I told a Relative when she got the increase in her Food Stamps I told her to Start a 3 month Pantry, I took her shopping and showed her what I do , She now has a a 5 month Stock .
Guuuurl, in my first little apartment, I ate Top Ramen almost everyday for lunch. Those struggles made me appreciate having food in my fridge. I spend more carefully. We don’t eat out too much anymore.
agree! menu planning repurpose and using the leftovers nothing to waste ..save canned vegetable liquid in a container in freezer with leftover veggies and meats from meals leftover for pot of soup later when full
Rewatched now I'm home. Lots are or will be suffering with inflation. Cutting back somewhere in a budget or do a few hours at another job sometimes can't be done, but asking for help from others may be necessary (ask for help).
Don’t be proud to visit a food pantry once a month or by their guide lines for a couple months. It would help be a start. It could help free up a couple dollars for other staples you need. I’m on a fixed income but I do ok but once I awhile an extra cost or bill comes up and yes, I will visit the pantry. I thank them and bless them for their work . And when I’m doing well I will donate to that same pantry.
This! When my kids were young I struggled with my business. My mom owned a catering company and we would get the leftovers for dinner. If it had not been for her, we would have been very hungry. As I got better running my business and got more sales, the pantry got fuller. When you’ve struggled, I think that sticks with you. Then when you’re able to put something away…You Do It!! It’s been 15 years since that hard time in my life and my pantry is slam full. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, we won’t go hungry again.
I had to go to the food pantry a few times when my kids were really young. That was truly a low point for me. It definitely sticks with you. It makes me so happy now to know my kids have a full pantry to choose from .
@@SuttonsDaze Holy Moly - I saw the thumbnail and thought "who is that?" Its a mini me Leisa - she's got those narrow shoulders and beautiful face. Girl Im so proud of you 😍🥰😘
I am retired, raised 4 kids, I have one child that is disabled and lives at home, we do not use food benefits. Beans, rice, potatoes, biscuits & gravy and what we can grow and catch, have always been a huge part of our diet and I still made notes while you talked. Never too old to add knowledge.
I grew up with parents who were raised during the Depression, we always had huge gardens, canned, hunted and made a lot of our own food. As I got older, married and go involved growing my career, all those lessons from my younger years got pushed aside for convenience. When my mother passed 10 years ago I inherited her canning gear and cookbooks so I started that back up on a small scale. When the pandemic hit I was already disabled/unable to work, had very little stores in my pantry, had a husband who was going downhill healthwise and did not know how we were going to be able to eat. With the stimulus checks I started building up my pantry and canning in earnest. I still have a ways to go to get to a comfortable place but I recently started pressure canning and that has been a big boost. It will take time to build a decent pantry and I have made a commitment to myself to focus on that for the next few years.
Great advice, especially about processed foods, they’re crazy expensive. I started milling my own wheat and baking our bread, it’s been a life changing experience. I also love that you’re not “shaming” anyone; so many channels these days do. Encouragement is liberating, shaming just discourages people. ❤
I told a couple of my friends, just buy two extra cans of veggies or a can of meat every time you go to the grocery. I had to hid my stash under the bed because my husband was not onboard with this. So one trip to the store I bought beans and rice. Another time flour and sugar. Every little bit helps. I did start dehydrating. You can buy frozen bag of veggies, throw them on the trays and turn it on.
@@peanutsauce411 Good for you. I finally got tired of sneaking around. Boxed up my Daniel Steele book collection and am using the bookcase for a pantry. I have 5 shelves filled now! He told a friend I was stocking up food to feed the world for impending doom. Haha. I hope they don’t know where we live. I have been keeping it a secret.
@@Denieseberry I don’t know how everyone feels about this, but I have ordered many things online to have delivered. Most things are in another box, but a few things were obvious what they were and they were large boxes. I worry about delivery people knowing what I have delivered here. Do they pay attention…. Make mental notes…. Write things down for future reference ??? I’m in my late 70’s and so is my husband, who isn’t totally onboard either. But the delivery situation is worrisome. Anyone else have the same feelings ??
First and MOST importantly, learn how to cook from scratch! This above all else will save you the most amount of money. Next, what can you grow? Even a single tomato plant, grown from a seed saved from a grocery store tomato, in a garbage can or bag on the patio will feed your family 1000x over! Don't throw away leftovers, they are tomorrow's dinner.
My hubby thought I was nuts for stocking up. Then 2020 hit and about 6 months into it, I had forgotten to get out some toilet paper for the bathroom. He comes to me and asks is this all the toilet paper. Yes that was in the middle of toilet paper gate LOL I took him by the hand and showed him where it was kept. You should have seen his face LOL He never questions what I bring into the house since then. For anyone starting out, I want to enforce what Leisa says. Just go slow, one can here, a jar there, an extra pack of toilet paper. Don't go crazy and panic, a pantry working or longer term takes time to build up. I have been working on mine for a few yrs now and still need to keep adding to it. Up until this past 6 months or so it has mainly been store purchased items, now I am branching out into home canned/preserved items. It can be done on a budget. One or 2 items at a time is the key to getting a nice size stock and within a month it will amaze you how much you have. Also, remember only put items in your pantry that you and your family will eat.
My hubby was raised on a dairy farm and his uncle grew a huge garden every year. As newly weds (and college students), we had plenty of milk and beef from my in-laws, and veggies from his uncle. What a blessing for us poor kids. We've worked hard to pay-it-forward by donating to local food pantries over the years.
Sometimes I let the grocery store determine what's for dinner for the week. Whatever fresh food is on clearance that we like goes into the cart. Get creative. Store what you don't consume.The cashiers at my local store call me the markdown queen.😅
Me, too. If you can ignore flashy, pricey snackiedoodles, walk the entire store. Look at everything. There are so often unadvertised sales and clearance items. I've gotten so much that way. I buy sale fresh, fridge, frozen stuff... especially if I can pressure can or dehydrate it.
My ‘popcorn story’ was when at 21 I had just bought my condo, money was tight but I had enough. Then one payday I was mugged just after I cashed my check. Instantly I was broke. Had about $5 in change in my car ashtray and a full tank because my parents always said to fill up first thing on payday. I had to spend my $5 to buy food for my cat, all I had to eat were a few cans of green beans. To this day I still hate green beans, but I made it through the week. Next payday I started my pantry - it included kitty food for Maurice - and I made a commitment to save at least $5 each paycheck. Lesson learned, pantry stocked for humans and pets alike ever since. Nowadays I’m about 30 years older, married with two grown boys and we live out in the country on 40 acres. Money is a lot easier than it was then, but I’ll never forget the green bean hardship!
We are on social security but we live in the country so I have always prepared for what could come. Thanks you still give me more ideas how to accomplish my goals. Thanks so much
May, I add,, if your not use to cooking from scratch, challenge your self to just 1 new recipe a month? Pinterest and youtube have plenty of easy budget friendly recipes. You will be amazed at how many dump and go crockpot meals there are for example.
I remember when I started stocking food November 2020, went and bought a 20lb sack of rice, of course it was 7 dollars at that time but rice can help fill the belly when added to others things also bought some can food like tomatoes that you can turn into lots of things, my grocery budget was spent on what I could make a lot of meals out of didn't meal plan just things I could feed my family next pay period did the same only I bought a 25lb sack of beans and more can goods to go with the can goods I had left also seasoning variety of noodles fresh onions, bell peppers, cabbage cut up most of the onions and bell peppers and put in the freezer buy meat on sale started filling my freezer saving for a canner buying jars at yardsales and thrift stores and pkgs of lids at stores I still don't meal plan but I can always make a meal God bless
Thank you for this! I love that you understand what it is to struggle, and help others through your teaching of pantry preparedness. This hits home here, and the things that I've learned from you and a few other wonderful channels have truly helped us more than you know.
Lisa, a recommendation for a cookbook using shelf stable ingredients would be a real help. My front room grew into a PANTRY, beginning of '21. That room went from 2 metal racks. Added 4 large cube units (horizontal stacking is my friend), 2 smaller cube units. Categorized. And 2 of the 3 big bookshelves are now home-canned proteins. And enough canning lids for 5 years, replacement rubber parts. Freeze-dried, is stacked to roof, on my armoire. Oatmeal, 5-gal buckets, in my closet. Our 1st aid /emergency kit has grown 4x. OTC meds, 2 yr supply.
My pantry is to the point where I only buy what I have used plus one extra and then add something I want to can. Me and my husband are on SSI so we have learned to eat more from the pantry. He says he is going to get me a little basket I can use when I go shopping in the pantry. I have learned to make my own spice blends. I am enjoying it. I wish more people would catch on to what is going on in this world.
I always look for marked-down meats. I may not always buy them, depending on what it is and what it looks like. If I can't can it that day, it goes in my freezer until I have time or a full canner load. I am currently trying to can-out my freezer of most meat to make room for this summers' bounty. It makes me happy to see a shelf full of 'ugly chicken', canned ground beef, stew meat and other goodies and know that my family will be fed and that I can help others if needed.
I am of rural roots. I was in the city as an adult and as a single mother of 2 budget sucked and then I fell back to my roots. Started to work some overtime and that started my pantry. Started to can. Buy cans of food. Started putting back grains, rice beans. Little by little. Bought a cheap dehydrator. Started growing in buckets and got a substantial raise at work and a bonus for years of experience. That money and some savings got me out of the city. Win, win. Lots of hard , hard work. Late nights. Days I thought I couldn’t carry on but sucked it up, took a break then back at it.
I live in an area that is getting increasingly less affordable (I'm sure that's the story everywhere!). There is a visible, noticeable difference in our community with regards to what money people have to spend, and where they have to spend it. I have started a community pantry that is accessible 24/7 to anyone who needs it for any reason. We run on donations of personal care, non perishable food & semi stable produce (ex. potatoes, onions, a bunch of banana's... stuff that doesn't require refrigeration overnight). I would encourage anyone who can start one of these- to do so. There are websites for 'little free pantry's' I drew from for inspiration. My endeavour is brand new, just a few weeks in. but the response and support has been great. There is another pantry in the next town over that has been set up for some time now... a few years at least. Their local highschool had the woodworking kids build the cabinet. My set up it less fancy, but animal proof! I have used two metal filing cabinets. The thought of anyone going hungry just wounds my heart, so I will try my best to help my neighbours.
When I was a single mom, more than 28 years ago, I struggled with food insecurity, unsure of how I was going to feed my kids. It is definitely a scary place to be, I had no idea how to build a pantry. Thankfully from that, I learned how to build one and now we always have a stocked pantry. Great video.
That's why mine is the way it is too. I vowed when my boys were tiny that they'd never be hungry. Some weeks it was a struggle and definitely not the best food but 40 years later I definitely am seeing the value in a very stocked pantry.
@@SmallTownSouthernWife It likely is, I know several that have and I know that so many are struggling now. Breaks my heart. Thankfully we have numerous food banks in our area that help people.
