Pantry Inventory --Buying Bulk on a Budget

[@ourhomesteadclassroom]

This has been one of the biggest mental shifts for my spouse and I on our homesteading journey. Eat as seasonally as possible. Buy in bulk. Keep a stocked pantry. And stay out of the grocery store as much as possible. It's also been one of the biggest money savers for a couple of foodies, like us! We keep a similar pantry inventory, but we like to digitize it. We have two pre-populated checklists in the shared notes app on our phones. One for items we get at the grocery store. And one for things we order from Azure. That way, when we get low on something we just have to open the list and un-check that item. Then it's all in one place when it's time for me to shop! I also like to add dates to the items in my Azure list so I can know how often we're purchasing that item, and if it might make sense to order the next size up.

[@mountaincreekhomestead]

Hard to do when you work at one lol

[@stephaniehanuman-dale6279]

Pressure can some dried beans. Make your own convenience food. Easy and usually less expensive, especially if you already have canning supplies.

[@joelc9421]

I would love to see you do some videos on cooking Indian food.

[@LadysFarm]

Love pantry videos. ❤ the weather is getting crazy. Love it. ❤

[@karenhibberd9426]

Same!🤣 I love pantry videos also

[@stephaniehanuman-dale6279]

When fruit is in season buy extra and dry it in the dehydrator. Store with an oxygen absorber. And you’ll have all winter. We do apricots, sugared lemons, apples.

[@GreenLifeInDublin]

This is a happy place You have there! Well done.

[@stephaniehanuman-dale6279]

We used to mash defrosted frozen berries with sugar or honey and spread on fresh bread for breakfast or after school snack when I was a kid. We were fortunate to have a lot of berry vines.

[@angelaraum1545]

Also do a meal list monthly or for those who work & get paid bimonthly every 2 weeks it is essential to save $. I even do an inventory of household goods. I had a household list that I printed out & would highlight the stuff we needed. This was necessary when i had to stay home with my late husband after he got disabled & I couldn't work. This would benefit single parents or those on Social Security or low income.

[@rootsanddirt]

Great pantry! I remember when my kids were little and I could stock said amounts and have plenty, now I have 3 teenage boys, our daughter has left for college, and it feels like I could order 1000lb bags of food and still run out 😂❤️ Wouldn't have it any other way. Nothing feels better than having the ability to feed our kids nutrient dense food.

[@faithfullyfitkitchen]

That Costco mango is addicting!! Sooo good! I really need to be more organized, our Pantry is a mess. Feeling inspired now, Jill! Thank you!

[@ourhomesteadclassroom]

If you like the dried mango, I highly recommend trying the dried pineapple tidbits. So addicting! I keep them in a lil' candy jar on the counter and call them nature's gummy bears, because they're that good!

[@faithfullyfitkitchen]

@@ourhomesteadclassroom well that sounds delish! Is there added sugar to those or is it just pineapple?

[@ourhomesteadclassroom]

Just pineapple! 🍍

[@CascadeDuSel]

Does the mango have sugar? Ours here does :-( at Sam’s club

[@culinarygurly987]

I wish I could implement some kind of system in our house of 4 adults and a toddler, I have too much fight to go through to take the control that I would need but once we are down to 2 adults and a toddler again, I cannot wait. I have another adult (grandmother) who it is an uphill battle to try to gain some control of the pantry and fridge because she is shopping like every 3-4 days online and then picking up. I told her that I have methods and resources that I have used and no dice. I even suggested she give me a budget and a list of things that are NEEDs to have in the house for her still no dice. maybe when she gets tired of it she will relent lol

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

Girl you have a struggle on your hands

[@culinarygurly987]

@@WhisperingWillowFarm amen to that. I do what I can but I can't fight so many battles so I am taking time and canning what I can and put things back and then maybe when we get a space of our own I can just move pantry stuff with me lol

[@mommared6713]

Love it! We have a smaller home and have our “pantry” shaved in every nook and cranny hole that our home has. 😂😂😂 I love azure!! Best bulk. We’ll have to check into Costco though

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

Love it!!

[@sharonbos3507]

Thanks for the record keeping tip!

[@lindahubbs8146]

You look so pretty today, really like your new hair cut.

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

Thank you 😊

[@bobbiwingard2717]

Azure standards raisins and cranberries are amazing!

[@nicoleolson1347]

Meal planning is a life saver. I do a month at a time to save time.

[@worleyhavenhomestead1448]

We finally got our freeze dryer delivered, so excited to start using it to preserve and add to our pantry!

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

You will love it

[@ritabaker3113]

Great idea. Buying frozen organic fruit. That’s what I do. Blessings

[@katherinekenney1313]

I love this list idea and the video was really helpful. I'll have to implement this! I saw a previous commenter say she uses a digital notepad on her phone, which might work better for myself and my husband. I'll have to see if we actually keep up with it. I think it would have been helpful to see the fridge and freezer walk thru too, though. Especially the fridge, those items tend to be what I buy weekly so I'm wondering how you are able to keep up with only monthly grocery visits on the more perishable items.

