Seeing the pantries in our $20/$20 Challenge is great, but I also love hearing about reader’s shopping habits. Becky only shops 1-2 times a month! Love that! Here’s her story:
Hi Mavis, I’m Becky from North Carolina. I’d love to show you my pantry and fridges/freezers. My husband and I have 2 kids {7 & 10} and live on 2 1/2 acres with a big vegetable garden. We hope to add chickens and meat rabbits in the next year or so.
I’m a Michael Pollan fanatic and after we watched Food Inc. about 5 years ago, the food we eat has changed dramatically… but the changed happened slowly over time. Now, 5 years later, I make most of our food from scratch. I work from home {daycare provider to 4 little girls under 3} so I have the luxury of rolling out tortillas at nap time or babysitting a pot of stew during the day. We’re always on a budget and it really helps that I make so much from scratch. I’ve been making all of our bread products since this past summer (bread, tortillas, muffins, etc.) and that has saved us a lot of money. I buy flour/oats/grains in bulk from an Amish store whenever I visit my sister in Maryland. I shop once or twice a month… alternating between Costco and Walmart. We stop at Harris Teeter or Food Lion on the off weeks for fresh produce depending on which store has the best sales.
My husband is a high school band director and his fall schedule is a very hectic one. This fall we were lucky enough to buy a huge, upright freezer from our neighbor for only $40! This has been a game changer for me. I started doubling and tripling whatever dinners froze well and putting the leftovers in the upright freezer for hectic nights. I may not make the whole meal ahead…just the component that takes the most time. It’s so nice to pull out a container of homemade spaghetti sauce on a busy night and have a great meal ready in the time it takes to boil the noodles. I also do this with my baking too. I love having a freezer full of bread, rolls, muffins, etc. so we don’t have to buy processed versions at the store. The freezer drawer at the bottom keeps my stash of breakfast smoothie supplies… berries, spinach, etc. This freezer also holds precooked taco meat, pre-cooked chicken, containers of maple syrup, pumpkin puree, and refried beans.
So, yes, it’s a lot of food and a lot of fridges and freezers, but it’s a system that I really love and make work for our family. I waste very little food and have so much fun planning and cooking meals. I wonder how I’ll fit this year’s garden produce in those freezers. I might have to break out those canning instructions after all.
Thank you for the chance to share my food system with you. I love your blog and read it every day!
Becky
BeckyM says
What a thrill to be featured! Thanks, Mavis! 🙂 Would you mind changing the title to say “North Carolina” instead of South Carolina 🙂 Thanks! 🙂
EDW says
Becky: Where in Maryland do you buy your bulk food?
EDW
BeckyM says
Byler’s is actually in Delaware but my sister is close to the state line. http://www.bylers.com/bulk_food.html They’ve got great prices on 50# bags of flour and dry goods and give 10% discounts off 50# bags.
Lisa Millar says
This is really wonderful! You do an amazing job!! We work towards making/growing our own food, but its very inspiring to see and read about what you have achieved!! There is so much work that goes into this lifestyle, but its worth it!
We just got a second freezer and are about to fill it with half a cow (from cousins farm) (didn’t get it as cheap as $40!! Nice pickup!!)
Do you have solar power? We recently got it and it is making a real difference already… at least it powers the extra freezers/fridge during the day for free!
I enjoyed the read!
🙂
BeckyM says
Thanks, Lisa! 🙂 I agree that all the hard work is worth it…. and the results are so tasty! 🙂 No, we don’t have solar power. I bet it makes a huge difference in your electric bill!
Lisa Millar says
Yes it did… it dropped from around $500 to $255 (Last bill in comparison to the same time last year) that’s a three month bill btw
I am sure it will be a bit different in winter tho!!
Nancy D says
I enjoy hearing your method for utilizing your storage. It’s so well organized. So many wonderful ideas for me to utilize!
Katie S. says
I’m Becky’s sister and she is amazing at all her food prep and storage! It’s always fun to hear what great meals she’s coming up with, or seeing what she’s baking next!