How stocked is your kitchen?

[ilovemk76]

We are over stalked. I would rather have to much then not enough

How many stalkers is not enough?

 

[powellrj]

My kitchen sounds just like yours. I have a small kitchen, but it is packed with all kinds of things. I really don't use too many canned goods, but I do always have a selection of beans and tomato products. By selection I mean red beans, white beans, black beans, chili beans plus all of those also in dried form. I keep diced tomatoes, chili tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, jalapeno tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce. For canned vegetables I have to keep several cans of corn, creamed corn, green beans and cream of mushroom soup because I am on the bereavement meal team at my church and when we have a call come in I have to prepare the dishes according to their recipe.

I also have lots of different sauces including fish, worcestershire, chili, different jellies and jams, ketchup, lots of different mustards, mayo.

I haven't even gotten into the grains and pastas!

Not only do I keep lots of food items, if you need a kitchen item, I am sure I have one for you. I have all different sizes of muffin pans, sheet pans, cake pans, baking pans. Do you really need 4 9x13 pans??? At one time I had 8 crock-pots of differing sizes, but as those have broken or left behind I haven't been replacing them. Need a pie pan, let me know if you need mini, 8 inch, 9 inch, deep dish, metal or glass.

My fridge is full, but my kids love to tell me that condiments aren't food. I also try to keep a variety of fresh foods. I always have apples, banana and oranges and if I have just gotten home from the store I will have kiwis, berries and melon. I have about 6 kinds of cheese, 4 kinds of bread, 4 kinds of peanut butter (crunchy, smooth, cookie and nutella).

My kids will complain I never have anything to eat, but what they mean is we are out of pop tarts, chips ( I try to keep tortilla and potato) or cookies. There is always something to eat. I also always keep veggies. Right now I have carrots, celery, cucumbers and tomatoes that they are more than welcome to munch on and they can fix a salad because I have 2 kinds of lettuce.

Today is grocery day so my normal supplies like milk and Oj are low, but I do have all of the above if you are hungry now.

After typing this I think I need a kitchen intervention!!!

 

[Jedana]

Today, it is fully loaded. Went grocery shopping, spent almost $300. (Every other week shopping trip)

Extras I keep on hand (with no plan to use right away)
butter (freezer)
shredded cheese (freezer)
veggies (freezer)
Mac n cheese (Kraft in the bag-w/bacon)
Zataran's (all sorts)
pasta
cereal
chocolate chips (or peanut butter or cinnamon or toffee chips)
fire roasted tomatoes or centos tomatoes (only ones I get)
flours, sugars, seasonings,
BBQ sauce, pickles, mustard, salad dressings, salsa, peanut butter, jelly, vinegar, olive or canola oils, etc.

plus non food items--shampoo/conditioner/deodorant/razor blades/shaving cream/laundry stuff/dishwashing stuff. Usually no more than 2 extra bottles of that stuff on hand.

Shopping today put 14 more meals of meat in the freezer, and I already had 6 in there.

I'll go buy fresh fruits/veggies, milk, bread, etc every week.

 

[ilovemk76]

It depends on the time of year. Right now we are in the clean out the freezer mode. In the summer we load it will fresh vegetables from the farmers.

 

[etoiles]

We have pantry basics such as flour, oil, vinegars, baking powder, etc... but do not keep extra cans of tomatoes, veggies, or beans laying around. We buy what we need each week at the grocery store after making a list.

Sometimes if things are on sale I do buy extra of those but only if it is something we regularly use.

In the fridge we have all our condiments stocked but not main meal ingredients.

It depends if it is after a freezer cooking day if our freezer will be stocked or not. Sometimes it is stocked with freezer meals ready to go. Currently I am emptying it of all unnecessary things before I do a big freezer meal cooking before our baby in April. I will plan to stock up on some basics then so we can easily make super quick/easy meals with little to no fuss.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

I'm not sure I am following all of this.

- You buy things on sale, and stock up. Sounds good.
- You cook dinner each night and don't have to buy fast food. Also good.
- You don't have to fret over what to cook because you have everything you need. Also good.

What exactly are your concerns? Even if you did eat everything, from what you have, in the long run will that save you money? In the short run, yes, but once you do eat that food, then you still have to go back out shopping.

Is someone complaining about all the food? Is it taking up space that needs to be used to store something else? Is food going bad? Do you need to free up some money in the next couple of months? If so then eating from the pantry/freezer would do that. Is someone saying that you spend too much time grocery shopping and not enough time with them?

