Clean Out The Cupboards Challenge!

I was surfing around over the weekend and discovered a blog and a challenge that, frankly, seemed to be quite suited the some of the plans and goals I set for myself at the start of the year here:

1. Lower the food bill
2. Use what I have!
3. Eat more Meatless meals, particularly participating in Meatless Mondays again
4. Continue increasing my awareness with regard to the environment and local food availability and community building...

Ok. The blog has taken a decided turn towards this over the past couple of years, and I wanted to go a step further. I also wanted to not have such a stuffed freezer (just the fridge part!).

I really love the old New England ("Down East") saying: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

Yes. Yes. Yes. Now...using up what's been in the freezer for a bit began with the vegetable soup I showed you yesterday - and Rebecca has this wonderful challenge that I only just discovered. I'm hoping she won't mind that I'm linking to today without a recipe and referring her to that post for this weeks "Clean Out the Cupboards Challenge."



I am going to try to buy less food, but I have to have fresh fruit and veggies or I'll start to regain my weight and that's not happening. So I'm going to meal plan, and use up the things in the cupboards, freezer, and fridge, and buy much less this month.

My first real recipe will be my tried and true spaghetti sauce this weekend. I've got whole wheat pasta, sauce, frozen Morningstar Farms Recipe Crumbles, frozen mushrooms and peppers and onions. All in the house. Oh! There's even parmesan (real stuff, not the shaker cheese!).

I have whole grain bread, too. The only thing fresh will be the greens I bought tonight for a salad!

Oh...that was the other goal: Meal Planning!