Inspiring video Leisa. I hope people are listening because it can be done. A bag of flour costs less (I think still) than one loaf of bread and you can make more out of it, or pancakes, or gravy, or or or. Start small. I started with making my own bread for sandwiches. The typical big loaf of white bread (no machines back in the day). I felt so accomplished since I knew nothing. Don't be intimidated - strike now. Also, the freeze dried or home dehydrated foods take up little space and go a long way. Better to do the dehydrating yourself and get the Ball jars for storage and walla, small space and food that goes a long way. I just finished mushrooms, potatoes, apples (shredded for casseroles) and now on to 6 lbs of carrots. Washed them tonight and slice and dehydrate tomorrow and they will not take up a lot of space, but will fill in many dishes or carrot cakes. Oh, and I also did zucchini and have 5 more to do. They are so easy. Wash slice or shred for future use and dehydrate. I sliced some to make grain free dishes like lasagna. I thought it would be horrible the first time I made it and was delighted that not only did it taste good, but was much easier to digest for those who have a problem with grains. And, great way to sneak healthy food into a dish that the family loves. BTW, since I am alone now, you can also make one just for the size of your family with a smaller or bigger dish. ENDLESS possibilities and a great new world with some money in your pocket
I started stocking up in late January 2021. Call me intuitive or just plain pessimistic but I just had a feeling things were going to go downhill, just not this fast! I’m so glad to find a community with other like minded people. My “in person” community doesn’t understand my mindset about being prepared long term so I no longer mention it. I’ve always been into gardening and canning but I’m building up the nerve to can meat soon. It’s always intimidated me.
You will love canning meat. If you have a pressure canner and jars you are set to create some great meals. Canning meat is so easy and simple. If you don’t already have the ball blue book for food preservation, get it ASAP. I started with watching a few TH-cam video channels like homestead heart, our half acre homestead, and Sutton daze in October 2020. Husband helped me and loved it. He passed in January 2021 and the food has been a blessing and a reminder that he always provided for his family. I have continued with canning with my newly retired daughter now helping me. We love canning meat and other foods and simply opening jars and having a home cooked meal ready in minutes. Beef roast, ground beef, venison, chicken, salmon, etc. basically if you can buy it canned, you can can it. The key is having the pressure canner. DO NOT water bath meat. Good luck and enjoy.
Back in 2019 we started cutting out fast foods. We realized we started feeling better and having more energy. Then when the pandemic hit just like everyone else we were forced to stay home and cook more from scratch meals. Growing up on a farm I knew how to do alot of scratch meals however after watching channels on youtube I really widened our menu. Then the more I got into things I came across more and more channels like yours and thought wow, what a wonderful idea to have a stalked pantry for emergencies!!! So Then I started canning alot more from our garden than I used to. And we started just experimenting on things like canned meat which we had never done before, we loved it! Before I knew it we had a decently stalked pantry. I always watched for things to go on sale then I would stalk a large amount of that item...each week would be a different item. I'm so very grateful for this bc back last Oct I had to have an emergency surgery where I was off work for a month! We relied heavily on our pantry and we were so blessed that we prepped for these very situations.
1)For a week, write down EVERYTHING you use. Everything. Then, cut down the fluff. Then, proceed to stock up on those things. OR 2) Write down 7 meals your family likes and will eat. Secondary list of all the ingredients and spices it takes to make those meals. Start stocking accordingly OR 3) Have a list of categories ....WATER and water filtration should be ONE category. This could include sawyer minis or lifestraws for each member of the family. It could be just picking up a couple gallons of water each visit to the store. Gallon bottles last WAY longer than the packs of flemsy bottles or milk jug types. They LEAK! Ask me how I know!! Hey...get some rain barrels if you can! Food category...See #1 & #2... Next category...Health and Hygiene....buy extra toothpaste, tooth brushes, SOAP, of bathing and washing, razors, a portable shower, etc and so on. OTC meds...whatever it is you and your family use when they are sick. Please stock the best quality vitamins you can afford. It REALLY does make a difference. Main ones....D3 with K2, Good C, Zinc, etc. Lots under this category. Next would be Emergency type stuff. Hand crank or solar powered emergency radio with weather band, Flashlights, candles, batteries, lighters, matches....a way to cook with no electricity. A grill with charcoal (short term), butane stoves are awesome. So many ways! Every week try to buy at least one or two things from each category you have. WATER should be thought of everytime you put away something that needs WATER. Like pasta, legumes, rice, etc. LEARN A SKILL. Cook, Can, Make a Fire, Grow something!!! It's not just seeds and dirt. Trust me on that!!!. There's so many skills. WATER and Food preservation should be NUMBER UNO!! This is not a complete list of how to. Just several of the ways I've used to prep over the years. EVERYTIME you go to a store....at least get ONE thing to put away from the categories you have written down. Make a plan and stick to it. Dollar tree has some great buys on a lot of things. But, some of their items are not the best deals and READ the labels. FYI Product from PRC aka (you know that country that has us by the balls and ovaries)...don't buy it if it's food. Look up PRC.
@@livingthegoodlifeinwales if you have teenagers they can get a job and they can start buying their own fluff and they won't take it for granted if their buying it theirselves
They can’t afford the basics because they don’t know how to spend their money! I am 19 rentals and every damn one of them has the package of cable TV with all the channels Internet and cell phone for everybody in the house but they can’t pay their bills other than cable TV Internet cell phone and occasionally their rent every time I evict tenants for nonpayment the new tenants move in and immediately hook all of the same services up. It’s not that they don’t have the money to pay for their food and other bills required to live they just want all of the things that they cannot afford! The crisis is that they think that they’re wants are more important than their needs!
My mom was a hoarder, including food, so for a long time I was the opposite and only kept a few days on hand. Once the pandemic hit, that wouldn't work anymore, so I've adjusted and built a managed and ROTATED pantry. Meal planning is a very useful tool.
I know this is a pantry video but the fire in your wood stove looks so amazing and warm. I just want to go stand near it and feel the warmth!! My hubby and I started building our pantry after finding your channel a couple of years ago. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge Leisa!!! ❤
To keep my pantry stocked, if I use 1 can of tuna, I add 2 cans of tuna to my shopping list, buy only on sales, don’t be brand loyal, clip coupons, pressure can, water bath can, dehydrate, freeze dry! Repackage boxed items into vacuum sealed jars to stop loss from pests, buy from the fruit truck and bulk buy with my children’s families from local farmers and ranchers. It’s not hard, just rotate. I learned from my grandmother. Hard working farm wife.
Just started a prepper pantry after i started watching you a little over a year ago. Bought sales etc started canning (due to you and a few others) thank you. My husband is 76 and i am 75. Never too late.
Yes to all of this. Same with meds and at home medical supplies. I worked my entire life, raised my boys, and now they have spouses and I have 4 small grandchildren. I am SSDI, and it's gotten skin and bones. I am everyone's childcare, and I am paid in supplies. We have always been prepppers and it is NEVER too late to start if you are breathing....and somewhat mobile. Tuna, peanut butter, canned fruit, sauce Pasta, rice and beans. I make my own sauce and cook all our food, and a lot from scratch. The things you named off...flour, sugar, oil, salt and pepper... You grab two extra items at the store and shelf them each time. We are a collective family of 9, and the kids also prep. I can feed myself and 4 grandchildren for about a year. I also have been picking up condensed milk and coffee. Shove away everything you can and rotate by date.
I’ve been diligently watching for sales and have been very careful to preserve in various ways everything my garden produces. We are suddenly dealing with a health issue at our house and I’m grateful I had groceries in inventory so I didn’t need to grocery shop on top of everything else. I’m a big advocate of stocking a pantry!
We have been hungry many times when we were younger. Our meal of the day was 1 can of soup split. Another time someone gave us a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. That fed 3 for over a week. I love our pantry.
I would suggest getting at least a 5 cubic foot freezer to take advantage of meat sales. If you say you have no space I understand. What I did was took one of my end tables to somewhere else. Covered the freezer with a small cloth put the lamp back and no-one knows.
I moved from Ohio to Washington state to help with family. There was no room for my empty canning jars. But I made certain my canning equipment and full jars came with me. Jars were found on marketplace, given to me by friends, family and coworkers, and have stocked my pantry. My back yard has been turned into a garden last year. My family will not experience with food what we all experienced with the toilet paper shortage. If you have a small amount of space, start growing some food like tomatoes, zucchini or lettuce. It really is easy and delicious. Thank you for the video.
My suggestion for others, as someone who went from middle class to no income: Reach out for help! Utilize food banks, churches, little free pantries, and even dumpster diving if need be. Build your menu based on what you get from these places. Fill in with staple ingredients that will allow you to prepare your own bread, convenience foods, etc. Concentrate on spending anything that you can on items that will allow you to create more than one meal. Follow local farmer's markets, butchers, etc, for the lowest prices on things like meats, produce, and dairy items. Learn to can and preserve anything that happens to be "extra," and utilize every bit of your food. Freeze leftovers for another time, if people in your house can only handle leftovers for a day. Concentrate on not wasting anything, and rethink how to utilize every part of the food that comes into your home. It's not easy, but it is worth it to ensure your family is nourished.
I’m trying my hardest to do this!! I get a lot of “you’re going overboard “. I say “you won’t say that if you need something, because you can’t get, when I have it to share with family!!!!!!
Thank you for being positive about preparedness! Yes, we live in scary times but we don’t have to be victims-we can prepare with confidence in knowing our efforts are focused and fruitful!
Baking; it’s not only to save money! I’m a 70+ yo man. My baking journey recently began when I bought a 4 pack of muffins at the grocery story and enjoyed one with a cup of coffee. While munching the muffin, I looked at the almost 30 ingredients on the label and wondered, so how many ingredients does it actually take to make muffins, and what are all those other ingredients whose names I could not pronounce? When I researched this, I found I did not need 30 ingredients to make muffins. Not only that, I could make them healthier by including healthy add-ins, like nuts, berries, reducing the sugar, etc. If I can do it, you can do it. Bread also is great for gifting to neighbors. It helps build community and to encourage others to do the same. Friday night is our pizza night. Made with 100% whole wheat at a cost of about $4. I even make the sauce. One-half of my pizza has fewer calories than one slice of COSTCO pizza. My pizza add-ins include wheat germ, flax seed meal and chia seeds. You won’t get that with store bought pizza!
59 years old and just released by my surgeon to get back to work recently after 3 major surgeries. I have been getting more items to extend my container garden on my 2nd floor deck. I Thrift shop for canning jars, buy food's in canning jars for foods and the ability to reuse my jars. I can, dehydrate as much as I am able. I without fail, add $25.00-$50.00 monthly to my preps by buying in bulk and I always buy clearance and sales.
I have been trying to get everybody I know to stock up. They say I'm are crazy. I started with rice,beans,water,tuna,canned veggies. Then I started pressure canning whatever food I like that I can find on sale. The heat in Texas is preventing me from growing my own veg.😂
@@cindysworld6924 For the first time that happened to me last year. I'm in West TN. The heat was bizarre. It's like water did no good. I have never seen anything like it. I planted 100 tomato plants and got less than half than the year before with 65 plants. I have no idea what I'm going to do this year. They say it's going to be WORSE! God help us!!! I have got some shade cloth this year already that I'm going to try and string up on poles. My entire garden is South and Southwest facing. That use to be a good thing. Not anymore.
