Cooking guides
Cook from what you already have
A five-minute weekly check and a simple formula for turning pantry and fridge staples into dinner.
In short
- Check the fridge and the pantry for five minutes once a week, before you shop.
- Use what will expire first.
- Build a meal from a base, a protein, something fresh and a flavour.
- Keep a short list of staples, and add them to the grocery list as soon as they run out.
Do a five-minute check
Once a week, before you go shopping, open the fridge, the pantry shelf and the freezer. Note what is close to its date and what is nearly finished. Then plan two or three meals around the older items. This one habit does more against wasted food than any recipe.
Use the oldest first
Put new shopping behind older items, and keep leftovers at eye level where you cannot forget them. Cooks call this “first in, first out”.
Know what the dates mean
“Use by” is about safety: do not eat food after this date. “Best before” is about quality: food is often still safe afterwards, but it may not be at its best. Rules differ from country to country, so follow your local food-safety authority. Keep the fridge cold, at or below about 4 to 5 °C (40 °F), and reheat leftovers until they are steaming hot.
A formula for meals from staples
Most simple dinners have four parts:
- a base: rice, pasta, bread, potatoes or couscous;
- a protein: eggs, chickpeas, lentils, tinned fish or chicken;
- something fresh or frozen: onion, tomato, spinach or frozen peas;
- a flavour: garlic, spices, lemon, tomato paste or herbs.
Chickpeas with tomato and cumin over rice is one. Lentil soup with lemon is another. Eggs cooked in a sauce of tomato and onion is a third.
Keep a short list of staples
Salt, oil, onions, garlic, rice or pasta, tinned tomatoes, lentils or chickpeas, eggs and the spices you use every week. When one runs out, put it on the grocery list straight away, while you remember.
Where ChopCue helps
ChopCue's Pantry & My Fridge is one screen with two lists. You name your own sections, add expiry dates with a reminder or an automatic restock, and use “What can I cook?” to see which of your saved recipes you can make with what you have. Pantry & Fridge is part of the full unlock.
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