Before You Start Your Pantry Stock Up List

I’ve done quite a bit of (not) shopping this year, particularly for food. Yes, I have shopped at least twice a month, but I have skipped weeks here and there. Why would I do this? Here are the reasons:

1. To see how far I can stretch what I have on hand.
2. I am worried about food costs, and don’t want to spend any more than I have to.
3. I had a stock of food that I needed to use up, some of which I’d had on hand for a while.
4. To get a clearer picture of what I am eating these days, so I know what things I need to stock.
5. To try to figure out how often I am using particular items, so I know how much to stock.
6. Because my dietary needs have changed a lot over the last couple of years due to my diabetes, and I need to stock items that won’t cause me blood sugar issues.
7. To help me to figure out what I need for organizers and containers.

I am creating a pantry plan, but I am taking my time to get it as right as possible. And I’m learning about what I am actually using regularly, and what I thought I was going to use a lot of but haven’t. I have learned some important things so far, such as:

1. I don’t like too many things that require me to use flour alternatives, so I don’t have to buy a lot of almond and coconut flour. 1 regular size package of each will do, unless I come across a great bread or all-purpose mix recipe I will actually use. I haven’t had much luck so far.
2. I don’t feel the need to buy too many snack items. It takes me forever to eat anything.
3. It will cost a lot to stock jams, chocolate chips, hot cocoa mix, syrups and honeys, marshmallows, nut spreads, and candies from ChocZero and Lakanto, but I do enjoy these products. I will have to get a real picture of how much I actually use so I do not go overboard on these items. Because I have diabetes, I prefer the monk fruit sweetener they use over sugar.
4. I also do not have to stock a lot of the monk fruit sweeteners themselves, since I don’t bake very often.
5. While I can eat cheese, and sour cream doesn’t seem to affect me, my body hasn’t tolerated milk, yogurt, and ice cream very well for quite some time, so I do not need to buy any items that include dairy. I do keep butter stocked in the freezer though.
6. I rarely ever buy milk alternatives in jugs and cartons due to the cost. I have concentrated and powdered almond, and powdered coconut, but am hoping to find cheaper alternatives. A pound of organic coconut powder without all the add-ins is about $17 these days. I have found that a blender will help me to blend my “milk” without clumps. I might drink more milk alternatives if it wasn’t so expensive.
7. I mainly drink water and unsweetened tea but do like lemon and lemon-lime aids once in a great while. Rather than soda I drink Zevia, maybe at a rate of one every couple of weeks on a particularly hot day. I only like their cola, cream, and root beer flavors though. That was an expensive lesson. Zevia is not cheap. Neither is truly organic tea, but because I do not drink a lot of other things, I can splurge on these items.
8. I rarely ever eat pasta, but I like some every once in a while. So, I will keep a small stock of Barilla protein plus pastas on hand. A few times in the winter I will make a delicious goulash with this.
9. Unfortunately, with the diabetes, I cannot eat a lot of the “filler” foods people rely on to save money. With the exception of what little pasta I will keep on hand, I do not eat other foods with carbs on hand, such as bread items, beans, rice, and potatoes. This means foods can be more expensive for me. If you can eat this type of thing, I am truly jealous. Utilize those foods to keep your grocery bill down.
10. I also don’t eat cereal, and granolas that would actually be okay for me to eat come in small packages with maybe five quarter cup servings for at least $10. If I can find a sale, I will get a few, but they are hardly filling. I will have them with fruit add-ins, or on my dairy free yogurt or a smoothie bowl. I miss cereal.
11. I will keep a stock of organic popping kernels. Not the cheapest ones. I don’t eat popcorn every day or week, but I do like a little sometimes. There are carbs, so I can only consume this treat rarely.

All this to tell you I think it will pay off to know exactly what products you are using regularly, and approximately how much of each you might use in a year. And that you might want to use up anything that is particularly old before buying it new.

I’m glad I have been doing this, even though the sheer cost it will take to stock back up is sometimes causing me some anxiety. How did food get so expensive? Here is a true story I tell people. Back during the ice storm in the 90’s we lost the power. The town had decided to give $50.00 food vouchers to anyone who lost their power for at least 24 hours. I went and got my voucher and then to the grocery store, where I proceeded to overfill a cart of food worth that much. Today, I might only leave the store with one or two bags, depending on what I buy. Prices are ridiculous.

How do you prepare for a pantry stock up? Do you do things differently than I am? Let us know!

~ Shannon