@@cindysworld6924 Don't stop. Everytime I failed growing something, I learned. I tried a different veg the next year in that one's place. Or ayed closer attention to sun/shade requirements. Compost anything green, brown, paper, coffee grounds. No meat or dairy- no smell, it's fertilizer. It's a big learning curve but a necessary one. Garden !!!!!!
What gets me is that any government agency that helps people always wants the gross income. That’s why a lot of people that need help can’t get it. The government doesn’t care that people don’t get that, taxes comes right off the top and they’re trying to live on their net income. It never did make sense to me and if you make even $1.00 over the income limit you’re not eligible. I feel sorry for the young adults that are just starting out, most working minimum wage and rent , gas and food so expensive.
I tell my son and daughter-in-law law. I tell them to buy the staples such has sugar, flour, rice , beans, salt, pasta, canned tomatoes crushed diced or whole, peanut butter, water and meats.
I grew up poor. I had a mother whose favorite thing was her alcohol. I was one of 7 children. We moved around to different ghettos in a large city. The city had jobs for poor children. This was before child labor laws. They had morning and evening newspapers as well as smaller ghetto newspapers. The poor children delivered newspapers in grade school. I was 5 years old. We picked up a bundle of newspapers every day. On Saturday, we paid for newspaper bundles for the week. We were supposed to collect from the customers to get $10 in weekly pay. Only it was not $10 because customers ripped off the children delivering newspapers. I delivered my newspapers every day but customers did not want to pay me. So pay turned out to be $3 to $5 a week thanks to a few good paying customers. Lunch money at school was $1 a day. The poor children in the ghetto had to pay for their own food and school expenses. And I had a little sister that depended on me to provide her food. And I had to be careful because Mommy Dearest would steal my money to buy alcohol. By the time I was 12 years old, I found a series of better paying jobs. There was this one Boss at a business office just outside the ghetto that no adult wanted to work for so the pay was $200 cash to work Saturdays. This Boss was rude and he would spit as he talked so whoever was close enough got spit on. It was office work I had no shame and dealt with it. Then I moved on to lackey and a series of assignments for free food which resulted in seeing how the other half lived and lots of what I call rubber chicken and rubber steak (catered dinners that sit under heat lamps). I remember the food lines because there was a truckers strike and the grocery store was out of food. I was big for my age and got paper bags of food for me and my little sister. I never dreamed that the grocery stores were going to run out of food again but it is happening. I can stretch ingredients. I use low cost ingredients as a base for meals and add other ingredients for nutrition. These days I live alone. I do have a service cat on loan from a friend because of medical complications. I am also part of a small prepping group. Service cat saved my life a few times during the last few years. And he helps me get through the rough days. Like right now, the cat knows that it is getting close to 5 am and that I need to take my medicine in a few minutes. So he is right here to remind me. So I have to go.
If I had to advise someone with little funds on starting a pantry I would approach it the same way I teach gardening. Do what I no longer do. Get the calories and protein first. Get the spam, vienna sausage , mac and cheese , canned stews and soups. You can always eat the plantain out of the lawn if your looking for healthy snacks. Do what you need to do to get by as you figure out the rest. Starting gardening on a shoe string , that there miracle grow can be the difference between a harvest and no harvest. Will it be the best way to do things , give you the best possible food ,no. but it will get you started and getting started is the ticket and it will still be better than anything you buy at the grocery store. I always say do what you need to do and always strive to do better. I hate the puritanical people . If you have pennies to work with a few pots of herbs on a window sill can make all the difference in the world. Some fresh cilantro in them there beans can take them to a higher level. Some basil can change the bland tomato sauce into something you look forward to. A bit of chopped parsley will jump up anything. One sun gold tomato in a bucket on the door step can bring you months of happiness. Put a few seeds and a bag of potting soil in the pantry. Do a bit of gorilla gardening. Find an unattended patch of weeds that no one tends to , off the side of the road back from where the grass is cut ,anywhere can be a garden of sorts. .......Tuck in a few garlic bulbs , some oregano, anything. I worked with this amazing woman that wound up divorced and living upstairs in an in town apartment. She stopped like 10 times on the way home from work to harvest her dinner. She also grew tomatoes from a slice of tomato she fished off a Big Mack. I learned so much from her and she wasn't trying to do anything other than survive a bad situation. Befriend a gardener. Hell I'd let anyone walk away with anything for an hour's worth of weed pulling or compost moving. You can gleen after a harvest. Most orchards won't stop anyone that asks nicely if they can go through after its officially over. Be nice and there are many ways of gaining food. Just me rambling on. Love you Leisa. You da best !
I buy 1 extra of something canned everytime I go shopping. We just recently moved and I had probably 50 boxes of food after only a few years of doing that. It adds up fast.
I so agree with you I think now that you’ve mentioned these things I realize that I’ve already been doing this long before we had a COVID-19 and such and now being the only person in my household since the loss of my husband last year I still do it because I want to make sure that my family has it if they need it I was prepared long before I knew I was going to need to be prepared every little bit counts
My niece put her teacher in her place one time when she was asked what her daddy did for a living? Well, she corrected her by saying "Dad?? It was MY MOTHER!! WHO SUPPORTED US!!" She is doing quite well herself now! 😄
My mom was a Depression baby so a lot of her food habits were introduced to us. During the 1970s meat crisis--we did not even know there was a meat crisis b/c she was always creative with what we had for dinner. Even a little meat with the cast of veggies--bellies were full and food tasted good. Dealing with the challenges ahead (3-5 years): Before making a plan of attack, consider this. Make a listing for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. What are the favs? What do you really like to eat? What kind of storage do you already have? Can it be adapted? Do you have a slow cooker? Do you visit thrift stores? Preparing to venture forth: Learn to shop the leaders for best prices. Use those reward/brand cards for the stores too. I shop 1 store in fall just for the free turkey at Thanksgiving. Along with gallons of turkey soup, have all manner of bits for different configurations of all things turkey for the winter weeks. Visit the stores from time to time--not on the weekend. On Weds, our Aldi store has 'manager specials' in the meat section that are not advertised. Like (.99c chicken thighs). Make friends with the butcher staff at the full service grocery stores--they will teach you a ton about what will be going on sale. There really is method to the madness. If you can swing it once a season, buy bulk meat or poultry. You can break it down and re-package whatever way makes sense for you and what you cook. Use coupons. As much as practicable, do not buy name brand--just paying for marketing. Embrace leftovers. Way too many young people howl about leftovers. Take the leftover and make an entirely new meal if you cannot handle leftover lunch. Make a big pot of soup on the weekend---have a cup for dinner. You cook it so you know what is in it--keeps you healthy too. That is a tip from a friend of mine I embraced about 10 years ago. Great way to clean out the fridge on Sat night too. Learn to love oatmeal--cheap, healthy and you can play with the flavors by season. Learn to love beans--dry or canned. From what I have been reading, the chicken kill (and related, eggs) will result in sky high prices for another 2-3 years. Learn to bake--bread, cookies, cake, whatever. The house will smell amazing. Family will be impressed. Whatever you did will taste 100x better than anything you can buy in a package. See if you can pick up a 2nd hand freezer. Learn how to can. Start with water bath for fruit/jams/jellies--we are coming into nicer weather--strawberries are just a few months away. When one gets the nerve, get a pressure canner. It really is not as scary as people make out. Start out with the basics, then get creative. I buy corned beef on mark down after St Paddy's--can them up in pints. Makes for breakfast, dinner, casserole, whatever, rather than the 1 big pot meal. If you live in a state that has farm vouchers, see if you can get those. Usually you can get some farmer market foods fresh with those. I know these can be scary times. But with the simplest of planning, everyone has the ability to build a pantry of food that works for them--things you like to eat--not 'have to' eat. Make a game out of it. How much of your $ can you plow back into your pantry?
Wonderful points! If you do not know how to cook, go to the the library and read cooking books or get online and watch videos. Don't ignore dry beans and rice. If you have been used to a processed food diet, Buy a small bag of beans and rice, then find a few good looking recipes and try them out. You might be surprised that you like them! Expand your tastes, don't think that foods you haven't yet tried are not good. You will be surprised at what you may like. Read the grocery store ads. Buy loss leaders if they are things you want. Loss leaders are on the front page. Buy what you can afford of those. Try ethnic food stores if they are available in your area. Buy spices - small sizes until you know what you like. Spices can change the basic food into a very different meal!
Once you find an herb you like, put it in a small pot and grow it. I live in a condo. I have rosemary, lemon grass, chocolate pepermint(yum) in pots I dry some in the fall /what is left after I use it all summer😀
I remember when I was in my early 20s I could write a check for groceries on a Monday knowing it wasn't going to get cashed until Friday. Payday. Would sweat every day hoping it wouldn't bounce if they put it through earlier
Great Video! I'm new to the game. Just purchased an All American 930 and have processed 2 batches. Carrots and Potatoes It's a start! Your content has been so helpful. Thank you Thank you Thank you...
I'm not looking for a bougie pantry, just food security. Today I didnt feel like it but I still cut up green beans for 2qts, cabbage 4qts, carrots 1qt, and they are cooling now while I make up the coffee pots & plan to go to bed early. Tmrrw I'm getting first of 3 nerve burn injection done in lower neck spine area so I can hopefully have less pain & numbness down to my fingers. I need to be able to grow food this year to supplement prices & budget. God is good & I trust Him! Had I not found channels like yours last summer, I wouldn't have started canning in the fall. Many Blessings from Deborah in West Virginia!
We raised four boys on one income for a lot of years. While I didn't keep a huge pantry, I made sure that I alway had one left. If it was on sale, I bought extra. I bought bulk and repackaged. I bought discounted, day old or clearance and froze it. When the very first rumblings of the pandemic were popping up I told hubby I was buying double of everything. We were a little better off, so we could do that, and did for about a month. Seeing the empty shelves in the store kind of lit a fire under me to get serious about a "for real" pantry.
I bought 6 cans of pork-n-beans & 6 cans of cream of chicken soup today. Just a few extra to fill in some gaps. I also was able to get 2 more dozen pkgs of jars. I'll be canning some burger & roast beef I've had in my freezer. They need rotated out.
FIRST! 😆 First time being first. Anyway, in all seriousness, the subject matter is so pertinent. I’d say the best way to start is by some advice you gave awhile back: 2 is 1 and 1 is none. Try buying an additional can or bag of whatever it is you’re buying (make sure you’ll actually eat it and you aren’t just panic buying). If you’re buying 2 make it 3, switch off months or weeks per item. For instance, if you’re buying canned tuna fish one week/month, switch to picking up extra beef or chicken the next. Two cases of water one month, two cans of coffee the next (beans last long but instant lasts the longest just fyi). You get the point. Before you know it, you really will have a decent stockpile going. Speaking from experience. Changed my life. When you have food, clean water and can defend yourself, it provides certainly lessens any fear. I’ll leave it with extra little bit, this I got from a really badass survivalist (who somewhat recently passed - RIP), my ex and I awhile back were doing a lot of survivalist prep and were kind of panicking about nuclear/atomic warfare and being able to survive, especially being poor and not able to afford 5 and 6 figure underground bunker setups. Especially if you’re trying to survive past a nuclear winter, you need _at least_ a decade. What the heck do people do??? Then we found this guy’s survivalist shop he had up in Northern Arizona and started a great conversation with him where he laid it out point blank: All you have to do is prep for 3 months. If a disaster occurs where things can’t regulate after that amount of time, you won’t _want_ to stay alive. It’s just the truth of the matter. And if something serious happens, honestly most of us are gonna die. Period. That’s why it’s best to live a life where you’ve made amends for wrongs and make the people in your life that you love _know_ that you love them. Besides, once you have that base level (which is much more approachable than say a year in our minds), you can start to move up to a year or more. Throughout that time, you’ll have a chance to collect and store some things that will last 25-30 years or more anyhow. Like beans, white rice, whole wheat or grain berries (for making flour) can all last that long if stored properly. Canned goods, home or otherwise as well. Freeze-dried! All of these things, bit by bit will add up. One step, one item at a time. Good Luck 🍀
I no longer suggest stocking pantry to bff and some family members, so sick of "side eye" and negative comments. Last 2+ years have taught me valuable lessons.
How to start a pantry by Koni. Find yard sales, garage sales, rummage sales and buy jars (with rings if you can). Jars will be your primary base for canning, dehydrating, freeze drying, freezing. At those same sales or ASKING, get a pressure canner, water canner, dehydrator. Then join this group. The rest will follow. Hint: ForJars lids are the diamond level in lids.
I've had a good pantry for years. I stock up on sales of things we eat, 75% of what I buy is bought for later. There are even a deals to be had now, but they are fewer.
I’ve always had a pretty well stocked pantry. It wasn’t until after Hurricane Dorian, and a week without power that I got serious about stretching it to a 3 month pantry. When whispers of a pandemic started in December of that year I got busy and stretched it to six months. I’ve always been a scratch cooker so I was fortunate that those were well stocked already. I’ve continued building it now with my own dehydrated foods, as well as what I freeze and can. Canning was always for fun, now the fun and the challenge is to replace grocery store items with homemade. I began really using my pressure canned about a year ago to get items I’d typically freeze that took up a lot of room: broths, sauces, etc., then moved on to meals in a jar, then meats. I wish I’d found your channel sooner. Your content and advice is excellent! Thanks you!
Hunger is alesson you don't forget. I used to have to split a sandwich over 2 meals almost a daily occuance for a year. I vowed I would never do that again and so far I haven't but I can everything I can get my hands on too. I start with sale items and get extra each visit. Then go to local farmers for produce to can. Pick on halves or glean their crops if you can't purchase it
I grew up with parents who grew up during the Depression. The shelves in our basement were filled with home canned fruits and vegetables, many grown in our garden. The freezer was full of meat. My parents did not pressure can. I remember my dad minding 3 water bath canners of green beans for 3 hours. Fast forward to 2020 and my daughter announces that we should start preparing by buying a water bath canner, several cases of jars and other items necessary for canning. Well that we meant me since I'm the one who helped my parents with the canning. Keep in mind that it's been probably50 years but I jump in with both feet. My son-in-law plants more in the BHG garden and I can it. Even bought fruits and vegetables from farmers markets and Butter it's farm stands. We bought a pressure canned and during that winter, I started with canning some souls and beef stroganoff. I progress to ugly chicken, pork hutt, and beef chunks as well as different kinds of beans, all for quick and easy meals. I pick up extra cans if fruuts/vegetables when I do my monthly shopping. I've pulled out my bread machine to make gluten a free bread. It's much cheaper than the nearly $7/loaf in the store. So I guess my parents taught me well and NIW my Reid following in my footsteps. In fact, jyst last week, I took over 2 cases of ugly chicken and pork chunks and canned beans. We sat down and decided what we were going to grow in the garden. We planted seeds last Saturday with my 4 year old granddaughter's assistance. What we don't grow, we'll find on sale or farmers markets. Thank you so very much for your inspiring videos! You've helped this family prepare for whatever comes our way.
I’d love your recipe for GF bread machine bread! I’m GF and haven’t made any yet. I’m also sensitive to yeast so I’m looking into GF soda bread but my husband could eat the GF machine bread!!
@@martyp7233 I don't have a specific recipe for GF bread. I use a few recipes from a GF cookbook for bread machines. I don't know what to tell you about replacing the yeast though since I don't have issues with yeast. You might want to try something like Irish soda bread that has baking soda as a leavening agent.
I started with canning just beans and tomatoes ,my mom showed me how to do those...I have graduated this past year to pressure canning meat and meals instead of freezing them because if the power fails so will your freezer . I would tell some one to start out like you said buy a couple extra things a week if you can . And try to learn to grow food and can it .😊
Growing up on a farm raised by my Granny (1924) I was taught from a early age to always prepare! At one point in my life I decided I was tired of living this way (after 1st marriage) ..I decided to get back into this lifestyle after the divorce.. haven't looked back!
Many years ago, I started buying a month's supply of everything that we regularly ate when it was on sale, since I had noticed that everything went on sale about once a month. Things have changed, but I still try to get extra of what we eat when it is on sale. That was a good place to start. I would check all of the flyers and make my list.
I grew up with a pantry and 1/2 acre of garden. My husband didn't. Right now I am still working and he is retired so he does most of the cooking. I am trying to teach him the benefits of building a pantry and planning your meals. I need to start now as I will be retiring soon and that extra income will be gone. Thanks for the guidance and support.
Absolutely. . . Not to mention a dehydrator to preserve even more of our precious favorite foods before their cost is so high we aren't able to afford to purchase them.
I feel you on the struggle in the very beginning. When I first got married (37 years ago). We ate pb&j a lot and bologna. Since that time in our lives we have built a pantry.
yep my food budget was cut 421 dollars we went from 516 to 95 dollars a month glad i had the sense to use all the extra i was getting along with food pantries the last couple years to get stocked up i also built up my seeds and my fruit bushes and trees thank goodness i just had a feeling i better get prepared the best i can i been canning like a fool i learned to sew too so no money gets spent on clothing just sewing supplies that is food money nowi have to get creative im one of those losing a pile of extra help
My shopping trolley total last Saturday here in the UK cost me £101, equal to $123.😱Three months ago that would have cost me around £80and 6 months ago about £70. That was some things for the pantry plus food for the week. Good quality meat is so expensive just now. We can't afford to buy feed to keep chickens even for eggs. Recently I bought 4 whole chickens on sale for just under £10. I also found chicken legs on sale which were a great deal. I'm not canning right now because I can't justify it with energy prices but I'm working on some ideas for dehydrating, thanks to Darcy over at the Purposeful Pantry, plus I'm waiting on my vacuum sealer attachment. Love to all wherever you are in the world trying to do your best for you and yours.❤
Myhusband and I lost the extra covid food stamps.Befor that we were getting 19.00 dollars a month in food stamps.When we got the raise on Social Security they cut the 19.00 dollars a month off even though my electric bill has doubled and food has doubled.The government knows how to make themselves look good.
Your story about the pizza lasting the rest of the week reminded me of an incident when I first got out of the military. The Eagles club my parents and I belonged to hosted a happy hour on Thursdays where an actual (cheap) meal was served. One week, I had no money for more food but had spaghetti and marinara sauce, so for almost a whole week I ate spaghetti with marinara just waiting for the next Thursday when I could go to the Eagles and have something different. Well, Thursday finally came; I walk in and what do I see on the serving table? SPAGHETTI!
Such a great video... If you are on Facebook, please share this with your friends. I did. Leisa needs to be on the news. This is something everyone should know. Lets spread the word..
If I am able, I buy 2 instead of 1 of an item. When I replace - say tuna -- If I am replacing 2 cans that I used, I will buy 3... Today, for instance, I noticed I missed a Kroger sale on coffee at $6.99/can. I'll run in and get several and then check the clearance aisle for close to date items and see what the price of eggs are. Always making sure I am finding the deals and steals when possible :-) It takes a bit of extra time but in the end it's worth it!
Buy 1 extra can that is on the sale list of staple foods...veggies, canned meat, dry beans, soups, broth, or even seasonings like salt, pepper, or pk of taco seasoning.
One thing that helped me feed two growing boys in the 80s on $10-$20 a week some weeks, was make the menu plan on what was on sale. Instead of making the menu then getting the ingredients for it. Shop the ads and the clearance racks, then make the menu. Also, I bought bulk and split it with my grandma. She didn't use much so it was better for me to buy a big bag and divide some out for her. Even meat packs I did this way. 10lb bags of chicken leg quarters were on sale once a month so we'd buy 3 or 4 and we'd have chicken for the month.
I grew up with a pantry of sorts and in my first year plus out of the house, money was tight and I sorta, kinda, maybe had some extras in the cupboard but, I had other things to buy and other things todo rather than have a pantry by gosh. A quick move took all my cash reserves and those few extra foods were best left behind. I ate portioned amounts out of 2 cans of refried beans, 1 container of cottage cheese, and a small bag of potatoes; the second week I bought a can of fine grind black pepper.....By the third week, I was plotting and buying a basic pantry; it nolonger seemed fuddy-duddy. I have always had something resembling a pantry 3ver since and at times quite a larder.
Leisa you have given us a great pep talk. I hope others will listen to your good advice. I did have to laugh at "Pantry Snob" Thanks again, I love your wood stove it looks so warm.
I told a Relative when she got the increase in her Food Stamps I told her to Start a 3 month Pantry, I took her shopping and showed her what I do , She now has a a 5 month Stock .
Awesome!!!!
This is great! I don’t qualify for benefits but the school system gave us food stamps a couple of times during Covid. I stocked up with that.
You are a valuable friend...
Guuuurl, in my first little apartment, I ate Top Ramen almost everyday for lunch.
Those struggles made me appreciate having food in my fridge. I spend more carefully. We don’t eat out too much anymore.
agree! menu planning repurpose and using the leftovers nothing to waste ..save canned vegetable liquid in a container in freezer with leftover veggies and meats from meals leftover for pot of soup later when full
Please keep this up! Thank you for these videos ❤ for those that are still learning, we really need videos like this to learn from.
More to come!
We have all been there yes and i appreciate your channel so much, has helped me enormously.
I'm so glad!
Rewatched now I'm home. Lots are or will be suffering with inflation. Cutting back somewhere in a budget or do a few hours at another job sometimes can't be done, but asking for help from others may be necessary (ask for help).
Don’t be proud to visit a food pantry once a month or by their guide lines for a couple months. It would help be a start. It could help free up a couple dollars for other staples you need. I’m on a fixed income but I do ok but once I awhile an extra cost or bill comes up and yes, I will visit the pantry. I thank them and bless them for their work . And when I’m doing well I will donate to that same pantry.
Yes!!!!
This! When my kids were young I struggled with my business. My mom owned a catering company and we would get the leftovers for dinner. If it had not been for her, we would have been very hungry. As I got better running my business and got more sales, the pantry got fuller. When you’ve struggled, I think that sticks with you. Then when you’re able to put something away…You Do It!! It’s been 15 years since that hard time in my life and my pantry is slam full. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, we won’t go hungry again.
💯 I was once a single mom of 5 with no snap benefits. You never forget.
You' did it!! Thank you for sharing
Leisa, you are looking great !!
I had to go to the food pantry a few times when my kids were really young. That was truly a low point for me. It definitely sticks with you. It makes me so happy now to know my kids have a full pantry to choose from .
