Coming Up Soon: My Fall 2024 Pantry Challenge

Every so often, I am so overwhelmed that there is zero possibility I will be able to come up with a shopping list, let alone fight through the grocery store, carry everything inside, and put it away.

So I'm making lemonade out of these lemons this time! Time for a pantry challenge!

And yes, this does correspond with Thanksgiving week. So what? I don't get to eat with other people indoors anymore, and even if I did, I don't have vegan friends locally. I figured out during the lockdown that I'm happier if I don't go to such gatherings with whoever wanted to take me in for the holiday because they thought I would be unhappy without going to someone's celebration, having to bring my own food (plus food to share) while their older relatives pester me about why they thought my choices were stupid at best or depraved at worst. (Still rolling my eyes at the guy who said "That may be good for you but it's terrible for the environment" because he thought the farming of nuts uses more water than dairy farming, I guess? Anyway, he was anti-nut milks, apparently. That was early on in my vegan life, when I was trying all the different things and had fallen in love with macadamia milk.) I love my friends, do not get me wrong. I miss my relatives, far flung though they are over the thousands of miles. But for right now, my best choice, for a variety of reasons you don't need on a food blog, is to spend my week holed up and hiding from the world, while also getting some medical stuff taken care of here and there because it was easier to get off work next week than anywhere not near a holiday.

But also, because I so often find grocery shopping far too intimidating as Thanksgiving approaches and the stores get crowded and unpleasant--I went last year on the Monday morning before Thanksgiving and I swear I will never do such a thing to myself again as long as I may live--I have kind of been preparing for this very likely possibility anyway. I could probably do a pantry challenge without telling you and it wouldn't be very noticeable, given how well-stocked I generally always am, and how much more well-stocked I am based on a combination of election anxiety and knowing I might not be able to face the stores around holidays, but I want to make this more fun by letting you in on it.

So. I last went to the grocery store on November 8, and I probably won't go again until early December. (Normally, I go about every other week, supplemented by deliveries here and there.) And I'm ready! And honestly a little excited, because this time, I'm not "avoiding the store," I'm doing a pantry challenge!

This is also so much better than a low spend challenge. I don't have to make shopping lists, and I don't have to stress about money. But I will save money, which I will free up to spend on things like fancy tea and chocolate I can order online. This is another reason for the fun!

So please enjoy my using-what's-here content! Sturdy veggies! Castoff produce from local friends! The freezer stash! The non-perishables stash! 

And along the way, a shopping list will get made for when I can brave the store again, and I'll make my way back into my rhythms. (But you may see another pantry challenge around Christmas/New Year's Day because it's almost as bad then, too. Not quite, but still pretty overwhelming.)

I hope you and I both enjoy the next however long!