We're not in a place where we can skip the grocery store altogether, but I will be meal planning around what is in our freezer and pantry! Then I will try to shop as minimally as possible. I suffered job loss last month, so the budget is tight but excited to keep costs down with my own version of this challenge!
I've been eagerly awaiting your video. My town is flooding at present & so many people have lost their homes & cars. Thankfully no lives lost as far as I'm aware. I just needed something that makes me smile & Sunday nights that's you. So thank you for brightening what has been a tough day. Have a blessed week.
We are downsizing and decluttering to get ready to move next year. This will be a great opportunity to get back to the freezer and cans I have so not as much to move!!
I'm doing the pantry challenge for the first time! I also have a nice cookbook collection that doesn't get used as much as it should-so I'm going to include a cookbook challenge and try one new recipe every week from my cookbooks as part of my challenge!
We have been living like this off and on for years due to my husbands line of work. We would pack away and grow as much as we could in plentiful months to make it through winter slow down. The last two years though things have been extremely ruff for us. We are recovering from a housefire and money is so extremely tight. We are starting the challenge right after Christmas and will go as long as we can. We will need to purchase a few items a month like dairy, vegetables and fruits. I'll share our progress on here. Wishing everyone blessings that are struggling currently. Hold strong and have faith, God bless and thank you three rivers homestead for guiding everyone through this.
I love this challenge! I do not have any social media channel but commit to the 2 month no grocery store challenge. It cleans out my pantry and freezer, introduces new recipes and I feel so accomplished by March 1st. Plus it introduces me to other RUclipsrs . Thank you Jessica- warm holiday blessings to you all.
@claudialeger3208 I don't have a channel either but I found a local friend to join me and help me keep accountable! It was great fun sharing what we were doing each day! We plan on doing it again this year, well I guess next year technically! :)
I am so excited. I am a widow and live alone and I am retiring in December, going to use my resources at home! Have lots of food preserved! Thanks for all you do
Yay!! This is my favorite time of the year to watch your videos!! After 3-4 years of watching your videos and dreaming of our own homestead, we are finally here!! This will be our first winter here in our homestead!! We’ve been super busy building our house this year before the snow came, so we weren’t able to have quite the garden of my dreams to preserve all of the goodies that you do… but I am going to do my best to follow along and see how far we can get!! Thank you for inventing this challenge and for being such an inspiration for me!!😊
An intriguing notion, but I cannot empty my shelves of my food preservation items or empty my freezer before I am assured of a successful harvest this year. We are in a year of uncertainty, and I won't deplete my resources just because. A review & updating my inventory list & purposefully using up the oldest freezer items I can understand, with plans to replenish during this time.
This will be my first pantry challenge that goes beyond a week. So, I’m stretching out beyond my comfort zone. Thankfully, my family is on board with me. I’m excited! ❤🥙🍞
This is a very real and practical challenge. March of 2020 I needed to know everything in our house and how long it would last. I had 6 weeks of meals that I planned out. We had dry goods that would have lasted us longer, but this is what we had fresh, freezer and canned. I now have a lot longer supply, but it’s good practice to know what you have 😊 We eat a lot of veggies so that is what we ran out of first:) Also it’s eye opening how fast you actually go through food! Also be careful not to deplete your supply because things happen ….
Good morning Jessica. We had to watch church service on tv this morning due to illness so I am very excited to be able to sit down with a cup of coffee and watch your video early. Have a wonderful week and as always may the peace of God be with you and your family this week 😊
Good morning Jessica! I plan to join you this year on the challenge. I just started canning this year and have been pretty successful. Almost too successful, I am out of salsa and pickles and only have one jar of green beans left. My grandkids have found that Nana makes the best salsa and pickles so every visit empties two jars…lol. A lot of my garden ended up being eaten fresh for the same reason. I still live within the city limits and I plan on adding to my cash to go towards my own homestead, we are very close and hope to move this summer. Thank you for all your videos, I never miss them❤❤❤
I’ll be joining this challenge and jump in as I just learned this today. I need to use up food from my pantry and freezer. Some of them are expiring and expired but I’m careful not to throw away the good ones. I do like buying fresh milk and eggs from the store and other items that we only need in a week. Hopefully I can do this challenge for 2 or more months. This is a good eye opener of how much the food I have can go. Thank you so much for sharing this challenge! ❤️🙏
Hi Jessica❤ I look forward to doing this challenge every year. It actually pays my heat bill when I don’t grocery shop. I have been doing this since November 1 and plan on going until March break if possible. I went to the grocery store for a couple of fresh things for Christmas because my sister and her husband are coming over for a couple of days. If not for that I wouldn’t have done even that. I think it’s fun to see how long it can last😊 It’s so satisfying to eat pantry meals and clean stuff out for next season. Merry Christmas beautiful lady❤
Good morning my friend, we are doing it this year, hubby had shoulder replaced, he’s off work, so stocked my pantry, freezers, and here we go! Excited to see and share the fun! You’re such a blessing! Have a blessed day!❤😊
Thank you so much for doing the pantry challenge. It has really helped me to be much more intentional about our food supply. It’s also helped be more organized. Our weather has been beautiful this autumn. Our fall garden is going strong. Fingers crossed our weather holds out. We will have some fresh produce for the pantry challenge this year.
Love your challenge. I think we all need a recipe book. Anybody who comes up with special recipe. I'll be watching. Didn't get a Garden out this year. With the death of my daughter and brother. It didn't just happen.
