Overhaul of the way I deal with food

Pollycat

Meal plan. I sit down with a coffee and my freezer list and do a 3 week list (using Excel so I can easily move things around and look back at what dishes we had last month or 2). Plan your meals so that you can take advantage of 'family' packs of mushrooms and peppers etc. That will cut down on waste too.

Shopping list. Base it on what you have in your meal plan.

Batch cook and freeze.

Although you might think it's a daunting task, you really should check what's in your cupboards.

Is anything past the 'best before' date and you don't want to risk using it?

Is there anything there that you that you'll never, ever use?

The stuff you will use, add it into your meal plan so it doesn't get put back in the cupboard and forgotten about.

Ditto for your freezer.

I keep a list of what goes in (1 worksheet for 'ready meals' which for us is mainly home made bolognaise, chilli, 'shepherds' pie bases using beef, lamb, pork, chicken or turkey mince and one for 'raw' which would be uncooked meat etc.), how much it weighs etc and just delete when I've taken it out.

And mark the bag with what's in it!

No point in putting things in if you're going to pull out a bag in 6 months time and have no idea if it's sweet or savoury.

It sounds like you're pandering to the other people in the house and letting them have what they fancy rather than saying 'this is what we're having for dinner tonight'.

Islandmaid

Hi GL,

I agree with most of what’s been said already, a kitchen audit and meal planning is key to sorting your grocery spending.

i don’t know how old your kids are, or if there are any dietary requirements, but cooking different meals for different people every day is madness, remind them that you run a home, not a cafe x

when I started meal planning, I did it in a very general way ie Monday - something with left over roast chicken, Tuesday - something with mince, etc

get the family involved, what are their favourite meals, get someone to write what’s in the cupboards as you sort them.

i think you are overwhelmed at the the task, remember you don’t need to do it all in one go, just 1 cupboard at a time x

keep us posted 👍

newlywed

I have started a use by list - been through the fridge contents and listed the use by dates. Each day I look at the list, decide if we are going to eat those items today and if not, throw them in the freezer.  

I find times when meal planning doesn’t happen and so this uses less brain power for me.

I also write a list of meal options for the food we have in the fridge and freezer and then look down the list for what I feel like cooking that day.

Aliliva

Until lockdown I'd never really meal planned - I was more of the YS/middle of lidl school   But in the last two months we've learnt how to meal plan and it's helping massively: we write down the week plan on Saturday over breakfast, then list the ingredients we don't have and immediately go to the shop (so we're not hungry and don't buy junk food - well, we buy less junk food).
Usually we cook two big meals over the weekend, which are recycled as packed lunch over the week, and one big one during the week, while mid-week dinners are salads and soups. Given I'm veggie and my OH isn't, lots of the meals we cook are adjustable: if we have a curry, we prepare the base and then add chicken and qorn in two separate pans; for salads, well, I usually take some cheese or chickpeas, he adds cooked ham/chicken; finally, Fish friday usually sees me eating some veggie patty while he has his fish (all cooked at the same time as chips in the oven)

SadieO

Is there anything you all agree on? If so, have that as standard eg Saturday night is pizza night (if you buy (or make) plain bases people can choose their own toppings which is fun for the kids and a good way of using up bits of meet, cheese etc that you have left over). Then at least that's one day sorted.

Think about ways you can get multiple meals out of the same base. Eg I cooked a big batch of mince with lentils mixed in and onions in a tomatoey sauce. Served with pasta for a bolognese style one night, then had beans and chilli added and served in tacos the next night. Felt like totally different meals but the bulk of the work was only done once.

If possible try to reduce how many times you are making *completely* different meals for everyone in the family - no wonder you are finding meal planning hard work! If everyone really has different tastes/dietary requirements etc could you do something like roast a whole chicken and then have it in a salad yourself but throw some into some pasta for the kids etc? 

PipneyJane

GeorgieLou said:

Thanks for the advise joedenise. I'll definitely take a look at the Grocery challenge, it sounds very helpful.

Making myself a list of what I have in would be a huge challenge!! I have a whole load of random food in the kitchen, and not sure what I'd do with the knowledge of all that is there! I suppose that it is a good enough reason in itself though? 
I know I said we'd need to move soon, however in reality it wouldn't be that soon. Looking at least beyond a year I think, with our current situation. It's pretty dire in terms of being able to afford it right now.

Hi @GeorgieLou.  I can feel your panic from here.  First, take ten slow, deep breaths.  Second, go and get a notepad or several blank sheets of paper (staple them together later).  Action will relieve that sense of being overwhelmed.  You don’t have to tackle the entire kitchen at once, just starting will help.

