The Frugal Pantry

This is my basement pantry. I also have a small pantry in my kitchen, but I use these shelves in my laundry room for storing stockpiled sale goods. I don't plan meals far in advance, and I don't shop to make specific meals. Instead, I shop to replenish my pantry.

I disagree with the idea of a predetermined, stick-to-your-list menu plan, for the following reasons:

1) I buy groceries according to what's on sale that week.

2) I frequently see unadvertised or clearance sales on items that I wasn't planning to buy. If, according to my price book, the deal is really phenomenal, I'll stockpile that item whether it's on my list or not.

3) I plan meals based on what I need to use up. To avoid waste, I've become a master at creative leftover cooking.

I'm fortunate to live only 20 minutes from a large city. Aldi, Super Wal-Mart, Fareway, HyVee and a Wonder/Hostess bakery thrift store are all within close proximity. Aldi and Wal-Mart are consistently the cheapest, but occasionally the other stores will have good advertised sales. 4 times a year, I travel 45 minutes to an Amish community to shop at their bulk grocery and salvage stores. I buy all of my spices and many staples & baking supplies in bulk there. I always combine these trips with other errands, and I buy a lot of groceries. The back of my van is usually packed.

Here's how I make my weekly grocery list:

1) I scan the sale flyers that come in my weekly "Penny Pincher" newspaper. I compare the sale prices to the lowest price recorded in my price book.

2) If the sale is really good, I inventory my supply of that item and make an educated guess as to how much to buy. After 10 years of keeping a price book, I've learned when most items typically go on sale, so I buy enough to get us through until then.

3) I inventory my staples (flour, rice, pasta) to see if there's something that I must purchase because the supply is low. These items don't go on sale often, but I always need them. Therefore, I try to stockpile them when I do see good sales.

People sometimes ask me what they should keep in their "frugal pantry." This is a difficult question to answer definitively, because dietary needs and preferences vary so widely. Rather than prescribing must-haves, I can offer a list of what we typically keep in our pantry, fridge, and freezer. Feel free to use it as a starting point, and alter it to fit your needs.

Note: We do occasionally buy other items - such as fruit leather and canned frosting - but only if we find really terrific sales.

You'll notice a few things about this list:

1) We don't buy many meats. My father hunts, and we buy lean, ground venison from him for only the $1.00/lb processing fee. We find this to be very similar to ground beef, and use it often. Also, my father-in-law lives in Florida and provides us with a variety of fresh fish, which we keep in our deep freeze. We try to eat "less meat" meals, using 1/2-3/4 pound of meat per meal for our family of four, and we usually have only one meal with meat per day. We eat a lot of chicken and turkey breasts, ground beef, and occasionally beef roast, when it goes on sale for $2.00/lb or less. With the exception of occasional ham, we almost never eat pork.

2) We buy only a handful of convenience foods and no packaged dinners except macaroni and cheese.

3) In the summer and fall, we don’t buy many vegetables because we eat right from our garden. In the winter, we buy frozen vegetables when our garden surplus runs out (this year we have to buy a lot, because our garden was a bust!) We also grow and freeze sour cherries and plums.

4) We use Blue Bonnet margarine instead of butter. There is great debate right now about which is worse - saturated fats or trans fats. According to this Mayo Clinic cardiologist, margarine is a heart-healthier choice. The key is to use margarine with a low level of trans fat. Because butter is so expensive, I read the label of every single stick margarine (suitable for baking) on the market, and found that Blue Bonnet has the lowest amount of combined trans and saturated fats per tablespoon (3.5 grams). Blue Bonnet soft margarine is marketed as having no trans fat. Of course, you should research this issue yourself, and make the best decision for your family.