 

[AnnaS]

Over stocked - except for milk and fresh produce and vegetables - I have so much food, I don't need to go grocery shopping for a month if I wanted. I always have frozen vegetables in the freezer to keep us going too.

Seriously - if it wasn't for break, milk, eggs and fresh produce - I would not need to go out for a while.

I have double back ups for everything. That's what happens when you shop every week, see good sales and have the space for them.

For instance - I have three cases of bottled water, 2/3 gallons of water, 3 20 pk of scottisssue (yes on sale $9.99), tomato sauce cans - 5 huge cans from costco and two cases of redpack from the supermarket (sale), at least 5 bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc. etc. Just to give you an idea. Non-perishables - so no worries.

 

[AmericangirlinFrance]

Usually pretty well stocked here. I freeze meat if it goes on sale, so I almost always have frozen chicken breasts and ground turkey/beef in the freezer. There are several meals I could make without going to the store. (And I am - making chicken fried rice tonight!)

 

[Marionnette]

I completely understand about the kids thinking there's no food in the house! My cabinets are bursting with vinegars, oils, pastas, rices, beans and spices. The fridge is full of milk, yogurt, cheeses, vegetables, fruits and condiments. The basement shelves have a lot of canned tomatoes, fruit juices and additional staples. The upright freezer is packed with frozen veggies, chicken, beef and pork as well as leftovers that I've vacuum sealed and frozen to send off with the college kids when they go back after spring break.

And yet, they will announce that I have no food in the house because there are no boxes of crackers, bags of chips or packages of snack cakes. I can whip up a meal without going to the store but if it involves more than "cut slit in film to vent and microwave for 5 minutes on high", my kids are lost!

 

[mombrontrent]

I'm not sure I am following all of this.

- You buy things on sale, and stock up. Sounds good.
- You cook dinner each night and don't have to buy fast food. Also good.
- You don't have to fret over what to cook because you have everything you need. Also good.

What exactly are your concerns? Even if you did eat everything, from what you have, in the long run will that save you money? In the short run, yes, but once you do eat that food, then you still have to go back out shopping.

Is someone complaining about all the food? Is it taking up space that needs to be used to store something else? Is food going bad? Do you need to free up some money in the next couple of months? If so then eating from the pantry/freezer would do that. Is someone saying that you spend too much time grocery shopping and not enough time with them?

It's not really a great problem because we do mostly have the room to store the food. My DH did say yesterday after a huge Costco trip that he had a hard time fitting it all in the freezer and that he thinks it's time we re-visit the idea of a stand up freezer. Things seems to get "lost" at the bottom of the deep freeze and we end of throwing things out. Also I like to have alot of variety so sometimes if I buy 4-5 Coscto sized bags of diffenent kinds of rice or grains we don't end up using them. I tend to errr on the extreme end of caution and get rid of things when they are probably fine to eat.

 

[Buckalew11]

My kitchen sounds just like yours. I have a small kitchen, but it is packed with all kinds of things. I really don't use too many canned goods, but I do always have a selection of beans and tomato products. By selection I mean red beans, white beans, black beans, chili beans plus all of those also in dried form. I keep diced tomatoes, chili tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, jalapeno tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce. For canned vegetables I have to keep several cans of corn, creamed corn, green beans and cream of mushroom soup because I am on the bereavement meal team at my church and when we have a call come in I have to prepare the dishes according to their recipe.

I also have lots of different sauces including fish, worcestershire, chili, different jellies and jams, ketchup, lots of different mustards, mayo.

I haven't even gotten into the grains and pastas!

Not only do I keep lots of food items, if you need a kitchen item, I am sure I have one for you. I have all different sizes of muffin pans, sheet pans, cake pans, baking pans. Do you really need 4 9x13 pans??? At one time I had 8 crock-pots of differing sizes, but as those have broken or left behind I haven't been replacing them. Need a pie pan, let me know if you need mini, 8 inch, 9 inch, deep dish, metal or glass.

My fridge is full, but my kids love to tell me that condiments aren't food. I also try to keep a variety of fresh foods. I always have apples, banana and oranges and if I have just gotten home from the store I will have kiwis, berries and melon. I have about 6 kinds of cheese, 4 kinds of bread, 4 kinds of peanut butter (crunchy, smooth, cookie and nutella).

