I think it’s finally time I replace some store bought with made from scratch

Grocery shopping for a family of five is absolutely horrendous with the prices continuing to go up, so I made a list of things to make from scratch & freeze (or store) instead of buying at the shops.

Am I going to actually follow through? I mean, I’m gonna try, but I’m also extremely ambitious on paper. I kept showing my husband recipes while following up with “I could definitely make these. Am I gonna? Probably not BUT I COULD!”

He’s supportive though & will always throw in “you don’t have to do them all at once.”

He’s not wrong. I get exceedingly excited about a project & then overwhelmed because the lists are long and the ambition is strong-

…then I quit

Anyway, here’s the list so far:

Brekkie Items:

• Pancake Mix (I do this one already, but not as consistently as I should)

• Breakfast Muffins (freeze)

• Pancakes (freeze)

• French Toast Sticks (freeze)

• Pop Tarts (freeze)

Breaddie Items:

• Sandwich bread- I’ve been working on this one for a while, but I’ve yet to get it to a point where it’s like a loaf close enough to the store for my kids to eat it as a replacement (freeze to store)

• Hotdog buns (freeze)

• Hamburger buns (freeze)

• Crusty bread (I don’t like freezing these mainly because I eat them when they come out of the oven. I lack self control when it comes to crusty bread lathered up in butter)

• Tortillas- my kids live on quesadillas (freeze)

Snackie Items:

• Nut bars

• Granola bars (no it’s not the same as a nut bar)

• Peanut butter crackers (crackers from scratch- I found a recipe!)

• Cheez its

• Goldfish

Foodie Items that I don’t know how to categorize:

• Chicken nuggets- they gotta be like the Just Bare ones or my kids won’t eat them (freeze)

• Dino nuggets- idk how successful I’ll be with this one but same as above on my kids not eating them (freeze)

• Shoestring fries (freeze)

• Veggie trays (I like being able to pick at foods but I’m really bad at prepping stuff for myself to eat. This one’s more of an “easier” goal for me to hit)

• Salad dressings

• Greek yogurt

• Bacon- we have a smoker & the meat up front would be expensive, but that’s a task for my husband to figure out. It’s cheaper in the long run (freeze)

I think in order to set myself up for success I’m gonna pick 2-3 things at a time to focus on until I get the recipes down. If I do one at a time, I know I’ll get bored so at least this way I can have a rotation. Any more than that, & I’ll get annoyed.

A lot of these are also foods my kids like to eat and I want to make sure I can give them a rendition of what they like. And by kids I mean I also love beige foods

I thinking I keep yall updated on this process? The recipes? (linking those sources with any notes about me changing anything)

I also want to ask if there’s anything else we could add to this list? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash