Meal planning: how to organize a pantry audit and inventory before creating a new menu?

Regular audits of the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer form the foundation of efficient meal planning, helping to save your budget and reduce food waste. You should start this process a couple of days before going to the grocery store and creating the menu for the following week. This approach allows you to use products that you already have on hand but often forget exist.

As a first step, take all the contents out of the refrigerator shelves and kitchen cabinets onto a clean surface. Divide the products into three groups: those that look fresh and have a long shelf life, those that need to be cooked urgently in the coming days, and those that have already spoiled and need to be discarded.

After a visual assessment, make a list of products with expiring shelf lives and place them in the most visible spot in the refrigerator. These exact ingredients should form the basis for the first three days of your new menu. This zero-waste method not only frees up space for new purchases but also stimulates culinary creativity, forcing you to experiment with familiar ingredient combinations.