Pantry Challenge! My non-grocery haul

[@debbiechaney6607]

I live alone now widow with my sweet chihuahua and I decided to use my chest freezer full of veggies, meat and homemade casserols. I have gone almost thewe months without shopping. I had a bad fall and was unable to drive to the store, but I was so proud that I actually made it by eating out of my pantry and derp freezer. Really missed fresh fruit the last couple of weeks but ate frozen instead. Christmas was very quiet but pleasant. My daughter in law brought me all their Christmas dinner and that was so sweet. This month I have to replace my pantry and freezer. Taking my granddaughter along to help me as I am still using a walker for support. You are so very organized....It's terrific.I have lost pounds but now must rebuild my muscle strength. Not easy when you are almost 74. But doctor tells me it can be done still waiting on word of my 23 year old knee replacement revision and having both hips replaced. Hope you have a wonderful and happy HAPPY NEW YEAR. Sincerely, Debbie and Dexter-Dog 🐶🐾🙏 my sweet tiny rescued Chihuahua companion living a quiet crafty life in southern California l.

[@OurTribeofMany]

Oh wow what a blessing that freezer and pantry has been for you in this season! I hope you recover well and are able to rebuild your strength quickly! 🙏🏿

[@Elizabeth-rh1hl]

Wishing you a good recovery.

[@dorothymasombwe4788]

Wishing you a quick recovery.

[@KacieVance-cr2rn]

Wow that's an amazing job!! I hope you continue to heal ❤

[@laurenhanson327]

Love your attitude! You are resilient, you’ve got this. 💪🏼 Proud of you!

[@gretchenshafer8087]

Honestly 2k might sound like a lot, but for a family your size that is very reasonable! You do a wonderful job!

[@cmconcon]

It is!

[@mariasonderman5785]

Specially as the kids are growing & eating more!

[@Lamejiamexicana]

Yup

[@debbiebousquet5677]

It's still Alot of money. It's about 500 a week. But put out that much a once is Alot if money.... I don't know how people do it.... This economy isn't doing us any favors at all....

[@debbieframpton3857]

​@@debbiebousquet5677, People have learned to shop wisely look for savings and deals instead of just grabbing stuff here and there not paying attention to prices. People are now planning their meals and using up what they buy shopping this way can be affordable

[@kathychester8794]

Use the burnt lard to season your blackstone and cast iron. Make suet feeders for the birds/chickens/ducks.

[@bonnieo1956]

We did this growing up with bacon grease, it's easy for small children to. Participate in as well

[@pacificbug]

I was going to say suet blocks too!

[@sighthound5449]

Also could use it for making soap

[@colleenspillers4547]

My husband and I made a New Year's resolution to actually eat the food we have here rather than just keep shopping for more! Yikes! We are empty nesters and we still shop like all 4 are living at home!

[@bonniemullen4990]

Good idea 👍💡

[@danadyd59]

Same here. No kids at home, but still shop like I'm feeding an army. I have hideous amounts of waste. I'm trying to be more realistic, and intentional in my spending this year. Old habits die hard. I'm used to keeping 3 freezers full, and a pantry full. Ugh.

[@cindyjones8284]

Luckily one of my daughters and her family live close and appreciate it when I make too much. I just can’t make a small batch of anything yet.

[@christinewallace9251]

I’m struggling with the same thing. I have trouble passing up a bargain so I need to stay out of the store and eat from my full freezers and pantry.

[@ohiosbestpeach770]

Me too. I’m an empty nester with three deep freezers, a full pantry and full cabinets. This year I’m staying I’m cooking from my supply even if it has freezer burn.

[@allioakley3372]

Always thaw meat in the bottom shelf in a Tupperware or pan. No cross contamination love your family 🥰

[@JonJonEthington]

I just love your pantry it like you could lasts for a year at least with everything that you have .

[@kittykooky]

Burnt lard, add bird seed then freeze and put out for the chickens or wild birds.

