A lot of wasted food was bought with good intentions: the salad for a healthier week, the herbs for one recipe, the second pack of chicken because you forgot the first. A better list fixes most of it.
1. Write the list from a meal plan
A list written from memory is how you end up with three onions and no garlic. Write it from a plan instead, so every item has a job. No plan yet? Start with how to plan a week of healthy meals.
2. Shop your kitchen first
Check the fridge (what needs using soon?), the freezer and the cupboards. Spices are the easiest thing to buy twice. Cross off what you already have.
3. One line per ingredient
Three recipes that each need an onion means “3 onions”, written once. In Carroty, ingredients from different recipes merge into one line with the total amount. Tick items off as you shop, and add extras like coffee as free text.
4. Buy fresh food a few days at a time
Salad, soft fruit, fish and herbs go off first. If your plan runs a week, consider one shop for the first few days and a top-up later. Carroty lets you shop for just the first days of a plan for this reason.
5. Store it so it lasts
- Keep the fridge at 0–5°C (GOV.UK).
- Most fruit lasts longer in the fridge, except bananas and whole pineapples. Keep bananas away from other fruit, as they make it ripen faster (Love Food Hate Waste).
- Use-by is about safety, best before is about quality (GOV.UK). Don’t eat food past its use-by date. Food past its best before is usually still safe.
Tools that help
| Tool | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Carroty | Turning a meal plan into one merged shopping list |
| Too Good To Go | Buying unsold food from local shops and cafés at a discount |
| Olio | Giving away or picking up spare food from neighbours, free |
| Love Food Hate Waste | How to store almost any food, and recipes for leftovers |
Sources
- GOV.UK: How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely
- GOV.UK: Best before and use-by dates
- Love Food Hate Waste: Nine foods you’ve been storing in the wrong place