Our great-great grandparents had skills that were passed down from generation to generation to survive without the convenience we have today. As time went on, and things like the grocery store and the refrigerator came into play, those skills were no longer necessary.

Now I don’t know about y’all but if there is something that the 2020 pandemic taught me, it was that your pantry should be stocked at all times. Even when things seem normal and fine, you never know when chaos will break out. This is not me trying to scare anyone but rather just a “mind dump” of my own on how my family and I have started to take precautions and learn a thing or two on how our ancestors lived and stocked their pantry.

Most assume that if you have a well-rounded stocked pantry, then you must be preparing for the apocalypse, but I can assure you that is simply not the case. This is not preparing out of fear but rather pushing against convenience. It was around the 1940’s that the first grocery store came to be in America, before then, where did our food come from?

Before the convenience of the grocery store came into play, people were hunter\gatherers, foragers, and gardeners. If you could not grow or make something yourself then you bartered (or bought) with neighbors or local community. This was the norm back in the day. You grew, harvested, and preserved according to the seasons.

(A look at what I purchased at the farmers market: a bag of salad mix, microgreens, a head of broccoli, two zucchinis, and a cucumber)

This past winter, as I was watching a YouTube video (go check out Acre Homestead, her channel is amazing), I was inspired to participate in the 2023 pantry challenge. The challenge is to go the entire months of January and February without going to the grocery store. You would only eat what you have “put up” in your pantry, freezer and fridge.

Now I know to some that sounds impossible, but believe it or not, our ancestors lived like this all the time. They grew and stored enough food for their household for the entire year, they ate with the seasons and cooked from scratch at home. We now have the luxury of convenient stores to give us anything we want, when we want.

A few questions to ask yourself is, are we getting the best quality when we buy out of convenience? Are we straying from gratitude if we can so easily have anything we want at just the click of a button?

(This was my first-year canning anything and I’m so excited to continue this journey. From left to right: chicken broth that I froze, green salsa, plum paste that will keep in the freezer, and pinto beans)

Doing this pantry challenge taught me a lot of things about my pantry. It taught me what my pantry lacked in and how to get creative with new and established recipes. I had to keep track and do inventory of what I had, what I used and what I needed to use.

Helpful tips: always make sure you have the basics on hand. Flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Some type of sweetener, weather that be maple syrup, agave, or honey. Some dried items are good to have on the pantry shelf as well, like mixed nuts, oats, pasta, beans and rice. Coffee beans and tea blends can feel like a treat on cold winter mornings.

This is the time to dig to the back of the freezer or pantry and see what you can use up. Frozen corn tortillas you forgot about? put them in the fridge to thaw out. Canned roast beef that is going to expire later this year? Look up a recipe for taquitos (a Mexican American food dish) to put the two items together.

I made a lot of soup this winter to help use up veggies that were getting soft. I also started my journey on making breads from scratch (still a work in progress) and used things like nut milk, maple syrup and cinnamon in my coffee instead of buying coffee creamer from the store.

(My favorite booth at my local farmer’s market)

Certain things that have stuck with me since the pantry challenge ended have been to create a flexible menu to prevent food waste, be sure to “shop the pantry” so you know what you will need, then make a list of ingredients that you don’t have on hand and try to stick to this list. Sometimes I can’t help myself and end up getting a bag of candied mixed nuts from a small business that sells their goods at the farmer’s market (you have to treat yourself every once and a while).

Once the challenge had ended, I was excited to buy my regular coffee creamer again, but after my first sip of coffee (with creamer) I knew I wouldn’t be buying creamer again because it had become too sweet. I went back to using nut milk, maple syrup and cinnamon, and now that the weather is warm, I make a cold coffee beverage with nut milk, maple syrup and frozen coffee cubes. I’m tempted to make my own chocolate and caramel sauce to see if I can add something different to the mix, so we’ll see how that goes!

For the rest of the year, my goal is to preserve fresh produce that I buy from farmers markets or stock up on things like organic tomato sauce I bought from Costco (no, I’m not perfect). I’ve invested in a few books on preserving food so I can get creative with what goes on the pantry shelves. I usually keep to freezing as my way of preserving but this year I would like to get comfortable with drying, canning, jarring and fermenting.

(A small harvest of nectarines and in the back are pecans from our pecan tree, I will be cracking them open, storing, and enjoying them this fall in some pecan pie)

The previous owner of my parents’ house has blessed the land with many fruit trees, in the past my parents and I would eat them fresh but this year I started to get a little creative. I’ve made a plum paste that I’m hoping will taste lovely on freshly baked scones. Apricots have been chopped, cored, and frozen for smoothies and pies. I’m hoping to make pear sauce for the first time this fall, and, in the winter, I plan on juicing and making jelly from the pomegranates.

Eventually I would love to grow basic and exotic produce to preserve, have chickens in the backyard for fresh eggs, flowers to cut and put in vases, herbs to make my very own tea blends from, and beehives to collect honey but self-sufficiency shouldn’t come without community.

In my area there are local ranchers that sell grass feed, grass finished beef and tallow (I’m still looking for dairies that sell raw milk and local cheeses). Beekeepers that sell honey and mulled wine. Different farmers that grow all sorts of things from mushrooms to micro greens. Not to mention artists that make treasures for thoughtful gifts and a thrift store that has little knickknacks and unique clothing options (that sometimes just need a good washing and a few patches).

(Eggs from my favorite booth at the farmer’s market. Of course, I had to take them out of the carton for aesthetic purposes)

What we as a society have lost is community due to convince. We don’t really see the values or morals of the businesses behind the labels. We take the word of a label that has been strategized to sell a product because our lives have become so go, go, go, that we don’t realize that the foods we bring into our home may not actually be the best for us.

I would rather spend my dollar on small, local businesses to help out my community and know that what I bring into my home is authentic and comes from someone that is passionate about their product. This is what I strive for, a home that is filled with the beauty of its community.

What does your home look like?

Stocking the pantry can become so much more than just the food you bring into your home. You should also think of having enough toilet paper, toiletries, extra cases of water, batteries and\or candles as well. The little things can make a big difference when you find yourself stuck at home. Weather that be from a worldwide pandemic or perhaps you got snowed in during winter. You should always be sure your home is prepared.

Disclaimer: We should not strive for perfection, instead we should just try our best. Always do your own research, ask around your community and trust your instincts when introducing something new into your home.

Influencer mentioned above: @AcreHomestead. Go check out her YouTube channel and her Instagram, she has lovely content on all things homesteading.