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I never thought I would make a blog post on how to eat with what you have in your pantry during a quarantine. I know we all aren’t in this situation at least not yet. But in case this comes up I thought I would put together a list of cheap meals you could make from what is usually in a pantry.
This past couple of months sure have been strange. I was able to eat out of my pantry with what I had bought before the quarantine. Thankfully I had the forethought and bought a little bit more than usual. Except toilet paper. I know that doesn’t have anything to do with eating but it is usually on my grocery list. I wrote about what to do if you run out of toilet paper in another post. We had to use some of the ways I listed.
Buy What You Would Eat
What I did was go to the grocery store with the thought “If I had to quarantine immediately without going to the store what would I need to get by for a little while.” I also didn’t want to buy anything that I normally didn’t buy. I made sure it was going to be cheap meals from the pantry. Quarantine means not working also so it needs to be cheap. Most food in the pantry lasts awhile so I stocked up on a few more items then usual. I figured I could probably go about a month with what I had in there plus what was in my freezer and refrigerator if I had too.
Don’t Wait
Don’t wait until the last minute. When I went everybody was in a panic to get toilet paper and soap. The shelves where empty. I missed out on the toilet paper because I didn’t think stores would run out. So it got me thinking about food. I can’t find a replacement for food like I could toilet paper. Here is a link to an article I wrote on some ideas for toilet paper. So I bought extra of food.
Meals from pantry planning
Okay whether you went to the grocery store or not before quarantine you need to go into the pantry and make a list of what you have in there. Also check in your refrigerator and freezer also. Write everything down. It’s time to make a cheap meals from your pantry. Without a plan your food probably won’t last as long because a lot may go to waste or we eat what we see because we are bored. If you know it needs to be saved for a meal you won’t eat it until meal time.
Make sure on your meal plan that you have snacks listed if you are a snacker like me. Otherwise you will be miserable having to wait for mealtime.
My Pantry List
Here is what I have in my pantry. I will include refrigerator and freezer at the end. Remember this is what’s in mine not a list of what to buy. What I have will probably last for 3 weeks. If I menu plan probably a month if I stretch it a bit further. In the next section I will list some menu options.
- green beans 3 can , flour 1 bag
- kernel corn 3 cans , sugar 1 bag
- sliced new potatoes 4 cans , saltine crackers 2 boxes
- box of minute rice , tuna 3 cans
- Hungry Man Instant potatoes , red kidney beans 3 cans
- spaghetti O’s 3 cans , black beans 2 cans
- macaroni and cheese 1 box , chicken rice 1 packet
- spaghetti pasta 1 box , garlic noodles 1packet
- Ziti pasta 1 box , spaghetti sauce 2 jars
- egg noodles 1 bag , pancake mix
- chicken gravy 3 jars , granola bars 3 boxes
- green enchilada sauce , pancake/waffle mix
- assorted can fruit , refried beans
- flour tortillas , corn tortillas
- bread , hot dog buns
- hamburger buns , chips
- stew seasoning , spices
- Honey Bunches of oats Cheerios
- Oreo Cookies peanut butter crackers
- 1 bag brown sugar yeast
Freezer items
- ground beef 3lbs , boneless chicken breast
- pork loin x 2 , hot dogs
- chicken nuggets , chicken tenders x2
Meal Ideas from the pantry
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Baked Ziti
- Black Beans and rice with tortilla chips
- Bean burritos
- Chicken and Noodles
- Spaghetti
- Hamburger Stew
- Tuna sandwich
- Chili (I didn’t add the hot pepper sauce) outside link
- b-b-q chicken sandwiches
Fill your pantry with meals that you like
Remember to fill your pantry with what you enjoy eating. A lot of the items you can combine and make a meal. Like pancakes for dinner. Mac and cheese with ground beef . There are so many different ideas. Visit my recipe page for ideas.