Hugs. That makes trying to keep forging ahead really difficult. It took me a little over 2 years to recover from the deaths of my youngest brother and brother in law. I can't even imagine losing one of the kids. Forge on, but be sure to give yourself grace on the days when you "just can't". 💖
I've been watching for a while, but this is my first year of really jumping in. I'm planning to grocery shop for a few things but my goal is to keep the grocery bill at or under $50/week including pets and all baby needs (including diapers and wipes)! I'm super excited to see how low I can go with the grocery bill and how much we can set aside.
Becky posted that she was doing ur food pantry challenge so I wanted to find out about the challenge. Then just watching this vlog and u said u was here in OH. I’m from Marysville outside of Dublin and I don’t know where u r. But don’t be surprised if I check in with u to find out where u get some of ur things or ask u other questions about doing these types of things u ladies are doing. Thanks for the posting.
Yeah!!!! The three rivers challenge. I’ve been planning and looking forward to participating in this again for the third time. We will only shop for fresh produce and dairy products. Otherwise we’re “shopping” our pantry, freezer, and canned items.
Just found this on a friend's recommendation. We are participating, with a couple of exceptions: grocery store for perishables only and stocking up on things like oatmeal and grits. Otherwise, we are right in there with you. We have food that we have to figure out how to use up. We need to only stockpile that which we use.
2 years ago I decided to use what’s in my pantry and only buy what I had to… year round. I do have a large garden and preserve extensively. I have stopped buying things like ketchup, apple cider vinegar, salsas, all tomato products, soups, applesauce, breads, pickles, vegetables etc. since I’ve started making my own. It’s amazing how little I buy now. Your creativity has definitely helped my family! Thank you Jessica!
Will be joining you this year on the pantry challenge even if we do not live on a homestead. Good way to use up what I have canned/frozen and to challenge myself with being creative with meals. Also will be doing a no spend for January and February. Will try to do a low spend for the rest of the year. I want a challenge and think this will fit the bill.
I am going to be doing the pantry challenge for the first time. I have a full freezer and foods in my pantry and food storage. I also am officially retired as of January 1st. So it will take at least a month before my retirement budget will be finalized. I did an inventory of my freezer and will plan my menus from what I have available from it and my shelves. I live in a city, I have a garden during the summer. Right now it is way too cold to grow outside. That will happen come May in my area.
This will be my first year doing the pantry challenge. My husband and I have been doing inventory and preparing with purchasing the last few items needed. We will allow the dairy and fresh produce. Other than that we will not be going to the grocery store. I have been reading the comments below and am shocked how many people will be doing this challenge. I don't have any social media other than facebook, so I might use the hashtag on there so I can post for my friends and family my progress. We will be traveling the first 2 days so our challenge will begin Jan 3rd. May you all have a very blessed Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. I'm looking forward to watching all of the video's you will be posting.
My goal is to use what is in the pantry and freezers first before buying additional meat/canned/dry goods. 3 grown men in the house and we don’t have a homestead so I go through 3 dozen eggs a week plus 2 gallons of milk… so… just gonna try to save as much as possible in January. That’s the goal. I usually spend around 1500 a month so anything I can save will help!
I have so much food for one person. I'm going to make a concerted effort to use up and clear out. I will go to grocery and Costco for certain items, but much reduced! Thanks for the fun challenge! Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family.
Heard about this on Little Mountain Ranch channel and im super excited to be joining you all in this challenge. I started today! I do have to go for milk. I have freezers full of meat and frozen veggies and fruit so im really hoping i can make it with just going for milk.
I’m joining this year again too! I think this is our third or fourth year doing this. Only allowing for A2 milk or emergencies. Will reevaluate at the end of January to see if we go into February.
I did the last one for the first time. I used the savings to pay CSA membership including shares of beef,, and garden stuff. Looking forward to this next one.
I will try to do your pantry challenge even though there is only me I need use the stuff in my freezer and cabinets. Wish me luck. Bless your great family
I'm looking forward to this challenge and getting some new ideas as well. This is our 3rd year. I'm not "prepared" for it this time so that will be interesting. I did give myself a $25/week emergency fund but this will be a good lesson on what I have been successful and less than successful in putting up this year. I get the rut issue you're having as we are going through the same thing. Some days I don't even want to eat because I can't figure out anything new. Same 'ole same 'ole. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with family and friends.
I’m doing your challenge for the first time. Plus a pantry makeover in February. I’m excited to see if I can make it the whole 2 months lol. My husband says I’m addicted to Walmart delivery. I made a video and added the hashtag. It will help me make more videos as I’m trying to grow my channel. I need to make room in every freezer and organize and use up stuff. The only items I will need is dairy and fresh vegetables.
I love your hair! So beautiful! I enjoy the challenge months. I'm not 100% faithful (we at times eat out- depending on how we feel), but I get this wonderful sense of accomplishment when I use up most of my pantry. I need to inventory our freezers. We have a small chest freezer and the one on the fridge. We are only 3 in our home, so inventory will not be difficult. Enjoy your break and see ya back in a few weeks. *Hugs*
New subscriber here. I am loving all your videos and admittedly have been watching them on repeat. You have mentioned your son has serious dairy allergies so you can’t have cheese. I’m not sure if you have ever looked into potato and carrot recipe to make cheese. There are cashew ones but that’s pricey. It would be a great way to use your jarred carrots and potatoes. Just search potato and carrot nacho cheese. It’s delicious and nutritious! Just a side note, it is only good when heated (eating it cold is not as tasty. Love your videos! Can’t wait to see what you come up with on your pantry challenge!