@@SuttonsDaze Holy Moly - I saw the thumbnail and thought "who is that?" Its a mini me Leisa - she's got those narrow shoulders and beautiful face. Girl Im so proud of you 😍🥰😘
I am retired, raised 4 kids, I have one child that is disabled and lives at home, we do not use food benefits. Beans, rice, potatoes, biscuits & gravy and what we can grow and catch, have always been a huge part of our diet and I still made notes while you talked. Never too old to add knowledge.
I grew up with parents who were raised during the Depression, we always had huge gardens, canned, hunted and made a lot of our own food. As I got older, married and go involved growing my career, all those lessons from my younger years got pushed aside for convenience. When my mother passed 10 years ago I inherited her canning gear and cookbooks so I started that back up on a small scale. When the pandemic hit I was already disabled/unable to work, had very little stores in my pantry, had a husband who was going downhill healthwise and did not know how we were going to be able to eat. With the stimulus checks I started building up my pantry and canning in earnest. I still have a ways to go to get to a comfortable place but I recently started pressure canning and that has been a big boost. It will take time to build a decent pantry and I have made a commitment to myself to focus on that for the next few years.
You can do it!
❤😊
Amen sister, I just know you got this.
Great advice, especially about processed foods, they’re crazy expensive. I started milling my own wheat and baking our bread, it’s been a life changing experience. I also love that you’re not “shaming” anyone; so many channels these days do. Encouragement is liberating, shaming just discourages people. ❤
I told a couple of my friends, just buy two extra cans of veggies or a can of meat every time you go to the grocery. I had to hid my stash under the bed because my husband was not onboard with this. So one trip to the store I bought beans and rice. Another time flour and sugar. Every little bit helps. I did start dehydrating. You can buy frozen bag of veggies, throw them on the trays and turn it on.
Great tip!
I’m in the same situation, my husband isn’t on board with me buying the extras. I still do, just hiding it.
@@peanutsauce411 Good for you. I finally got tired of sneaking around. Boxed up my Daniel Steele book collection and am using the bookcase for a pantry. I have 5 shelves filled now! He told a friend I was stocking up food to feed the world for impending doom. Haha. I hope they don’t know where we live. I have been keeping it a secret.
@@Denieseberry
I don’t know how everyone feels about this, but I have ordered many things online to have delivered. Most things are in another box, but a few things were obvious what they were and they were large boxes. I worry about delivery people knowing what I have delivered here. Do they pay attention…. Make mental notes…. Write things down for future reference ??? I’m in my late 70’s and so is my husband, who isn’t totally onboard either. But the delivery situation is worrisome. Anyone else have the same feelings ??
@deniese I hear ya! They think it’s a effin joke.. how I wish he was on board with me.
Dear lady, I adore you! You are straight forward, loving and informative. Thank you for putting yourself out there to help all of us.❤️
First and MOST importantly, learn how to cook from scratch! This above all else will save you the most amount of money. Next, what can you grow? Even a single tomato plant, grown from a seed saved from a grocery store tomato, in a garbage can or bag on the patio will feed your family 1000x over! Don't throw away leftovers, they are tomorrow's dinner.
Perfect!
My hubby thought I was nuts for stocking up. Then 2020 hit and about 6 months into it, I had forgotten to get out some toilet paper for the bathroom. He comes to me and asks is this all the toilet paper. Yes that was in the middle of toilet paper gate LOL I took him by the hand and showed him where it was kept. You should have seen his face LOL He never questions what I bring into the house since then.
For anyone starting out, I want to enforce what Leisa says. Just go slow, one can here, a jar there, an extra pack of toilet paper. Don't go crazy and panic, a pantry working or longer term takes time to build up. I have been working on mine for a few yrs now and still need to keep adding to it. Up until this past 6 months or so it has mainly been store purchased items, now I am branching out into home canned/preserved items. It can be done on a budget. One or 2 items at a time is the key to getting a nice size stock and within a month it will amaze you how much you have. Also, remember only put items in your pantry that you and your family will eat.
My hubby was raised on a dairy farm and his uncle grew a huge garden every year. As newly weds (and college students), we had plenty of milk and beef from my in-laws, and veggies from his uncle. What a blessing for us poor kids. We've worked hard to pay-it-forward by donating to local food pantries over the years.
That is awesome!
Sometimes I let the grocery store determine what's for dinner for the week. Whatever fresh food is on clearance that we like goes into the cart. Get creative. Store what you don't consume.The cashiers at my local store call me the markdown queen.😅
Great title!
Me, too. If you can ignore flashy, pricey snackiedoodles, walk the entire store. Look at everything. There are so often unadvertised sales and clearance items. I've gotten so much that way. I buy sale fresh, fridge, frozen stuff... especially if I can pressure can or dehydrate it.
I rarely buy anything that is not on sale.
My ‘popcorn story’ was when at 21 I had just bought my condo, money was tight but I had enough. Then one payday I was mugged just after I cashed my check. Instantly I was broke. Had about $5 in change in my car ashtray and a full tank because my parents always said to fill up first thing on payday. I had to spend my $5 to buy food for my cat, all I had to eat were a few cans of green beans. To this day I still hate green beans, but I made it through the week. Next payday I started my pantry - it included kitty food for Maurice - and I made a commitment to save at least $5 each paycheck. Lesson learned, pantry stocked for humans and pets alike ever since. Nowadays I’m about 30 years older, married with two grown boys and we live out in the country on 40 acres. Money is a lot easier than it was then, but I’ll never forget the green bean hardship!
We are on social security but we live in the country so I have always prepared for what could come. Thanks you still give me more ideas how to accomplish my goals. Thanks so much
You are so welcome
May, I add,, if your not use to cooking from scratch, challenge your self to just 1 new recipe a month? Pinterest and youtube have plenty of easy budget friendly recipes. You will be amazed at how many dump and go crockpot meals there are for example.
Great idea!
I remember when I started stocking food November 2020, went and bought a 20lb sack of rice, of course it was 7 dollars at that time but rice can help fill the belly when added to others things also bought some can food like tomatoes that you can turn into lots of things, my grocery budget was spent on what I could make a lot of meals out of didn't meal plan just things I could feed my family next pay period did the same only I bought a 25lb sack of beans and more can goods to go with the can goods I had left also seasoning variety of noodles fresh onions, bell peppers, cabbage cut up most of the onions and bell peppers and put in the freezer buy meat on sale started filling my freezer saving for a canner buying jars at yardsales and thrift stores and pkgs of lids at stores I still don't meal plan but I can always make a meal God bless
Thank you for this! I love that you understand what it is to struggle, and help others through your teaching of pantry preparedness. This hits home here, and the things that I've learned from you and a few other wonderful channels have truly helped us more than you know.
Lisa, a recommendation for a cookbook using shelf stable ingredients would be a real help.
My front room grew into a PANTRY, beginning of '21. That room went from 2 metal racks. Added 4 large cube units (horizontal stacking is my friend), 2 smaller cube units. Categorized.
And 2 of the 3 big bookshelves are now home-canned proteins. And enough canning lids for 5 years, replacement rubber parts.
Freeze-dried, is stacked to roof, on my armoire. Oatmeal, 5-gal buckets, in my closet.
Our 1st aid /emergency kit has grown 4x. OTC meds, 2 yr supply.
My pantry is to the point where I only buy what I have used plus one extra and then add something I want to can. Me and my husband are on SSI so we have learned to eat more from the pantry. He says he is going to get me a little basket I can use when I go shopping in the pantry. I have learned to make my own spice blends. I am enjoying it. I wish more people would catch on to what is going on in this world.
Me too
I just did it, I used coupons excepted food from food pantry. I canned everything from the garden.Now I bake from scratch as much as possible.
I always look for marked-down meats. I may not always buy them, depending on what it is and what it looks like. If I can't can it that day, it goes in my freezer until I have time or a full canner load. I am currently trying to can-out my freezer of most meat to make room for this summers' bounty. It makes me happy to see a shelf full of 'ugly chicken', canned ground beef, stew meat and other goodies and know that my family will be fed and that I can help others if needed.
I am of rural roots. I was in the city as an adult and as a single mother of 2 budget sucked and then I fell back to my roots. Started to work some overtime and that started my pantry. Started to can. Buy cans of food. Started putting back grains, rice beans. Little by little. Bought a cheap dehydrator. Started growing in buckets and got a substantial raise at work and a bonus for years of experience. That money and some savings got me out of the city. Win, win. Lots of hard , hard work. Late nights. Days I thought I couldn’t carry on but sucked it up, took a break then back at it.
Thanks for sharing
I live in an area that is getting increasingly less affordable (I'm sure that's the story everywhere!). There is a visible, noticeable difference in our community with regards to what money people have to spend, and where they have to spend it. I have started a community pantry that is accessible 24/7 to anyone who needs it for any reason. We run on donations of personal care, non perishable food & semi stable produce (ex. potatoes, onions, a bunch of banana's... stuff that doesn't require refrigeration overnight).
I would encourage anyone who can start one of these- to do so. There are websites for 'little free pantry's' I drew from for inspiration. My endeavour is brand new, just a few weeks in. but the response and support has been great.
There is another pantry in the next town over that has been set up for some time now... a few years at least. Their local highschool had the woodworking kids build the cabinet. My set up it less fancy, but animal proof! I have used two metal filing cabinets. The thought of anyone going hungry just wounds my heart, so I will try my best to help my neighbours.
When I was a single mom, more than 28 years ago, I struggled with food insecurity, unsure of how I was going to feed my kids. It is definitely a scary place to be, I had no idea how to build a pantry. Thankfully from that, I learned how to build one and now we always have a stocked pantry. Great video.
That's why mine is the way it is too. I vowed when my boys were tiny that they'd never be hungry. Some weeks it was a struggle and definitely not the best food but 40 years later I definitely am seeing the value in a very stocked pantry.
Great comment I think that is true with a lot of people , I think it will be hard for people in the years to come ! Great video❤
@@SmallTownSouthernWife It likely is, I know several that have and I know that so many are struggling now. Breaks my heart. Thankfully we have numerous food banks in our area that help people.
Inspiring video Leisa. I hope people are listening because it can be done. A bag of flour costs less (I think still) than one loaf of bread and you can make more out of it, or pancakes, or gravy, or or or. Start small. I started with making my own bread for sandwiches. The typical big loaf of white bread (no machines back in the day). I felt so accomplished since I knew nothing. Don't be intimidated - strike now. Also, the freeze dried or home dehydrated foods take up little space and go a long way. Better to do the dehydrating yourself and get the Ball jars for storage and walla, small space and food that goes a long way. I just finished mushrooms, potatoes, apples (shredded for casseroles) and now on to 6 lbs of carrots. Washed them tonight and slice and dehydrate tomorrow and they will not take up a lot of space, but will fill in many dishes or carrot cakes. Oh, and I also did zucchini and have 5 more to do. They are so easy. Wash slice or shred for future use and dehydrate. I sliced some to make grain free dishes like lasagna. I thought it would be horrible the first time I made it and was delighted that not only did it taste good, but was much easier to digest for those who have a problem with grains. And, great way to sneak healthy food into a dish that the family loves. BTW, since I am alone now, you can also make one just for the size of your family with a smaller or bigger dish.
