Plan Ahead
Look ahead at your schedule for the week to determine how often you think you will be at home cooking. Then you can develop your grocery list based on recipes that use similar ingredients. That way you don’t have waste, but you don’t get bored.
Try to eat your most perishable items soon after your grocery store visit. Items such as berries and lettuce have a shorter shelf life than root vegetables that can last longer into the week.
Planning your meals around local grocery store sales and shopping for food that is in season helps your wallet, but is also good for the environment. For example, berries can often be an expensive item, but stocking up when they are on sale helps to save money. You can put extra in the freezer or look for berries on sale in the frozen food isle.
Consider What Your Grocery Store Offers
Shopping the bulk section allows you to only buy what you need. And it often offers lower prices because you aren’t paying for fancy packaging.
Visit the salad bar if you only need a small amount of something.
Ask you butcher if you can buy a smaller quantity rather than buying the prepackage items.
Become Friends with Your Freezer
Pick out a few favorite freezer friendly meals that you can have ready to go when you are tired after a long day. It’s often healthier (and cheaper) than ordering out.
Meat often comes in larger portions than the 3-4 ounces per serving recommendation. Portion out your meat and freeze it so you can eat a variety of protein sources throughout the week.
Fresh produce has amazing benefits, but some frozen vegetables maintain more of their nutritional value frozen and you don’t need to worry about using them before they go bad.
Get creative with it. Did you know that freezing pesto into ice cube trays and then placing into a freezer bag gives you the perfect portion to take out to add to fish or pasta? Or have leftover bananas? Slice up and freeze. Frozen bananas add a nice creaminess and sweetness to smoothies.
Stock Your Pantry Wisely
Keep your common staple ingredients for recipes in your kitchen such as onions, garlic, olive oil, salt, black pepper, tomatoes, etc. These items can vary somewhat based on the style of meals you enjoy, but the key is that it is easy to throw a meal together last minute.
Utilize Your Spices. Spices can add a variety of rich flavors and aromatic smells to you cooking. It helps you feel satisfied and that you are able to mix up your cooking without added calories of heavy oils and sweeteners.
Outfit Your Kitchen
Ensure that you have the basic cooking tools to get started so you don’t end up frustrated.
Take advantage of one pot or one pan meals when you want an easy clean up.