Pantry Management Tips: Make your Stock Last Longer in the Lockdown

With the horror of Coronavirus engulfing the entire world, stepping out of the house isn’t anything short of a peril. Most of us only leave the house when it’s absolutely necessary, to get the minimum provisions that would take us through this horrendous time.

A seemingly trivial side-effect of lockdown: unhealthy eating habits

If you handle the household budget and daily menu, you would know how quickly the pantry will drain out now that everyone is sitting idle in the house. It’s understandable. Life is slow, and when there’s nothing to do and nowhere to go. There’s one slogan that will be heard in different forms throughout the day: “What’s for dinner, MOM”, “Is the food ready, MOM?’, “MAMA, I’m hungry”.

Keep the family healthy and save the pantry

Don’t be overwhelmed by the changing eating habits and don’t let your kids or even your husband transform into a couch-potato - you’ll regret it later if you do not take action NOW. Not only do you need to harmonize the family’s growing food cravings during these unprecedented times for their own health, but also to utilize the pantry efficiently.

It wouldn’t be wise to have your provisions be used up in just a couple of days, only to be right back at the grocery store. If you haven’t heard it enough already lately, I’ll say it again - IT’S NOT SAFE OUT THERE. STAY HOME. Once you’ve managed to get your supplies safely, use it wisely so that it takes at least a couple of weeks before you have to shop again.

How to manage your pantry: useful tips

Tough times call for tough measures. If you start feeling like a nasty warden over your own kitchen, don’t beat yourself up too much. Just keep thinking that this will pass and once the pandemic subsides, which it will, the normal routine will return for everyone. For now, think smart and manage your groceries wisely and save multiple trips to the store. Here’s what you can do start with your job as the kitchen warden:

Think before you shop

Gone are the days when we used to head out for grocery shopping unprepared and would throw stuff into the cart simply out of whim. Times are different now. Not only do you need to gear yourself with a protective mask and gloves, but you also need a thorough grocery list that will survive you weeks without regrets. For your own good, plan out the grocery shopping in advance for two reasons:

• You don’t want to be wasting time once you’re at a store. Just shop the bare minimum that will last a couple of weeks and head back home.

• You don’t want to skip out any essentials or buy too little of something that will use up and put yourself at the risk of shopping again.

What to get?

The next major dilemma is what to get? You understand your family’s preferences the most but make sure you get a good balance between healthy and junk.

• Get a good share of vegetables as well, don’t worry that there going to spoil! You’ll find ways around that too.
• Ample meat, since most kids can’t live without it.
• Think of all the kinds of grains that you normally use: rice, flour, pasta.
• Oil
• Bananas, apples, and other healthy fruits.
• Breakfast essentials: eggs, oats, jam, nut butter, milk, bread, and buns.
• Toilet paper, but don’t empty the racks like those maniacs you hear of these days!
• Sanitizers, bleach, and masks, if you can find any and, again, leave some for others!
• Cheese and baking stuff like yeast, and baking powder.
• Plenty of zip locks… you’ll soon find out why.

Effective storage of perishable items

Here’s where you’ll be using all those zip locks you got. Once you’ve got your supplies, you need to find ways in which you make them last the longest.

• Bread, egg, jam go in the fridge.
• If you plan on using cheese for longer, it goes in the freezer. Take the pack out a while before you plan on using it. I use the technique regularly and can tell from experience that cheese tastes and feels just the same as fresh after it has been thawed.
• Vegetables stay fresh the longest if stored unwashed, loosely wrapped in a plastic bag inside the refrigerator. However, in view of the pandemic that we’re all fighting against, everything needs to be thoroughly washed to get rid of any contaminations. So, wash the vegetables properly, leave them to dry and then wrap them in a plastic bag or paper towel before refrigerating. Most vegetables will last for 1-2 weeks when stored in the fridge.
• If you want your veggies to last longer, the best way is to blanch and freeze them. You simply need to boil either whole vegetables or chopped pieces for a minute and then instantly transfer them to cold water to halt the cooking. Now seal them into zip lock bags and store them in your freezer. Take them out as needed and enjoy fresh vegetables for months.

Devise strategic menus

It’s impossible to have everything in your pantry at all times. Choose recipes accordingly and plan menus with what you have in ample amounts. Now that we are stuck indoors and don’t have much of anything to do, a little time spent on planning the menu shouldn’t hurt. Here are a few tips:

• If you are low on packaged snacks, you can make homemade ones. If you’re not too big on cooking, choose the simplest cookie recipe that won’t take more than a half-hour to get an entire cookie box ready. It will keep the family satisfied for at least a few days before you have to think of something new.
• Your kids must be missing eating out. You can have fast food right at home with the simplest of ingredients and easy recipes. Just remember to add yeast (for pizza dough) and burger buns to your grocery list.
• Running out of eggs? Think of alternative breakfast menus that use little or no eggs. You can prepare pancakes for at least three persons with only one egg. Oats porridge or peanut butter sandwich is just as great.
• All out of bread? Either switch to pancakes or make your own homemade bread! It may sound crazy, but it’s actually really simple and your kids will love it. Freshly baked bread! What else could one want?

Weekly menus

Instead of starting afresh every day, give your pantry a good look and set up a weekly menu. Once the weekly menu is ready, put it up on the fridge and stick to it. Set out a good balance of ingredients over the week’s menu.

Make sure that your family gets a good share of all the nutrients. At the same time, also make sure that nothing gets used up too quickly. If you’ve had rice on Monday and Tuesday, give it a rest and go for pasta or burgers on Wednesday.

Healthy homemade snacks to press cravings

I know that when I have nothing to do, all I can think about is eating. And I know, many of you will relate. But since our physical activities are fairly limited in the present conditions, snacking all day can do more harm than you’d think. And if one has to eat, better be healthy and homemade than what you would get from the store. Here are some ideas:

• Once you’ve stocked up your vegetables, preparing a fresh salad for a mid-day snack shouldn’t be a problem.
• A beautiful mixed fruit platter makes everyone happy without bringing too many calories with it.
• If your kids are missing good old potato chips, bake them instead of frying. Not only will they be healthier, but crispier and tastier too!
• The good thing about cookies is that they stay fresh for days. My 3-year-old loves them; I call him the “cookie monster”. I try to make them healthier by adding chopped dates and nuts.

At the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to prolong the next grocery shopping for as long as possible. The more you stay indoors, the safer you are - that’s the motto for now!

We’d love to hear how you manage your pantry. Share your tips and tricks in the comment section to help us save some unnecessary shopping trips until the pandemic subsides.