Snackuary 2025: Food Budget Challenge 🍜

[plainjane]

I am starting January with a bit of a cheat - at Wednesday’s gathering I gave my mom 3 of the 2cup containers from the freezer. I have been doing this for a few years, ever since my mom had knee surgery. I think it isn’t as needed now, but my parents still seem to appreciate it.

so that is 5 to 6 lunches each of cauliflower coconut curry, cauliflower coconut red lentil curry, and carrot red lentil curry gone.

[Panda]

I’m in! (Once again)
Taking a more behavioral approach this time, rather than aiming for a random money goal:

• Absolutely no stocking up of any food/drinks. Only get what I need for the upcoming week.

• Related to that, eat down the pantry and freezer.

• Grocery shop no more than twice a week.

[MeadowLark]

Oooo, I like the no stocking up rule. To fit my life, I will amend it to no buying things to stock up. Also, no buying meat/chicken/fish.

I’m moving into a new house so I will be buying things that last longer than a week, like olive oil. But I’ll try to buy as little as I can.

Debating hitting TJ’s (I’m traveling) today so I have lots of snacks for when I fly home on 1/2 so I don’t start the challenge with $30 in 1 day!

[kenner]

All right, Snacktuary is once again eating down the freezers and pantry, although in this case I’m specifically looking at the stuff I don’t use regularly. I tend to check out the scratch-and-dent section automatically at the grocery store and pick up ‘oh, that looks interesting’ type things, and it’s at the point where I’ve got a bunch of cans of things like soup that I’d normally just make for myself or random frozen fruits. So time to go through all of that and not pick up any more.

[PinkTutu]

I’ve decided to start with a new pantry inventory. I’m going to try and start one tomorrow. It will take more than one day, as Hubby is great at wanting to help, but very slow at doing things. And I need his help this time.

[Rhubarbsoda]

I’m in!
Goals:

1. Start actually tracking food spending by splitting out food and non-food purchases instead of lumping all grocery store purchases together
2. Inventory, consolidate and reorg pantry. Focus on eating down to a reasonable level.
3. Track all food waste
4. Start making some convenience foods we’ve been buying - muffins, hummus, dip etc

[jellaba]

I am also in.
As I will have less income in 2025 as part of taking 7 month off work after my garden leave ends May 30th I start with reigning in the eating out habit.
Goal is max. 3 times eating out in January.
2nd goal: no chips, pretzels etc. and no bakery sweets. Allowed is home made sweet stuff
3rd goal: not buying meat or fish and using up what is already in the freezer

[a_hardie]

I am also in. Goals may change, but so far:

• Cook dinner at least 3x/week and incorporate pantry/freezer inventory
• Don’t buy any booze for the home
• Always grocery shop with a list and stick to it lol
• Overall goal: keep spending for groceries below $475 for the month

[PinkTutu]

We actually spent most of the afternoon and a large part of the evening doing a pantry inventory. I spent the rest of the evening menu planning for the first week in January. I have a bit of cooking to do tomorrow, but otherwise, I’m ready to go with this challenge!

[anomalily]

Update: two more things we can buy:

• Stock up on tortilla chips when they go on super duper sale during SuperBowl (these are a staple for us and they often are a loss leader during SuperBowl)
• anything we put on the list today and buy tomorrow

[regular_things]

I’m in!
plans:

• make a pantry and freezer inventory and plan 2 meals per week from those items.
• spend less than $100 at costco
• only 2 delivery meals

[PinkTutu]

So, tonight I discovered I can turn old bagels into bagel chips/crackers. Why didn’t I think of that before? I have old bagels in my freezer. These would be just the thing for a charcuterie board with pepper jelly etc. That’s exactly how we’re eating them now. Yum!

[chavala]

I’m in. Will need to think more about how to achieve/track this but my goal is to figure out easy foods to prep and pack for days I’m at the office to try to break a bad habit of running out to the snack stand every day, because there are some days when my diet is entirely too Cheetos-based

[PinkTutu]

I just had company visit and sent them home with two containers of cookies from the freezer. Only two more containers to go!

I pulled a tortiere out of the freezer for tonight. I am making up a gingerbread mix from Epicure for dessert tonight. I have leftover whipping cream to whip and serve over it for dessert.

That means I’ll have 4 items out of my cupboards/freezers. That’s a start!

ETA: oh yeah…the cream is gone too. So 5 items gone!

[frogger]

Sneaking in right before the weekend to drop my Snackuary goals:

1. Buy only necessary groceries to supplement eating down the pantry and freezer (corollary to a general no-spend January).

2. Track all grocery and food-related spending (corollary to tracking all spending in January)

[a_hardie]

Realizing that my timing is poor; we’re having a small gathering for my kid’s birthday this weekend so naturally I spent way more than usual at the grocery store. It’s a very trimmed-down party, but snacks and drinks for a group add up. I may have to just not include that trip in my totals.

New(ish) parent problems… it is only her 2nd birthday so I am not yet in the habit of thinking “birthday” every time I think of January.

[jellaba]

I pulled the last package of ostrich steak from the freezer. This is the 2nd portion of the testing package I ordered January 24. Time to use that up. I will marinate with terriyaki I think.
I will not buy again, I do not really like the texture.

[LadyDuck]

Winning meals of the week were:

• Steamed dumplings (from frozen packet) with a new-to-me store bought gyoza sauce.
• Roast pumpkin & fried haloumi salad. These reheated really well at work and made the greens delicious.
• I have kept track of the variety of plants I have eaten.

[PinkTutu]

Actually found 3 containers of cookies left in the freezer. Brought two upstairs and invited a neighbour couple for tea yesterday. Down to one container of cookies in the freezer. Yay!

Slowly eating our way through charcuterie meats and cheese as well. Fed those to company too. Extra ham cubes in omelet this morning.

[LadyElizabeth]

Yesterday I made some seitan, and during the weekend I will make mushroom risotto that I will freeze. I already have a red lentil curry in the freezer too. (I like to have several meals in the freezer then “shop the freezer” for a couple of weeks).

The vegan cheese will happen maybe next weekend, I still have store bought vegan cheese I need to consume.

Cost of this weeks’s groceries: 60,15$