Fridge & pantry challenge, pass or fail?

Four months ago, I challenged myself to only eat from the contents of my fridge and pantry & only buy from a list of 25 staple items to inspire culinary creativity, save money, and curb unnecessary grocery spending. How I did depends on your outlook. If you are a multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank type of person, I probably barely passed. However, I am more of an essay type person, so I think I passed.


For the first part, did I only eat from the contents of my fridge & pantry? No. I did, however, use up approximately 25% of my contents, so yea for me:). In doing so, I created meals using ingredients I had on hand supplemented with staples. 

Here is one of those meals. It was inspired by a casserole my mom made and modified to be vegetarian with TVP, green olives, and a yellow pepper.

It tasted much better than it looks, especially with my toppings (yogurt, bottom-of-the-bag tortilla chips, and some green onions).


Did I only buy from my list of staples? No. I did, however, stick pretty close to it. My strays were mainly other vegetables and fruits, or buying more than one item due to sale price. Though, I must confess I bought a few things completely unrelated to my staples list due to sale price or a serious craving. I did definitely spend less on groceries. I even shopped once based on coupons and related sales and saved a whopping 48%.

It was also my goal to eat out less, which I did accomplish. I wasn't perfect, as it was my goal to only eat out for legitimate reasons (like book club or meeting friends). Laziness & convenience overcame me a few times, but, well, I'm weak some times. One thing I did stick to is only getting Starbucks when I can expense it, or with a gift card. There are 2 things I always have ingredients for: tacos and PB & J, so I went back to eating a lot of tacos and PB & J. 

In conclusion, even though I strayed from my list of staples, gave in to the convenience of dining out, and sometimes ignored the contents of my pantry and fridge, there were areas of improvement. I got creative in my kitchen, and reminded myself how much I love to bake and cook. I definitely saved money, and saw the benefits of shopping smarter. I even learned to control my Starbucks addiction. Overall, I give myself a B-, and plan to continue with my renewed habits.