The Results of the Challenge

In general, because of my instinct to always plan ahead, perhaps this challenge wasn’t exactly that challenging.  Our biggest issue was bread.  I found that the family adapted by either buying lunch out, using tortillas or took items for lunch that did not require bread.  I did uncover some wheat sandwich thins in the basement freezer but discovered that no one really likes them which is why they were forgotten in the freezer to begin with. 

I managed to bake some specialty breads with items on hand.  I found that my beer bread was used for turkey sandwiches one day and quickly forgotten.  My greek bread is to die for, however, due to the lack of preservatives, it had a very short shelf life.  (5 days).  I suppose I need to keep it in the fridge next time. 

The biggest inconvenience was to our son who regularly packs PBJ’s when he has to eat on the run due to his sports schedule.  Many times during the week he put off eating until he came home which was quite late. 

The things we missed at the end of the week were bananas.  We normally go through 3 bunches a week and ran out.  We did have fresh apples, grapes and oranges though. I managed to get through the week with only buying a gallon of milk for us but had to break down and buy snacks as our contribution to a Super Bowl party and some items to donate during a wrestling tournament.  Not too bad. I would have loved this challenge to continue however, an unexpected trip out of town occurred and it was unrealistic to think that my family would embrace this challenge during my absence. 

Life happens.  The downside of continuing this challenge is that it takes a lot of planning and creativity to pull it off. 

Victories were:

•  Rice Krispie Treats
• Puppy Chow
• Jello (didn’t know we had)
• 3 gooey butter cakes for a wrestling tournament
• Turkey tetrazzini.

Where I broke down and needed to shop.

• Providing Super Bowl Snacks
• Providing cups, sugar, creamer, coffee for the wrestling tournament

What I learned.

• Everyone was a good sport about the week.
• I had to shred cheese slices for the pizza but we had enough. 
• Pizza doesn’t need a lot of sauce to be good! 

Meals this week included:

• Shrimp Alfredo
• New Bride Chicken
• Turkey Tetrazzini
• Homemade Pizza
• Taco’s
• Salad
• Fresh Fruit