Eat from the Pantry Challenge: I haven't run out of anything! (yet)

As you know, I am taking the Eat From the Pantry Challenge this month. Here are the goals I set for myself this month.

I met my first goal by taking inventory of the items in my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, and making a list of the must-use-up items.  I also found something very strange in my freezer!

So far, nine days into the challenge, I haven't run out of anything! (yet) I opened the last can of apple juice concentrate yesterday; in a few days, my four-year-old will be very disappointed that we don't have her favorite drink in the house. (Don't worry, there's grape and orange juices, milk, and lemonade. Not to mention water. So she won't be going thirsty.)

Another thing that is getting low is the instant oatmeal - only a few packets left. I'll have to get moving a little earlier in the morning and make a pot of regular oatmeal - or maybe I'll try making oatmeal in the crockpot.

We did purchase milk, eggs, yogurt, produce, and bread this week. Next week I'll be getting milk, shredded cheese, bread, vanilla (used it all up making brownies today), and Parmesan cheese - that counts as dairy, right?

Luckily, Publix is being nice to me this week by not having any really great specials to tempt me into buying them.

I'm also realizing how important menu planning is - I'm using up stored foods that I use for quick meals (like ground beef and boneless, skinless chicken breasts) while foods that take longer to cook are languishing in the freezer. If I plan, I'll use up those less expensive cuts of meat.  Also, although I do have recipes to use up vegetables, too often some of the produce goes bad in the crisper drawer.   So I've made up a menu plan for this week.

As for saving money, I spent $68.54 this week on food and household items (including cleaning supplies, school supplies, and food for our pet rabbit).  That's $8.54 over the goal I set.  But, it's below the $100 I typically budget, and very far below the $150-$200 I would typically spend before I started reading frugality blogs, watching sales, and using coupons!

Thanks to Life as MOM and Money Saving Mom for this great challenge!