Here is the one I use. You just put it all in a high speed blender until smooth and heat on the stove. You can add less jalapeños if the littles are not into heat. ▢ 1 C white potatoes, peeled and cubed cooked until soft ▢ ½ C carrots, peeled and cubed cooked until soft ▢ ¼ C vegetable oil ▢ ¼ C nondairy milk ▢ 2 teaspoon lemon juice ▢ 6 pickled jalapeño slices ▢ 3 tablespoon jalapeño pickle brine ▢ 1 tablespoon tomato paste ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon arrowroot flour ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder ▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder ▢ 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast ▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
I love seeing how you use what you have. You really have inspired me over the years to just shop my pantry first. I've been doing a pantry challenge for what seems like months so we can afford Christmas but I might see if we can do more after Christmas just to test out how much we really have stored. I also could probably can some beans and broth while I'm at it lol
How fun. My husband and I decided a few months ago that we would try to go a month without going to the store. We chose February. The only real concern I have is fresh milk. It will be interesting to see how we do. We also said we would not go out for meals (lunches for my husband). We rarely go out now, but wanted to add that to give a better idea what it would be like to “have to” live out of our pantry. It will be good to stretch ourselves and what we can do. I agree it will help tell us what we need more and what we need less of. I hope to join you.
I plan to only buy foods that are on great sales to fill in my gaps for the coming year. I will be eating out of my pantry and freezer and try to avoid the grocery store altogether for this month (except the sales). Thanks for this creative way to get my food rotated out.
😂i must be an exception..havet been to the store since may..as we eat outof the garden..then i USUALLY go around Thanksgiving but just for deals on items i cant make..chocolate, bulk sugar and some flours for baking. Pretty self sufficient here..but this is great just to see how others manage.
I love this pantry challenge because it teaches us so much about the needs of our family. 2024 is the year I learn how to manage my life not just react to my life. Thank you 3 rivers community
Im so looking forward to this year's challenge. I am inventorying all of my buckets and storage bins of food, 2 large freezers, my actual pantries just so I can be ready this year. After I finish the inventories, I will be filling any holes of baking items and spices. I will be making a meal plan for January and February. Thank you for doing this challenge.
So excited to start the challenge!! Hubby is on board, kido not so much. We will have a small budget for the store as my daughter has dairy allergies and we drink milk. But I'm really working on using what we have in storage, making new recipes and more items we enjoy but learn to make them from scratch.
I don’t have much of a pantry, but I do need to use up some of the items in the pantry and freezer. I just moved into my house in May and didn’t get to have a garden other than some tomatoes and peppers in pots that I started way too late.
My daughters are bea grown adukts now now, but I did the same. I hate waste! Seems that your meal preps are low in protein especially for breakfast after hours of fasting, emphasis on the children- I see high carbs, with sugar although they are complex carbs, which is good. ❤ You are commended for taking on the loving challenge of having a large family and home schooling.
Interesting. We typically have eggs or breakfast meat with the majority of our breakfasts. If we don't, there are eggs baked into the meal or mixed into things like oatmeal.
Excellent, Jessica! This is also my favorite challenge. I will join you on RUclips again this year. Thanks so much for being such an inspiration! Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family!
I am doing this challenge as I can. Even if you cannot do it wholly, you can work on what needs to be used up and replaced or get a few jars back. I underline that "jars back" ! Again jars are getting scare on the ground, as more people around us are getting wise to the fact of canning and dehydrating. Inventory1st!
Look forward to doing this. I have done bits and parts of this and really want to do it fully. I don't have a homestead or a garden but I do buy in bulk for my large family. So I want to lower my grocery budget for my two week grocery shopping and really use this as a fun way to get as low expense as possible.
I wish I could…but I try this as much as I can ..I freeze my bread.. if I need milk, I will buy shelf stable milk most of the time I need it for cooking so that works. I also have powdered milk on hand butter. We stock up on butter in the freezer. We try to stock up on everything I too, do not like to get out to the stores. I don’t like all the hustle and bustle, and some people are so rude, I don’t go out in the weekends. I do everything Monday through Friday and we stay in because there’s plenty to do in this house.
Finished my inventory yesterday. I am in good shape in the pantry and two freezers full of meat. Going to give it a try. Only thing I need is eggs , cream, and kombucha.
Such a fun challenge ! Jessica , your hair looks beautiful curled ! I just bulked up on my 6 months worth of flour ( gonna buy more next month ) I’m looking forward to canning beans ( we just went through our last jars ! 😮 so I gotta get to work ! You do really good with your budget ! I will be growing all our chickens and turkeys this spring :) it feels so good to be able to put up meat when it’s so incredibly exspensive! That money I save will pay for animal feed ! Many blessings to you and your Family !!!!!! Hugs ! Merry Christmas!
First year seriously freezing and preserving from garden, so goal is to try and follow for January and as long into February as possible. Wishing you all a happy Christmas from UK 😊
Since I only have 3 chickens, I will use the saved money on January sales. In the uk we have a shop called boots, originally a pharmacist but now sells perfumes, make up, beauty stuff too. In January they have a massive sale. Up to 75%off. I like to stock up on gifts for the year. These can be used for birthdays or next Christmas. Plus I buy Christmas cards and wrapping paper for next year. I hoped to budget £20 per week on any gap fillers. We also have so many birthdays in January so the pantry challenge will help a lot towards a typically expensive month for my family.
I heard about your challenge from Chelsea at Little Mountain Ranch. It’s a great idea. I live in an apartment in an urban area but I enjoy meal prepping. So I have a lot of premade soups and chili that I made back in September. I also have a lot of fruit and other produce that I bought or picked from local farms and froze them. My goal is to create a menu of meals to use up what’s in the freezer, as well as items in my emergency stash that may be nearing expiration dates in the next 6 months. I’ll be doing a small grocery run tomorrow, 12/31 and if all goes well I won’t need to go to the grocery store for two months!
