Lately I’ve been trying to thin out my cupboards and organize them more. That’s code for, I’d rather not spend money on non-perishable grocery items until I use up what I have on hand.
Case in point the Curried Ginger & Raisin lentils were made with all on-hand ingredients
And so were the Microwave Blueberry Banana Oat Cakes
And so were the Microwave Chocolate Peanut Butter & Oat Snack Bars
Speaking of Chocolate, when I was going through my cupboards I realized I have quite a stash. And this is just a fraction of it.
I did do a post about what my on-hand cupboard and pantry staple items are, and yes, chocolate is clearly a key item.
Chocolate makes the world go round, right?
Since we’re talking about a Chocolate Stash, if you need Chocolate Recipes ideas, I have a whole page dedicated to them.
From my last post about picture taking in public, it was interesting to hear everyone’s comfort levels. Some of you are very comfortable and you don’t care at all about snapping away while others are more conservative and self-conscious about it all.
It seems that a point and shoot may make things a little easier and more comfortable than lugging a DSLR out, too.
And it was great to read about what you used to think was a big deal, but have now realized, isn’t such a big deal after all. I think it’s great when we can keep life in perspective and not sweat the small stuff as much.
Lots of great comments on that post. Thank you! And thanks to all the first time commenters, new blog readers, and de-lurkers for stopping by and saying hi!
If you need anything else to get your Chocolate Monster going, try a No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ball with Chocolate Chips. You can add a high protein option to them, too.
1. Do you have a stash of anything on hand? If so, what?
I like to keep a stash of paper products (toilet paper, kleenex, paper towels)
Household items like cleaners and detergents
This is a super silly question for me…yes!
I’m really bad about using what I have on hand! I see so many great recipes that I end up going shopping to get some ingredients, come home with way too much food, and use that instead of what I have at home.
I always have a stash of canned green beans, corn, and mixed vegetable melody. Also we have an copious amounts of frozen vegetable stir fry packages, and too many to count cans of cream of mushroom, and cream of chicken! Always makes it to put together a quick healthy meal with those staples!
I always have some chocolate on hand too… the darker the better. I love that Scharffenberger stuff! I have stashes of veggie broth and tomato paste… and coconut milk!!
Oh yes, pantry cleaning can lead to some fun recipes! :-) Love the chocolate page, I need to hit that up soon.
1. Dried beans and hemp seeds.
2. Not lately, just cacao powder – does that count?
3. Bean-based dessert dips seem to be the rage lately, I need to try one.
Honestly…chocolate…meh…I can take it or leave it. I don’t ever think about it unless it is offered. My husband isn’t a big chocolate guy either…what can I say we’re freaks.
I have multiple chocolate stashes. Growing up, my mom and aunts all had several chocolate stashes too, so I always assumed it was normal up until I began going over to friend’s places and being shocked that they sometimes didn’t have any chocolate in the house! So outrageous! ;) But now on top of stashing away chocolate, I also tend to stash toiletry items like TP, tissues, shampoo, paper towel, etc. Another biggie is tea – I can have a whole cupboard full of different teas and feel like there’s nothing to drink. It’s terrible. So as a result I have almost every tea known to woman!
One of my favourite chocolate treats is a good ol’ Nanaimo Bar. It is a Canadian dessert. If you search for it on Google you will come up with multiple recipes. It is basically a three layer dessert. The bottom layer is a chocolate-coconut crust, the middle layer is vanilla custard, and the top layer is solid chocolate. My mom used to make them and store them in the freezer. So yummy!
Our family LOVES almond bark!! We’ve used the stuff ever since I was a baby to make chocolate covered pretzels every christmas:) But dagoba and endangered species will always have my heart!
I think your site rocks! Give me with the help of some feed-back about what you think of mine at some time, it is not that extravagant however
I rarely have a chocolate stash on hand because my husband eats it up! Seriously, I try to keep a bag on chocolate chips on hand and it’s gone in 2 days. The man is a chocolate-eating machine.
Oats are always here! I am going to leave the chocolate stash to you since I know you love it!
YUM i want some PB fudge! that lokos so good right about now! (ok lots of things llook good right about now lol)
to be honset I am not a HUGE chocolate fan so I really dont ever have any besides unsweetened cocoa powder and some dark chocoalte chips in the freezer for recipes :) I will always know where to go when i want to make some chocolate recipes hehe!
Boooo the chocolate pics aren’t showing up for me!! Just the ones of the chocolate in your panty. Weird.
I stash up on cereal, carbs like bread and tortillas and dark chocolate. That’s pretty much it, haha. This apartment doesn’t really have room for huge piles of extra stuff, so I just make sure I have the essentials on hand 24/7!
Hmmmmm…..I’d say anything with chocolate is good in my book, though I’m generally more of a chocolate purist and prefer plain things to crazy concoctions!
Ok i just fixed it. There is a weird WP glitch that if I copy/paste my pics, i.e. take them from an old post or jockey them around in my drafts, rather than doing an actual upload of them every single time, they wont publish EVEN IF it looks like they are going to publish in my draft.
Thank you for telling me. Something that another blogger can appreciate, all the freakin’ blog trivial behind the scenes stuff :)
Love your stash!! I have a HUGE stash of chocolate too! I also have a huge stash of those extra protein cookie dough balls of yours in my fridge…never around for long though! :P
LOOOVE chocolate, so hooray for stashes :D
Make chocolate chip blondies!
in your honor,that sounds like an amazing idea :)
I have chocolate coconut butter on hand always, just in case the craving comes I am able to satisfy it with a healthy option. Sometimes there are not so healthy choices laying around the house…. like Valentine Candy……….. eeekkkkk… I am planning to to go Malibu in March and I need to be strict with my eating & exercise habits for the next month.
have fun in malibu!!
Oh yum. I am just beginning to explore getting a DSLR–you’ve inspired me! However, I don’t know if I have the patience to learn to use it…eek!