Ground beef + BBQ sauce + ketchup + hamburger buns = BBQ Joes.By looking at my pantry, fridge, and freezer list, I knew exactly what I could make. I thought I would need to reference a few recipes, but I actually didn’t. Having that ingredient list makes this super easy! Instant meal!Įven if you only come up with two or three meal ideas during your inventory check, grab your favorite recipe book, and start brainstorming some more. With some ingredient pairings, you are going to know right away whether or not you can make a meal out of it. As I was rummaging through the freezer, I found a frozen Lasagna that I had made a month ago. Write down these items so you can replenish your stock, but only if you think you’ll actually use them this time. Having my grocery list right next to me while I was using the Worksheet, made it really easy to jot down those ingredients for my next trip to the store.Īlthough this isn’t a deep cleaning session, you are going to find a few (or a lot!) of things that are expired and need to be thrown out. While I was taking note of my inventory, I realized I was running low on certain items. You can also type out your food inventory list, and print multiple copies for future reference. You’ll have a quick list that’s ready to go, and you can cross off ingredients you don’t currently have, and replace them with ones you do. Ex. pasta, breakfast items, and baking supplies. I only listed key ingredients from my pantry, and placed multiple items together.

I don’t think you have to do that to get the benefits from this worksheet. Listing each and every item seems like a lot of work, and it can be, especially if you have a large stockpile. So I ended up creating my own printable, and named it the Shop Your Stock Inventory Worksheet: I really needed to have a place where I could write down almost everything I owned that was food-related, and still be able to meal plan from exactly the same list. Neither did exactly what I wanted them to do. If you search for printables online, you will find worksheets that help you meal plan, and worksheets that are exclusively used for a pantry/freezer inventory list. That means, instead of choosing which meals I want to eat, and buying the ingredients, I’m letting the pantry, fridge, and freezer do the talking! Combine your food inventory with a meal planning worksheet Meal planning has helped, but this week, I’m trying to avoid huge grocery store purchases. I’ve stepped up my game a little bit with coupons, even though I still don’t go crazy over them, and have worked on making more of my food from scratch, rather than buying convenience products. Ever since we made the out-of-state move, I just haven’t been able to find my groove again. Now, it’s time to reign in that grocery portion. Last month, Joseph and I committed to the No Eating Out challenge, and totally schooled our restaurant budget.

Grocery budget sheets and meal planning