#16 (36 to 36)

Getting caught up on some of my achievements from my 36 to 36 list!

Get rid of as much 'processed' food as possible from the pantry and fridge.  I've already been trying, but it's a definite goal.  Whether it be giving it away to the charity food bin at church or using it up, I want to get it out of the house!

Since I first shopped for my Cooking Like Grandma Experiment, my pantry has been so unorganised and I haven't been able to find anything.  I'd moved everything off of one shelf so that the week's food would all be together.  That meant everything that was on the shelf, no longer had a specific place and got shoved where I could find room.  Each time I went to the pantry after the experiment, stuff just got put back wherever and it got more and more unorganised.  It had been driving me crazy for weeks!  So, yesterday, I finally went through the cupboard and put everything back in an organised fashion.

However, not everything made it back into the cupboard.  Some got thrown and some was donated to the food box at church.  This was in line with #16 on my list.  I was pleasantly surprised, however, at how much stuff I was actually able to put back.  I didn't have too much processed stuff and the processed stuff that did make it back is hard not to have as a staple in the cupboard.

Also, I wasn't quite as strict as what I'd planned to be... I had to be a bit more realistic.  Due to the fact that I'm going back to work next month, I'm probably not going to have time to make every single thing from scratch.  As much as I'd like to, it's just not a realistic expectation.  Having said this, I will still try and avoid buying processed food as much as possible.  The experiment really influenced me in that way, and I am still keen to keep "Cooking Like Grandma" as much as I can, whilst staying realistic and in the realms of not making it too difficult for myself as a working mum!

The fridge is looking pretty good too, but I haven't provided a picture because it's actually pretty empty as I'm due to do a shop tomorrow!  With only fresh food (mostly) going in there, it gets bare much more quickly now!