Merry Christmas Jessica and Friends here.. I look forward to the challenge, while I don't go All In it does make me more mindful of using what I have and avoiding the store as much as possible. I am saving up for a home improvement project in the spring having my kitchen floors replaced the old linoleum with a different type I expect it to run around $1000 so saving money is the goal. Its always interesting to see what others on here are doing and making. That is a great way of looking at including the savings for your animal feed, there comes a time when we have all the kitchen gadgets we can possibly use though there is always something new and shiny to tempt us lol. Anna In Ohio
You've inspired me to pressure can and leave my small freezer for things I can't can. I appreciated your ideas about another preserving method rather than buying another freezer, so it's pressure canning for me
I am just jumping in. No prep. My plan for groceries «in need» is to send my husband to the store. He only buys the items on the list. 😂 No «oh, we need that or wouldn’t it be good to have on hand»-thinking. We will need milk and eggs, but otherwise I do believe we can make it (at least) a month.
Totally want to try this! I think I will do one giant shopping trip at the end of December and try to do the whole month of January. Thank you for the inspiration!
I enjoy watching all your videos every year in the pantry challenge showing the meals you make. Love the way you are so organized and plan ahead for daily, monthly and seasonal food, family, garden and life events! 😀💖🌟
I've been wanting to do this since I started watching you. We rarely have food waste. I have a small garden but I don't like the idea of emptying my freezer bc I always think what if we cant afford meat and I've used it all in this challenge. Things to pray about for sure. I at least want to try it even for 2 weeks is something.
I hear your concern. I may modify and eat the oldest items in the freezer and pantry and still shop the sales to stock up. It will be for me a food storage rotating challenge.
I understand this completely!!!! For many years, we were paycheck to barely paycheck and using up stock was enough to make me very anxious because the fact that I might not be able to replenish was very, very real. Here is what I did, it might not work for you, but maybe it can get your wheels to turning for a solution that does work. 1. I started shopping as in season as possible. I googled what's in season by month and bought as much of those as possible. 2. Whatever I found on sale, I bought a little extra and intentionally set that extra aside in a preserved way. For example, a local chicken plant had excess chicken breasts that they sold by the case for .99 a pound, so I bought 2 50 pound boxes and did 1 box canned and 1 box frozen. That fed us for about a year. I took the money I saved, it involved math 😂, but my husband figured it out for me, I took that money I saved, and put it towards other groceries, slowly growing my stock week by week. 3. I assessed what I could save money on and where I needed to just bite the bullet. A big one for us was bread. We eat a lot of bread, and we like to stay away from preservatives, so, it made the most sense to learn to make breads really well. My next step is a mill to grind my own flour. 4. I drug out my old Amish and Mennonite cookbooks and incorporated a lot of those recipes into the line up. Today you can find a lot of these recipes online. It's simple meals with simple ingredients, which is budget friendly.
I done the pantry challenge for years now scence 2012 and pay all bills up for 3 months. Cause its just too hard on my body too be in the cold. But I'm blessed because brother buys my eggs, cottage cheese,and Amish milk. Once a month.
I'm in this year... let's do this! I have a lot going on in my freezer and pantry from my garden and good finds at the stores so I definitely need to do this to prepare for this coming gardening season. Good luck to us all, God bless everyone, merry Christmas, happy new year and good wishes and prayers to all.
I’m excited this is my first year participating I live alone but I do can and can a lot this year and have picked up a few meats that were on sale so my freezer is stocked. I can’t wait to see what I can come up with for the next two months it’ll be exciting.❤
Good morning my dear friend, I always look forward to this yearly challenge you do!! I would like to take the opportunity to wish you, Adam and the children a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!!
We are still buying everything on sale for the hard times coming. We never dip into our reserves. I am still canning every day as my son gets all the free produce where he works.
Your "rules" could include you must still use your pantry but you have to dig to the bottom and the back and you're not "allowed" to eat any of the new stuff.
Looking forward to this challenge I'm always amazed at how much I save during this time. Thank you for inspiring us to do this. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
This is my first pantry challenge. I've been thinking ahead about how to make yogurt and butter from my powdered milk. Freezers and shelves are ready 😊
We're not in a place where we can skip the grocery store altogether, but I will be meal planning around what is in our freezer and pantry! Then I will try to shop as minimally as possible. I suffered job loss last month, so the budget is tight but excited to keep costs down with my own version of this challenge!
I've been eagerly awaiting your video. My town is flooding at present & so many people have lost their homes & cars. Thankfully no lives lost as far as I'm aware. I just needed something that makes me smile & Sunday nights that's you. So thank you for brightening what has been a tough day. Have a blessed week.
Thoughts and prayers to you and your family and your community 🙏🙏🙏love from South Africa ❤
I am so sorry to hear that. Stay safe 🙏🏻
Sorry the read about your flooding. Kind regards Rustenburg South Africa
We are downsizing and decluttering to get ready to move next year. This will be a great opportunity to get back to the freezer and cans I have so not as much to move!!
Merry Christmas to all of you at Three Rivers!!
I'm doing the pantry challenge for the first time! I also have a nice cookbook collection that doesn't get used as much as it should-so I'm going to include a cookbook challenge and try one new recipe every week from my cookbooks as part of my challenge!
That’s a great idea. Good luck
I did this last year. Jan, Feb, Mar....amazing whats in the pantry that really needs to be used. How creative you can get! Loved it!
We have been living like this off and on for years due to my husbands line of work. We would pack away and grow as much as we could in plentiful months to make it through winter slow down. The last two years though things have been extremely ruff for us. We are recovering from a housefire and money is so extremely tight. We are starting the challenge right after Christmas and will go as long as we can. We will need to purchase a few items a month like dairy, vegetables and fruits. I'll share our progress on here. Wishing everyone blessings that are struggling currently. Hold strong and have faith, God bless and thank you three rivers homestead for guiding everyone through this.
