Help me stop wasting food! Is meal planning the answer?

[Bellasblankexpression]

This probably sounds stupid but I feel like I am
Wasting food - it seems to go off so quickly I never seem to use it all.
Even when I meal plan, I end up with leftover bits and bobs that inevitably go to waste and
I hate it - makes me so cross with myself.
I know people talk about making extra and freezing but when I do that it never seems to taste quite right when I cook from frozen. Maybe I’m just a terrible cook!
How do you stay organised and on top of food/meals etc?

I know it sounds like it should be obvious, I’m so
Organised in other areas but feel like this is one area I am falling down on

Only meal plan for 5 days, use cupboard and freezer for the others.
Some veg lasts better than others-onions, peppers, root veg etc are more robust than saladay tomatoes, lettuce, avocado etc. So buy those in smaller quantities. And store them in a keep fresh bag like you can get from Lakeland.

The way I cracked it was always planning one less meal than expecting to need so if we’re not planning on going out to eat at all I’ll plan 6 meals not 7. That works well here because we are always changing plans, you know unexpectedly eating out, getting takeaway, no ones particularly hungry so you end up with something on toast. On the other night if we are in we eat leftovers or stuff from the store cupboard or freezer, a basic pasta dish, egg based dish or if there’s nothing that that needs using there’s always a pizza in the freezer.

I guess that depends on having a fairly good store cupboard. With fresh is harder but I try to always have frozen peas, sweet corn, butternut squash, tinned tomatoes and baked beans, pickled beetroot, as back up. Then fresh stuff I try to eat in order of needing using, I know the veg that keep best and use them last (courgettes, carrots, leeks etc). Salad leaves etc I have to buy more frequently but again buy whole lettuces etc instead of bagged as it lasts longer. Also grow my own herbs so don’t need to worry about them.

I meal plan and it's not a hassle at all. I just work out how many dinners we'll need each week and buy the ingredients for those. So a typical week might be chicken fajitas, quiche and salad, goats cheese salad, seafood curry and stir fry.

Then I add to the list anything that we've run out of for breakfast or household stuff like loo roll.

I very very rarely throw anything away. The key is not to buy too much in the first place and freeze anything you're not going to get round to using before the BB date.

I meal plan five days a week (things always go a bit astray at least one night so I don’t buy 6/7 meals).
Freeze the building blocks of meals - make a big batch of white sauce, ragu etc. Makes meals easier and less waste.
Use frozen veg. I really like frozen peppers, butternut squash and frozen Mediterranean veg.
Meal plan so two meals use the same ingredient so you don’t have waste like half a cabbage or half a pack of bacon.
One meal a week is just soup. Whatever I’ve got goes in. Always keep part baked baguettes in the freezer to go with it.
Leftovers for lunches.
Also, bit of a leap, but growing lettuce in a pot is really easy. When I buy it in a bag it always goes slimy in the fridge, but it’s lovely popping outside to pick a bit!

Just realised @tarragonsauce put everything better than me, ignore mine and read theirs

@Bellasblankexpression I just chop up any veg I have in the fridge really small (normally peppers, mushrooms, celery, cauliflower, broccoli) and stir fry with some garlic and paprika until soft.

In a separate pan make up some quinoa (or rice) and red lentils with veg stock until it makes a 'porridge'

Mix it up with the veg and put a layer in a roasting dish, top with cheese and add another layer then cheese (etc) bake for about 35 mins

So good to freeze and I take a portion frozen to work and warm it up with a salad (and chilli sauce)

X

There’s two of us and we both like different stuff.

Veg - all frozen. While green beans courgettes, broccoli, peas, sweet corn and cauliflower.
Salad stuff- is the only fresh but tomatoes, cucumber and crispy lettuce last. Also carrots and cabbage which are both salad ( slaw) and veg.

White carbs all frozen- bread, pitta and rolls.

Fish tinned or frozen.

I plan 3 meals and, as Tarragonsauce explained, link other meals. I plan my meals off the cuff in the supermarket depending on what looks nice, is good value etc. but I’m always mindful of what will have to be used straight away, what will hold for a few days. It helps that I can shop by myself. When I had the dc in tow I had to work it out on paper first.

Keep a good store cupboard of basics (pasta, rice, couscous, lentils, stock, herbs, spices, oils), honey, mustard, tinned tomato.

I use frozen veg in preference to fresh just because it extends my options. I keep bread in the freezer too.

But some veg has to be bought fresh so learning about correct storage is important. Bananas help to ripen other fruits and veg so need to be kept apart if your goal so as not to over ripen. A bruised apple can ruin other fruits.

Buy lettuce with the root intact and it will last better. It’s very easy to grow if you’re inclined.

It does sound as if your fridge might not be cold enough. You can buy a fridge thermometer quite cheaply to check.

Someone asked about storing potatoes: somewhere cold, dark and dry like a shed perhaps. Keep them up off the ground and Cover them over with an old blanket. In olden days people dug pits and insulated them with straw.

Omelette, stirfry, risotto, soup and stew are all good ways to use up odds and ends.