Rebecca's Hearth and Home: Winter Food Challenge Update

Hello! I thought that those of you who are following along, might enjoy an update on how the winter food challenge is going.

I still have plenty of canned and boxed goods on hand (mostly pasta, some sugar-free Jello, instant brown rice, and organic chicken and beef bone broth), but was down to pretty much nothing in the freezer, except grains and nuts. I did still have the two packages of chicken breasts that I purchased on mark-down a couple of weeks ago, but I vowed that I would not to get into them until everything else was cleaned up and I didn't...until last night!!! 😊

It may have taken most of the winter to do it, but I have finally used up all the little bits and pieces of meat that were left in the house...two or three small packages of ham, several bags of oven-roasted turkey (sliced and cubed), chicken (whole), bison steak, salmon fillets, deli meats (turkey and ham), cod fillets, and more. I was down to the last few slices of cooked turkey bacon and a pound of ground turkey, when I went to the store over the weekend to restock. It feels great having plenty of meat in the deep-freeze again!

There are a still a few weeks left until the official arrival of spring, so I will continue to focus on cleaning up canned goods, boxed items, and grains on-hand, but, in future, will only purchase select items, mainly canned beans (black, chili, and green), green chilies, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and albacore tuna, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. My goal is to choose from as many whole foods as possible and make right (or at least better) food choices at every opportunity.

I plan to make most of my own sweets and treats from scratch using high quality and healthful ingredients. Things that immediately come to mind are protein snack balls and my mother's oatmeal drop cookies (right now I've got a batch of oat bran muffins in the oven), and I plan to substitute stevia for sugar as much as possible

Anyway, the challenge is coming along quite nicely and I have saved a bundle by cleaning up the food on-hand and not buying meat all winter. Plus, I actually have room in my freezer now for other things that I enjoy...like frozen berries, frozen grapes, and frozen yogurt! Yum! 😋

Well, that's a look at where I'm at with the winter food challenge and, in all probability, this will be last update that I give concerning it, as there's really not too much left to say about it. If anything interesting arises I will just include it in my regular posts.

How about you? How have those of you who have been following along fared with your own clean-up-the-food challenges?

Until next time...

~Rebecca

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7 comments:

JeanFebruary 22, 2023 at 4:54 PM
You did amazing with your food challenge! I probably should have done one as well. I know our freezer and pantry are in need of a good clear out again.
The Happy WhiskFebruary 22, 2023 at 5:59 PM
I love that you saved a bundle using up the stuff that needed to get used. I love that. I recently went back to a weekly food budget and I love it. I love having that target to stay under. Also love using up stuff that needs to go. All the seeds, beans and pasta stuff is in a spot now that it's just so easy for me to see when the jars are low. Helps me save that way too. Hit the Co-Op last weekend and because I know what mason jars are still full or half-full, no money wasted on buying extras. Winner, winner budget dinner.