I love this challenge! I do not have any social media channel but commit to the 2 month no grocery store challenge. It cleans out my pantry and freezer, introduces new recipes and I feel so accomplished by March 1st. Plus it introduces me to other RUclipsrs . Thank you Jessica- warm holiday blessings to you all.
@claudialeger3208 I don't have a channel either but I found a local friend to join me and help me keep accountable! It was great fun sharing what we were doing each day! We plan on doing it again this year, well I guess next year technically! :)
I am so excited. I am a widow and live alone and I am retiring in December, going to use my resources at home! Have lots of food preserved! Thanks for all you do
Same here and need to get motivated to Can up another 7 quarts of dry beans for winter soup season. Anna In Ohio
I am alone too. 73 yo and love to can, dehydrate,and preserve food. I need to eat what I've canned and see what I liked or dislike. Good like to us.
Me too 77yo l’m one of those who hates to open the jars I’ve worked so hard to can so this will be helpful for me
Yay!! This is my favorite time of the year to watch your videos!!
After 3-4 years of watching your videos and dreaming of our own homestead, we are finally here!! This will be our first winter here in our homestead!! We’ve been super busy building our house this year before the snow came, so we weren’t able to have quite the garden of my dreams to preserve all of the goodies that you do… but I am going to do my best to follow along and see how far we can get!! Thank you for inventing this challenge and for being such an inspiration for me!!😊
An intriguing notion, but I cannot empty my shelves of my food preservation items or empty my freezer before I am assured of a successful harvest this year. We are in a year of uncertainty, and I won't deplete my resources just because. A review & updating my inventory list & purposefully using up the oldest freezer items I can understand, with plans to replenish during this time.
That is my logic too. With all the shortages throughout the epidemic,I’m never taking that risk again.
This will be my first pantry challenge that goes beyond a week. So, I’m stretching out beyond my comfort zone. Thankfully, my family is on board with me. I’m excited! ❤🥙🍞
You need to do a video on what products you use on your hair and upkeep. Your hair is absolutely gorgeous! So shiny and healthy.
This is a very real and practical challenge. March of 2020 I needed to know everything in our house and how long it would last. I had 6 weeks of meals that I planned out. We had dry goods that would have lasted us longer, but this is what we had fresh, freezer and canned. I now have a lot longer supply, but it’s good practice to know what you have 😊 We eat a lot of veggies so that is what we ran out of first:) Also it’s eye opening how fast you actually go through food! Also be careful not to deplete your supply because things happen ….
Good morning Jessica. We had to watch church service on tv this morning due to illness so I am very excited to be able to sit down with a cup of coffee and watch your video early. Have a wonderful week and as always may the peace of God be with you and your family this week 😊
Good morning Jessica! I plan to join you this year on the challenge. I just started canning this year and have been pretty successful. Almost too successful, I am out of salsa and pickles and only have one jar of green beans left. My grandkids have found that Nana makes the best salsa and pickles so every visit empties two jars…lol. A lot of my garden ended up being eaten fresh for the same reason. I still live within the city limits and I plan on adding to my cash to go towards my own homestead, we are very close and hope to move this summer. Thank you for all your videos, I never miss them❤❤❤
I’ll be joining this challenge and jump in as I just learned this today. I need to use up food from my pantry and freezer. Some of them are expiring and expired but I’m careful not to throw away the good ones. I do like buying fresh milk and eggs from the store and other items that we only need in a week. Hopefully I can do this challenge for 2 or more months. This is a good eye opener of how much the food I have can go. Thank you so much for sharing this challenge! ❤️🙏
Hi Jessica❤ I look forward to doing this challenge every year. It actually pays my heat bill when I don’t grocery shop. I have been doing this since November 1 and plan on going until March break if possible. I went to the grocery store for a couple of fresh things for Christmas because my sister and her husband are coming over for a couple of days. If not for that I wouldn’t have done even that. I think it’s fun to see how long it can last😊 It’s so satisfying to eat pantry meals and clean stuff out for next season. Merry Christmas beautiful lady❤
Great approach! Congrats!
Good morning my friend, we are doing it this year, hubby had shoulder replaced, he’s off work, so stocked my pantry, freezers, and here we go! Excited to see and share the fun! You’re such a blessing! Have a blessed day!❤😊
We’re doing the challenge!! Feeling good about cleaning out our freezer and canning goods that we canned last year !!
Thank you so much for doing the pantry challenge. It has really helped me to be much more intentional about our food supply. It’s also helped be more organized.
Our weather has been beautiful this autumn. Our fall garden is going strong. Fingers crossed our weather holds out. We will have some fresh produce for the pantry challenge this year.
Your videos on sundays is My treat after chores... just sit for the half hour with a fresh cup of coffee ...
This will be my first pantry challenge. I’ll be going to the store twice a month for milk and fresh fruit. Looking forward to the challenge!
Love your challenge. I think we all need a recipe book. Anybody who comes up with special recipe. I'll be watching. Didn't get a Garden out this year. With the death of my daughter and brother. It didn't just happen.
Hugs. That makes trying to keep forging ahead really difficult. It took me a little over 2 years to recover from the deaths of my youngest brother and brother in law. I can't even imagine losing one of the kids. Forge on, but be sure to give yourself grace on the days when you "just can't". 💖
I've been watching for a while, but this is my first year of really jumping in. I'm planning to grocery shop for a few things but my goal is to keep the grocery bill at or under $50/week including pets and all baby needs (including diapers and wipes)! I'm super excited to see how low I can go with the grocery bill and how much we can set aside.
This is our 3rd year doing your challenge. Cannot wait!
