What is an ingredients household? Where are the snacks? Find out how to unlock the hidden potential of your pantry!
In a Nutshell:
Ingredients Household has become a popular term on social media. It refers to homes with ingredients for a meal but no easy grab-and-go snacks. The benefit is that it saves money and makes for healthier meals. The downside is it can be hard to think of snack ideas if you’re not used to it. Thankfully, there are still snacks available! Things like parfaits, hard-boiled eggs, oatmeal, and quesadillas are just a few snack ideas to make from food on hand.
I’ve seen quite a few videos lately laughing about the difficulty of trying to find snacks growing up in an “ingredients household”. I ate my fair share of marshmallows and croutons as a child so I had to laugh! Now, I have my own ingredients household because I’ve learned how much cooking from scratch can save money!
Transitioning to a single income has taught me so much about budgeting and cutting grocery costs. Now I buy hardly any convenience foods. Since I’ve gotten used to living like this, I thought I’d explain the pros and cons of cooking with staples and make a quick reference list of snacks you can eat from ingredients! If you’re looking for meal ideas too, check out my post on 26 Pantry Clean Out Meals to Save You Money!
What Is An Ingredients Household?
An Ingredients Household is a term popularized by TikTok to refer to households with ingredients for a meal instead of convenience foods. Most videos about the topic make fun of this kind of pantry, because of the fact they can’t find quick snacks. While it may be more difficult to think outside the box, there are many snacks available even in an ingredients household. Let me show you!
10 Snacks You Can Make From Your Ingredients Household
There are more options for snacking than what first meets the eye in a pantry or fridge. Here are some easy ideas to satiate that hunger!
- Cheese Quesadilla– As long as you have cheese and tortillas, you have quesadilla potential! Shredded cheese works best but sliced cheese can do the trick in a pinch!
- Hard-Boiled Egg- This is best done if you plan ahead. You can heat water and eggs to boiling, cook 12 minutes and get as many eggs as fit in your pot. Hard boiled eggs keep in the fridge for up to 7 days.
- Fruit– Don’t forget to check the counters or crisper drawers for snacks too! Bananas, apples, and other fruits can make great snacks! Dip them in peanut butter or yogurt for even more flavor.
- Parfait– If there’s a tub of yogurt in the fridge, you’re in luck! Add fruit, honey, chocolate chips, nuts, or granola for variety.
- Smoothie– There are so many options for smoothie ingredients. You’ll definitely find a few in an ingredients household! Look for milk, juice, fruit, spinach, yogurt, etc. Don’t forget to check the freezer for frozen fruits!
- Popcorn– While popcorn is not truly an ingredient, it is something most people have in their pantry. If you’re looking for more snack ideas for your household, try grabbing some popcorn on your next grocery trip. It’s pretty cheap and quick to make!
- Veggies– Again, check the counters and crisper drawers for veggies. I try carrot sticks in our fridge for quick snacking! Cucumbers, celery, and green peppers are also common veggies to have in an ingredients household.
- Oatmeal– Check the back of the Old Fashioned or Rolled Oats container to see how to whip up some easy oatmeal! Use syrup, brown sugar, honey, or fruit for flavor.
- Toast– This is probably the easiest option on the list. Try toast for when you just need a little something between meals.
- Roll-ups– If you don’t have bread or even tortillas you can always use deli meat to make a roll-up from cheese, veggies, and dressing
What Is The Benefit To An Ingredients Household?
There are two major benefits to an ingredients household. First, having a well-stocked pantry of essentials indicates you’re invested in cooking from scratch which is usually healthier than processed convenience foods. Second, pantry staples are typically cheaper per serving than convenience foods. This is especially true for buying in bulk. If you want to save money on groceries, consider stocking up on basics and limiting those pre-packaged snacks!
If you want to see an example of how I stock my pantry, sign up for my free Pantry Inventory Tracker below!
What Are The Disadvantages?
The major disadvantage of having an ingredients household is that grabbing a snack does take a little extra work. You can’t reach into the cupboard for some chips or Pop-Tarts. If you’re not used to having an ingredients household it can take some extra thinking to come up with ideas for what to eat. Thankfully, if you’re reading this you’ve already read my list of easy snacks you can make with an ingredients household, though, so you don’t have to worry!
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