We don’t have any food? Of course we do!

Groceries are so expensive nowadays. Yet, as all these prices keep rising, our paychecks don’t. The time we have to prepare food too is so little that getting takeout seems best, but takeout is expensive too! With all these dilemmas, we simply need to find a way to work it out for our own personal lives, because everyone is different. I hope some of these empty pantry recipes, tricks, and tips work out for you.

1. Your Freezer is Your Friend

Oftentimes we end up with more of an ingredient than we know what to do with. For example, celery. If you buy some celery to make soup, and you aren’t a celery snacker, that can become something of an issue. There is only so much you can use celery in when you cook before it goes bad. Freeze it! As a general rule, you can freeze most foods. Sometimes, most often with dairy products, it can affect the texture, but if you use those particular items only when you are cooking or baking it into anything, you can sidestep that issue near completely. Freeze ends of bread to eventually become croutons! There are no rules.

Moreover, preparing all these ingredients before you place them in the freezer, like chopping fruits and vegetables and putting more liquidy ingredients into ice cube trays then popping them into bags when frozen, can save a ton of time when it comes to cooking. Just grab a handful of whatever you need and get working. Personally, when I have some sour cream or Greek yogurt that is nearing its date, I freeze it in the aforementioned ice cube tray, and when I’m making chili or need to make a soup creamier, I just toss in a couple cubes, and I am good to go!

The only danger with freezing everything is risking that you can end up forgetting what is in there! My mom once had a lobster tail in her freezer for 4 years. Make sure not to let things become lost in the chaos. Do your best to keep organized and aware. Having these things prepared is good for when it seems like we have an empty pantry.

2. The ‘Use First’ Bin

Now, I first got this tip from The Budget Friendly Foodie on TikTok. Keep a bin, or box, a drawer, or simply an area in your fridge for items that will soon go out of date. Every few days or so, go over your fridge and identify what needs to be used soon or it will spoil, and relocate these items to your ‘bin’. This way you can become more mindful of what you already have and be aware of what needs to be used soon. You can put pantry items in that bin too, it won’t hurt them.

In my personal bin right now, I have sour cream, honey mustard dip, cabbage, a packet of hollandaise sauce mix, and lemon juice. Don’t be afraid of getting creative with your ingredients too. I believe that I am going to use the honey mustard dip as a marinade for some chicken breasts I got on sale at the store yesterday. Then the sour cream and lemon juice will go into a dressing for half of my cabbage to become a salad with some other vegetables, nuts, seeds, and odds and ends I have. Then the rest of the cabbage I will sauté to cook and top with the hollandaise sauce as a side for my marinated chicken breasts.

However, with a different bin, I would do something completely different. Once I used some leftover spinach and artichoke dip from a party as a base for a pizza. Be innovative. Once again, the only rules are ones you put in your head yourself. You never have an empty pantry if you are creative.

3. Expiration Dates Don’t Matter as Much as You Think (Shhhhhh)

(Now, to be fair, take this one with a grain of salt. Always always always do what’s best for you and your family.)

Expiration dates are absolutely something to be heeded, but they aren’t hard rules, simply a guideline. The general rule of thumb is that if your item smells fine, looks fine, and tastes fine, it’s fine! My dad found a packet of gravy in the back of the cupboard once that expired in 2015, and it was fine. Absolutely no one got even the smallest of tummy aches from eating it. For things like that, cooking powders and such, as long as it hasn’t become a brick, it’s fine.

Yes, in general, for most foods you shouldn’t eat it if it has been expired for 5 years (Early COVID was such a special time), but you have to take into account what kind of food it is. Pickled items last for years longer than the expiration date, but most produce will not last a week. This tip is something I say do only at your own risk. If you aren’t comfortable with it, it’s just not for you and that is absolutely ok. Less empty pantry time.

4. Have Good ‘Dump Meals’ Ready to Go!

Here is a quick recipe for what I call ‘Whatever Chili’:

• Roughly one pound of any ground, chopped, or shredded meat or meat substitute (but my favorite is turkey)
• Any chopped frozen, canned, or fresh vegetables I think would work (often carrots, onion, corn, celery, spinach, garlic, etc.)
• a can of any kind of beans
• Just some kind of tomato sauce (often 1 frozen block of it from the last time I had spaghetti)
• Some sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt, or plain yogurt, or buttermilk, or nothing at all
• Some kind of cheese if I have it
• any extra seasonings or sauces that tickle my fancy at the moment

mix it all in a pot over a stove until it’s done (but put in the dairy factor last). It has not turned out poorly as of yet. You just have to use your brain and your empty pantry.

‘Whatever Popsicles’:

• two cups of fresh or frozen fruit
• maybe half a cup of hot water if you are using frozen fruit
• a tablespoon of some kind of sweetener (honey, agave, jam, etc.)
• any dietary supplements you might want to use (chia seeds, bee pollen, protein powder, etc.)
• Anything else you may want to throw in there

Blend, add to a popsicle mold, and freeze for a few hours.

These recipes might seem very loosey-goosey, but that is simply because they are! Creative cooking is your friend. Use what you have however you want to. It can only be sustainable for you if that is the way you make it to be. To look at more ways to creatively use your food, I’d check out Budget Eats!

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