DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links. Which means if you make a purchase through my links, I receive a small commission at not cost to you. For more information, please read my Disclaimer .
Today we are going to talk about expanding your pantry beyond the three-week cycle. Previously, I have talked about the three-week grocery cycle and building a pantry. Now, we are going to expand your pantry, the start of building food security. According to the Oxford dictionary, food security is the state of having access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. In other words, reliable access to enough food for you and your family.
Buying 40 cans of tuna when your family hates tuna is not preparation; it is just 40 cans of tuna - too many for your house. That is why the buy one for now, two for later concept is so helpful for each family. Each household will stock and need different things. The foods you need will be different from the foods I need, and different from what your neighbor needs.
Planning for Your Family
How big is your family?
Are you feeding the two of you, or are you feeding six kids?
Do you have weekly large family gatherings?
Do you have a child that needs ketchup on everything?
Is there someone who eats pickles with every meal?
Are you a baker and always have tasty treats around?
I think you get the idea of where I am going with this. All of these items will factor into how you build your pantry and what you put in your pantry. Basically, take a look at what you like to eat, how often you eat it, and how many you are feeding.
I receive so many questions about rice and beans specifically. Should you buy big bags of these items and store them? My first question before answering is always - do you eat rice and beans? How often do you eat rice and/or beans? What types of rice do you eat, how much and how often? Same questions for the beans. Rice and beans can be a great long storage pantry item, especially if that is something you enjoy eating. At my house we eat black beans. I have them in cans and dried in bags. I rotate them and they are served often at my house. Beans are a great item to put in casseroles, enchiladas, or soup to stretch out meat. I recommend stocking your pantry with items you like to eat.
This post is going to focus on expanding your at home pantry. Blog posts have been done on the three-week grocery cycle. Today we are going to start expanding your pantry to reach a three-month cycle or longer.
Topics to be covered are:
- Building Your Pantry
- How you can slowly expand within your budget
- When to add more
- Why build a bigger pantry?
- Monitoring Your Pantry
- Shelf Cooking
Building Your Pantry
I cannot stress enough that each house will stock different items. Different spices. Different canned goods. I tend to stock single ingredient items because I cook most items from scratch to avoid allergens in foods.
Take a couple weeks and really look at your family’s eating habits. Do you drink coffee daily? Make lunches daily? Back to that kid that needs ketchup on everything at every meal; you might need to make sure you have extra ketchup around.
Think about the season you are heading into. I am hoping to get you to a three-month pantry, which is pretty seasonal. Most families have four to six recipes that they use and change with the seasons or holidays. At my house we eat hamburgers and hot dogs during the warmer months and not so often during the colder months. I know going into these months to add hamburgers, hamburger buns and the fixings for these meals. Toward the end of the season, I know we need to eat up the fixings as we will not eat them again in the late fall to winter months.
At the time of this post, we are in the early part of June - summertime - here in America. Knowing I have followers around the world, take a look at where you are. What will you and your family be eating over the next few months? Those are the items you need to be concentrating on.
First, take stock of what you already have. Look at the expiration dates. As a general rule, eat what is about to expire. The goal continues to be, eat what you buy. Rotate your stock putting the oldest in the front. I take a black sharpie pen and mark the expiration date on the can so it is easier to read. I check the cans regularly.
https://youtu.be/lQX4HIjB7mE
Take a look at the Homestead Anywhere eBook. This book is full of tips and ideas on food security, having food at your house. You will find a whole chapter on building your pantry.
Slowly Expand Within Your Budget
If you’ve been following me for any length of time and implementing what I teach, by now, your produce is lasting longer; giving you a chance to eat what you buy. With the savings experienced by eating your produce, you can shift some of this money to other items in your house. Take a look at your budget and see if you can shift $10 or $20 to your stockpile budget; this is not about breaking the bank.
The ability to buy in bulk gives you the flexibility to stay within your budget. Buying a 10- or 25-pound bag of flour, sugar, or oatmeal is cheaper per ounce than the smaller 4-pound bag or 1-pound box. However, the challenge becomes storing the extra. You can use a smaller container, a larger jar, or a bag for pantry storage items. I have several glass storage options available in my Amazon Storefront.
Choosing the storage method makes a difference. Take a look at how your items are packaged. For longer storage, these items may need to be repackaged. Glass storage can double the shelf life of the items, keeping it airtight, and bug free.
Let’s take a minute and talk about water. Some families want to store bottled water for emergencies or use for a busy day. I have a Berkey Water Filter. I love my filter as it provides clean water on a regular basis, however, I also know that it can handle any type of water in an emergency.
When to Add More to Your Pantry
It’s time to add to your pantry when you can. Start by adding your most commonly used items. Use the buy one now and two for later concept. Are you using those three items in the three-week grocery cycle? If you are, then try buying three now and six for later to build your pantry. Or buy larger portions.
There are a couple of different ways to look at this expanded pantry. In a way, it is a savings account. A properly managed pantry (meaning monitoring expiration dates and buying only what you will use) can save you money over the long haul. If your paycheck is suddenly short, you will still be able to eat. You can use your pantry as your grocery store.
Why Build a Bigger Pantry?
Building a bigger pantry essentially builds your own grocery store at home. Instead of running to the store, you can now run to your pantry. This saves time and money. I don’t know about you, but every time I go to the store, extra items end up in my cart. So, avoiding those extra trips saves me money.
This also allows you to be prepared for life’s hiccups. You know the days - when there is no time to go to the store, or when the kids are sick. How about the mad rush to the store before the snowstorm that is set to lock down the city for a few days? Now, it often seems the store may or may not have what we need. Having a little extra on hand gives me the security to know I can still provide our favorite meals at home, no matter what is going on at the store. I encourage you to start building your pantry a little at a time.
Keeping track of what you are buying and putting into your pantry is important too. Try these printable inventory sheets.
Monitoring Your Pantry
Having the extra items in your pantry is only helpful if you are using the items and rotating your stock. Spending a little extra time on monitoring and maintaining the stock will pay off. Monitoring your pantry is simply eating your items before their expiration date. Keep the oldest items in the front and cook with them first. Rotate your items. These simple tips will keep your stockpile relevant and useful. Let’s use what you have spent your time, energy, and money on.
Take a look at these videos which show how I maintain my pantry and freezers, and keep track of expiration dates.
https://youtu.be/nz7nAWV-LzUhttps://youtu.be/wR0LzNtJT80https://youtu.be/eYY0bB9PjdY
Shelf Cooking
I have always looked at what was in my pantry before thinking of going to the store. This method is called shelf cooking, and is a relatively new term coined by Jordan Page. Shelf cooking is cooking from your pantry, fridge, freezer, and garden. Having a larger pantry allows you to shelf cook. You are cooking from what you have on hand - let’s eat what we buy. Buy what you are going to eat and cook, and not weird items because your neighbor buys it. The beauty of this method is that you are eating what you already have; it doesn’t matter what is happening at the store because you already have it on hand.
This all comes down to several simple steps to help you provide food security for you and your family.
- Buy what you eat
- Buy one for now and two for later
- Monitor and rotate your pantry
- Eat what you have before it expires
- Store food properly for the longest shelf life
These five simple steps taken over time will help you build a larger pantry. Are you trying the buy one for now and two for later concept? What will you be adding to your pantry during your next shopping trip?
Leave a Comment