How to Use Up Food in Your Pantry to Save Money on Groceries

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Whether you need to save money on groceries fast or your pantry is overloaded and you’re a little overwhelmed with the thought of cleaning it out.

Today I’m sharing six tips for clearing out your pantry to lower your grocery bill, especially if your cupboards look like a mini-episode of Hoarders.

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At the end, I’m gonna give you a real-life example from my pantry on how I’m getting creative with my forgotten foods.

How to Shop Your Pantry to Reduce Food Waste

Food waste is a big problem. The FDA estimates that 30% to 40% of food in the U.S. goes uneaten. That’s the equivalent of Americans throwing away $165 billion every year. Reducing it isn’t just good for your wallet and your home, it helps the environment as well.

Before you start, there are a few things you shouldn’t shop from your pantry.

The first is expired foods. I know it’s tempting when money’s tight but botulism does not sound fun right now.

Second, staples you use regularly. If there are ingredients you know you’ll use every week in addition to shopping your pantry and doing regular meal planning, don’t include those staples.

Now for the strategies that will help you shop your pantry!

Commit to a Timeframe

Give yourself a start and end date so the task doesn’t seem so daunting. A lot of people will call it a “challenge” so they’re motivated to meet a goal within their timeframe. A month is a good amount of time if this is your first pantry challenge.

Shop The Fridge First

Begin in your fridge and look for the perishable items that are going bad. Then head to the freezer and see if anything needs to be thawed out and used.

Pick 3 to 4 Items Per Week

Try to pick at least two ingredients that can go together and one or two more to go with your chosen fridge foods. If you can do more then great but you don’t have to stress yourself out by only using pantry foods. You can still meal plan recipes that don’t follow your pantry challenge, just try to not bring in any new items to your pantry.

Mix in Fancy Items With The Lost Items

We all buy those fancy foods that we want to use but can never figure out what they go with. They languish there until you do a pantry challenge then they’re the first to get used.

A big word of advice: don’t use up all the good stuff first. Balance out the fancy items with the lost and forgotten items that get lost in the back.

Shop Your Spices

When cleaning out the pantry, we often neglect our spice shelf. Plan your meals around dry spices and fridge condiments and try to incorporate some into every meal on your meal plan.

Plan Ahead

If you’re using cashews this week but you’re not using all of them, pick another way to use what’s left and save it for next week. This will cut down on the time it takes you to meal plan later.

How I’m Starting my Pantry Challenge

I may have recorded this video but I’m not immune to pantry build up. I’ve actually got a few things I’m planning to start my pantry challenge with.

This week I’m using a bag of 15 bean soup, ground flax, and turmeric. Here are the recipes I’m using them in:

• Beans: https://www.budgetbytes.com/vegetarian-15-bean-soup/
• Flax: https://cookieandkate.com/best-blueberry-smoothie-recipe/
• Turmeric: https://www.averiecooks.com/thai-chicken-coconut-curry/

Leave me a comment with what pantry items you’re including in your meal plan this week and how you’re using them. I’m sure there are other people with the same lost foods looking for a way to use them!

Thanks for watching, I’m going to be posting videos about how to save money and spend less now so you can improve your finances in the future so if you want more info like that hit that subscribe button. I’ll be putting out a few videos a week until we’re all back on our feet.