2010 preview

2009 brought so many changes and challenges that I had to let this blog fall off of my list of priorities. I'm sure that 2010 will be just as eventful, but the thought of beginning a new DECADE has me motivated to finally create and stick to a more efficient daily schedule. Naptime for the little guy has always been computer time, but my goal for this year is to make it a much more focused time than it has been. Bring on the blogging! :)

One of the changes coming in 2010 is going to be a HUGE blessing in a very little package. This belly did *not* come from eating too much from my pantry! :)

Becoming a mommy the first time changed everything. Becoming a mommy the second time (she is due in March!) has reinforced those changes, and I have had enough time in this role to feel more confident in my ability to fulfill it. When I began blogging here at EFYP I already had a good grasp of how to cook, how to prepare healthy meals, and how to budget for food. However, I was much more willing to make compromises with our health for the sake of our wallet when there were just two of us and neither of us seemed very vulnerable. Pregnancy, nursing, and pregnancy again have sent me reeling as I've attempted to find a good balance and if there's one thing I learned that I will keep from the year 2009, it's every family has different needs and every individual situation calls for specific discernment. I have stopped trying to figure out the best model for eating for every person or the "right" ways to live as good stewards of all that God has given us. I've learned that I'm not an expert and never will be, and it has been liberating.

As you can imagine, I will be blogging this year from a slightly different perspective. The name of this blog will not change and neither will the mission; I still want to provide information for families doing their best to make ends meet in all different circumstances. I will, however, be attempting to also share with all of you some of the ways I have learned to make our dollar stretch in the most beneficial (to our health, our realtionship, etc.) ways possible.

Just in time for me to officially push restart here at Eat From Your Pantry, I've become aware of a pantry challenge that couldn't be more appropriate!

The ladies over at Money Saving Mom and Life as a Mom are teaming up to host this one. You can read all about it here or by clicking the image above.

Some guidelines for the challenge are:

• Reduce grocery spending. We're talking about reducing grocery spending this month, not eliminating it. Set a goal that is lower than your regular food budget and shoot for not exceeding it.
• Take stock. Take an afternoon and empty your pantry, freezer, and refrigerator. Ditch what's gone bad and make a list of what's left. Knowing what you have will make you less likely to buy more.
• Use what you have. Check your pantry before you meal plan or head off to the store. Develop meals based on what you have rather than buying new.

The challenge will last through January and the rules are completely flexible! No two pantries are the same and neither do any two challenge plans have to be. Here are my challenge goals:

1. Reduce weekly grocery spending to $80 from $100. I forgot to mention that my father-in-law lives with us now, too. He will be out of town for the first half of January though, so this should happen anyway - but may not if I don't commit to it.

2. Use up odds and ends. Like that can of almond paste, frozen bag of pureed cauliflower, and the lonely package of soba noodles shoved in the back of the cabinet.

3. Schedule and plan for monthly freezer cooking days for the 3 months before our little one arrives. I want to have plenty of food on hand that is easy when she comes, and in the meantime I want some freedom to work through the time I'd normally be cooking so that I can check off some of the projects (kids room) that need to be completed.

4. Blog about it! :)

So there you have it! I hope you join me for 2010!

The only zucchini recipe you'll ever want

We finally made the leap to join a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm this summer. We've loved the weekly share of fresh, delicious produce and have had a fun (and challenging) time figuring out how to fit all of this goodness into our diet. I've cooked and eaten things that I've previously not even heard of (kohlrabi) - which is more a testament to my being sheltered than to the rarity of the produce our farm grows.

The most exciting part of this CSA is that we've gotten more than our usual portion of zucchini, tomatoes, and greens. Our family loves all three in everything and we've received enough zucchini that stir fry, side dishes, and pastas aren't cutting it. I experimented with zucchini cookies a few weeks ago and while they were delicious, they were so moist that I might as well have eaten them with a fork. Then I discovered this recipe:

Brandi Chase's Zucchini Brownies

I will never go back.

Ok, I might have to still use them in stirfry every once in a while just so that I don't overdo it on baked goods, but I don't think I'll ever enjoy zucchini more than this. I made some changes to the original recipe that I think really add to its amazingness:

Zucchini Coconut Brownies

• 2 c. flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour but I've used all purpose before)
  
• 1.25 c. sugar (organic - sucanat if available)
  
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1.5 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. cocoa
• 1/2 c. coconut oil (melt it to make it easier to mix)
  
• 2 c. grated zucchini (1 large)
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. grated coconut

Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and stir till well mixed.

Spread in 9X11" pan, bake for 30 min at 350.

I'd love to make it again soon with walnuts and dark choco chips as well! mmm!

Best Recipes of 2008

I end up hunting for recipes online about once a week. I love to try new combinations and I don't have many years of experience behind me, so even though I'm pretty adventurous, I like to get an idea of what others have tried that works. I don't always stick to recipes that I find, but they are in invaluable resource. Reading food blogs is addictive as well, and there's such a great pool to choose from! This last year I discovered so many great new blogs that I couldn't possibly write them all up. Instead I want to share with you my top 10 recipes found on blogs in 2008. Better late than never. :) They aren't all pantry meals, but they all:

1. are able to be made from common ingredients
2. are hard to mess up
3. are delicious!!!!

