The Grocery Store Challenge

In this economy, everybody is looking for ways to cut corners, and Kathleen Borchlewicz is no exception. Her way to save some bucks? She decided her family would forgo the grocery store ... for an entire month. The Colorado mom is more than halfway through her challenge, and so far, so good.

"For groceries on average, this is really quite frightening because we are a family of three (and) we spend over $800 a month, that's insane! This month we've spent less than $10 on milk," Borchlewicz told KUSA-TV in Colorado.

Borchlewicz got the idea after reading an article in Bon Appetit magazine about a family who went two weeks without a trip to the grocery store. She had recently returned from a 12-week trip overseas, and overstocked her freezer and pantry before she left to aid her husband and daughter in her absence. After a quick inventory, Borchlewicz realized she had so much food that a little discipline and creativity would allow her to feed them all for a month.

The rules for the challenge are as such: She was not allowed to horde items at the grocery store just before the challenge began, the only allowable trip to the store would be for milk, the family could eat out once a week and leftovers would be used for lunch if possible.

Now, Borchlewicz is getting creative in the meals she makes in order to use up everything she has at home. Fortunately, she loves to cook and her husband and daughter are willing to try most anything. "The thing that surprised me the most was I grilled some fish and I had some relish that was like a pineapple habanera and I thought, I wonder what that would taste like on the fish? It was fantastic," she said.

Borchlewicz, who has run out of fresh fruits and veggies, is documenting her challenge on her blog, nogrocerychallenge.blogspot.com. She kinda inspires us to use up what’s left in our pantry, too.

Photo courtesy of joaorarapez via stock.xchang