Having a well-stocked pantry can save you from unnecessary trips to the grocery store and eating out too often. Since I’m also cleaning out our kitchen cupboards this week, I thought I’d put together a basic pantry staples list that would be useful to have on hand at all times!
Stocking your kitchen with these basic pantry staples, will ensure you have your family’s favorite meal ingredients on hand. It also means you will almost always have something on hand to create a simple meal for busy nights or days when you don’t feel like cooking much.
These are basic, but versatile staples that are used often. They are also usually quite inexpensive and have a long shelf life if stored properly in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer.
Below my list, you’ll find a Pantry Inventory printable with blank spaces that you can fill in to suit your own needs. I hope you like it!
Looking for even more kitchen help especially as life gets busy? Check out this gorgeous MEAL PLANNER – with food inventory worksheets,monthly, weekly + daily meal planning worksheets, meal brainstorming worksheets and more!
If you’ve spent any time at all here at Simply Frugal, then you know I sing the praises of meal planning. Taking the time to meal plan is just so sanity saving and money saving!
However, if you’re anything like me, there are seasons in life when you need all the inspiration you can get.
That’s why I’m excited to let you know that the Healthy Meal Planning Bundle is available once again for a couple of days!
I’m a big fan of printables so I’m especially excited about the Grocery Budget Binder and the Meal Planning Success Kit.
Since my daughter was diagnosed with many food sensitivities last year, I’m going to dig in first with the For Real: For the Love of Real Food ebook for some ideas.
If you want to simplify mealtimes, put unfussy (but still healthy) meals on the table, and ditch the frantic late afternoon craziness, then you’ll definitely want to check out the Healthy Meal Planning Bundle.
I think this will be a fun week in the 8 Weeks to a More Organized Christmas series! It’s all about food! Specifically, we’re going to plan our holiday menus. You’ll want to think about:
Christmas dinner
Christmas brunch
Christmas eve
Boxing day
And well, any meal surrounding Christmas day. My planning is quite simple. My parents cook our Christmas brunch and dinner so all I have to do is bring the cheesecakeand some baking!
For inspiration, I highly recommend taking a look through Pinterest.
While you’re planning out your dishes, be sure to start adding items to a grocery list. You don’t want to forget anything!
What will be on your holiday menu? Leave it in the comments! Any food traditions you have to uphold? How do you keep on budget?
Sign up for the 8 Weeks to a More Organized Christmas newsletter to receive a FREE Christmas Dinner Checklist! This checklist is quite detailed and will help you remember all the details needed for a memory filled dinner with family and friends. You’ll also receive a weekly email with each week’s “task”.
Here are the posts in the 8 Weeks to a More Organized Christmas series so far:
There’s nothing more frustrating than starting to bake or cook something delicious only to find that a key ingredient is missing. Ugh! But there’s no need to scrub a recipe and sulk in frustration. If you know what you’re doing, you can just substitute it with something else! Here are some easy ingredient substitutions that are bound to be in everyone’s pantry or fridge and are sure to save the day.
Read on to see the complete list, or or by clicking on the image below. (I recommend hanging it up somewhere in your kitchen for easy reference!)
Vegetable oil
Substitute with butter, margarine, coconut oil or apple sauce
Apple Cider Vinegar
Substitute with white vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
Substitute with apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
Tomato Sauce
Substitute by mixing one part Tomato Paste and one part Water. Or substitute with canned tomatoes and adding onions, garlic and some herbs.
Baking Powder (1 tsp)
Substitute with 1/4 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Bread Crumbs
Substitute with cracker crumbs, crushed cornflakes, ground oatmeal, or even cooked quinoa.
Brown Sugar (1 Cup)
Substitute with 1 cup white sugar and 2 Tbsp molasses.
Butter
Substitute with margarine, oil or shortening
Buttermilk (1 cup)
Substitute with 1 Tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar and enough milk to make 1 cup Or substitute with 1 cup plain yogurt
Corn Syrup
Substitute with honey, maple syrup, or brown rice syrup
Ricotta Cheese
Substitute with cottage cheese or cream cheese.
Fresh herbs (1 Tbsp)
Substitute with 1 tsp dried herbs
Honey (1 Cup)
Substitute with maple syrup, corn syrup or 1 1/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup liquid (whatever is called for in the recipe)
Lemon Juice
Substitute with white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Mayonnaise
Substitute with sour cream or plain yogurt
Wine
Substitute with beef broth, chicken broth, vegetable broth, apple cider (not vinegar), water, tomato sauce, white grape juice or non-alcoholic wine.
Yeast (1 tsp)
Substitute with 1/2 tsp Baking Soda and 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
Rice
Substitute with Quinoa. (Quinoa also provides twice as much protein and fiber which promote a healthier digestive system.)