[@janetmartin9372]

If the lard is toomburnt to eat thaw it wrap in newspaper and put it on top of the wood in your fireplace. Makes a nice firestart

[@bethmarkmorton8147]

Burnt Lard = Have you thought about making bird food pine cones with it? Lard, birdseed, peanut butter packed into pine cones to hang for birds. Love your show! Beth, NC

[@dorothyball6003]

Sarah… I am overwhelmed by your pantry/food supply. I have read quite a few comments… So many people have positive and encouraging and helpful advice. I am sure you do what works for you. Your family appears healthy, so enough said. Thanks for sharing. I need a nap after that exhausting video😂❤

[@ritabaker3113]

Your family is well fed all the time!! Blessings

[@sonyiadouglas5432]

That lards not burnt, I cook mine down much more than you do, if you feel it is cooked more than you like, just use it like you would bacon fat. If you really don’t want to it can be used for soap, or put some in your chicken feed when it’s cold out, they will love it! ❤

[@psymompa]

Happy Saturday! Thanks for sharing. Your post is a great reminder to eat what we already have.

[@pamettmayer2391]

Your family is healthy, home schooling helps. I hate it when the grand kids come home sick from school. Your are very organized.

[@nancyfarkas3592]

Kids still get sick even if homeschooled.

[@brandynash1409]

I used burned tallow or ghee for animals in the winter. I melt it over dog food and I mix it with bird seed to make blocks for the birds.

[@annetterose8948]

Mix a liitle burnt lard into your chickens feed or some oats for your chickens. They can use the extra calories in the winter.

[@marywells1197]

Sarah, having a lot of groceries on hand is a great idea. My husband and I have been stocking up on groceries for a while now. My husband retired last year, and I will be retiring in a few years, so we need to save money any way we can. In the spring we will do another garden which is a great way to save money!

[@cindymanning3298]

Use the burnt lard to make wild bird homemade suet.

[@mycupoverflows7811]

Oh my goodness Belle is your mini-me. What a beauty!! ❤❤❤

[@savanah1407]

It’s interesting that your birthday food budget is different from the food budget. A video idea might be to show how your family budgets. I don’t think you’ve gone into the details before so it wouldn’t be repetitive. Thanks for sharing! Great video!

[@LoriWolfeRealtor]

Hi Sarah. I am also doing a no spend January. Except for fresh stuff. It’s good to do it at least once a year! Have a great week ❤

[@jillh7403]

Sarah, you amaze me. Your Mom and Dad did a great job! Love from Michigan ❤️

[@lizg5574]

Sarah, Growing up drinking raw milk was great for me and my siblings. Being exposed unknowingly to a low grade form of TB meant we developed strong antibodies to TB and other illnesses that normally need a vaccine to prevent. NONE of us ever got sick with the potential illnesses and the herds were all considered safe. It might pay to look at whether this happens to your children, too! It was discovered when we were given the precursor to the actual vaccine and failed to respond as expected, so blood work had to be done to find out why; they thought at first that we might be carriers, then on investigation discovered that consuming raw milk was protecting us more effectively than any vaccine could!

[@cynthiafisher9907]

Cool!

[@nancyfarkas3592]

Raw milk is so unsafe. Pasteurized milk does not destroy anything, and it’s much safer.

[@lizg5574]

@@nancyfarkas3592 Each to their own. I'd rather have real, raw milk than the rubbish we get sold where I live, which is reconstituted dried milk, sold as fresh. (which is why I don't touch milk now, because it has been tampered with so much) I grew up in the UK on raw milk and it gave me antibodies that vaccinations don't. My sister in law still drinks whole, raw milk, straight from her small herd - and she has never been in hospital in her life - she'll be 80 this year. Informed choice is what I advocate for.

[@cynthiafisher9907]

@@nancyfarkas3592 Pasteurizing does destroy bacteria, that’s the whole point. It destroys any harmful bacteria as well as beneficial bacteria. Raw milk can be unsafe, but where I live it is routinely tested for harmful bacteria, so it is very safe, and healthy.

