money stocking up on a several month's supply of coffee because it was on a great sale + we had coupons!! Had he not done that, I would have spent only half as much as before, rather than 2/3 as much.)
I also thought that I still was being "moderate" and "careful" in what I spent in February, but the figures show that, in fact, I spent $35 *MORE* than I did in February of 2015. Whatever . . . !!
We'll see how I do this month . . . I really *must* focus on using up more things from my freezer because I have my annual supply of pork sausage arriving in a couple of months.
Oh,--there is a "pantry chatter" still going on at "Good Cheap Eats." Several folks chose to continue their pantry challenges through the month of February. Most have stopped now, but a few still have been posting there. Obviously, I enjoy reading there.
Arid
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Post by sue5000 on Mar 7, 2016 15:36:58 GMT -5
dtesposito Diane, I was at the co-op today and I saw pantry moth traps for sale. I thought of you. They use pheromones to lure the moths into the traps. Have you looked at those online?
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Post by dtesposito on Mar 7, 2016 19:35:32 GMT -5
Sue, I have heard of those moth traps.
And I was given another 3 slices of bread today from my senior client! Better get eating up all these donations!
Diane
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Post by dtesposito on Mar 7, 2016 23:23:14 GMT -5
Arid, so you're saying that in January you spent 2/3 of what you spent in January the previous year? If so, that sounds wonderful. And don't forget there was one more shopping day in February this year--leap year! Tonight I took some things from the fridge that had to be used up now, threw them in the crockpot, and added some additional things. The "use up now" items were almost a whole box of corn soup that I bought on a whim--it was low sodium and honestly, didn't taste very good on its own. Also a couple of large tomatoes, a can of carrot slices that my sister gave me a long time ago, and half a can of black beans. To that I added some frozen lima beans, lots of frozen green beans, half a can of garbanzo beans, some cumin and some salt-free garlic herb spice mix. I cooked it until the frozen green beans were tender enough--I just ate a small bowl of it, and it's really good. Plenty to put in the freezer for later. I think I'm going to make some brown rice tomorrow to eat with it too. I think I've used up everything that might spoil soon, except for some soy milk, but I have no cereal in the house right now and don't want to buy a whole box to use up the couple of cups of soy milk. Diane
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Post by Arid on Mar 8, 2016 2:35:36 GMT -5
Yes, Diane; I spent 1/3 *LESS* this January than I did in January of 2015. You're are correct about "leap day," too! !! I thought that I was all finished with grocery shopping in February, but then, on that *LAST* day of the month, we ended up buying a few more groceries!! Do you like bread pudding, Diane? You've got bread, and you've got soy milk. All you really need in addition to that are some eggs, sugar, perhaps some raisins, and a dash or two of some spices (cinnamon and/or nutmeg and/or allspice). *I* LOVE bread pudding!! Arid P. S. I've used those moth traps in the past. I don't think that we *EVER* would have been able to completely eliminate our grain moth infestation without them! They are well-worth their cost. A.
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Post by seashell on Mar 8, 2016 8:41:27 GMT -5
Bread is now going to be kept in the refrigerator. I took out a piece to have with supper, and there was a large roach crawling around inside the bag. Our apartment complex is infested with those palmetto bugs. I have no idea how he got in the bread, as the bag was sealed with a twist tie. It was beyond gross. The loaf of bread is in the dumpster.
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Post by dtesposito on Mar 8, 2016 9:25:24 GMT -5
Arid, I have never had bread pudding! I don't have any eggs though. If I had eggs, I could also make french toast.
Seashell, that is SO creepy! I know that the pantry moths can eat through plastic, I'll bet roaches can too.
I bought some glass jars for some of my food, I wish I could put everything into glass! Right now I have some brand new 2-gallon food storage bags in their boxes, and I don't know where to put them--last time the moths got into my bag supply, where there was no food at all. I have 2 other boxes of bags in my fridge, but it's getting crowded in there, between the storage bags and all the bird seed on the bottom shelf.
Diane
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Post by seashell on Mar 8, 2016 9:41:57 GMT -5
Oh, Diane, you have got to try bread pudding. It is so good! At a soup sampling of local restaurants that occurs once a year here, the longest line is for the bread pudding that one of the restaurants serves.
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Post by dtesposito on Mar 8, 2016 23:43:01 GMT -5
Seashell, bread pudding does sound good, and it's probably better that I never taste it! I need to cut the sweets, not add another favorite to lust after. I just wanted to come back and report that I ate more of the crockpot dish for dinner tonight, and after a day in the fridge it tastes REALLY good. This is the problem with my crockpot dishes, I just throw things in without measuring, so even when I want to recreate something that comes out good, I can't! Diane
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Post by Arid on Mar 9, 2016 0:29:41 GMT -5
Well, Diane, once you've finished your crockpot dish, you could try going the "savory" route with your bread and milk.
There are tons of recipes on-line for breakfast-type casseroles that use those ingredients. I have a recipe that I make for company; in addition to the bread and milk, it takes sausage and shredded cheese. I have another that uses broccoli and ham, along with the bread and milk.
Arid
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