Eggs
Substitute with 1 Tbsp ground Flax Seeds or Chia Seeds and 3 Tbsp Water. Mix until gelatinous. Or substitute with silken tofu. Or substitute with apple sauce or mashed banana
Pastry Flour (1 cup)
Substitute with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch combined with enough all-purpose flour to make a cup.
Salt
Often times, substituting salt for herbs and other seasonings like onions, lemon or lime can make a dish taste really flavourful.
Sugar
Substitute with 1 and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar.
I hope you find this easy ingredient substitutions list useful! I’ll leave you with the link to download a free printable PDF copy of the list, in case you missed it earlier in the post! 🙂
I don’t know about you, but all this cooking at home has me constantly looking for shortcuts. While I don’t hate cooking, I don’t like spending hours upon hours in my kitchen. I want easy, fast, flavorful and cheap!
That brings me to rotisserie chickens. Time and time again, grocery store rotisserie chickens have saved my sanity when it comes to dinner time. They are easy, already seasoned, already cooked, and can be used in a lot of different recipes. There are so many ways to use a rotisserie chicken!
On that note, I have rounded up a list of easy and cheap rotisserie dinners! I hope you enjoy!
Summer is almost here! Can you feel the heat and the excitement?
This season is all about outings, get-togethers, swimming, and vacations! There are more opportunities to spend more time with your family and friends. Catch up, enjoy, and explore new locations!
Of course, any summer activity would not be complete without food!
If you want healthy and home cooked meals, you don’t need to spend a lot of time (Who has extra time in the summer anyway?) The secret is all about meal prepping. You can create different meals for different times of the day without the hassle and without overspending on take out.
If you want to create a meal plan this summer for your family, here are 10 quick and easy meal prep ideas that will help.
Create A Plan
Decide on the different kinds of food that you want to prepare ahead of time. Take note of all the recipes you want to prepare and cook for the whole week. Then write down all the ingredients you need on your shopping list.
Start Multitasking
Cook multiple recipes at the same time. You can roast summer vegetables while baking chicken. This will allow you to get things done faster.
Don’t Over Prep
Don’t prepare meals for five days or more at one time. Some foods, such as fresh summer produce, may not last for more than three days in the fridge and you might end up with a lot of spoiled, wasted food.
Use Your Grill
Summer is often too hot to turn on the oven because it heats up the house. Instead, prepare meats and vegetables to cook outdoors on the grill, after all summer is time to grill! Schedule some barbecue nights and grill fresh summer vegetables. They not only taste great, you can relax on a warm summer evening with your family while grilling outside.
Be sure to cook up plenty of meats so you have leftovers for other nights!
Prepare Raw Food
Vegetables like zucchini and cucumber can not only be paired with different fruits and veggies, it can make you feel cooler, especially during the hot summer months.
Spiral some zucchini and cucumber then blend them with basil pesto for a vegan pasta recipe. You can also schedule some no-cook options like canned corn, beans, and green salads to spice up your weekly schedule.
Utilize Your Slow Cooker
You might think that your slow cooker is only for winter, but this multipurpose appliance is also ideal for summer cooking!
You don’t need to heat up your whole house while waiting for your lunch or dinner to be cooked. Start making large batches of shredded meat or beans then freeze them in smaller portions. You can also cook potatoes, corn, and carrots in your slow cooker.
Plastics can be cheaper but using glass containers are better. Here are just a few of the many reasons why you should choose glass over plastic containers:
The contents are easier to see.
You can microwave them.
The taste of the food will not be altered, even if you leave them in the container for several days.
Glass doesn’t release any chemicals when exposed to heat, thus making it safer for your family’s health.
Reuse Leftovers
Make extra servings of your meals for dinner then eat the leftovers for breakfast or lunch. My husband loves taking leftovers to work!
Reusing leftovers makes it easier to plan your meals because you don’t need to think about the food you’ll eat for lunch every day. It also eliminates wasted food and cleaning out the fridge.
Buy The Best Bread You Can Get Your Hands On
Did you know that all the outdoor activities of summer can cause you to feel more hungry and more often?
Opt to get whole grain breads, especially if you’ll be having sandwiches for any of your meals. Look for a bread that is made with 100 percent whole grain. Bread with lots of texture makes you feel like you are eating an actual meal, which can make you feel fuller, faster, rather than just eating a sandwich.
Cook Once A Day
Prepare all your food in one go then store them in your glass containers so you can just heat them up once your mealtime comes.
Check your schedule then look for a block time when you can cook and prep your meals on a daily basis.
Stop spending a lot of time thinking and prepping your meals for the whole week. With enough preparation, you can feed yourself and your family with healthy and delicious meals without spending much time or money.
What are your summer meal prep tips? Let us know in the comments below!