Becky posted that she was doing ur food pantry challenge so I wanted to find out about the challenge. Then just watching this vlog and u said u was here in OH. I’m from Marysville outside of Dublin and I don’t know where u r. But don’t be surprised if I check in with u to find out where u get some of ur things or ask u other questions about doing these types of things u ladies are doing. Thanks for the posting.
I wish you and your lovedones a merry christmas! Many greetings from the Netherlands, Enny.
Yeah!!!! The three rivers challenge. I’ve been planning and looking forward to participating in this again for the third time. We will only shop for fresh produce and dairy products. Otherwise we’re “shopping” our pantry, freezer, and canned items.
First year to give it a try. A great way to rotate out those canning jars. Blessings on your family Jessica.
Just found this on a friend's recommendation. We are participating, with a couple of exceptions: grocery store for perishables only and stocking up on things like oatmeal and grits. Otherwise, we are right in there with you. We have food that we have to figure out how to use up. We need to only stockpile that which we use.
2 years ago I decided to use what’s in my pantry and only buy what I had to… year round. I do have a large garden and preserve extensively. I have stopped buying things like ketchup, apple cider vinegar, salsas, all tomato products, soups, applesauce, breads, pickles, vegetables etc. since I’ve started making my own. It’s amazing how little I buy now. Your creativity has definitely helped my family! Thank you Jessica!
This challenge is always so much fun. Looking forward to participating again this year! Thank you for coordinating this challenge!
Will be joining you this year on the pantry challenge even if we do not live on a homestead. Good way to use up what I have canned/frozen and to challenge myself with being creative with meals. Also will be doing a no spend for January and February. Will try to do a low spend for the rest of the year. I want a challenge and think this will fit the bill.
I am going to be doing the pantry challenge for the first time. I have a full freezer and foods in my pantry and food storage. I also am officially retired as of January 1st. So it will take at least a month before my retirement budget will be finalized.
I did an inventory of my freezer and will plan my menus from what I have available from it and my shelves. I live in a city, I have a garden during the summer. Right now it is way too cold to grow outside. That will happen come May in my area.
This will be my first year doing the pantry challenge. My husband and I have been doing inventory and preparing with purchasing the last few items needed. We will allow the dairy and fresh produce. Other than that we will not be going to the grocery store. I have been reading the comments below and am shocked how many people will be doing this challenge. I don't have any social media other than facebook, so I might use the hashtag on there so I can post for my friends and family my progress. We will be traveling the first 2 days so our challenge will begin Jan 3rd. May you all have a very blessed Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. I'm looking forward to watching all of the video's you will be posting.
My goal is to use what is in the pantry and freezers first before buying additional meat/canned/dry goods. 3 grown men in the house and we don’t have a homestead so I go through 3 dozen eggs a week plus 2 gallons of milk… so… just gonna try to save as much as possible in January. That’s the goal. I usually spend around 1500 a month so anything I can save will help!
Thank you Jessica. I think I will try to honor the spirit of the challenge
I have so much food for one person. I'm going to make a concerted effort to use up and clear out. I will go to grocery and Costco for certain items, but much reduced! Thanks for the fun challenge! Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family.
I have watched this every year. I am so glad you invented this challenge!!!
Heard about this on Little Mountain Ranch channel and im super excited to be joining you all in this challenge. I started today! I do have to go for milk. I have freezers full of meat and frozen veggies and fruit so im really hoping i can make it with just going for milk.
I’m joining this year again too! I think this is our third or fourth year doing this. Only allowing for A2 milk or emergencies. Will reevaluate at the end of January to see if we go into February.
I did the last one for the first time. I used the savings to pay CSA membership including shares of beef,, and garden stuff. Looking forward to this next one.
I will try to do your pantry challenge even though there is only me I need use the stuff in my freezer and cabinets. Wish me luck. Bless your great family
I'm looking forward to this challenge and getting some new ideas as well. This is our 3rd year. I'm not "prepared" for it this time so that will be interesting. I did give myself a $25/week emergency fund but this will be a good lesson on what I have been successful and less than successful in putting up this year. I get the rut issue you're having as we are going through the same thing. Some days I don't even want to eat because I can't figure out anything new. Same 'ole same 'ole. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with family and friends.
I’m doing your challenge for the first time. Plus a pantry makeover in February. I’m excited to see if I can make it the whole 2 months lol. My husband says I’m addicted to Walmart delivery. I made a video and added the hashtag. It will help me make more videos as I’m trying to grow my channel. I need to make room in every freezer and organize and use up stuff. The only items I will need is dairy and fresh vegetables.
I love your hair! So beautiful! I enjoy the challenge months. I'm not 100% faithful (we at times eat out- depending on how we feel), but I get this wonderful sense of accomplishment when I use up most of my pantry. I need to inventory our freezers. We have a small chest freezer and the one on the fridge. We are only 3 in our home, so inventory will not be difficult. Enjoy your break and see ya back in a few weeks. *Hugs*
New subscriber here. I am loving all your videos and admittedly have been watching them on repeat. You have mentioned your son has serious dairy allergies so you can’t have cheese. I’m not sure if you have ever looked into potato and carrot recipe to make cheese. There are cashew ones but that’s pricey. It would be a great way to use your jarred carrots and potatoes. Just search potato and carrot nacho cheese. It’s delicious and nutritious! Just a side note, it is only good when heated (eating it cold is not as tasty. Love your videos! Can’t wait to see what you come up with on your pantry challenge!
Here is the one I use. You just put it all in a high speed blender until smooth and heat on the stove. You can add less jalapeños if the littles are not into heat.
