How to Stock a Pantry (12 item magic)
Welcome to part 1 of 2 on "How to Go Shopping Once Every Two Months" series. Can I call a two part thing a series? Well it's happening.
In this post I am going to detail the steps for you on how to stock a pantry and also give reasons as to why the ways I outline are economical, versatile and time-saving.
VERSATILITY IS YOUR FRIEND!!
Your pantry is your home base when it comes to saving money per meal. As I mentioned in my last post , your pantry contains your staples, which last a long time and save you money. These are things that are needed for multiple dishes, and food items that are versatile.
The pantry items we focus on are dried and canned goods. Now depending on your individual/familial culture and food preferences, your dry goods list may be different. I am going to give you my list and you can build and customize from there.
Keep three guidelines in mind when shopping for these. The are:
PRICE: How much it is per serving? That's how you see true savings. I generally don't spend more than $2-3/per pound on pantry items. They should be WAYYYYY cheaper but there are some special things that cost more (ex: quinoa).
LOCATION: Pantry items are usually found in the inner aisles of supermarkets or in the bulk section. Brands do not matter much when it comes to these. This cuts down your time in store as well.
LONGEVITY: Items keep anywhere from 6months-1 year. Some more (canned goods). As long as you have airtight containers, you good, fam!
The list I provide below is the base for many meals. This is based on a 1-2 person budget of food for 2 months. Some will be featured on the blog, stay tuned. These are American staples and the items can be found for suuuper cheap!
PANTRY STOCK LIST: 1-2 people BUDGET: Between $50-$65
Rice 5lbs
Dried beans (more volume than canned beans and WAY cheaper) 2lbs.
Canned beans (have 5-10 on hand for suuuuuper quick meals, and no soaking!)
Flour 5lb bag
Sugar 5lb bag
Oatmeal 1 42 ounce container (or buy in bulk section Whole Foods/Fairway)
Tomato Sauce 5-7 jars
Pasta (varied, but macaroni has the largest volume per box) 5-7 boxes
Salt
Fab 4 seasonings (see my other post on why these exist!)
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Seaconing salt
Black pepper
Baking Soda (a little goes a looooong way) 1 can
Baking Powder (a little goes a looooong way) 1 can
Optional items: peanut butter, jelly, syrup, honey.
Where to shop?
My recommendation is to shop somewhere that has bulk items and also sale. Bulk options doesn't juuuuuust mean Costco. Bulk items exist at whole foods as well. Whole Food gets thrown so much shade for being expensive, but I am here to testify that the bulk item prices are oh so cheap...check it out.
Other value stores with great sales that I frequent: Stop & Shop and ALDI. We bros for life ya'll.
questions? additions? leave in comments!