My kids will complain I never have anything to eat, but what they mean is we are out of pop tarts, chips ( I try to keep tortilla and potato) or cookies. There is always something to eat. I also always keep veggies. Right now I have carrots, celery, cucumbers and tomatoes that they are more than welcome to munch on and they can fix a salad because I have 2 kinds of lettuce.

Today is grocery day so my normal supplies like milk and Oj are low, but I do have all of the above if you are hungry now.

After typing this I think I need a kitchen intervention!!!

I could have written this!! And you forgot to list almond butter,

This is exactly the kinds of things I have--canned beans, tomatoes, cream of mushroom soup...which reminds me...have you ever tried Allen's green beans? They make 3 or 4 kinds but the good ones are call "cut Italian green beans Kentucky Wonder Style"--they are the best canned green I have had. When I serve them someone always asks if their "from the garden"!

 

[java]

I am reasonably well stocked with non perishables, things like pastas, dried beans, canned fish, canned veggies. The fridge is not stocked to the gills by any means but you will always find butter, milk, eggs, apples, carrots, onions. Used to have bacon but I've been too cheap to buy it so it's turkey bacon lately.

And frozen includes a bit of meat, ribs, sausage, chicken breasts ect. I am in need of a shopping but could probably pull off a weeks worth of meals from what I have on hand. We have had some interesting pizzas lately.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but my kitchen is under stocked.

I only ever have enough for about four or five days meals, I have no backup on anything, when something's running out, I buy a new one. I think the problem is my DH and I work in supermarkets, so we don't want to spend too much of our off time in the store shopping. We just pick up odds and ends as needed, and do a week's worth of shopping once a week- and even that is rushed.

 

[mrsheppo]

Mine is pretty well stocked. We have 2 full size freezers in the garage. One is stocked with frozen vegetables, some convenience meals, hamburger, sausage, etc. The other freezer is stocked with game meat that my DH has hunted. We have antelope and about 120 lbs of elk meat such as stew meat, hamburger, roasts, grilling sausage and steaks.

My walk in pantry is filled with cereals, soups, vegetables, pasta, rice etc.

We could live off the amount we have for quite awhile other than milk, juice, eggs.

 

[luvmy3]

Well I thought mine was stocked but when I went to make something today I realized I didn't have any cornmeal. Luckily I had all the stuff to make meatballs instead

 

[powellrj]

Well I thought mine was stocked but when I went to make something today I realized I didn't have any cornmeal. Luckily I had all the stuff to make meatballs instead

Too bad you don't live closer, I have both white and yellow cornmeal!

 

[North of Mouse]

I really enjoy cooking, baking, but do not ever make meal plans until usually the last minute LOL.

I really, really hate to decide to make/bake something and not have all the ingredients on hand, so my two pantries are well stocked with staples, spices, etc. I took one look at the kitchen plans for our home and immediately told the builder to fit a walk in pantry in the plans Also have an upright freezer and a side by side in the garage extra as well.

My older DS said that if she was ever stuck in a snowstorm, she wants to be stuck at our house. Except for fresh produce, eggs, milk (except for canned) we could easily feed a family for a month!

My siblings declare that in a *past* life I must have starved to death.
I'm the only one of 5 girls that has this *insane* issue.

 

[mumto3girls]

Very well stocked here. We could eat for a month or two out of the pantry/freezer. We would run out of fresh produce, milk, eggs, juice etc sooner than that, but we would not starve by any means.

 

[Mary•Poppins]

This is a funny question for me. As a New Year's resolution, I planned on cleaning out my freezers (which were totally full). I thought it would take a month ... I have 2 teenage boys ... Well, we are almost down to the end of February and I think I have one week's worth of food left.

I had way too much food in my freezers. It has been interesting cooking and creating with what was in the cupboards and freezers.

Now ... my husband has been excited about the low food bills the last two months. But he is now scared about next month's bills.

 

[Keli]

My kitchen isn't stocked well at all, I barely have enough items to make more than a few meals at any given time. I don't really enjoy cooking and we do eat out or eat convenient foods a lot. When our daughter left home I just no longer felt the obligation to cook dinner every night anymore. Dh and I both have high stress, demanding jobs and lots of nights we come home and fix ourselves leftovers or scrambled eggs or soup and salad from a bag or something along those lines. If I were to stock my kitchen well most of it would go to waste.