Pantry Items
Spices
Basil
Bay Leaf
Beef broth powder
Cayenne pepper
Chicken broth powder
Chili powder
Celery seed
Chives
Cilantro
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cream of Tartar
Cumin
Dill weed
Dry ground mustard
Enchilada sauce mix
Garlic powder
Ginger
Lemon pepper
Nutmeg
Onion flakes
Onion powder
Oregano
Paprika
Parsley
Pepper
Rosemary
Sage
Salt
Seasoning salt
Stir fry seasoning
Tarragon
Thyme

Baking Supplies
Baking soda
Baking powder
Brown sugar
Butter flavoring (for homemade pancake syrup)
Canola oil
Chocolate chips
Cocoa
Condensed milk
Cornmeal (not cornbread/muffin mix - I make cornbread from scratch)
Cornstarch
Corn syrup
Evaporated milk
Flour-all purpose, unbleached
Flour-whole wheat
Honey
Instant pudding
Jello
Marshmallows
Maple extract
Molasses
No-stick spray
Pie filling
Powdered sugar
Shortening
Sprinkles
Tapioca
Vanilla extract
White sugar
Yeast

Breads
Flour tortillas
Pita bread
Split-top wheat bread
(I make other breads)

Dried Beans, Pasta and Grains
Brown rice
Bulgur wheat
Egg noodles
Elbow macaroni
Lasagne noodles
Lentils
Popcorn (not microwave)
Quick oats
Pasta shells (small)
Rotini
Thin spaghetti
White rice (mainly for rice pudding and other desserts)
Wild and brown rice blend

Canned Goods
Applesauce
Black beans
Chickpeas
Chili beans
Corn
Creamed corn
Cream soups-chicken & celery (when on sale for 50 cents or less)
Fruit cocktail
Green chiles
Kidney beans
Mandarin oranges
Olives
Peaches
Pears
Pineapple (chunks & crushed)
Salmon-boneless/skinless
Salsa
Tomato paste
Tomato sauce
Tomato soup
Tomatoes (crushed, diced & stewed)
Tuna
White beans

Condiments/Spreads
Chocolate syrup
Cider vinegar
Coffee Mate (liquid)
Dorothy Lynch salad dressing (occasionally, for taco salads)
Dry milk
Garlic
Horseradish
Jam/Jelly (grape & apricot)
Ketchup
Lemon juice
Maraschino cherries
Miracle Whip
Mustard (yellow & dijon)
Powdered non-dairy creamer (for homemade hot cocoa mix)
Parmesan cheese
Pickles
Soy sauce
Sweet and sour sauce
Tahini (for hummus)
Teriyaki sauce
White vinegar
Worcestershire sauce

Cheese
American slices (we only use Kraft-not generic)
Cottage
Cream
Feta
Ricotta
Shredded (cheddar & mozzarella)

Dairy
Crescent rolls/refrigerator biscuits (when I can buy them for $1.25 or less)
Eggs
Margarine (soft & stick)
Orange juice
Skim milk
Sour cream

Meat
Boneless rump or bottom round roast (very lean)
Chicken breasts, bone-in, with skin
Ground beef-80% lean (when I can find a good sale. This is rare these days).
Ground turkey-85% lean
Hot dogs (very rarely)
Lean ham
Pepperoni (for homemade pizza)
Sliced turkey
Turkey bacon
Whole breast of turkey

Nuts and Seeds
Almonds
Flax seed
Pecans
Sunflower seeds

Produce
Apples
Bananas
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Grapes
Green bell peppers
Onions
Pears
Potatoes
Romaine lettuce
Snow peas

Packaged Goods
Breakfast cereal
Graham crackers
Granola bars
Macaroni and Cheese
Raisins and other dried fruit
Saltines
Snack crackers
Taco shells
Velveeta

Frozen
Vegetables
Broccoli
Corn
Green beans
Hash browns
Mixed vegetables
Peas
Peas and carrots blend
Stir fry veggies
Tater tots

Fruits
Blueberries
Raspberries
Strawberries

Breakfast items
Pancakes (my kids don't like frozen scratch pancakes. I don't know why).
Waffles

Other
Cool Whip
Ice Cream