memes

Buy stuff you don't have to cook. It's crap nutritionally, but at least it isn't wasted!

Freeze your fresh bread and only defrost the amount that you're going to eat.

Be organized, have a weekly menu. I'm sorry this is the solution. My bad.

I found that visitng shop frequently and buying a little each time helps with this. Also, knowing what you have and planning what to cook with stock in mind. Also, one might find better to buy at small grocery stores (turkish in my area). These have ability to buy as an example 10 or less potatoes instead of fixed 2.5kg of potatoes. That way you're not bound to swiftly eat potatoes before they rot.

I buy stuff that lasts. For bread, I find that rye takes weeks longer than white or wheat to start going bad, and bagels last ages too. I make smoothies with mostly frozen fruit. For dinner stuff, if I'm not feeling like cooking I either buy things I'm going to eat in the next few days or I get these sealed precooked things from Aldi that are great and keep well. Coconut milk also tends to keep better than cow milk and lately I've realized I greatly prefer it.

About the only things that are super perishable that I keep around are bananas and avocados, and I just tend to eat these a lot. I also keep spinach or kale around for my smoothies, but I rebag them into separate smaller bags as soon as I get them. If my bananas are getting overripe, they get frozen for smoothies.

I also tend to buy canned soups, which last ages.

When I was cooking regularly I'd make a lot of chilis and pasta sauces. They're good to freeze and they keep well on their own. Chili is arguably better after freezing and having more time to develop.

You can definitely eat pretty healthy and keep plenty of food in the house without constantly chasing waste.

with pen and paper

I got a chest freezer for $200. I freeze everything before or on its expiration date.

Sometimes if its mushy veggies I make a stock and freeze it for the next meal. If its too far gone i have a compost jar in the kitchen and a bin outside.

I started a garden and an edible native hedge this year. I have tea herbs and squash for free now and working on a seed propagation.

I started a coop mushroom grow with my neighbors since he felled some hardwood and I had the plan. The leftover mushrooms we dont eat will be either sold at market or made into liquid cultures.

Were talking about going in on a local half cow or pig. He says if my garden keeps growing we can buy the plot behind us together and start a farm. Would cut grocery costs a lot.

My wife and I have pantry weeks where we dont go grocery shopping, we eat whats in reserve, soak dry beans, thaw last weeks on sale chicken breast and pressure Cook em, make a flatbread and have some curry.

Instant pot helps too. Thinking about getting coturnix quail to feed good scraps to and get eggs out of. I can plant cover crops for em on the last strip of lawn I have.

It doesn't have to be wasteful forever.

A freezer and a pantry full of canned and dried foods.

Only buy fresh meats and veggies when you are actually gonna cook.

Freeze leftovers in single portion sizes.

Eventually you’ll have a bunch of homemade frozen dinners to choose from.

Use a software/app to meal plane. (Mealie/Tandoor) You pick the recipes you fancy for the days/week/whatever period. It generates a grocery list containing exactly what is needed for the meals you chose, nothing else.

I haven't thrown away anything in a couple years now. Oh and freeze leftovers if needed.

It's not for everyone, or even most people probably, but I deal with it by buying virtually the same thing every week, once a week. No impulse buying. So, I eat everything I buy, every week, because I know exactly how much I eat for each meal, each week. I waste nothing. I don't need a list, I know the path through the store I will take, and I'm in and out in about 20 minutes, including checkout.

I decided to stop thinking about food as entertainment or reward, and now think of food as only nutrition (as much as I can, it's not easy, but that's the idea.)

Please don't waste food.

I had this issue with produce. I stopped buying it because it would just go bad before I used it.

My problem isn't that I don't use what I buy, the problem is that I buy too much. Like the recipe I need calls for one stalk of celery, but I can only buy an entire celery plant, like 11 stalks in a bundle because that's all the store offers. What do I do with the remaining 10 stalks?

i didn't start cooking until I got a big enough kitchen to store plates, forks, knives, spoons, glasses, cooking pans/pots&utensils, cutting boards, leftover food storage, dish towels, and food cupboards and pantry.

rentals rarely have enough for that.

but once i got enough space to have that stuff, and then saved up to buy that stuff little at a time then cooking became a lot more sensible. (middle aged bachelor)

i have recipes that i don't have to think about that create leftovers.

And that is the goal: LEFTOVERS

Leftovers are your bread and butter of saving money and not having to cook.

i dont, my family always buys too much food regardkess to how many times i tell them to not

My SO has ADHD and used to do this. I just cook for the both of us now so it's less food waste. The only issue is sometimes he doesn't like what I make :/