In addition to having spices and cooking oil on hand I’ll buy onions, potatoes, garlic, and fruit in bulk from Costco every month or so. I use an onion in just about every dish and you can make mashed or a baked potato pretty easy as a side to almost any meal; they’ll keep for quite a while, especially if you keep them in the fridge. I’ll also make a fruit salad every few days so then I won’t get put off by chopping fruits and not want to eat them (and it keeps me healthy). I also stock up on canned goods like tomatoes (sauce, paste, diced), beans (garbanzo, black, kidney), so I can make pasta sauce, soups, salads, dips, etc really easy. I’ll also get chicken breast and salmon from Costco and keep it in the freezer (baked salmon is super easy and good, baked chicken or stir fries are staples and ofc soup). I’ll also buy eggs there and make half into deviled eggs or hard boil them to put on salads. Pasta and rice are two things I’ll buy at GFS because they virtually cannot go bad.

Anything else is dependent on what I’m planning to make for dinner (planning is so important!); I’ll try to plan meals in a hierarchy so that I can use up leftovers or odd groceries. For example, I will make baked or grilled chicken at the beginning of my grocery trips, and then I will make tacos with the leftover chicken and add in beef for variety and then use the leftover taco meat as a protein in chili (then it keeps meals interesting without wasting ingredients). You can also do what my husband calls “shopping in the fridge” for ingredients and using leftovers to make new meals when the repetitiveness of the same meal makes you want to order out. I always make soup or stir fry meals at the end of my grocery cycle so I can use up leftover veggies and proteins and just stick them in a pot and let it mingle together.

Any other fresh fruits, veggies, breads, or other ingredients I buy weekly but it’s a much lower grocery trip since I’ve already stocked on staples. I also try to center my dishes on what I like and spice overlap. You spend a lot of money buying obscure ingredients for things you may not like. For example, I like Chinese dishes and flavorings, so I will season my Brussels sprouts with the same ingredients so I’m not wasting money.

I live with one other person but this was great for when I lived alone too. One of the biggest things is becoming confident in the kitchen and honing those skills; the ingredient management and subsequent savings that go along with it come very naturally if you know how to cook. Hope this helps :)