Head up the first page, Fridge.  Do another heading below it, Fridge Door, then list whatever is sitting in the shelves inside the fridge door.  Is anything close to its use by date?  Put a star against it.  Later on, you can share the details with us and we can help come up with a way to use it/save it.  (Ignore best before dates:  missing those doesn’t make food unhealthy/inedible.)  Do you feel up to tackling something more? Do a fresh heading on the page, Top Shelf, and repeat the process.  Do it again for all shelves and drawers in the fridge.  If you find yourself itching to rearrange the contents of the fridge, do it now.  Ditto, if you want to remove and wash down the shelves (or do them as you go).  

How long did the fridge actually take to do?  Do you feel up to tackling something else?  If so, start a fresh sheet and repeat the process with the freezer.   When you get to your storage cupboards, you might want to empty them all out onto the kitchen table at once and rearrange the food into logical groupings.  When you put things back, stick a post-it on the outside of the cupboard to tell you what type of food is in there.   Don’t forget to check out the bathroom cupboards, too.

If you feel up to it, share what you have with us and we’ll help come up with meal ideas.

Regarding shopping:  I’m like you, I hate supermarket shopping.  Having a list is the best advice I can give. I keep a notepad in the kitchen and list things down as they are used up.  Before  I go to the shops, I’ll check the fridge for milk, cheese and veg (to see what is still in there and what is running out).  I will then check out the shelves in the pantry, to determine whether we need to buy more cans of baked beans/tomatoes/tuna, etc.  If anything is low, I will add it to the list.  

HTH

- Pip


ETA:  If you find bargains while you are at the supermarket, ask yourself three questions:  1) do we use this?   2) Can we store it if I stock up?  3) Have we got a lot of these in stock already?  Then you’ll know if  it really is a bargain or whether you can wait for the next time it goes on offer.

GeorgieLou

Thanks for all the replies - very helpful! I didn't get to come on the laptop yesterday -far too busy melting from the heat.


theoretica - I agree about using up what needs it first, and not just whatever is in easy access. I think I'll put a Tupperware in the fridge of things that will turn first, and see if that works. I can pull it out, and go from there.

littlegreenparrot - eldest dc is college age, also have one who is about to start secondary and one about to start upper primary.
The little ones like to help in the kitchen, however I definitely don't do this enough. Eldest is not interested at all in cooking.

greenbee - I love the idea of making it a family challenge - am going to have a search online to see if I can find some kind of printout that might work for keeping track. Any ideas on this would be great too!

Pollycat & Islemaid - Both very helpful strategies thank you. Lots of tips to help me start with it all   Yes, definitely a lot of pandering going on over meals. It's not something I'm pleased about, and realise that we've created this situation ourselves out of ease. It does feel like a café sometime, if only for the amount of washing up!

newlywed - I like the idea of your lists - will be so efficient here I think.

Aliliva - What kind of big meals do you make, and what stems from them please? That is a genius idea, and help so much!

SadieO - Meals we all agree on? We have a few. I like the thought of having a shared main dish with different options for side - is that what you meant?

PipneyJane - Yes, am definitely slightly panicked at the thought of it all! Thank you so much for the step by step strategy - I feel as though I could do it this way, and really appreciate you taking the time to post that all up for me. 

GeorgieLou

OK, so much decent advice on here, I just wanted to say thank you all again.

I do have a question about the meals - those of you who all sit down and have one meal for all, how does that work in your household?

PipneyJane

GeorgieLou said:

OK, so much decent advice on here, I just wanted to say thank you all again.

I do have a question about the meals - those of you who all sit down and have one meal for all, how does that work in your household?

I have always operated on the principle that “You either eat what I cook, have toast or starve”.  Oh, and they have to cook the toast themselves.  Admittedly, the fussiest eater I have had to deal with in the last 20 years is an adult friend with whom we go on holiday. (He is absolutely infuriating.). The point I always make is “have you tried XXX this way before?  Give it a try before you turn your nose up.”  

With many foods, it takes 10 goes before you develop a taste for it.

We have a dinner together in the evenings.  Dinner time  is usually around 7.30pm but is dependent upon what time I get home from work, since I’m the one who usually cooks.  The house rule is: if you are going to be late, let the other know ASAP.  It’s only fair.  When I’ve worked in distant offices, as I did throughout January, then my husband will start cooking dinner when he gets home.

- Pip

theoretica

I've just been putting the shopping away in the fridge and realised that when I am putting things away I put the stuff that will be eaten first in the more accessible positions and stuff that lasts longer or has longer dates further back in each category without really thinking about it.  And of course the little that was left from a previous shopping trip is now right at the front.