▢ 1 C white potatoes, peeled and cubed cooked until soft
▢ ½ C carrots, peeled and cubed cooked until soft
▢ ¼ C vegetable oil
▢ ¼ C nondairy milk
▢ 2 teaspoon lemon juice
▢ 6 pickled jalapeño slices
▢ 3 tablespoon jalapeño pickle brine
▢ 1 tablespoon tomato paste
▢ 1 ½ teaspoon arrowroot flour
▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder
▢ 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
I love seeing how you use what you have. You really have inspired me over the years to just shop my pantry first. I've been doing a pantry challenge for what seems like months so we can afford Christmas but I might see if we can do more after Christmas just to test out how much we really have stored. I also could probably can some beans and broth while I'm at it lol
How fun. My husband and I decided a few months ago that we would try to go a month without going to the store. We chose February. The only real concern I have is fresh milk. It will be interesting to see how we do. We also said we would not go out for meals (lunches for my husband). We rarely go out now, but wanted to add that to give a better idea what it would be like to “have to” live out of our pantry. It will be good to stretch ourselves and what we can do. I agree it will help tell us what we need more and what we need less of. I hope to join you.
Debbie-Texas. We will b participating 😊
I plan to only buy foods that are on great sales to fill in my gaps for the coming year. I will be eating out of my pantry and freezer and try to avoid the grocery store altogether for this month (except the sales). Thanks for this creative way to get my food rotated out.
😂i must be an exception..havet been to the store since may..as we eat outof the garden..then i USUALLY go around Thanksgiving but just for deals on items i cant make..chocolate, bulk sugar and some flours for baking.
Pretty self sufficient here..but this is great just to see how others manage.
I love this pantry challenge because it teaches us so much about the needs of our family. 2024 is the year I learn how to manage my life not just react to my life. Thank you 3 rivers community
Im so looking forward to this year's challenge. I am inventorying all of my buckets and storage bins of food, 2 large freezers, my actual pantries just so I can be ready this year. After I finish the inventories, I will be filling any holes of baking items and spices. I will be making a meal plan for January and February. Thank you for doing this challenge.
So excited to start the challenge!! Hubby is on board, kido not so much. We will have a small budget for the store as my daughter has dairy allergies and we drink milk. But I'm really working on using what we have in storage, making new recipes and more items we enjoy but learn to make them from scratch.
I can not say what an influence you have had on my life, thank you and bless you for all the things you share and teach.
I don’t have much of a pantry, but I do need to use up some of the items in the pantry and freezer. I just moved into my house in May and didn’t get to have a garden other than some tomatoes and peppers in pots that I started way too late.
My daughters are bea grown adukts now now, but I did the same. I hate waste! Seems that your meal preps are low in protein especially for breakfast after hours of fasting, emphasis on the children- I see high carbs, with sugar although they are complex carbs, which is good.
❤ You are commended for taking on the loving challenge of having a large family and home schooling.
Interesting. We typically have eggs or breakfast meat with the majority of our breakfasts. If we don't, there are eggs baked into the meal or mixed into things like oatmeal.
Excellent, Jessica! This is also my favorite challenge. I will join you on RUclips again this year. Thanks so much for being such an inspiration! Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family!
I am doing this challenge as I can. Even if you cannot do it wholly, you can work on what needs to be used up and replaced or get a few jars back. I underline that "jars back" ! Again jars are getting scare on the ground, as more people around us are getting wise to the fact of canning and dehydrating. Inventory1st!
Look forward to doing this. I have done bits and parts of this and really want to do it fully. I don't have a homestead or a garden but I do buy in bulk for my large family. So I want to lower my grocery budget for my two week grocery shopping and really use this as a fun way to get as low expense as possible.
I wish I could…but I try this as much as I can ..I freeze my bread.. if I need milk, I will buy shelf stable milk most of the time I need it for cooking so that works. I also have powdered milk on hand butter. We stock up on butter in the freezer. We try to stock up on everything I too, do not like to get out to the stores. I don’t like all the hustle and bustle, and some people are so rude, I don’t go out in the weekends. I do everything Monday through Friday and we stay in because there’s plenty to do in this house.
Finished my inventory yesterday. I am in good shape in the pantry and two freezers full of meat. Going to give it a try. Only thing I need is eggs , cream, and kombucha.
Missed you on 12/24.
Merry Christmas. May God Bless your family.
Such a fun challenge ! Jessica , your hair looks beautiful curled ! I just bulked up on my 6 months worth of flour ( gonna buy more next month ) I’m looking forward to canning beans ( we just went through our last jars ! 😮 so I gotta get to work ! You do really good with your budget ! I will be growing all our chickens and turkeys this spring :) it feels so good to be able to put up meat when it’s so incredibly exspensive! That money I save will pay for animal feed ! Many blessings to you and your
Family !!!!!! Hugs ! Merry Christmas!
Yes! Yes! Yes! I’m so excited to get this going with all the videos. I actually started December 1st and going through end of February.
I love you and the challenge, I love how you respond to your subscribers,
First year seriously freezing and preserving from garden, so goal is to try and follow for January and as long into February as possible.
Wishing you all a happy Christmas from UK 😊
I've always done a pantry challenge in February. I've never thought about doing two months. Now I'm tempted to challenge myself.
I'm looking forward to starting this challenge again. We are in the summer months here in New Zealand, so it's a bit different for us.
I was planning on doing this for the month of January when I came across your video! I’m excited to join this year!
I can’t wait! I love watching your videos. The pantry challenges are my absolute favorite!!! Good luck!
Since I only have 3 chickens, I will use the saved money on January sales. In the uk we have a shop called boots, originally a pharmacist but now sells perfumes, make up, beauty stuff too. In January they have a massive sale. Up to 75%off. I like to stock up on gifts for the year. These can be used for birthdays or next Christmas. Plus I buy Christmas cards and wrapping paper for next year. I hoped to budget £20 per week on any gap fillers. We also have so many birthdays in January so the pantry challenge will help a lot towards a typically expensive month for my family.
