Hungry Blogger

When it comes to stocking up on shelf stable foods, some families struggle for a variety of reasons. Cost is an obvious factor for millions of Americans, as is storage, transportation and other things to consider. Some families also have special health needs that make them unable to consume most shelf stable foods; I'm one of these, and I know many others who have similar issues.

While we have some canned goods saved for my husband and daughter, I usually turn to the frozen veggie aisle and hope for the best. There are still some canned vegetables that people like me can get, though, as well as nuts, broths, some soups and other items. My family also has access to fresh eggs, so we often live off of those during lean times.

What are the healthiest shelf-stable foods that you like to buy? Do you have any special dietary needs that make it difficult to find them? Tell us about your experiences or tips in the chat.

As much as I've tried to reduce my meat intake, my family and I still enjoy bacon every now and then because it's one of the most delicious foods ever invented. My favorite way to eat it, aside from by itself, is to wrap it around jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese, herbs and sometimes even another cheese. YUM. It is the best guilty pleasure I have and a little really does go a long way.

My sister loves bacon-wrapped scallops, and I've also enjoyed bacon-wrapped figs, turkey and other goodies in my lifetime (not to mention candied bacon, which deserves its own discussion), but I'd love to hear what other bacon-wrapped foods people enjoy.

So what are your favorite bacon-wrapped food recipes? What do you love to make, or what bacon-wrapped goodies have you found in stores or restaurants? 

My kiddo and I like to make treats in the shapes of things. We made a lion-shaped cake once that was pretty awesome, but we usually just like to "paint" our cupcakes as characters or animals with icing tubes. So when I shared these little corgi bread buns with them, I knew they'd be a hit! All of the kids seem to be super into corgis right now anyway, which means these buns would be great for a kid party, right?

Then there are these super cute crabs made out of watermelon that would be so much fun to make. We could make these at home and I know my toddler niece would love to make them along with the many other cute critter foods in the list.

What other animal-shaped snacks have you seen or made? Share your ideas in the chat.

If it were up to my husband and teenager, every meal would be some variety of breakfast. Those two could eat a waffle bar, eggs and bacon, biscuits and gravy or French toast for every meal. That means it's easy to please them, sure, but since I'm a breakfast when I feel like it type of person, and I only feel like it maybe once a week, that means I'm usually eating a salad if they're into pancakes on any given night!

This is actually fine with me, but I think finding fun new variations to the same old breakfasts might help me--especially when it comes to the options with no added sugar, since, like Hall and Oates, I don't go for that. I'm always looking for new egg, sausage and cheese variations, but honestly it all tastes the same after a while.

A themed night of breakfast sounds really fun, too, but what to make? What types of breakfasts do you make for dinner? Share your recipes in the chat!