[@athomewithtexasgirl9888]

That is very interesting. I dont doubt that yall were better protected. Could be one of the reasons they try to outlaw it. Ya know big pharma doesnt like it when we're healthy on our own

[@emilywhittington2759]

I’m doing a pantry challenge as well! Something about coming off the holidays makes me not want to spend any money 😂 my motivation is saving up for our next bulk meat order, we’ll see how it goes!

[@rebeccasams2731]

My NYR is to use more of what we have in our home before going to the shop to buy more food. We spend roughly £1,000 which is almost $1,300 to you guys for my family of 4, 2 adults + a 15yr old and a 10month old (£80 of that is formula) so I think you’re doing amazing! Sending love from the UK

[@mamabairds]

Thanks for showing and sharing your pantry with us! I love how stocked you are! It's an accomplishment to say you could feed your family for 6 months! I hope you are so very proud of yourself! Can't wait to see what you come up with! I'm doing the pantry challenge on my channel as well! It feels good every time I use something up that has been hanging around for awhile!

[@cindybyrd5650]

Blessing Mwana family and happy New Year 🎆

[@joycecourts7403]

Wow, that’s a job keeping track of all the good and not letting things expire.

[@judygeiger2225]

Melt the burnt lard and mix it with chicken feed or bird seeds because the the chickens and the birds need extra calories during the cold winter. Then put the seeds back in the freezer to make easy blocks to give them. I really enjoy feeding the birds in the winter. The kids and grandkids love to watch them

[@SnowFlakeBee]

I see a Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing, Fish Tacos, Filet o Fish burgers, Salmon Cakes & Fruit Smoothies in your rotation this month :)

[@skdjirrrdjdm3926]

👍

[@ulrikekaiser6182]

Sorry, please don't store the apples with other fruits, especially bananas will ripen too quickly and turn brown. Many greetings and a blessed new year, Ulrike 😊

[@joycemariano1982]

Can you show a video of you making noodles (or link a prior video of that)? Love following you and your family! Peace has the sweetest smile!

[@LauraEbron-je8wk]

Blessings Upon Blessings!!!!!. Blessings!!!!. I love the grocery hauls. I love it. It's a store!!!. Blessings!!!!

[@babyfurball]

If you forget to thaw meat just boil it for 20 to 40 minutes depending on the amount. Add your spices too. Since it is pretty much cooked you don't have to fry it in oil very long. My mom didn't like to thaw meat. I think she would have been a closet vegetarian, but she made the best fried chicken ever.

[@SarahatTheParmFarm]

You could use some of the burnt lard for feeding your chickens. Little bit at a time. Help them during the winter temps.

[@Lizziej1234]

That seems a lot for raw milk compared to here in New Zealand. Maybe shop around and see if you can get a better deal on the milk to save some money

[@lin90210]

Dumpling dough recipe from scratch kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmq5p3mJlLarp9U Filling kzbin.infoKzKKbCTacf0 Saturday 10th February 2024 is the Chinese/Lunar New Year. Make some to bring in the new year!!

[@buckeyedav1]

Burnt Lard.. taking up valuable freezer space. Thaw and feed it to your chickens. If that isn't a good choice, get rid of it. Sams Club sells some wonderful freezer containers Hefty brand 30 in a pack I believe not counting lids. All the frozen fruit? Put in the containers and then in the freezer much more tidy. Freezer tape is a great item to have for labeling things in the freezer and it peels right off. Having a more tidy ( not shaming ) will help in knowing better what you have. I buy those bags of frozen fruit from Sams Club a great resource especially in the winter. Anna In Ohio

[@carolwhisenhunt7504]

You have great pantry's Sarah. Good job!

[@deannaoverstreet4146]

Thank you ! God bless your family!

[@jasminegoodyear9296]

$2000 for your family works out at $1.80 per meal per person for your family. Which is actually pretty incredible. And it’s actually probably way less, cos that doesn’t include snacks, hospitality and the fact that you usually include toiletries too. I don’t think many people could do that. That’s amazing 👏🏽 👏🏽 👏🏽

[@rosemaryp3253]

Having watched the video I'm not worried anymore😅 I think you have enough.