[@Just-Nikki]

I also grow most of our produce but I do buy the frozen mangoes and pineapple from Azure as well as dates because I don’t grow them. I also just got seconds grade apples dropped yesterday because the price was great and my apple trees are still you g. I love ordering nuts and hempseed from them as well. 5 pounds of hempseed is a great price.

[@mikkileon6380]

I actually just really enjoyed watching you go through your pantry lol. Just for the fun of it😃. I love your pantry.😁. I saved your video for very first thing this morning. While I enjoyed some healthy juice. My stomach isn’t tolerating coffee these days and I’m out of tea till later this afternoon. I am especially commenting today because I want to thank you so very very much for being real. Not trying to make us see the fake perfect picture, but a more real version. Yet I appreciate it not being like 24/7 live streaming because no life is picture perfect and you know you have to deal with some of the less beautiful moments like children throwing up or maybe having a tantrum😉 normal stuff☺️. Including like household tension. Because we have enough of that in our own real life hehehehehe 🤪. But enough that we can see that you’re real and not influencing us to set higher unrealistic expectations because your life is a fairytale. I hope I’m making sense because I really want you to know how much I love and appreciate you and Nathan and your three beautiful amazing girls. What a great way to start my day.♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

Thank you for all your kind words ❤

[@MaryDavidson911]

Wow I would absolutely love to see a recipe or video about your cashew coconut cream Alfredo since I am actually 100% whole food plant-based! Some people would call it vegan but it’s not exactly that, but same idea

[@intentionallymade]

Yeah I feel like Vegan is more a belief system all around and not a diet so I always think it should be called vegetarian meal perhaps. Or At least that’s my take since vegans also don’t wear leather and such.. I want that recipe too!! I am wanting to have more plant based meals in my rotation. Sounds do good.

[@charliehoos9773]

Great minds think alike! Today I went through what was on my pantry shelves that was store bought, but no one’s eating that in the house. Ex. Zesty store bought pickles that was given to us but no one eats. Goats loved them! Chickens loved canned beans that my daughter bought to eat, but wasn’t Goya so didn’t taste good to her. I don’t buy cans, but I keep pasta, sauce, salsa, etc. in the pantry for winter cooking times when I’m working. My husband isn’t a cook so pasta is about all he can make for dinner.

[@MarsieInTX]

My favorite uses for canned coconut cream is whipped cream and ice cream. I haven't been able to source coconut cream in bulk, but our local grocery stores have the Thai Kitchen brand in the Asian area of the store. Unfortunately, it's gotten very expensive, ranging from $3.50 to nearly $5 per can, so I only use coconut cream for special recipes. For regular recipes like soups and pasta, I switched to canned coconut milk from Costco.

[@NaturalLivingHomesteader]

Jill, I buy our raisins in a 5 pound bag from azure. Also dried cranberries. Fabulous! They are Thompson raisins And I find the oiled ones stay soft a long long time. Mango from Azure is amazing too.

[@jessicabennett852]

I really need to look into Azure. We do some things in bulk, but really need to do more for many reasons.

[@mgtmoffat8411]

You are so organised. That is a gene I missed out on! Well done you. 💕💕🌻🌻

[@jasminelouisefarrall]

Excellent video Jill 🥰

[@survivor4041]

Kinda off topic but related, certainly can tell that you eat healthy as the whites of your eyes are pearly white. wow., also I like the style of clothing u wear, wish u had a clothing line, sweaters and the coveralls you wear are beautiful. Back on topic, I also buy certain products in bulk to have a pantry of sorts, I buy things like seeds, spices, baking soda, vinegar and coconut oil in bulk when on sale. luv the vids, I am learning so much.

[@patricerocchio2740]

Great video! This is totally off subject but Jill…..where did you get your beautiful sweater?

[@lisacallanan3753]

Great video Jill, thank you for sharing!! Would love to see a video or get more info on where (besides Azure and Costco) you buy your bulk items, and where you find/buy your large jars (besides Mason) to store your bulk items in. Love your channel and video content ~ keep shining for JESUS, you are an inspiration to so many!! 🥰

[@okiebasil]

I started adding things to my cart at Azure Standard, but the shipping cost was way more than I expected. I cancelled the order, but may go back and double check.

[@charliehoos9773]

I found a can of coconut water on the shelf, but it was solidified inside. Chickens loved it! I have a 21 year old daughter who worked at a food store and would buy food often, but forget to eat it. 😂

[@silviamagda]

That's how it is. It's not spoilt. It's solid above and down, it's the coconut water.

[@haleighdee4657]

I loved this video ❤ definitely more content like this, would be super helpful!

[@ferretfan.]

Just popping in to say that I love grocery shopping, too! I thought I was the only one, lol.

[@DreamweaversHomestead]

Groceries are definitely a big budget thing! We thankfully have all meat raised because I couldn't afford from the store! Fruit is huge for me.

[@LVT2314]

I would love to see how you use coconut milk in recipes and coconut water . Do you do cooking videos ?

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

Maybe one day

[@cheyenne7300]

I agree!

