This Eco-Friendly Meal-Planning Technique Helps Reduce Food Waste In A Big Way

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Meal prepping can be an arduous task — but only if you make it one. While it's easy to find ways to make meal prep more exciting, like by playing with unique ingredients, finding new ways to use the same ingredient across multiple dishes, and experimenting with diverse textures, one of the best ways that you can challenge yourself while saving a little bit of money and lessening food waste in the process is to work with the ingredients you already have. 

How often do you look in your fridge and find items that have been shoved to the back and forgotten about? What about that shelf in the pantry that you once filled with all of the ingredients you were excited to use? Oh, and don't get us started on the freezer that's jam-packed with frozen meat. Taking an audit of what you have rather than blindly buying what you think you need will help you spend less at the grocery store and encourage you to throw away less food (and money). You may also find some unique food pairings and create meals that you would have never thought to experiment with otherwise.

Doing the pantry audit before writing out your meal plan is the first step, but the real work comes with planning dishes around what seems like a random assortment of ingredients. It can feel like an episode of "Chopped" at times; what the heck are you even supposed to do with a half-empty container of cottage cheese, a couple of teaspoons of pesto, a sleeve of Saltines, and leftover rice?

Well, there is plenty of inspiration to be found on the internet. Many Reddit users detail their "use-it-up meals," sharing how burritos are a great catch-all for leftovers and how leftover chicken and veggies can be used to create uniquely flavored chicken salads. Internet programs like SuperCook allow you to input different ingredients you have and sends links to recipes that include them. When you're fresh out of meal inspo, you can also turn to "The Flavor Bible," which offers a collective anthology of ingredients and what they pair well with. Although this book won't spell out step-by-step instructions to make a meal, it will give ideas for flavors and ingredient supplements that do work so that you can still express some creative liberty over the final product. 

When working with pantry items and leftovers, it's important to remember that you don't have to use everything in your dish; just being more cognizant of the items you have on hand will help you reduce your spending and food waste. You may also become a more creative cook in the process!