If you need to learn how to meal plan from your pantry, then you are in the right place!
Last month, the James and I found ourselves frequently “treating” ourselves to a dinner out. It was a rough month for our budget.
Our spending had gotten a little out of hand, and it was time to check back into reality and our goals.
Since we made the decision to live frugally, one of our goals was to eat out less and cook meals at home more.
In theory, the best way to kick your eating out habit would be to slowly cut back on the number of meals out and instead add a few more meals at home.
Guess what we did? Not that!
Instead, our overambitious selves ran straight to the grocery store, with our grocery list in hand, and piled up our cart with an entire week’s worth of food.
Needless to say, we threw out a lot of food that week. Sometimes, we still do. This is bad for your budget and so wasteful.
One of the biggest game-changers in our food budget was using up what we already had.
Instead of planning a completely new meal plan each week, I first evaluate what is left in our fridge, pantry, and freezer to make a list of everything that’s left. This is how I start pantry meal planning. Using this list, I start putting together meals using ingredients I already have.
By adding this step into your meal planning routine, you will not only save you so much money on your grocery budget each month.
And less food will go to waste!
How to meal plan from your pantry will ensure that you are no longer letting ANYTHING go bad because it was forgotten, and you are not buying ingredients you already have.
So let’s dive into these pantry meal planning ideas so we can learn how to make better use of what we’ve already got.
Plus, with these pantry meal planning tips, we’ll be saving more food and more of our money than ever!
Let’s get started with these pantry meal planning ideas!
Write It Down
I needed a place where I can write down all of my food products to stay organized. How to meal plan from your pantry is to start writing down the items you already have.
I’ve tried writing down ingredients on a sheet of paper, on my computer, and even on the back of a sales flyer to keep track of what food was in my kitchen at any given time.
I kept finding myself losing the list, or not updating it often enough.
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Download this handy Kitchen Inventory Sheet! so you can start pantry meal planning!
If you want to get even more organized, be sure to check out Creative Savings to get a copy of her wonderful Spice Inventory Printable!
List & Cross Off When Used
Listing every item in your home takes some time, especially if you are like me and keep a ginormous stockpile of everything. Take these pantry meal planning ideas and make it your own.
When I fill out my inventory list, I put EVERY item down, and update this list every one to two weeks.
how to meal plan from your pantry may take some getting used to being so organized. But when you see how much money you are saving, it’s worth it!
Don’t feel like you need to do that to reap the benefits of this worksheet! As long as you are crossing off items you’ve used, and adding items you’ve purchased to the list, you’ll be in good shape.
You can also use this worksheet by only writing in key ingredients such as pasta, bread, energy bars, etc.
I like to take my pantry meal planning a step further by also adding in how many of each item I have.
For example, instead of just writing Pop-Tarts, I will write down how many there are, and what flavor.
Throw Out Food That Has Gone Bad
Making my inventory sometimes turns into a deep cleaning session in my fridge and freezer.
How to meal plan from your pantry works only by when you truly know what you have to make meals! And if that means putting all 4 bags of brussel sprouts on your list, then it needs to go on your list!
As you begin to make your pantry meal planning list, you will probably find a few things that are expired or have gone bad. Throw them out now!
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Want to plan your weekly meals with less hassle?
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I also put an asterisk or some other code to let me know those need to be used first in my pantry meal planning.
Again, these pantry meal planning ideas are how I get organized. Find a system that works for you.
Make Your List
Now that you know what food you already have, it’s time to make your pantry meal planning list!
How to meal plan from your pantry simply starts with your ingredient list and what normal recipes you already make.
Feeling stumped? Check out Supercook to find some recipes to go with the ingredients you have.
After you’ve decided what meals you will be making, add any other ingredients you need for the recipes you will make to your shopping list.
While doing your inventory, you might realize that you are running low on certain items. Only write them down if you know you can use them before they expire.
While your list is handy, now is a good time to jot down those ingredients so you’ll be ready for your next grocery run.
By taking 20-30 minutes to look in my pantry and write down what I had, I was able to make almost an ENTIRE week’s worth of meals!
Here is what I was able to create using ingredients from my home:
- Ground beef, Mexican cheese blend, taco shells, tortilla chips, salsa = Tacos with chips and salsa
- Bacon, eggs, pancake mix, syrup = Breakfast for dinner
- Pasta noodles, marinara sauce, head of lettuce, a loaf of french bread = Spaghetti with salad and bread
- Frozen Pizza
By using ingredients that I already had on hand, I was able to make four meals on my pantry meal planning list without a single trip to the grocery store!
How to meal plan from your pantry can be simply done with these simple pantry meal planning ideas.
Anytime I am meal planning now, I start with this method because it’s a smart way to use up what I already have.
It sure has helped our budget because it’s a smarter way to meal plan. And now we don’t throw nearly as much food away than we used to!
So I hoped you have learned how to meal plan from your pantry which will ensure that you are no longer letting ANYTHING go bad.
These pantry meal planning ideas are so important to learn so we can learn how to make better use of what we’ve already got.
Plus, with these pantry meal planning tips, we’ll be saving more food and more of our money than ever before!
YOUR TURN: Now that you know how to meal plan from your pantry, what recipes can you create from your stock? Let me know in the comments below!
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