ENDLESS possibilities and a great new world with some money in your pocket
I started stocking up in late January 2021. Call me intuitive or just plain pessimistic but I just had a feeling things were going to go downhill, just not this fast!
I’m so glad to find a community with other like minded people. My “in person” community doesn’t understand my mindset about being prepared long term so I no longer mention it.
I’ve always been into gardening and canning but I’m building up the nerve to can meat soon. It’s always intimidated me.
You will love canning meat. If you have a pressure canner and jars you are set to create some great meals. Canning meat is so easy and simple. If you don’t already have the ball blue book for food preservation, get it ASAP. I started with watching a few TH-cam video channels like homestead heart, our half acre homestead, and Sutton daze in October 2020. Husband helped me and loved it. He passed in January 2021 and the food has been a blessing and a reminder that he always provided for his family. I have continued with canning with my newly retired daughter now helping me. We love canning meat and other foods and simply opening jars and having a home cooked meal ready in minutes. Beef roast, ground beef, venison, chicken, salmon, etc. basically if you can buy it canned, you can can it. The key is having the pressure canner. DO NOT water bath meat. Good luck and enjoy.
Back in 2019 we started cutting out fast foods. We realized we started feeling better and having more energy. Then when the pandemic hit just like everyone else we were forced to stay home and cook more from scratch meals. Growing up on a farm I knew how to do alot of scratch meals however after watching channels on youtube I really widened our menu.
Then the more I got into things I came across more and more channels like yours and thought wow, what a wonderful idea to have a stalked pantry for emergencies!!! So Then I started canning alot more from our garden than I used to. And we started just experimenting on things like canned meat which we had never done before, we loved it! Before I knew it we had a decently stalked pantry. I always watched for things to go on sale then I would stalk a large amount of that item...each week would be a different item. I'm so very grateful for this bc back last Oct I had to have an emergency surgery where I was off work for a month! We relied heavily on our pantry and we were so blessed that we prepped for these very situations.
1)For a week, write down EVERYTHING you use. Everything. Then, cut down the fluff. Then, proceed to stock up on those things. OR 2) Write down 7 meals your family likes and will eat. Secondary list of all the ingredients and spices it takes to make those meals. Start stocking accordingly OR 3) Have a list of categories ....WATER and water filtration should be ONE category. This could include sawyer minis or lifestraws for each member of the family. It could be just picking up a couple gallons of water each visit to the store. Gallon bottles last WAY longer than the packs of flemsy bottles or milk jug types. They LEAK! Ask me how I know!! Hey...get some rain barrels if you can! Food category...See #1 & #2... Next category...Health and Hygiene....buy extra toothpaste, tooth brushes, SOAP, of bathing and washing, razors, a portable shower, etc and so on. OTC meds...whatever it is you and your family use when they are sick. Please stock the best quality vitamins you can afford. It REALLY does make a difference. Main ones....D3 with K2, Good C, Zinc, etc. Lots under this category. Next would be Emergency type stuff. Hand crank or solar powered emergency radio with weather band, Flashlights, candles, batteries, lighters, matches....a way to cook with no electricity. A grill with charcoal (short term), butane stoves are awesome. So many ways! Every week try to buy at least one or two things from each category you have. WATER should be thought of everytime you put away something that needs WATER. Like pasta, legumes, rice, etc. LEARN A SKILL. Cook, Can, Make a Fire, Grow something!!! It's not just seeds and dirt. Trust me on that!!!. There's so many skills. WATER and Food preservation should be NUMBER UNO!! This is not a complete list of how to. Just several of the ways I've used to prep over the years. EVERYTIME you go to a store....at least get ONE thing to put away from the categories you have written down. Make a plan and stick to it. Dollar tree has some great buys on a lot of things. But, some of their items are not the best deals and READ the labels. FYI Product from PRC aka (you know that country that has us by the balls and ovaries)...don't buy it if it's food. Look up PRC.
Thanks for sharing
You sound like me. Great breakdown!!
I'm seeing the crunch a while now and it's all ready been tight.
I'm working on cutting down on the fluff, difficult with 2 teenagers but I'm trying.
Thank you
@@livingthegoodlifeinwales if you have teenagers they can get a job and they can start buying their own fluff and they won't take it for granted if their buying it theirselves
They can’t afford the basics because they don’t know how to spend their money! I am 19 rentals and every damn one of them has the package of cable TV with all the channels Internet and cell phone for everybody in the house but they can’t pay their bills other than cable TV Internet cell phone and occasionally their rent every time I evict tenants for nonpayment the new tenants move in and immediately hook all of the same services up. It’s not that they don’t have the money to pay for their food and other bills required to live they just want all of the things that they cannot afford! The crisis is that they think that they’re wants are more important than their needs!
My mom was a hoarder, including food, so for a long time I was the opposite and only kept a few days on hand. Once the pandemic hit, that wouldn't work anymore, so I've adjusted and built a managed and ROTATED pantry. Meal planning is a very useful tool.
Thanks for sharing!!
living with a hoarder can be very traumatizing…good for you for moving forward in a healthy way 🌸
I know this is a pantry video but the fire in your wood stove looks so amazing and warm. I just want to go stand near it and feel the warmth!! My hubby and I started building our pantry after finding your channel a couple of years ago. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge Leisa!!! ❤
You can do it!
To keep my pantry stocked, if I use 1 can of tuna, I add 2 cans of tuna to my shopping list, buy only on sales, don’t be brand loyal, clip coupons, pressure can, water bath can, dehydrate, freeze dry! Repackage boxed items into vacuum sealed jars to stop loss from pests, buy from the fruit truck and bulk buy with my children’s families from local farmers and ranchers. It’s not hard, just rotate. I learned from my grandmother. Hard working farm wife.
Just started a prepper pantry after i started watching you a little over a year ago. Bought sales etc started canning (due to you and a few others) thank you. My husband is 76 and i am 75. Never too late.
NEVER too late! Thanks for sharing!
You go girl 👍
Yes to all of this.
Same with meds and at home medical supplies.
I worked my entire life, raised my boys, and now they have spouses and I have 4 small grandchildren. I am SSDI, and it's gotten skin and bones.
I am everyone's childcare, and I am paid in supplies.
We have always been prepppers and it is NEVER too late to start if you are breathing....and somewhat mobile.
Tuna, peanut butter, canned fruit, sauce Pasta, rice and beans.
I make my own sauce and cook all our food, and a lot from scratch.
The things you named off...flour, sugar, oil, salt and pepper...
You grab two extra items at the store and shelf them each time.
We are a collective family of 9, and the kids also prep. I can feed myself and 4 grandchildren for about a year. I also have been picking up condensed milk and coffee. Shove away everything you can and rotate by date.
I’ve been diligently watching for sales and have been very careful to preserve in various ways everything my garden produces. We are suddenly dealing with a health issue at our house and I’m grateful I had groceries in inventory so I didn’t need to grocery shop on top of everything else. I’m a big advocate of stocking a pantry!
We have been hungry many times when we were younger. Our meal of the day was 1 can of soup split. Another time someone gave us a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. That fed 3 for over a week. I love our pantry.
Thanks for sharing!!
I would suggest getting at least a 5 cubic foot freezer to take advantage of meat sales. If you say you have no space I understand. What I did was took one of my end tables to somewhere else. Covered the freezer with a small cloth put the lamp back and no-one knows.
I moved from Ohio to Washington state to help with family. There was no room for my empty canning jars. But I made certain my canning equipment and full jars came with me. Jars were found on marketplace, given to me by friends, family and coworkers, and have stocked my pantry. My back yard has been turned into a garden last year. My family will not experience with food what we all experienced with the toilet paper shortage. If you have a small amount of space, start growing some food like tomatoes, zucchini or lettuce. It really is easy and delicious. Thank you for the video.
My suggestion for others, as someone who went from middle class to no income: Reach out for help! Utilize food banks, churches, little free pantries, and even dumpster diving if need be. Build your menu based on what you get from these places. Fill in with staple ingredients that will allow you to prepare your own bread, convenience foods, etc. Concentrate on spending anything that you can on items that will allow you to create more than one meal. Follow local farmer's markets, butchers, etc, for the lowest prices on things like meats, produce, and dairy items. Learn to can and preserve anything that happens to be "extra," and utilize every bit of your food. Freeze leftovers for another time, if people in your house can only handle leftovers for a day. Concentrate on not wasting anything, and rethink how to utilize every part of the food that comes into your home. It's not easy, but it is worth it to ensure your family is nourished.
Add just a few cans a week , more if possible. Oatmeal, rice, beans go far.
Exactly
I’m trying my hardest to do this!! I get a lot of “you’re going overboard “. I say “you won’t say that if you need something, because you can’t get, when I have it to share with family!!!!!!
Thank you for being positive about preparedness! Yes, we live in scary times but we don’t have to be victims-we can prepare with confidence in knowing our efforts are focused and fruitful!
So we'll said Cass! We need to just encourage our friends and family with support and ideas on prepping if needed and appreciated.
Thank you Leisa, you are a Blessing!
Thank You
You are so welcome
Baking; it’s not only to save money! I’m a 70+ yo man. My baking journey recently began when I bought a 4 pack of muffins at the grocery story and enjoyed one with a cup of coffee. While munching the muffin, I looked at the almost 30 ingredients on the label and wondered, so how many ingredients does it actually take to make muffins, and what are all those other ingredients whose names I could not pronounce? When I researched this, I found I did not need 30 ingredients to make muffins. Not only that, I could make them healthier by including healthy add-ins, like nuts, berries, reducing the sugar, etc. If I can do it, you can do it. Bread also is great for gifting to neighbors. It helps build community and to encourage others to do the same.
Friday night is our pizza night. Made with 100% whole wheat at a cost of about $4. I even make the sauce. One-half of my pizza has fewer calories than one slice of COSTCO pizza. My pizza add-ins include wheat germ, flax seed meal and chia seeds. You won’t get that with store bought pizza!
59 years old and just released by my surgeon to get back to work recently after 3 major surgeries. I have been getting more items to extend my container garden on my 2nd floor deck. I Thrift shop for canning jars, buy food's in canning jars for foods and the ability to reuse my jars. I can, dehydrate as much as I am able.
I without fail, add $25.00-$50.00 monthly to my preps by buying in bulk and I always buy clearance and sales.
Thanks for sharing!
I have been trying to get everybody I know to stock up. They say I'm are crazy. I started with rice,beans,water,tuna,canned veggies. Then I started pressure canning whatever food I like that I can find on sale. The heat in Texas is preventing me from growing my own veg.😂
It's too cold in my area of Texas. Nothing has sprouted.
@@girlnextdoorgrooming I get things sprouted and then the heat hits and no matter how much I water everything just does not produce😂🤣😅
@@cindysworld6924 For the first time that happened to me last year. I'm in West TN. The heat was bizarre. It's like water did no good. I have never seen anything like it. I planted 100 tomato plants and got less than half than the year before with 65 plants. I have no idea what I'm going to do this year. They say it's going to be WORSE! God help us!!! I have got some shade cloth this year already that I'm going to try and string up on poles. My entire garden is South and Southwest facing. That use to be a good thing. Not anymore.
