Tracking Food for Pantry Optimization

When I've tried to determine what we needed in our pantry in the past, I was never quite sure what to get.  I've never specifically recorded the meals we eat for the purpose of pantry building.  Saturday night, I sat down and wrote out what we've eaten.

I am absolutely ashamed and appalled at how we've eaten in the last month.  Two nights a week, neither *B* nor I are home.  He has school and I work a second job.  We both tend to (separately) grab food out.  In the interest of full disclosure and public shaming into changing my behavior, this is what we've eaten in the month of March to this point according to my calorie tracker:

1             Homemade pizza

2             Coconut-vegetable curry, egg sandwich

3             Dinner out with friends – chicken sandwich, fries, jello

4             Coconut-vegetable curry, cheese bread

5             Dinner out – chicken bol, fudge pretzels, coffee, coffee cake

6             Annie’s mac and cheese, corn, asparagus, ambrosia

7             Peanut butter sandwich, oranges, fudge pretzels, coconut-vegetable curry

8             No dinner recorded

9             Dinner out with Dad – crab cakes, fries, and applesauce

10           Coconut vegetable curry

11           Dinner at friend’s – random finger foods (meatballs, popcorn, cookie, nuts, apple)

12           Dinner out - burger and fries

13           Steak, salad, baked beans

14           Dinner out – burger and fries, greek yogurt

15           Cabbage and kielbasa

16           Ordered in - pizza

17           Burger and baked fries

18           Leftovers – cream chipped beef on a biscuit, soft pretzel, eggs, asparagus

19           Coffee and fruit cup

20           Dinner out – chicken bol

21           Dinner out – burger and fries

22           Fettucine alfredo with broccoli

23           Dinner out with family – seafood portofino (2/3 portion), salad, breadsticks

24           Leftovers - seafood portofino (1/3 portion)
25           Lasagna
26           Peanut butter sandwich, banana, coffee
27           Cube steak, potatoes, and peas
28           Peanut butter sandwich, cashews, cheeseburger, fries, apples
You can absolutely see where Saturday night's epiphany happened.  Tonight was a bit of a blip.  I got a Happy Meal after I ate my packed dinner.  I was starving!  At least I only got a small supplimental meal.  Usually that burger and fries is massive.  But next time (Monday) I'll be more prepared with a bigger home-packed meal.

In the next few months, I want to try something new.  Starting the first of April, I'm going to keep track of all of the groceries that we purchase and use.  That way, I can get a better idea of what foods we like and what foods we don't like.

At the same time, I'm going to limit our food purchases to only real, whole foods.  This idea is not new.  When *B* and I originally read Michael Pollan's books and Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions, I was all for responsible food.  We slacked off in the year and some since then, and our monthly menu shows it.  But I found a website, 100 Days of Real Food, that helped me find my way again.  I plan on taking the 10 day pledge starting this Sunday.  I'm really hopeful about this, and I'm really excited!  Good food here we come!