Easy food inventory and menu plan

You know how this goes! You go to the grocery store shortly after pay day, shop up and down the aisles, drop a chunk of money on whatever’s in your cart, get it home, put it away, and then? A few weeks (or months) later, you’re tossing it.

We’ve all experienced this.

It’s estimated that, on average, every household in the US wastes 238 pounds of food every year, according to the USDA.

I have friends who meal plan religiously every week. Some even (pre-COVID) get together to fully meal prep dishes for the entire week. While I’m envious, I’m also fully aware I’m not going to do that. I’m way too lazy. But, I’m not too lazy to do a modified version.

Easy meal prep and food inventory

Do I do this every week? NO! I do this after I’ve done a bigger grocery trip where I’m sure to forget everything I’ve purchased. Here’s how it works:

Inventory your prime food

List all the prime items in your fridge and freezer (i.e. perishable items and things you want to meal prep with).

No need to inventory EVERYTHING!

In this example, I’ve listed items in my fridge, freezer, then after I planned a meal around my most perishable items, I moved it to my “used” column

Use perishable items first

Plan meals using perishable items first. Once you’ve made a plan for an item, move it to your “used” column

Meal prep for the week

Keep going until you have the week planned out

• Use an Excel spreadsheet (or Word), just something to list all the prime items in your fridge.

  • Fruits and vegetables, other perishable items (i.e. things that will go bad soon)

  • Leftovers or takeout

  • Freezer items you’re likely to eat

• Highlight or note the most perishable and move them to the top of your list

• Meal prep around your most perishable items

Note, I don’t inventory EVERYTHING. Things like condiments, or even stuff in my cupboards since most things in cupboards likely have a reasonable shelf life. I’m focused instead on what’s going to go bad now so I can avoid waste. Typically this is going to be fruits and veggies, leftovers, and other already-prepped items.

Apply your own recipes or look up new ones

This is the fun part! Planning out your meals, looking up new recipes.

For example, this week I have half a bag of Brussels sprout that are going to spoil if I don’t use them up. But, I’ve already cooked them the ways I know how, and still I have half a bag. Which tells me, I need some inspiration!

Looking at the items on my list, I see I have tofu. I’d like to try a new recipe, particularly a fried tofu recipe. I figure my Brussels sprout can be the vegetable in whatever recipe I find. So, I search for “easy fried tofu recipes.” One that looks simple and would go great with Brussels sprout is a sesame garlic fried tofu recipe.

I have all the ingredients already - it’s that simple of a recipe. And now I have a plan for my Brussels sprout I’m looking forward to making.

For this meal to be complete, I plan to use the following items on my list:

• Brussels sprout

• Tofu

• Either rice or cauliflower rice

Continue doing this until you have a meal plan with your most perishable items and then some for the week!

Easier shopping lists

Doing an inventory like this also helps you know what you have, so when you ARE low on food, you can think of ideas and recipes you want to try, or have tried and want to have this week, so you can then add any missing items to your shopping list.

You can still apply the same principles, only this time, you go get any items you’re missing. That way you’re always using items you already have and lessening your potential for food waste.