An effective plan will help reduce food waste. After all, purchasing something at the store that doesn’t match up with your schedule or preferences will simply sit in your fridge until it spoils.

Follow these top three strategies to meal plan successfully! To start off, take an inventory of what food items are currently on hand.

Start with a blank sheet of paper.

At its core, meal planning involves writing out what you plan to eat each meal throughout a week. Doing this can help prevent purchasing or making food you don’t need as well as reduce food waste.

Begin by conducting an inventory of your pantry and fridge – writing down everything in stock with use-by dates to determine what must be eaten first. Next, look at your weekly schedule to calculate how much time will be available on days when meals need to be prepared or re-heated.

Some people choose to create their meal plans using pen and paper while others utilize note-taking apps on their phones or computers. No matter which approach you take, be sure to list out all of the ingredients necessary for each dish on paper or a note taking app.

Make a list of all the ingredients you need.

Meal planning with an accurate list of ingredients can save money and reduce waste. Unused food quickly spoils, especially fresh produce or meats; by creating a meal plan and shopping using your grocery store’s sales circular you can avoid purchasing items that quickly go bad.

Look at your schedule and determine the days you have time for cooking. If this is your first experience with meal planning, it may be beneficial to focus on evening meals for several weeks at first.

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas for dinner, why not set up Meatless Mondays or Taco Tuesdays as a themed night? They can provide great ways to add variety and spice to your menu!

Look at your pantry and fridge.

Successful meal planning begins by looking at what you already have available to you – not necessarily new recipes or ingredients. This step involves an assessment phase wherein you determine what meals are currently on the menu (including snacks ) as well as how often dinners are prepared at home (and if adding variety would add value).

Examine what food you currently have available, including in your pantry and refrigerator. If there is anything that tends to catch your eye such as frozen pizza or processed salad dressing, include these foods into your meal plans as soon as possible.

Clean out your refrigerator and freezer regularly to reduce food waste, discard or donate any items that have gone off, such as any that have gone bad quickly or near their expiry dates, in order to decrease food wastage.

Look at your freezer.

Step one of meal planning should always involve taking an inventory of what’s in your freezer. This will allow you to decide what’s for dinner that night (if needed) as well as plan ahead with ingredients for future weeks.

Plan ahead by selecting recipes that utilize ingredients you already have on hand; this will reduce food waste while giving you the chance to try new flavors and dishes.

Once your plan is in place, you can start shopping for ingredients needed. Doing this will allow you to avoid spending unnecessary money on items you already possess while staying within your budget. Plus it saves time by eliminating late afternoon panic about what’s for dinner?

Make a list of all the recipes you want to try.

If you want to try some new recipes, begin by writing down all of the meals you enjoy eating and then looking at your calendar to see which days might be busy or when eating out will likely occur. Some families enjoy setting aside special days such as “Meatless Monday”, “Whole Grain Wednesday”, or “Stir Fry Fridays”.

Examine your pantry and freezer once again to take note of what ingredients you already have (especially those needing to be consumed quickly), and shop the sales for items you require. By being aware of what’s already there, noting any expired or wasted foods helps save money while preventing food waste.