@@theIAMofME it's nuts and I'm really new at all this. Not sure if I even want to try planting again this year.
@@cindysworld6924 Don't stop. Everytime I failed growing something, I learned. I tried a different veg the next year in that one's place. Or ayed closer attention to sun/shade requirements. Compost anything green, brown, paper, coffee grounds. No meat or dairy- no smell, it's fertilizer. It's a big learning curve but a necessary one. Garden !!!!!!
What gets me is that any government agency that helps people always wants the gross income. That’s why a lot of people that need help can’t get it. The government doesn’t care that people don’t get that, taxes comes right off the top and they’re trying to live on their net income. It never did make sense to me and if you make even $1.00 over the income limit you’re not eligible. I feel sorry for the young adults that are just starting out, most working minimum wage and rent , gas and food so expensive.
I tell my son and daughter-in-law law. I tell them to buy the staples such has sugar, flour, rice , beans, salt, pasta, canned tomatoes crushed diced or whole, peanut butter, water
and meats.
I grew up poor. I had a mother whose favorite thing was her alcohol. I was one of 7 children. We moved around to different ghettos in a large city. The city had jobs for poor children. This was before child labor laws. They had morning and evening newspapers as well as smaller ghetto newspapers. The poor children delivered newspapers in grade school. I was 5 years old. We picked up a bundle of newspapers every day. On Saturday, we paid for newspaper bundles for the week. We were supposed to collect from the customers to get $10 in weekly pay. Only it was not $10 because customers ripped off the children delivering newspapers. I delivered my newspapers every day but customers did not want to pay me. So pay turned out to be $3 to $5 a week thanks to a few good paying customers. Lunch money at school was $1 a day. The poor children in the ghetto had to pay for their own food and school expenses. And I had a little sister that depended on me to provide her food. And I had to be careful because Mommy Dearest would steal my money to buy alcohol.
By the time I was 12 years old, I found a series of better paying jobs. There was this one Boss at a business office just outside the ghetto that no adult wanted to work for so the pay was $200 cash to work Saturdays. This Boss was rude and he would spit as he talked so whoever was close enough got spit on. It was office work I had no shame and dealt with it. Then I moved on to lackey and a series of assignments for free food which resulted in seeing how the other half lived and lots of what I call rubber chicken and rubber steak (catered dinners that sit under heat lamps). I remember the food lines because there was a truckers strike and the grocery store was out of food. I was big for my age and got paper bags of food for me and my little sister.
I never dreamed that the grocery stores were going to run out of food again but it is happening.
I can stretch ingredients. I use low cost ingredients as a base for meals and add other ingredients for nutrition. These days I live alone. I do have a service cat on loan from a friend because of medical complications. I am also part of a small prepping group.
Service cat saved my life a few times during the last few years. And he helps me get through the rough days. Like right now, the cat knows that it is getting close to 5 am and that I need to take my medicine in a few minutes. So he is right here to remind me. So I have to go.
Think about the snowmagedden Ca just had. We could have survived for a few months, yet people were out of food within a few days
If I had to advise someone with little funds on starting a pantry I would approach it the same way I teach gardening. Do what I no longer do. Get the calories and protein first. Get the spam, vienna sausage , mac and cheese , canned stews and soups. You can always eat the plantain out of the lawn if your looking for healthy snacks. Do what you need to do to get by as you figure out the rest. Starting gardening on a shoe string , that there miracle grow can be the difference between a harvest and no harvest. Will it be the best way to do things , give you the best possible food ,no. but it will get you started and getting started is the ticket and it will still be better than anything you buy at the grocery store. I always say do what you need to do and always strive to do better. I hate the puritanical people . If you have pennies to work with a few pots of herbs on a window sill can make all the difference in the world. Some fresh cilantro in them there beans can take them to a higher level. Some basil can change the bland tomato sauce into something you look forward to. A bit of chopped parsley will jump up anything. One sun gold tomato in a bucket on the door step can bring you months of happiness. Put a few seeds and a bag of potting soil in the pantry. Do a bit of gorilla gardening. Find an unattended patch of weeds that no one tends to , off the side of the road back from where the grass is cut ,anywhere can be a garden of sorts. .......Tuck in a few garlic bulbs , some oregano, anything. I worked with this amazing woman that wound up divorced and living upstairs in an in town apartment. She stopped like 10 times on the way home from work to harvest her dinner. She also grew tomatoes from a slice of tomato she fished off a Big Mack. I learned so much from her and she wasn't trying to do anything other than survive a bad situation. Befriend a gardener. Hell I'd let anyone walk away with anything for an hour's worth of weed pulling or compost moving. You can gleen after a harvest. Most orchards won't stop anyone that asks nicely if they can go through after its officially over. Be nice and there are many ways of gaining food. Just me rambling on. Love you Leisa. You da best !
I buy 1 extra of something canned everytime I go shopping. We just recently moved and I had probably 50 boxes of food after only a few years of doing that. It adds up fast.
I so agree with you I think now that you’ve mentioned these things I realize that I’ve already been doing this long before we had a COVID-19 and such and now being the only person in my household since the loss of my husband last year I still do it because I want to make sure that my family has it if they need it I was prepared long before I knew I was going to need to be prepared every little bit counts
My niece put her teacher in her place one time when she was asked what her daddy did for a living? Well, she corrected her by saying "Dad?? It was MY MOTHER!! WHO SUPPORTED US!!" She is doing quite well herself now! 😄
My mom was a Depression baby so a lot of her food habits were introduced to us. During the 1970s meat crisis--we did not even know there was a meat crisis b/c she was always creative with what we had for dinner. Even a little meat with the cast of veggies--bellies were full and food tasted good.
Dealing with the challenges ahead (3-5 years):
Before making a plan of attack, consider this. Make a listing for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. What are the favs? What do you really like to eat? What kind of storage do you already have? Can it be adapted? Do you have a slow cooker? Do you visit thrift stores?
Preparing to venture forth:
Learn to shop the leaders for best prices. Use those reward/brand cards for the stores too. I shop 1 store in fall just for the free turkey at Thanksgiving. Along with gallons of turkey soup, have all manner of bits for different configurations of all things turkey for the winter weeks.
Visit the stores from time to time--not on the weekend. On Weds, our Aldi store has 'manager specials' in the meat section that are not advertised. Like (.99c chicken thighs). Make friends with the butcher staff at the full service grocery stores--they will teach you a ton about what will be going on sale. There really is method to the madness.
If you can swing it once a season, buy bulk meat or poultry. You can break it down and re-package whatever way makes sense for you and what you cook.
Use coupons. As much as practicable, do not buy name brand--just paying for marketing. Embrace leftovers. Way too many young people howl about leftovers. Take the leftover and make an entirely new meal if you cannot handle leftover lunch.
Make a big pot of soup on the weekend---have a cup for dinner. You cook it so you know what is in it--keeps you healthy too. That is a tip from a friend of mine I embraced about 10 years ago. Great way to clean out the fridge on Sat night too.
Learn to love oatmeal--cheap, healthy and you can play with the flavors by season.
Learn to love beans--dry or canned. From what I have been reading, the chicken kill (and related, eggs) will result in sky high prices for another 2-3 years.
Learn to bake--bread, cookies, cake, whatever. The house will smell amazing. Family will be impressed. Whatever you did will taste 100x better than anything you can buy in a package.
See if you can pick up a 2nd hand freezer. Learn how to can. Start with water bath for fruit/jams/jellies--we are coming into nicer weather--strawberries are just a few months away.
When one gets the nerve, get a pressure canner. It really is not as scary as people make out. Start out with the basics, then get creative. I buy corned beef on mark down after St Paddy's--can them up in pints. Makes for breakfast, dinner, casserole, whatever, rather than the 1 big pot meal.
If you live in a state that has farm vouchers, see if you can get those. Usually you can get some farmer market foods fresh with those.
I know these can be scary times. But with the simplest of planning, everyone has the ability to build a pantry of food that works for them--things you like to eat--not 'have to' eat. Make a game out of it. How much of your $ can you plow back into your pantry?
LOVE THIS!!!❤️❤️
I'm with you. We'll said. Thank you.
Buy powdered milk even if you don't like it. You will. Add a can of Pet Milk and it pretty good
Wonderful points! If you do not know how to cook, go to the the library and read cooking books or get online and watch videos. Don't ignore dry beans and rice. If you have been used to a processed food diet, Buy a small bag of beans and rice, then find a few good looking recipes and try them out. You might be surprised that you like them! Expand your tastes, don't think that foods you haven't yet tried are not good. You will be surprised at what you may like. Read the grocery store ads. Buy loss leaders if they are things you want. Loss leaders are on the front page. Buy what you can afford of those. Try ethnic food stores if they are available in your area. Buy spices - small sizes until you know what you like. Spices can change the basic food into a very different meal!
Thanks
Once you find an herb you like, put it in a small pot and grow it. I live in a condo. I have rosemary, lemon grass, chocolate pepermint(yum) in pots I dry some in the fall /what is left after I use it all summer😀
@@annephillips2134 Chocolate peppermint sounds good. Do you make tea with it?
I remember when I was in my early 20s I could write a check for groceries on a Monday knowing it wasn't going to get cashed until Friday. Payday. Would sweat every day hoping it wouldn't bounce if they put it through earlier
Oooh, I remember those days
Great Video! I'm new to the game. Just purchased an All American 930 and have processed 2 batches. Carrots and Potatoes It's a start! Your content has been so helpful. Thank you Thank you Thank you...
Welcome aboard!
I'm not looking for a bougie pantry, just food security. Today I didnt feel like it but I still cut up green beans for 2qts, cabbage 4qts, carrots 1qt, and they are cooling now while I make up the coffee pots & plan to go to bed early. Tmrrw I'm getting first of 3 nerve burn injection done in lower neck spine area so I can hopefully have less pain & numbness down to my fingers. I need to be able to grow food this year to supplement prices & budget.
God is good & I trust Him! Had I not found channels like yours last summer, I wouldn't have started canning in the fall. Many Blessings from Deborah in West Virginia!
We raised four boys on one income for a lot of years. While I didn't keep a huge pantry, I made sure that I alway had one left. If it was on sale, I bought extra. I bought bulk and repackaged. I bought discounted, day old or clearance and froze it. When the very first rumblings of the pandemic were popping up I told hubby I was buying double of everything. We were a little better off, so we could do that, and did for about a month. Seeing the empty shelves in the store kind of lit a fire under me to get serious about a "for real" pantry.
I bought 6 cans of pork-n-beans & 6 cans of cream of chicken soup today. Just a few extra to fill in some gaps. I also was able to get 2 more dozen pkgs of jars. I'll be canning some burger & roast beef I've had in my freezer. They need rotated out.
I agree when you bake bread , English muffins and my favorite pitas the feeling is so satisfying 😌. And you know the quality is 👍 good.
So true!
Great video Leisa with SO many good NUGGETS of knowledge!
FIRST! 😆 First time being first.
Anyway, in all seriousness, the subject matter is so pertinent.
I’d say the best way to start is by some advice you gave awhile back: 2 is 1 and 1 is none.
