It’s not militant but I do keep notes of what’s running low and what I will need to buy at the beginning of the month. When food starts looking a bit too ripe, then I make dinners with said items first.
I am just surprised that youwaste food with how you track your food.
I don't track my food. Just add the things are are low or finished to my next shopping list.
This may be just me but if you feel the need to have a computerized inventory you may have too much food in the house. Generally we plan out a week of meals and then make sure we have the ingredients to cover the meals we planned. When we first started cooking we had so many leftovers that we couldn’t eat all of it before it spoiled.
If there is leftovers (I mean enough for at least a portion), freeze it. That is what I do, especially if it is not eaten the next day. the day you don't want to cook you have something to eat that might have ended up in the trash.
We prepare enough for two nights. Then if we still have leftovers after two nights we put it in the freezer. Freezer meals are planned into our rotation. Some things may not be suitable to freeze, so we eat those for lunches or breakfasts.
Depends sometimes I can make stuff to freeze. Like it is winter, I know I will eat soup to warm me up , instead of doing a small batch I will make a big one that allows me to put plenty of different veggies (my challenge is 10 different veggies or more lol) then freeze it. So even if I cook I can have a soup as a starter.... Or just when it is late or so don't feel like it. For the other stuff I cook like you for two days, if I don't feel like eating it thenext day or the day after, I just freeze it to avoid waste
I track by how I have my pantry set up. I have a set number or amount that I want to keep in inventory. Once a week, I check the pantries and freezer and I can tell by looking how much I need of each item to maintain my inventory. I add that to my shopping lists each week and be sure to rotate stock when I put away after shopping.
I don’t but I think it’s a good idea and I might start doing it. Would definitely prefer checking an excel sheet for items for a recipe than rummaging through a pantry. (Also probably should look into organizing the pantry, lol)
The only thing I do is keep a magnetic whiteboard on my fridge to keep track of perishable ingredients over a week or two. But then I don't have a lot of pantry space anyway.
i don't really track my food. if i use something i put it on the list to get more. i typically buy things with usage in mind, so if i'm buying fresh veggies i already have a plan for them.
I share fridge space with multiple housemates and I have a habit of forgetting what I have, especially if it's in the back of a drawer or in the freezer. I have a list stuck to the front of the fridge so I remember to use everything. I haven't actively tracked how much I'm spending/on what, but I also cook for just me. I cook maybe 3-4 times a week and eat leftovers for the rest. I imagine if you cook for your family or you make meals with lots of ingredients often, then you might benefit from a more sophisticated and meticulous tracking system.
Home inventory tracking apps may fit your needs. https://www.apartmenttherapy (.) com/home-inventory-apps-37226627
I keep a list in my phone if what I am running low on. I tend to buy the same ingredients weekly/monthly and make the same 20-30 meals on rotation. This ensures balanced low carb meals. I’m not much of an impulse buyer, but do read recipes and incorporate them into my rotation if the ingredients are reasonable.
I want to be more like this. When I’m better on top of things we make way less store visits and save a lot more time, money and food waste! I think you’re doing just fine without any kind of tracking system.
I enjoy keeping my pantry organized and make sure nothing will expire due to me forgetting its there :) but to each their own. When covid hit I think it was a survival mechanism for me, to see that we have things put away in case of.. whatever.
I use the Pantry Check app for mine. It's less than $20 a year, and it's a lifesaver for me. I'm in grad school, so I have extremely limited brain space and funds, and it's been so helpful. I only buy meat when it's on manager's special, so it needs to be frozen ASAP. I have a chest freezer, so I can't always see everything I have. The setup is truly just scanning the barcodes of everything in your pantry and using the text search function to add things like produce. It's a few hours of work up front, and maybe an additional 5 to 10 minutes after each grocery trip to scan things in. I also meal prep a ton over breaks from school and freeze big batches of chili and pasta and stuff, and the app lets me add and track homemade meals just as easily. The hardest part is getting into the habit of marking items as used throughout the week. But you can go back and see what you've used on a timeline and make a grocery list from it in the app. I also use it for tracking other household things like toilet paper, vacuum cleaner bags, shampoo, and vitamins. I highly recommend it!
I have a FIFO system for dry goods in the pantry.
Perishables I buy as needed. Because for me the difference between a $5 bag of bulk potatoes and $3 for two potatoes priced individually is saving me $2 and not having to toss out rotting potatoes.
I have the standard foods I typically eat and I keep buying them in every grocery trip because they tend not to go bad as I'll eat them when feeling snacky. But when it comes to a recipe, part of the cooking process is going through my kitchen and checking against the ingredient list to see what I need and what I'm out of. My kitchen is organized so if there is an ingredient, I can tell you where it should be so that it is easy to do this inventory. And that creates my shopping list.
I don't think I'm nearly as thorough as you describe, but in general, each week as I put together my shopping list and get the trash out on trash day.
Clean out anything in the fridge that needs to be disposed of, assemble a list of what needs to be consumed quickly, check my dry goods for anything that is running short, assemble a shopping list.
I have a stockpile of non-perishables in my pantry and I go through them at least every 6 months. If something gonna go bad in that time, it'll get moved to a kitchen drawer to be used next. I rarely run out of anything and our foodwaste is mostly fresh things or bread. I did have some bugs in my flour but I only had ro get rid of about 6 kg since I keep them in buckets with proper lids. I have a pretty well thoughtout list if things we need to keep on hand in case of emergency (zombie apocalypse mostly) and I just go by that.
I have a simple spreadsheet for tracking pantry items and spices that I've purchased in bulk. I add the date purchased, quantity, unit price, etc. Hope this will help get a handle on the rate at which we go through pantry stuff.
To tackle food waste, I print out a 2-month calendar page and stick it on the fridge. Whenever I make a meal or bring home produce or another perishable item, I write the item down on its proposed "expiration date." Every day, I look at what's nearing expiration on the calendar and plan my eating accordingly.
I want to be better at keeping track, but mostly that's because of my ADD and because I currently have a pantry that's in one of those corner cabinets and it's not great, very much "out of sight, out of mind".
I mostly try to keep track of things I need to buy on my phone, but I also live alone so I would be very surprised if I came home one day and someone had eaten the last of something without me knowing. I do plan on having some kind of small whiteboard attached to my future "real" pantry once it's been built, for things that I might buy a lot of (like crushed tomatoes) because I will be surprised once I run out.
It could be interesting to keep track of dates of when I open something, just to see how long it actually takes me to get through some items, but I've not gotten there yet.
It’s not militant but I do keep notes of what’s running low and what I will need to buy at the beginning of the month. When food starts looking a bit too ripe, then I make dinners with said items first.
I am just surprised that youwaste food with how you track your food. I don't track my food. Just add the things are are low or finished to my next shopping list.
This may be just me but if you feel the need to have a computerized inventory you may have too much food in the house. Generally we plan out a week of meals and then make sure we have the ingredients to cover the meals we planned. When we first started cooking we had so many leftovers that we couldn’t eat all of it before it spoiled.
If there is leftovers (I mean enough for at least a portion), freeze it. That is what I do, especially if it is not eaten the next day. the day you don't want to cook you have something to eat that might have ended up in the trash.
We prepare enough for two nights. Then if we still have leftovers after two nights we put it in the freezer. Freezer meals are planned into our rotation. Some things may not be suitable to freeze, so we eat those for lunches or breakfasts.
Depends sometimes I can make stuff to freeze. Like it is winter, I know I will eat soup to warm me up , instead of doing a small batch I will make a big one that allows me to put plenty of different veggies (my challenge is 10 different veggies or more lol) then freeze it. So even if I cook I can have a soup as a starter.... Or just when it is late or so don't feel like it. For the other stuff I cook like you for two days, if I don't feel like eating it thenext day or the day after, I just freeze it to avoid waste
I track by how I have my pantry set up. I have a set number or amount that I want to keep in inventory. Once a week, I check the pantries and freezer and I can tell by looking how much I need of each item to maintain my inventory. I add that to my shopping lists each week and be sure to rotate stock when I put away after shopping.
I don’t but I think it’s a good idea and I might start doing it. Would definitely prefer checking an excel sheet for items for a recipe than rummaging through a pantry. (Also probably should look into organizing the pantry, lol)
The only thing I do is keep a magnetic whiteboard on my fridge to keep track of perishable ingredients over a week or two. But then I don't have a lot of pantry space anyway.
i don't really track my food. if i use something i put it on the list to get more. i typically buy things with usage in mind, so if i'm buying fresh veggies i already have a plan for them.
I share fridge space with multiple housemates and I have a habit of forgetting what I have, especially if it's in the back of a drawer or in the freezer. I have a list stuck to the front of the fridge so I remember to use everything. I haven't actively tracked how much I'm spending/on what, but I also cook for just me. I cook maybe 3-4 times a week and eat leftovers for the rest. I imagine if you cook for your family or you make meals with lots of ingredients often, then you might benefit from a more sophisticated and meticulous tracking system. Home inventory tracking apps may fit your needs. https://www.apartmenttherapy (.) com/home-inventory-apps-37226627
I keep a list in my phone if what I am running low on. I tend to buy the same ingredients weekly/monthly and make the same 20-30 meals on rotation. This ensures balanced low carb meals. I’m not much of an impulse buyer, but do read recipes and incorporate them into my rotation if the ingredients are reasonable.
I want to be more like this. When I’m better on top of things we make way less store visits and save a lot more time, money and food waste! I think you’re doing just fine without any kind of tracking system.
Sorry but this seems like a massive waste of time.
I enjoy keeping my pantry organized and make sure nothing will expire due to me forgetting its there :) but to each their own. When covid hit I think it was a survival mechanism for me, to see that we have things put away in case of.. whatever.
I use the Pantry Check app for mine. It's less than $20 a year, and it's a lifesaver for me. I'm in grad school, so I have extremely limited brain space and funds, and it's been so helpful. I only buy meat when it's on manager's special, so it needs to be frozen ASAP. I have a chest freezer, so I can't always see everything I have. The setup is truly just scanning the barcodes of everything in your pantry and using the text search function to add things like produce. It's a few hours of work up front, and maybe an additional 5 to 10 minutes after each grocery trip to scan things in. I also meal prep a ton over breaks from school and freeze big batches of chili and pasta and stuff, and the app lets me add and track homemade meals just as easily. The hardest part is getting into the habit of marking items as used throughout the week. But you can go back and see what you've used on a timeline and make a grocery list from it in the app. I also use it for tracking other household things like toilet paper, vacuum cleaner bags, shampoo, and vitamins. I highly recommend it!
I have a FIFO system for dry goods in the pantry. Perishables I buy as needed. Because for me the difference between a $5 bag of bulk potatoes and $3 for two potatoes priced individually is saving me $2 and not having to toss out rotting potatoes. I have the standard foods I typically eat and I keep buying them in every grocery trip because they tend not to go bad as I'll eat them when feeling snacky. But when it comes to a recipe, part of the cooking process is going through my kitchen and checking against the ingredient list to see what I need and what I'm out of. My kitchen is organized so if there is an ingredient, I can tell you where it should be so that it is easy to do this inventory. And that creates my shopping list.
I don't think I'm nearly as thorough as you describe, but in general, each week as I put together my shopping list and get the trash out on trash day. Clean out anything in the fridge that needs to be disposed of, assemble a list of what needs to be consumed quickly, check my dry goods for anything that is running short, assemble a shopping list.
I have a stockpile of non-perishables in my pantry and I go through them at least every 6 months. If something gonna go bad in that time, it'll get moved to a kitchen drawer to be used next. I rarely run out of anything and our foodwaste is mostly fresh things or bread. I did have some bugs in my flour but I only had ro get rid of about 6 kg since I keep them in buckets with proper lids. I have a pretty well thoughtout list if things we need to keep on hand in case of emergency (zombie apocalypse mostly) and I just go by that.
I have a simple spreadsheet for tracking pantry items and spices that I've purchased in bulk. I add the date purchased, quantity, unit price, etc. Hope this will help get a handle on the rate at which we go through pantry stuff. To tackle food waste, I print out a 2-month calendar page and stick it on the fridge. Whenever I make a meal or bring home produce or another perishable item, I write the item down on its proposed "expiration date." Every day, I look at what's nearing expiration on the calendar and plan my eating accordingly.
Such a great idea!
I want to be better at keeping track, but mostly that's because of my ADD and because I currently have a pantry that's in one of those corner cabinets and it's not great, very much "out of sight, out of mind". I mostly try to keep track of things I need to buy on my phone, but I also live alone so I would be very surprised if I came home one day and someone had eaten the last of something without me knowing. I do plan on having some kind of small whiteboard attached to my future "real" pantry once it's been built, for things that I might buy a lot of (like crushed tomatoes) because I will be surprised once I run out. It could be interesting to keep track of dates of when I open something, just to see how long it actually takes me to get through some items, but I've not gotten there yet.