Quieting The Pantry

I talked about starting a stricter diet at the end of last year (December 2023) and there are some truly amazing things that have happened as a result. I’ve lost some weight, which is always nice but never my goal. I noticed a significant improvement in my stomach pains, bloat, etc. But the coolest part about this stricter diet is the quieting the pantry.

Quieting The Pantry

In October 2023, I got really sick. Like, overnight stay in the hospital sick because I couldn’t stop vomiting. They had me so doped up on anti-psych meds (because you can’t puke if you’re unconscious) and I was still vomiting through them. Finally, we were able to get it somewhat under control and they started me on some pretty stout meds to take home for “correcting” the stomach acid, easing the vomiting, etc. But I knew that if I wanted to get better, I needed to change my diet.

Diets Vs Lifestyle Changes

Now, I’ve said it before that we eat “healthy” about 85% of the time. Sometimes, we just can’t because of our jobs. Other times, because of stress. But for the most part, we don’t consume a lot of junk food. Things like soda, candy, and other overly processed foods are a treat if they ever happen at all.

I started looking into various “elimination diets” as a way to heal my gut. But all of the diets seemed to be a band aid. Think about it, you diet to lose weight. Or maybe you diet so that you can figure out what is causing an issue (me). But at the end of the day, a diet means that you plan on going back to the way you were eating after the thing is corrected, with maybe a couple of adjustments. But that’s not what I wanted.

I wanted to completely, maybe even radically, change the way we were eating. Even if it was only one step at a time. I wanted to move my family away from the loud pantry.

What Is A Quiet Pantry?

Well, to be honest, I didn’t know what a quiet pantry was until I had one. Jill Winger over at The Prairie Homestead nailed the one feeling that I have been coming back to over the last several months. But I just couldn’t put my finger on why I felt so much better opening my cabinets. My pantry, now full of jars of rice, soups, dehydrated veggies, and many more simple ingredients, had become quiet.

As I look at my pantry, I don’t see the hydrogenated oils masquerading as cheese. Or quick boxes of pasta that somehow only needed a few ingredients from me to turn into a “delicious” meal. I no longer see “quick”, “easy”, or “ready to serve” keywords jumping out at me. The bright packaging has been replaced by clear jars. Where you can clearly see what you are getting. And as odd as it is, the stress of figuring out what’s for dinner has just about vanished.

Now, I am not the type of person to throw out food. I will continue to use it until it’s gone or I will give it to the chickens. But over the last several months, there are less of those keywords in my pantry. It’s so cool, opening my cupboards and seeing jars and jars of dried beans, flour, rice, and other simple ingredients. And the fact that I know how to cook with them!

When I tell you that figuring out what to do for dinner has gotten easier, it really has. But not in the way you’re probably thinking. When you get stuck in the drag of “quick”, “easy”, or “ready to eat” your creative energy gets stuck in neutral. I’ll go over more of that below.

Quieting The Pantry Has Extended To The Fridge

I am a coffee junkie. Actually, to be fair, I am a creamer junkie. I absolutely love flavored creamers. My favorite was Cinnamon Toast Crunch from Coffee Mate. But in 2021-2022 it was difficult to find, then as time went on, it was harder and harder to find other creamers that I liked. I will make my own creamers from goat milk, but if I don’t have goat milk, I don’t have creamer. When I got sick in October, I knew that the first thing to go needed to be the creamer.

Why? Well, most commercial, flavored creamers are not actually diary. Those creamers are mostly oil and most oils are made from either soy or corn…. Do I need to go on?

After cutting the creamer, I started really looking at the rest of the stuff in the fridge. Y’all, I didn’t realize how much junk was in my fridge. Looking past the creamer, we also had a ton of sauces, marinades, and other processed stuff. It really opened my eyes to just how much junk we were still consuming. But it also clued me in to how much we were still relying on the store for things that I can make.

And The Freezer!

I don’t know how your freezer looks. But in our freezers, it looks like about 90% meat. But there are still a fair amount of packing. Not as much as it could be, and it’s definitely a lot better than what I was expecting. But realizing just how much of the non-meat products in there were probably not good for us either. I love frozen corn, but the vast majority of corn bought from a store is going to be GMO. I don’t think I need to go in depth about why that isn’t ideal….

Freeing Your Creative Energy

When you allow the quieting of the pantry to actually take affect, it forces you to become more creative with dinner. And as weird as it sounds, it makes figuring out what’s for dinner a lot easier. For example, you can transform basic rice into chicken flavored rice with chicken bullion or stocks. Add in some peppers, beans and corn (non-gmo of course) and you’ve got dirty rice. Throw in some shredded chicken or andouille sausage and you’ve got a meal.

By giving yourself the creativity to make dinner fun, you end up with some really fun recipes that are quick, easy, and HEALTHY!

Last night, we had chicken tacos. They were absolutely delicious and not one thing came out of a box, can or packaging. No taco seasoning packets, plastic wrapped tortillas, or box and packet of flavoring for the rice.

The other really cool thing about having these very basic staples in your pantry is that when you know you’ve got something getting ready to go bad, you can plan a meal around it. Or you just need to use up the very last of this item, you can just throw it in the pot. To give you an example, every week I make a Brunswick stew style dinner. This is literally any fresh produce that is about to turn, or the very last bit of dehydrated leeks that need a home.

Grocery Shopping Is Cheaper!

For years, we have been conditioned to think that eating from scratch or “healthy” is too expensive. And yes, it can be. When you are talking about getting two weeks worth of groceries and half of your meals are “quick”, “easy”, or “ready to eat”, yea it’s going to be more expensive. Or when $75 of your food budget goes to creamer **raises hand** yes, it’s going to get expensive.

Since the quieting in the pantry, I have cut our grocery budget in half. Now, some of that is because we have bulk purchased rice, beans, sugar, etc. But the other part of that is because I am more deliberate in what I am buying. I am not buying prepackaged meals, or cans of soup. We are also using more meat instead of filling the plate with over processed junk.

Quieting The Pantry Takes Time

You can absolutely go nuts and clean out the pantry, fridge and freezer. Or you could slowly use everything up. I’m not going to tell you how to cook your dinners. But I will say that if you are not a strong cook, it can be VERY difficult to move away from packaged foods and dinners.

To be honest, I’m kind of in between a strong cook and great cook. There are a lot of meals that I do really well… Tacos for example. But there are still others that I am learning. When you walk into ANYTHING that you are learning, please give yourself grace. Your dinner may not look just like the recipe. That’s okay! Just don’t give up!

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