[@bevholton8905]

Hi Sarah ,why dont you have a freezer for fruit/ veg and a freezer for meat and one for diary makes life so much easier and things are never missed .I know your a busy household but might just work. Happy new year ,really looking forward to the house build xx

[@stephaniemccollum8019]

Pork neck bones are very tasty. You can boil them and then use the broth to make rice and it’s a delicious meal. You can smoke the pork neck bones and use to flavor field peas, black eyed peas, etc. smoked pork neck bones are good to flavor collard greens, soups , stews, broths etc. the meat is so good! Thumbs up!

[@s.schramm6305]

Sarah, you can use the burnt lard for the chickens make them suet with it for the winter months

[@melindalachapell4478]

I’m looking forward to seeing what you make! That looks like a grocery store to me! 👍🏼

[@geraldineevans735]

You can keep cans past the date on them for years there shelf safe according to USA food standards agency ! ❤

[@cack121]

Tallow and lard....once they are rendered, if you put through a fine sieve or cheese cloth to remove bits and pieces. You can store them on a shelf in the basement. You do not have to freeze them. I take out of the pan, while hot I strain it into canning jars. Place my lids on immediately and place on pantry shelves. They will last well over a year or so. We have done this for years The burnt lard is great for seasoning cast iron, or even your grill. Chickens love it too Also, if you core the tomatoes before you freeze them, the skins will literally slip off as they defrost

[@mariakies5564]

Wow am impressed great job

[@heatherjohnson2511]

Your burnt lard could be given to your chickens, mixed in with the seed, it will help them with the extra calories they need to keep warm in winter months, don't give it too them often but as a calorie treat, and they would never need it in summer months.

[@bonnie3994]

Your videos are Awesome,, Happy Birthday Luca🎉🎉🎉

[@aquanettagardner3835]

I appreciate you Showing us the food pantry that is a lot of food. You have A amazing family.❤

[@loreanschaffer2604]

Thanks Sarah for the Pantry update. As far as the Burned Tallow goes you could add it to your dog food for your dogs .Take care and Happy New Year and God Bless all 13 of you.

[@tracytalksaboutit2099]

❤❤❤ your channel, especially since you started homesteading. We homestead in KY. IDEAS: BURNT BUTTER, make lye soap or season cast iron .... totally not wasted! Keep up the good work mama!

[@thefrugalmomma]

I'm actually doing the no spend (except fresh essentials) and no waste preserving. Here in Ireland the supermarkets reduced their fresh produce to pennies ie: 15p for a large bag of carrots/parsnips/sprouts/leeks/celery etc... so I bought in bulk and was gifted fresh turnips, onions and cabbage so I am either canning or vacuum sealing and freezing. I canned up so much meat from my freezer before Christmas and have all in the pantry should I need a quick meal, so no take away. There are 3 adults and I am hoping to spend no more than £50 this month! 😀 I even made sure to have enough dog food by buying a little extra the past few months. Absolutely love you and your family. Lx

[@tawanacooke4438]

Thanks for sharing 💪❤️.. blessings to you and your beautiful family 🤗

[@karendonaldson1324]

Be glad you don't have many food allergies in your family. In mine two people have lots of food allergies, namely me and my deceased mother . It was quite a challenge when I was a caregiver for her before her death in her 70's. What I mean is she and I had different food allergies! She loved tomatoes and strawberries. I am allergic to both. The list went on and on.

[@cheekysaver]

Have you considered buying steers? On the hoof is a new level of food security. You might need to grow them out for a year or 2 depending...and find a butcher first. You are already raising dairy cows. You can make sure they get to full size and fill those freezers. (Steers had had their giggly bits removed. There would be no dairy cow mixed breeding issues unless you intentionallygot a bull.)

[@jenniferduncan4490]

Wonderful video, enjoyed every moment of it

[@nikkicicero7730]

Happy new year maybe you could use some of your chocolate chips for a fondue and your fruits it’s very delicious to dip in and you can use your coconut oil to thin it just a little bit. Well just an idea kids love fondue, you can dip pretzels also in it like stick pretzels

[@madelinechriston8970]

Thank you so much for sharing. You seem to be a great mom and you have a beautiful family too. ❤Best of luck on the new home you're building. It's going to be simply majestic overlooking the pond. All good things take time....and patience. You'll be ok!

[@emilywetter4515]

Use you burnt lard for your chickens. It’s so good for them and they will love it! They won’t care that it’s burnt.

[@traceyrommel1847]

Our New Year’s Resolution is to eat what we have in our pantry and freezers. I also write down everything thing we have in our freezers so we know what we have. It’s a life saver.

[@rennyray11]

I’ll be happy when the cows starting producing milk!

[@lindamcneil711]

2k a month is so reasonable. I budget 800 a month for us two empty nesters. We haven’t bought a. Half a cow for years, but I do use that money for my dogfood too.

[@barbaradw9969]

I am a house of one. However I still try to have things on hand that I can make a meal, no matter what. I am also going to purchase a smaller upright freezer to have more freezer space, because I want to grow some food this summer & freeze for later. That is my goal. I am almost finished with home projects & then I want to see how much I can save this year.

[@rowshanlouie5126]

Hey fave KZbin Fam💯...HNY & HAPPY BDAY 2 LUCA🎂🎉🎈...ENJOY!!

[@AmericanAkitaClub]

Wow, Sarah loving the storage pantry! Looks great! ❤❤❤ can't wait to see future videos !! Can't wait to see your new chapter of you guys building your dream home! God bless ❤🙌🏽 🙏🏼 ❤️ 💖

[@sarahbeth3472]

I am so impressed with the quality of foods that you feed your family! You clearly work hard to feed your family well and you are doing such a great job!

[@OurTribeofMany]

Thanks! We are not perfect at all in our eating but try to keep the home foods nutritious. ☺️

[@arikaporche]

We are a family of 8 and just started using 2lbs of ground beef at meals and feeling a little out of sorts about it. Makes me feel like that's about right now that you say what you use. So thank you for not making me feel like we are over using things

[@OurTribeofMany]

I remember that transition and wondering if I was using too much! ❤️. Now it seems like very little unless it’s a soup. Haha

[@Mama_Terri]

You are just incredible in every way.

[@joncarey3599]

Seasoned steak in the airfryer is amazing! I just season mine and will put it in for 8-10 mins . (depending on size ) Let sit a min then slice for total munchable med rare pieces of heaven!

[@CynthiaSheldon-lp9ye]

Don't worry about saying cow. If people don't know where beef comes from, it's not your problem.

[@meeganjae72]

Happy Birthday Luka

[@jessestrickler5502]

You can get the burnt lard to your chickens. It's helpful for them to have some extra fat. And they're diet, especially when it's cold out. You will have to mix it with their feed but some birds won't eat it, so try it a bit at a time. You could also mix it in the puppies feed to help him gain weight. Giant breeds grow so fast that they can be too skinny And have trouble staying warm. He should love it.

[@Mel-vu9ss]

Feed your burnt lard to your birds. Maybe melt it some and mix in some scratch or whatever you feed them.

[@tliddicoat5056]

Love your family! The burnt lard could be used to make lard and feed treats for your chickens. Mine love it!

[@brandiyoung4726]

Use the burnt lard to make suet cake treats for you chickens with your littles.

[@yvonnebeeney3893]

You can take the burnt taro or fat and make bird seed feed balls kids might like to do that as a project

[@angelmission]

I really like some of the Augason Farms products. I especially like the potato gems, dehydrated apples and the Morning moos. I would warn about the tomato powder, though. I had two cans I had purchased around 2014 and I had them still in the box they were shipped in in my food storage. I recently was checking through my items and both cans of the tomato powder were bulging really bad, so I tossed them. They looked like they were about to burst. No other items I had from Augason Farms did that. So, I am now leery about replacing the tomato powder.

[@paulamcclellan8436]

Not sure how to make suet , but I think grease goes into it , not sure if your birds can eat it , but maybe you can Google it & use that lard.

[@LisaDeeCanada]

I hear that avocado oil and olive oil are healthier options when making mayonnaise than seed oils which apparently are not as stable. Light olive oils don't taste too strong. Extra light olive oil can even be used when making cakes.

