Since in many locations in this country, as of this very moment, you might have to stay home and it might not be possible to go out grocery shopping when you run out of things in your home over the course of the next few weeks, I wanted to share some tips and ideas to survive this experience we are all going through with the food you already have on hand.

Please share any comments or further ideas you have in the comments below. Let’s let this comment section blow up on this article, shall we? :) Here are some ideas that came to mind:

Use Your Fresh Fruits and Veggies In Order of Shelf Life

This seems obvious but use the fruits and veggies first that will go bad the fastest. You might not be able to go to the grocery store to get fresh fruits and veggies for a while, so definitely start with your fresh stuff first and then work your way into your frozen or canned veggies. If you have berries--eat those first, whereas something like a butternut squash has a really long shelf life. So save that particular produce for later on.

I have made some handy charts with the various shelf lives of food for room temperature, fridge and freezer that I thought would be helpful for some of the most common ingredients many of us have right now.

You Can Freeze More Than You Realize

If you happen to be fortunate enough to have a freezer in your garage or you have some extra room in your freezer inside, just realize you can freeze more than you realize. Did you know that you can freeze things like milk, cheese and eggs just fine? Refer to the chart I made for shelf-lives of various foods to see what kinds of things you can freeze you might not have thought of.

Used Your Last Jar of Marinara?

If you used your last precious jar of marinara sauce just remember that you can make your own sauce using any number of canned tomato bases, such as: tomato paste (diluted down with water), tomato sauce, even diced tomatoes combined with spices and other things to make a sauce (or at least something closely resembling a sauce ha!) for some easy pasta recipes and bakes.

Cook and Bake with Your Kids

Cooking and baking with kids is great on so many levels. It is quality bonding time that you can slow down and work together and laugh together as a team. It also teaches them a lot scientifically, especially with baking.; yet another real-life way for kids to learn while at home and not in the classroom.

Another bonus is that when kids help make food they are far more likely to eat it, especially if you had to get creative and come up with a fun and funky casserole you’ve never made before :) 

Stale Chips in the Pantry?

Don’t throw them out! As long as you taste a chip and it just tastes stale, not rancid, you can totally use old bags of chips in things like crunchy toppings for casseroles, or the crunchy coating for homemade chicken tenders. Get creative with those kinds of ideas.

Be Creative with Ingredients

Don’t have any celery for your homemade chicken noodle soup recipe? Check the pantry to see if you have celery seeds. There are often little charts on the seasoning bottle with equivalents for fresh to dried ratios. Same goes for fresh garlic vs. dried garlic powder or salt. Fresh onion vs. dried onion flakes or onion powder. These seasonings can still bring tons of flavor to your meals!

Substitutes for Things like Eggs, Milk, Etc.

I am the queen of egg substitutes because of my daughter’s food allergy to egg, so I will definitely be sharing more baking ideas along those lines in the future, but just know that there are tons of good baking recipes and there are always great equivalent charts and substitute charts for basic ingredients like eggs, milk, cream cheese, etc. For example, ground flax seed mixed with water, also known as a “flax egg” works absolutely beautifully in many of my favorite recipes for rolls, muffins, etc. They rise perfectly and you cannot even taste the difference!

You can make things like your own chicken broth to use for gravy or soups by using chicken bouillon cubes or other methods. Chicken broth is a total staple for many recipes you might be using the next little while.

Make Ice Cubes of Leftover Liquids

If you don’t quite use your whole can of chicken broth, don’t let that sit and go bad in your fridge! Freeze the rest in ice cube trays to use for a later, wholesome meal. Same thing with sauces or things like pesto sauce--many things can be frozen that we don’t normally think of!

Use Your Cooking Intuition

Many of us don’t feel like we are very good cooks, but as human nature and survival instincts kick in, you might find that you are a little better and more intuitively creative in the kitchen than you realized! Just think about the meals and flavors you like to order from restaurants and try to copy those flavors in what you make at home. I LOVE garlic so I try to remember to add plenty to that to add flavor to what I’m cooking. 

Know How to Google Search Your Ingredients to Find Recipes

The other day my sister sent a text asking if any of us knew a meal she could make with egg noodles, some chicken and some veggies. I typed in those ingredients on Google and added the word “recipe” and found a delicious skillet recipe that 4 of the families on this group text have now made and loved this week. 

Type your ingredients you have in mind and the word “recipe” to find ideas for what you have on hand. For example “chicken, egg noodles, carrots recipe” and it populated many different ideas that my sister Heather could have used.

Casseroles and Soups for Days!

I think some of the most adaptable recipes to use pantry staples are casseroles and soups. You can often have a base with things you likely will always have on hand and can add whatever fresh or frozen things you have on that particular day.

Think Outside the Box Where to Grocery Shop and Find Staples.

While the obvious choices like Walmart or your nearest Kroger grocery store might have empty shelves continuously over the next few weeks, think of other places that might have things like milk, eggs or bread. Gas stations often have milk and I am actually planning to go to a 7-Eleven we have around the corner that is always DEAD with traffic because it is not even a gas station, it is simply a 7-Eleven convenience store. I am hoping that they will have milk for me to easily purchase while social distancing.

If you are in need of toilet paper, think of places like Office Depot, Staples, or possibly even Home Depot if you are able to go out and shop. They carry toilet paper so that is a good place to look that won’t be the first place people think of to look.

Document This Crazy Time

This whole corona virus experience is sure to be one that we all will never forget. Don’t forget to take time to document and take some pictures. Write down a line or two and take a picture of some of your more interesting and creative meals you might have to come up with. 

Try to Have a Positive Attitude and Make Lemons Out of Lemonade

Meal times could get downright stressful if you let it and if you are running out of ingredients or ideas for what you have on hand. Try to take time to take deep breaths, and use your intuition to cook something with love for your loved ones. Try to enjoy the cooking process of nurturing the people you love the very most with your meals! This too shall pass :)

There you have it! Those are the ideas of the things that I have thought of that might be the most helpful. Please share any ideas you have in the comments below. Sharing is definitely caring in this situation! We will get through this together!!