1. Take Inventory
That’s right! Of your own pantry and fridge and all the little things inside of it. Everything from the leftover ground beef from taco Tuesday to the sour cream that is going to go bad in a couple days. I use a spreadsheet which I will include down below as well as examples on the side. but a good ol pen and paper will do just fine as well.
While you are taking inventory it may seem annoying or redundant to write down every little thing that you have but it can be very beneficial when you move on to step 2.
2. Meal Brainstorm
For example, My family had chicken tacos on Monday and I have some left over meat, tortillas and cheese. That will make some chicken quesadillas and a bonus is that i can use up the sour cream that will go bad soon. This is a no waste method. Making as many meals as you can with things you have on hand instead of buying ingredients per meal which ends up being expensive and wasteful.
When making your list of possible meals don’t worry if you have a meal or two that will require an extra ingredient. As long as the majority of the ingredients for your meal are things you have on hand you are saving money and waste!
For example I have bread lettuce and tomatoes, BLTs would be a great weeknight meal I just need to add bacon to my grocery list.