Building Your Emergency Pantry š¦ŗš„
How to prepare for when a āthereās nothing to eatā situation happens!
When I started budgeting and getting control of my finances almost four years ago, the biggest impact I saw on my expenses was when I started cooking most of my meals.
On top of that, I developed the simple trick of always having some pasta and tomato sauce on my pantry for the days when a āthereās nothing to eatā situation happens.
Just like itās a good to have a financial emergency fund, itās also important to make sure your pantry has got your back when your meeting took longer, or because you ate all your weekly meals by Wednesday because they were so delicious š .
Building Your Emergency Pantry
This is a personal choice but as a general rule, choose something that is:
Easy. Ideally, choose a recipe you do on the automatic pilot.
Quick
Uses items that donāt expire or that can be frozen
Once you figure that out, create the habit to always do a pantry audit to see if you need to stock an item before going to the grocery store š.
Emergency Meals Ideas š”
Wraps
You can add frozen veggies, canned beans, some tomato sauce. Any leftovers you have! ByĀ Vanessa Guedes.
Easy Pasta Recipes
You can make basic Pasta with Tomato Sauce. Or something more fancy like thisĀ Lemon Spaghetti with Spinach.
Lentil Soup
My friend Thomas Pan (thank you, Tpan!) shared thisĀ French Lentil Soup with Tarragon (okay, the cooking is over 1h but only 15min of you doing something, does that count?).
With onion, garlic, and lentils you can have a nice soup! The secret is to always add a spice that you love in a soup (Tarragon leaves to me š).
What I try to always have in stock
Staples: Flour, Raw Cashews, Canned beans, Pasta, Tomato sauce, Miso, Veggie Bouillon, Peanut Butter, Tofu, Lentils, Cocoa Powder
Produce: Onion, Garlic, Potatoes, Lemon, Frozen Veggies, Spinach
Spices: Salt & Pepper, Smoked Paprika, Onion Powder, and Garlic powder.
Fruits: Banana, Apples, Frozen berries, Frozen Mango
My emergency recipes are: pasta with veggies & tomato sauce, frozen banana chocolate smoothie, frozen veggies stir fry with miso & soy sauce, lentil soup with potatoes.
If you want to get inspired, check out this Pinterest Board with some ideas for your meal prep time! :)
For the past years, restocking (and improving) my Emergency Pantry became part of my routine.
Try starting with the simplest meal you know how to make, then let this process become part of your routine. The more you do it, the better you get at it!
I created a Weekly Meal Template that you can print out to plan for your week and make sure your pantry is always stocked for emergencies!
If you want to give it a try, itās a simple way to support my work and Iād be happy to help you with this process :)
Of course, Iād love to know what you always have at home. Share with me and everyone in the comments :)
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Thank you for reading!
-Stefanni