[@intentionallymade]

This was Probably one of my favorite videos haha. It’s not often that we get to see this process from other homesteading mamas. More like this is so helpful. Maybe there is an upside to rain outside haha. Thank you!!

[@MorePranaGardens]

I'm interested in that vegan alfredo recipe if you're willing to share. I do miss alfredo.

[@angellaleboeuf3776]

Hello from Louisiana 😃 New to your channel, great video !

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

Hey friend, we are glad you are here

[@tericamcginnis5848]

My journey with fruit was to can cherries, peaches, pears and applesauce. Sometimes plums and apricots. In Sept I had a years supply of canned fruit on the shelf. I would buy one or two boxes of apples in season and cold story them. They would last quite a while. Back in the day I didn't dehydrate or freeze dry. Now I would like to add freeze dry to the dehydrating I do. As our boys left the house my canning went way down. Also, I learned it was way cheaper to buy applesauce. Now I grow strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. We have baby peach, cherry and 5 way apple trees for future. This helped us a lot in the budget for fruit and we knew how they were preserved. With your freeze dryer it might be manageable to try bulk in season fruit buys. That could help with the fruit budget!. Have a great day! 🏵

[@Tangwystyl]

Hi Jill, do you still have the rings on your canned jars of tomatoes and such? They need to be removed for food safety so you can tell if a seal failed. If the rings are left on they can re-seal and pose a big problem. Dangerous to leave them on.

[@1phloxy]

Amazon has Coconut cream.

[@JSD66]

I’m curious about your dehydrated tomatoes in oil. Is that all it is? Is it canned? What do you use it for? Do you do this with other dehydrated veggies? I’m always stuck with what to do with dehydrated foods.

[@gardenstatesowandsew]

Very helpful ❤thank you

[@homesteadinghairdresser]

Can you share how the Azure standard drops work?? 😊

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

You will want to create an account first. After you create the account, start shopping and when you check out, it will give you the drop off locations and dates. You select the one that works best for you

[@cheyenne7300]

Thank you for this video! Where is your sweatshirt from!?

[@worleyhavenhomestead1448]

Where do you get the small Larabars we love those and the kids go through them very quickly, the small ones would be great for our younger daughter!

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

amzn.to/3VRo88y

[@worleyhavenhomestead1448]

@@WhisperingWillowFarm thank you so much!

[@suzanneelliott6572]

Wanted to let you that Sandi Brock’s sheep are giving birth to the cutest lambs every day right now and thought you might want to see that experience at her farm.

[@misskristimarie]

Would you share one of your Azure orders? I’d love to see what that looks like for your family!

[@gardengirl50t30]

With your sun-dried tomato's & oil, were the pressure or wb can'd? TIA

[@wrapsbyrachel5571]

I've checked those prices from Azure and it doesn't seem any better than Costco. Now if you don't have a costco near you or are in a very rural area, i get it. But as someone in a very large metro area with Costco, Sams, all the Big Box stores (target etc) and Aldi, Lidl, and 5 other chain grocery stores -- I do much better just paying attention to prices and sales

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

I totally agree and I get it. I'm 30 minutes away from a Sam's and 45 minutes from a Costco

[@dmay7648]

You have to check each thing individually. The organic Basmati white Rice is half the price at Costco than Azure but the Organic quinoa is significantly more from Costco than on Azure. Price comparison and keeping an eye on each item is helpful.

[@melbee1000]

I find azure has more specialized items, like wheat berries for grinding flour for example. I also like the raw cheese and bulk 5 lb cheese blocks.

[@missourigirl4101]

I’m curious in what your cooking or making with coconut water and products like that. What kind of sauces?

[@izzysfarm1005]

Do you mind sharing your vegan Alfredo sauce recipe? I cannot consume milk products anymore and I would love to find a recipe to replace Alfredo sauce.

[@kristasahlin]

Great way to restock. Thanks for sharing!! Can I ask what you use to write on your jars? Is it dry erase? Or?

[@LisaLBrown-jh7zr]

Do y’all use all the nuts for snacks or just cooking?

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

Both! The nuts are typically for a healthy snack. However we use cashews in a healthy/alternative in making Alfredo sauce

[@elementalacreshomestead3963]

Jill! Where do you get your Brazil nuts? Azure doesn't carry them, neither do any of my local stores. Thank you!

[@melbee1000]

Aldi has Brazil nuts

[@elementalacreshomestead3963]

@@melbee1000 oooooo!!!! I'll have to check my Aldi. Thank you!!

[@mountaincreekhomestead]

I don't have a Costco but I love Azure😊👍

[@mariapagani1214]

Hi the butter where you buy it in bulks??

[@the_farmers_homestead]

Where do you buy your Lara bars?

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

amzn.to/3h4SjtQ

[@smeather1981]

Have you tried the coconut cream powder from azure. I haven't myself, wanted to what you thought of it if you have.

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

I haven't tried it yet but I just may try it now

[@nicoleolson1347]

Do you use broth cubes or buy broth?

[@WhisperingWillowFarm]

Both