This is an interesting challenge. The one thing I noticed was that the fewer ingredients you buy, the more time you need as this simplified plan would require a lot of cooking from scratch. At this point in my life, I don't think I have the time to join in, but I find the plan very intriguing and something to think about.
Catherine, your list is very good. I would definitely need to have rice on my list for stir fry, chicken & rice, to add to soups, etc. I would also add peanut butter as we use it in many different ways--stirred into oatmeal, in granola bar recipes, sandwiches, etc.
Thanks for this interesting thread! It's given me some goals to work toward simplifying our food items.
Jennie
Good points, Jennie! We rarely eat rice so I didn't include that on my list, but I know some people eat more rice and less potatoes than we do. And peanut butter was on my mental list, just forgot to write it down. So there goes one of those three remaining slots.
It would definitely take some scratch cooking, but not much, if any, more than now, at least for the way our family eats. It would eliminate the option of storebought bread, but I've already been putting the ingredients in the breadmaker at night and setting it up to be done at 6 AM so it has time to cool for sandwiches. Easy peasy. I had thought of eliminating flours and baking supplies altogether for a month, but decided that would take out too many options: muffins, corn bread, waffles, pancakes, bread itself, pizza dough, etc... .
And really, when I started writing things down, the the biggest obstacle I had perceived, packed lunches, just disappeared. The only thing eliminated from our usual packed lunch rotation is lunch meat sandwiches. We could still do PB&J except for Mondays (Mallory goes to a nut-free school for gifted and talented on Mondays), and the usual homemade soups, pasta with sauce, and mac and cheese that I already make for lunches.