Try buying an additional can or bag of whatever it is you’re buying (make sure you’ll actually eat it and you aren’t just panic buying).
If you’re buying 2 make it 3, switch off months or weeks per item. For instance, if you’re buying canned tuna fish one week/month, switch to picking up extra beef or chicken the next. Two cases of water one month, two cans of coffee the next (beans last long but instant lasts the longest just fyi).
You get the point. Before you know it, you really will have a decent stockpile going. Speaking from experience. Changed my life. When you have food, clean water and can defend yourself, it provides certainly lessens any fear.
I’ll leave it with extra little bit, this I got from a really badass survivalist (who somewhat recently passed - RIP), my ex and I awhile back were doing a lot of survivalist prep and were kind of panicking about nuclear/atomic warfare and being able to survive, especially being poor and not able to afford 5 and 6 figure underground bunker setups. Especially if you’re trying to survive past a nuclear winter, you need _at least_ a decade.
What the heck do people do??? Then we found this guy’s survivalist shop he had up in Northern Arizona and started a great conversation with him where he laid it out point blank: All you have to do is prep for 3 months. If a disaster occurs where things can’t regulate after that amount of time, you won’t _want_ to stay alive. It’s just the truth of the matter. And if something serious happens, honestly most of us are gonna die. Period. That’s why it’s best to live a life where you’ve made amends for wrongs and make the people in your life that you love _know_ that you love them.
Besides, once you have that base level (which is much more approachable than say a year in our minds), you can start to move up to a year or more. Throughout that time, you’ll have a chance to collect and store some things that will last 25-30 years or more anyhow. Like beans, white rice, whole wheat or grain berries (for making flour) can all last that long if stored properly. Canned goods, home or otherwise as well. Freeze-dried! All of these things, bit by bit will add up. One step, one item at a time.
Good Luck 🍀
Thanks for sharing
I no longer suggest stocking pantry to bff and some family members, so sick of "side eye" and negative comments. Last 2+ years have taught me valuable lessons.
I totally agree!
How to start a pantry by Koni. Find yard sales, garage sales, rummage sales and buy jars (with rings if you can). Jars will be your primary base for canning, dehydrating, freeze drying, freezing. At those same sales or ASKING, get a pressure canner, water canner, dehydrator. Then join this group. The rest will follow. Hint: ForJars lids are the diamond level in lids.
Love it!
I've had a good pantry for years. I stock up on sales of things we eat, 75% of what I buy is bought for later. There are even a deals to be had now, but they are fewer.
I’ve always had a pretty well stocked pantry. It wasn’t until after Hurricane Dorian, and a week without power that I got serious about stretching it to a 3 month pantry. When whispers of a pandemic started in December of that year I got busy and stretched it to six months. I’ve always been a scratch cooker so I was fortunate that those were well stocked already. I’ve continued building it now with my own dehydrated foods, as well as what I freeze and can. Canning was always for fun, now the fun and the challenge is to replace grocery store items with homemade. I began really using my pressure canned about a year ago to get items I’d typically freeze that took up a lot of room: broths, sauces, etc., then moved on to meals in a jar, then meats. I wish I’d found your channel sooner. Your content and advice is excellent! Thanks you!
Hunger is alesson you don't forget. I used to have to split a sandwich over 2 meals almost a daily occuance for a year. I vowed I would never do that again and so far I haven't but I can everything I can get my hands on too. I start with sale items and get extra each visit. Then go to local farmers for produce to can. Pick on halves or glean their crops if you can't purchase it
Thanks for sharing
I grew up with parents who grew up during the Depression. The shelves in our basement were filled with home canned fruits and vegetables, many grown in our garden. The freezer was full of meat. My parents did not pressure can. I remember my dad minding 3 water bath canners of green beans for 3 hours. Fast forward to 2020 and my daughter announces that we should start preparing by buying a water bath canner, several cases of jars and other items necessary for canning. Well that we meant me since I'm the one who helped my parents with the canning. Keep in mind that it's been probably50 years but I jump in with both feet. My son-in-law plants more in the BHG garden and I can it. Even bought fruits and vegetables from farmers markets and Butter it's farm stands. We bought a pressure canned and during that winter, I started with canning some souls and beef stroganoff. I progress to ugly chicken, pork hutt, and beef chunks as well as different kinds of beans, all for quick and easy meals. I pick up extra cans if fruuts/vegetables when I do my monthly shopping. I've pulled out my bread machine to make gluten a free bread. It's much cheaper than the nearly $7/loaf in the store. So I guess my parents taught me well and NIW my Reid following in my footsteps. In fact, jyst last week, I took over 2 cases of ugly chicken and pork chunks and canned beans. We sat down and decided what we were going to grow in the garden. We planted seeds last Saturday with my 4 year old granddaughter's assistance. What we don't grow, we'll find on sale or farmers markets.
Thank you so very much for your inspiring videos! You've helped this family prepare for whatever comes our way.
I’d love your recipe for GF bread machine bread! I’m GF and haven’t made any yet. I’m also sensitive to yeast so I’m looking into GF soda bread but my husband could eat the GF machine bread!!
@@martyp7233 I don't have a specific recipe for GF bread. I use a few recipes from a GF cookbook for bread machines. I don't know what to tell you about replacing the yeast though since I don't have issues with yeast. You might want to try something like Irish soda bread that has baking soda as a leavening agent.
Planning larger garden. One row for home, one row to share.
Nice!
I started with canning just beans and tomatoes ,my mom showed me how to do those...I have graduated this past year to pressure canning meat and meals instead of freezing them because if the power fails so will your freezer . I would tell some one to start out like you said buy a couple extra things a week if you can . And try to learn to grow food and can it .😊
Growing up on a farm raised by my Granny (1924) I was taught from a early age to always prepare! At one point in my life I decided I was tired of living this way (after 1st marriage) ..I decided to get back into this lifestyle after the divorce.. haven't looked back!
Many years ago, I started buying a month's supply of everything that we regularly ate when it was on sale, since I had noticed that everything went on sale about once a month. Things have changed, but I still try to get extra of what we eat when it is on sale. That was a good place to start. I would check all of the flyers and make my list.
Slow and steady wins the race. If you need one by two and so on and so on. TFS 👍
I grew up with a pantry and 1/2 acre of garden. My husband didn't. Right now I am still working and he is retired so he does most of the cooking. I am trying to teach him the benefits of building a pantry and planning your meals. I need to start now as I will be retiring soon and that extra income will be gone. Thanks for the guidance and support.
Thanks for sharing!!
Canned up 8 pint and half jars of corned beef that I got on sale yesterday! Got more to can😊
I’d tell anyone to buy a pressure canner and Learn to can everything they can get their hands on and have a garden
Love it!
Absolutely. . . Not to mention a dehydrator to preserve even more of our precious favorite foods before their cost is so high we aren't able to afford to purchase them.
Pay yourself first,as little as $1.00 a week and save that for your pantry,you will be amazed at what you can buy
Great tip
I feel you on the struggle in the very beginning. When I first got married (37 years ago). We ate pb&j a lot and bologna. Since that time in our lives we have built a pantry.
Perfect
I still to this day love me a fried bologna sandwich. 😊
I love grilled PB &J sandwiches.
yep my food budget was cut 421 dollars we went from 516 to 95 dollars a month glad i had the sense to use all the extra i was getting along with food pantries the last couple years to get stocked up i also built up my seeds and my fruit bushes and trees thank goodness i just had a feeling i better get prepared the best i can i been canning like a fool i learned to sew too so no money gets spent on clothing just sewing supplies that is food money nowi have to get creative im one of those losing a pile of extra help
Our first Christmas was beans and rice. One time all we had was a complete pancake mix and a can of apple pie filling. That was all for 2 days.
Does canning veggies yourself last longer than canned veggies from
The store?
My shopping trolley total last Saturday here in the UK cost me £101, equal to $123.😱Three months ago that would have cost me around £80and 6 months ago about £70. That was some things for the pantry plus food for the week. Good quality meat is so expensive just now. We can't afford to buy feed to keep chickens even for eggs. Recently I bought 4 whole chickens on sale for just under £10. I also found chicken legs on sale which were a great deal. I'm not canning right now because I can't justify it with energy prices but I'm working on some ideas for dehydrating, thanks to Darcy over at the Purposeful Pantry, plus I'm waiting on my vacuum sealer attachment. Love to all wherever you are in the world trying to do your best for you and yours.❤
I started by buying sale items & staples; stopped eating out/drive-thru’s. Luckily I knew how to cook (just had not been)
Myhusband and I lost the extra covid food stamps.Befor that we were getting 19.00 dollars a month in food stamps.When we got the raise on Social Security they cut the 19.00 dollars a month off even though my electric bill has doubled and food has doubled.The government knows how to make themselves look good.
Your story about the pizza lasting the rest of the week reminded me of an incident when I first got out of the military. The Eagles club my parents and I belonged to hosted a happy hour on Thursdays where an actual (cheap) meal was served. One week, I had no money for more food but had spaghetti and marinara sauce, so for almost a whole week I ate spaghetti with marinara just waiting for the next Thursday when I could go to the Eagles and have something different. Well, Thursday finally came; I walk in and what do I see on the serving table? SPAGHETTI!
Such a great video... If you are on Facebook, please share this with your friends. I did. Leisa needs to be on the news. This is something everyone should know. Lets spread the word..
If I am able, I buy 2 instead of 1 of an item. When I replace - say tuna -- If I am replacing 2 cans that I used, I will buy 3... Today, for instance, I noticed I missed a Kroger sale on coffee at $6.99/can. I'll run in and get several and then check the clearance aisle for close to date items and see what the price of eggs are. Always making sure I am finding the deals and steals when possible :-) It takes a bit of extra time but in the end it's worth it!
Buy 1 extra can that is on the sale list of staple foods...veggies, canned meat, dry beans, soups, broth, or even seasonings like salt, pepper, or pk of taco seasoning.
One thing that helped me feed two growing boys in the 80s on $10-$20 a week some weeks, was make the menu plan on what was on sale. Instead of making the menu then getting the ingredients for it. Shop the ads and the clearance racks, then make the menu. Also, I bought bulk and split it with my grandma. She didn't use much so it was better for me to buy a big bag and divide some out for her. Even meat packs I did this way. 10lb bags of chicken leg quarters were on sale once a month so we'd buy 3 or 4 and we'd have chicken for the month.
I grew up with a pantry of sorts and in my first year plus out of the house, money was tight and I sorta, kinda, maybe had some extras in the cupboard but, I had other things to buy and other things todo rather than have a pantry by gosh. A quick move took all my cash reserves and those few extra foods were best left behind. I ate portioned amounts out of 2 cans of refried beans, 1 container of cottage cheese, and a small bag of potatoes; the second week I bought a can of fine grind black pepper.....By the third week, I was plotting and buying a basic pantry; it nolonger seemed fuddy-duddy. I have always had something resembling a pantry 3ver since and at times quite a larder.
Leisa you have given us a great pep talk. I hope others will listen to your good advice. I did have to laugh at "Pantry Snob" Thanks again, I love your wood stove it looks so warm.
The stop eating and buying processed foods is the best advice. People think it’s so much easier and better when in reality it’s unhealthy