These links should take you to the original blog post I took them from. If I blogged about them myself after I made them, I've noted that too.

Powerballs - (I blogged about them here)
Rosemary chickpea soup
Chip and dip cookies - (my thoughts coming soon)
Double good raisin bars - (my thoughts coming soon)
Peanut butter filled chocolate cookies
crockpot applesauce - (I mentioned it here)
Homemade eggrolls
Eggplant caviar, falafel and pita - (I blogged about them here)
Yogurt - (I blogged about it here)
Rustic Garlic Onion Pizza - (I blogged about it here)

Technically 12 recipes if you count eggplant caviar, falafel, and pita as three - but then this wouldn't be a "Top 10" list, and besides I ate them as a meal! :) Thank you internet for access to amazing recipes!!

Eating From MY Pantry

Last day of shopping, Feb 2nd, 2009

That's right - I'm done. :) With the exception of buying asparagus and sliced ham for a meal going to a friend with a new baby, I have shopped my last (for groceries) until April or longer. We are anticipating a move in the next two months and want to deplete our food stores so as to have less to pack and transfer. Should be an interesting ride. :)

Because I generally purchase more than one of any regularly-consumed item that I find at a good price, we are fairly prepared for this little project. So far it has been a small challenge and certainly no hardship. I have frozen veggies and a good amount of yogurt with fruit in it, dried fruit, and a jar of canned peaches. I have at least 8lbs of chicken, 5lbs of beef, 4 pork chops, half a dozen fillet of talapia, 1lb ground turkey, and 2 dozen eggs. I also have 3 loaves of already-made bread stored and plenty of flour to make more.

The difficult part of this project will be the fillers. The pre-made granola bars, crackers, chips, and cookies are gone, and we are obviously limited on the healthier choices. This is fine for me and the little guy (who just turned 1 on Valentine's Day!), but harder to manage for my husband who takes his lunch to work and eats, well, like the 6'4" man that he is. :) He has no qualms with leftovers - eats them every day - but it will be a stretch to find things to go with the leftovers he takes.

In an effort to conserve our egg supply, I have been making us oatmeal in the mornings. My husband isn't a fan of plain oatmeal, so I've been sprucing it up a bit. Here are some ideas:

"Home Made" Instant Oatmeal

3/4 cup quick oats

a handful of any or all of the following:

dried fruit (cranberries are our fave)
seeds/nuts (we like sunflower seeds and pecans the best)

1/2 tsp cinnamon
tsp sugar or honey

you can also add a tsp of powdered milk or coffee creamer if you like creamy oatmeal

Add water to desired consistency and voila!

When both my husband and I were working, we'd take a shortcut in this process and combine a dozen or so servings in a large tupperware container or ziplock bag and dish it into our bowls each morning until it was gone. One of our very favorite blogs posted a great "visual guide" to making individual oatmeal packets ahead of time a while back - read it here.

Please continue to follow me the next month as I stretch our food supply. :)

Valentine's Day on a Dime

Yay for freebies!

The folks at Living on a Dime are at it again! They are offering their Valentine's On A Dime e-book free this month!

Click on the image above and download it! It expires Feb. 15.

And if that weren't nice enough, they are also offering a ONE DAY SALE on that great cookbook - Dining on a Dime that I gave away last year! It ends tonight at midnight, so don't miss out!!

New Year New Focus

I apologize for the unannounced hiatus. The holidays are busy here at Hillcrest (and everywhere else, I know) and it took me a while to recoup. However, I have written a million blog posts in my mind and have taken plenty of food pictures over the last two months, so we'll be on a roll now that I'm back.

One of the things I want to do differently here at EFYP in the new year is to focus more on creating a comprehensive resource than a personal memoir about pantry food. I wanted to enlarge my audience last year and so spent the majority of my time on advertising, giveaways, fun posts, etc. While I will still share things like that (look for another freebie next week!!), I want to get serious about eating from my pantry.

We happen to be entering a phase of transition in our lives that will lend nicely to refocusing here. In April we expect to move into another (Hillcrest) apartment that has two bedrooms!! Since we will be moving, I don't want to stock up on a lot of extra food right now just to have to pack it all up.

Therefore, the first part of this transition that will affect EFYP is that I will not be shopping for groceries from now until the time that we move provided that the move actually occurs in April. There will be a few exceptions to that rule like shopping for dinners to bring to friends experiencing illness or loss, and shopping for our church pot luck if I can't find anything appropriate here. Otherwise I will be doing my best to make our current food stretch and I'll be sharing the experience with you. There is a more detailed post about this to come.

The second thing to note about our moving is that I will have to start from scratch when we move into our new place which includes purchasing staples to stockpile and planning out our new pantry space. I am fairly certain that the kitchen in our new place is just as small as the one here, but we may have a linen closet to fill - in which case I'll get to post about labeling and rotating and all sorts of fun stuff.

I hope you'll continue to follow along as our journey unfolds before us, and I am looking forward to posting things to make your life a little easier and your wallet a little bit thicker. :)