I heard about your challenge from Chelsea at Little Mountain Ranch. It’s a great idea. I live in an apartment in an urban area but I enjoy meal prepping. So I have a lot of premade soups and chili that I made back in September. I also have a lot of fruit and other produce that I bought or picked from local farms and froze them. My goal is to create a menu of meals to use up what’s in the freezer, as well as items in my emergency stash that may be nearing expiration dates in the next 6 months. I’ll be doing a small grocery run tomorrow, 12/31 and if all goes well I won’t need to go to the grocery store for two months!
Merry Christmas Jessica and Friends here.. I look forward to the challenge, while I don't go All In it does make me more mindful of using what I have and avoiding the store as much as possible. I am saving up for a home improvement project in the spring having my kitchen floors replaced the old linoleum with a different type I expect it to run around $1000 so saving money is the goal. Its always interesting to see what others on here are doing and making. That is a great way of looking at including the savings for your animal feed, there comes a time when we have all the kitchen gadgets we can possibly use though there is always something new and shiny to tempt us lol. Anna In Ohio
You've inspired me to pressure can and leave my small freezer for things I can't can. I appreciated your ideas about another preserving method rather than buying another freezer, so it's pressure canning for me
Ive been trying to use up last years canned goods baking fruit breads .
I am just jumping in. No prep. My plan for groceries «in need» is to send my husband to the store. He only buys the items on the list. 😂 No «oh, we need that or wouldn’t it be good to have on hand»-thinking. We will need milk and eggs, but otherwise I do believe we can make it (at least) a month.
Can't wait to see your recipes!
Totally want to try this! I think I will do one giant shopping trip at the end of December and try to do the whole month of January. Thank you for the inspiration!
Looking forward to joining you again. I plan to go from January 1-March 31 as i did last year. It was great fun!!!
Looking sharp in your new eyewear! 😀
I'm almost ready! One more trip to the store. I always look forward to this. I have my list of meals to choose from.
I’m so excited to do the pantry challenge again! This will be our third year. First year we only did January (don’t even know why 🤷🏻♀️)
I enjoy watching all your videos every year in the pantry challenge showing the meals you make. Love the way you are so organized and plan ahead for daily, monthly and seasonal food, family, garden and life events! 😀💖🌟
I've been wanting to do this since I started watching you. We rarely have food waste. I have a small garden but I don't like the idea of emptying my freezer bc I always think what if we cant afford meat and I've used it all in this challenge. Things to pray about for sure. I at least want to try it even for 2 weeks is something.
I hear your concern. I may modify and eat the oldest items in the freezer and pantry and still shop the sales to stock up. It will be for me a food storage rotating challenge.
I understand this completely!!!! For many years, we were paycheck to barely paycheck and using up stock was enough to make me very anxious because the fact that I might not be able to replenish was very, very real.
Here is what I did, it might not work for you, but maybe it can get your wheels to turning for a solution that does work.
1. I started shopping as in season as possible. I googled what's in season by month and bought as much of those as possible.
2. Whatever I found on sale, I bought a little extra and intentionally set that extra aside in a preserved way. For example, a local chicken plant had excess chicken breasts that they sold by the case for .99 a pound, so I bought 2 50 pound boxes and did 1 box canned and 1 box frozen. That fed us for about a year. I took the money I saved, it involved math 😂, but my husband figured it out for me, I took that money I saved, and put it towards other groceries, slowly growing my stock week by week.
3. I assessed what I could save money on and where I needed to just bite the bullet. A big one for us was bread. We eat a lot of bread, and we like to stay away from preservatives, so, it made the most sense to learn to make breads really well. My next step is a mill to grind my own flour.
4. I drug out my old Amish and Mennonite cookbooks and incorporated a lot of those recipes into the line up. Today you can find a lot of these recipes online. It's simple meals with simple ingredients, which is budget friendly.
Love the rules, make up your own rules!
I done the pantry challenge for years now scence 2012 and pay all bills up for 3 months. Cause its just too hard on my body too be in the cold. But I'm blessed because brother buys my eggs, cottage cheese,and Amish milk. Once a month.
Jessica, I love your pantry challenge!
There are so many creators that participate it keeps growing
I'm in this year... let's do this! I have a lot going on in my freezer and pantry from my garden and good finds at the stores so I definitely need to do this to prepare for this coming gardening season. Good luck to us all, God bless everyone, merry Christmas, happy new year and good wishes and prayers to all.
Thank you again for so much information, Miss Jessica. God's blessings over you and your beautiful family, and Merry Christmas to all of you.
I’m excited this is my first year participating I live alone but I do can and can a lot this year and have picked up a few meats that were on sale so my freezer is stocked. I can’t wait to see what I can come up with for the next two months it’ll be exciting.❤
Your hair is beautiful. Love this challenge.
Good morning my dear friend, I always look forward to this yearly challenge you do!! I would like to take the opportunity to wish you, Adam and the children a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!!
This is going to be my first year participating in the Pantry Challenge, so excited. My only rule is I am allowing myself $30 per month for produce.
We are still buying everything on sale for the hard times coming. We never dip into our reserves. I am still canning every day as my son gets all the free produce where he works.
Your "rules" could include you must still use your pantry but you have to dig to the bottom and the back and you're not "allowed" to eat any of the new stuff.
Looking forward to this challenge I'm always amazed at how much I save during this time. Thank you for inspiring us to do this. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
I love this philosophy! No waste of food🙌🏻. ❤
This is my first pantry challenge. I've been thinking ahead about how to make yogurt and butter from my powdered milk. Freezers and shelves are ready 😊
I've been looking forward to this challange