Our Pantry (and our first Resolution)

Kind of embarrassed to share here, especially since this is the after...cleaned up... version, but this is our pantry (well, one of them).  As I was going thru all the food in the cupboard to see how we could economize this month by using up things we already had (am I the only one who forgets what's in the back of the cupboard?) I was struck by how much canned, commercially produced food items we eat. 

 I have tried for years to eat (and feed our family) less processed foods....cereals with the most fiber, bread made with whole grains, organic chicken broth, lots of fresh local fruits and veggies.  And while these are all good things, we really want to do more. 

 We've been inspired by many of the simple living and sustainability blogs (sidebar) and feel that we need to make even more changes in how we live and eat.  

 Towards that end, we are resolving this year to cook more from scratch, can and freeze more from our garden, and by the end of the year be purchasing as little pre-packaged foods as possible.  The plan right now is to pick one item from our pantry or freezer every month and reproduce it from scratch... .from the garden when possible but at the very least from organic sources...and can/freeze it to use all year. At first it will be difficult to use home grown produce because we are not getting much besides lettuce out of our garden right now, but we'll see what we can come up with.

I canned turkey broth after our Christmas dinner, such a simple thing to do and yet I usually just throw the carcass away.  And after cooking it for 4 hours with onions, carrots, and celery, rather than throw out the meat and veggies after straining out the broth, I made dog food with it.  The only waste was the bones...pretty cool.