[@rubytaylor4566]

Awesome grocery haul, thanks for sharing . Ms. Ruby

[@Martipenny]

Awe!! You need some baskets so you can organize your freezer!! Wish I could send you some 😢. Tallow in shelf stable for a year so if you need freezer room some can come out and be on the shelf for a year. Frozen indefinitely

[@SongSparrow-wf2is]

amazing pantry🌷love the wooden boxes🌷

[@naturalsimpleliving]

I love the No Grocery Haul Challenge! We are doing different things these next 2-3 months, but I love this idea! As a family of 13, my husband wanted to ensure we would not run down our pantries because the economy is so unstable, but we cut out sugars and processed foods and cut our spending way down. Oh, the raw milk is fantastic. We love it! What are you paying per gallon? We pay $14.00 a gallon, but I only buy 1 Gallon every week or two. Happy New Year!

[@turbobalna]

Do you then pasteurize the raw milk at home?

[@naturalsimpleliving]

@@turbobalna If I do drink milk from the store, it is Kalona Natural. They are small family farms that do low-temp pasteurization, grass-fed, and regenerative farming. The products are excellent as of the time I’m writing this.

[@turbobalna]

@@naturalsimplelivingthanks for your reply 🙌 I live in Switzerland and can buy raw milk at the end of my street (I know I'm super lucky) where cows are grass fed and are outside all day) but still I shy away from drinking it and giving it to my kid unpasteurized. Drinking raw milk has a great culture here, so you can obviously tell I'm not Swiss 😅🙈 now trying to learn how people deal with this in other parts of the world 😊

[@ashleydoe7704]

Great idea! I'm also trying to reduce my grocery shopping this month and use up what we have. I really like your shelves and wooden baskets in your storage.

[@LindaPorter-ie3yw]

Wow! Lots of food

[@lbeatles53]

I’ve seen families of 2-3 spend $2000 a month on groceries, you’re doing great!!

[@EricaD61]

Im trying a low spend 2 months. Bulk meat goes on sale locally here just before Easter so im hoping to clean out atleast 1 freezer and equivalent to 2 shelves of canned food. Going to try getting back into making bread again when that freezer goes down a bit and some freezer meals. Your family is much bigger then my average 4 peeps so I love watching all the things grocery. Lol.

[@karenselogic7742]

Take whatever money you save and put it in a separate account for your family trip to Kenya . Start add each month to it if you can spend less each month.

[@laurarice4444]

I would love to see how you use your pasta maker. I got the same one from FB marketplace to go with the grain mill I got for Christmas 🥰 love your channel and your family.

[@tiffany2709]

Hello! I saw your shot of your upstairs pantry where you keep the spices etc and I had an idea. What if you placed the large spice containers on their sides and labeled the top so you could see what is what, then you could make a rack to go over them and use the leftover space. I say this because I see so much space left in front of the spices but if you turned them horizontally it might help! 😊

[@lwallis62]

It amazes me how you stay so organized, purchase healthy food with some snacks ( have to have some yummies 😀) and the kids are so sweet and mannerly. You and Solo should be so proud. Hugs. 🤗

[@Babylandy1]

You can try washing the 🔥 lard a few times using salt and baking soda. Just wash it till the water runs clear. It still have a stronger pork flavor but it’s still good to use for frying.😊

[@maureenlarge5056]

🎉 happy New Year to all.

[@erinbroderick2819]

When you finally go to the grocery the kids are eating from the table where where you are showing the food you buy.

[@debbieframpton3857]

Does that matter?

[@danadyd59]

I don't understand what you're saying. Please explain.

[@marieneu264]

5:27 saying cow is what we all it when we buy one for deep freezer at the lake

[@bonnieo1956]

I just love watching your grocery hauls, even when you are skipping Sarah, Thanks for sharing with us

[@janetstevens5990]

Good Afternoon Sarah and family I always look forward to your videos. These videos are always interesting to me even though we only have 6 people in our family

[@michellebenna8539]

Burnt Lard suggestion. You could use it to make Cold Process Soap!