Hi friends!

Today was Day 1 of my eat from the pantry ‘Til It’s Empty Week. Unfortunately I have a sick little girl at home and I myself am now sick… so there really wasn’t a whole lot of cooking in the kitchen going on today.

If you aren’t sure what ‘Til It’s Empty Week is about be sure to check out Pt. 1 and Pt. 2!   You can print off a free guide with plenty of tips that includes a 4 step action plan to help you organize a week of eating out of the pantry ’til it’s gone! By participating in this challenge it will help you save money, be creative in the kitchen and cultivate gratitude.  If you don’t join us this week, feel free to print out the guide to keep on hand so that you can take the challenge whenever works best for your family!

Here is what we had for meals today:

Breakfast: Apple Carrot Muffins (recipe coming tomorrow!)

Lunch: P.B. and Homemade Jelly on a slider bun (my girls) and I had chili that was previously frozen

Dinner: Nachos- simple and yum!

I would like to lay out the rest of my meal plan for the week for you to give you an idea of how my family is taking on this challenge!

For Breakfasts and Lunches I just used Action step 2 lists. I didn’t schedule the on certain days, but will just stick the list of options on my fridge so that we can choose what sounds good or what we have time for that day!

Breakfast List:

Eggs & Bacon             Oatmeal                 Bagels & Cream Cheese
Biscuits & Eggs           Waffles                    Coconut Muffins
Coconut Pancakes Yogurt with frozen berries

Lunch List:

Egg Salad                   Corn Tortilla Q-dillas        Homemade Lunchables

P.B. & Jelly                Cheese Toasties               Fish Cakes
Hot Dogs G.F. Mac & Cheese Leftovers from dinner

*sides: carrots, cottage cheese, applesauce, apple slices, strawberries, salad, corn bread and sliced bread.

Dinner Menu:

Monday: Meatless Lasagna  ( i don’t have ricotta so I will sub cottage cheese) w/ homeamade Crazy Bread, peas and salad

Tuesday: Cookout Hot Dogs & Cheddar Sausages w/ fried potatoes and green beans

Wednesday: Frozen Salmon  w/ Paella and cooked carrots

Thursday: Brinner- pancakes with fruit, sausage and eggs

Friday: Frozen Pork Chops (pre-seasoned, we will bake them) w/ green beans (we are actually out of town, but I have this meal plan in case!)

Saturday: Turkey w/ potatoes, corn and carrots (Out of town again tonight, but we are prepared!)

Dessert Options:

Chocolate Cake                                      Tapioca                                                      Jello

Pudding                                                       Angel Food Cake Mix                       Sugar Cookie Mix

Snacks:

*See Snack Menu

I went ahead and put my snack menu printable in a clear sheet protector so that I could use a dry erase marker and cross off items as they are no longer “in stock!” It will help keep us all organized!

Do remember that while you are participating in this challenge there will be timeswhen you need to buy a few “staples” from the store during your week. The staples I wrote down that we will need to buy if we run out during the week are: eggs, bread, milk and butter.   No Guilt!

I would love to hear what’s on the menu at your house for the upcoming week!

Feel free to comment and share!