This is where I need to be the most careful to not waste food. You don’t need fives kinds of cheeses or pizza dough if you’re not going to make pizza, or a lot of fresh produce if you’re really not going to eat it. So many times I’ve come home from the market with all sorts of great produce and intentions and then I don’t feel like cooking all week and it goes to waste. I try to limit myself to only buying two kinds of fresh vegetables and two kinds of fresh fruit at a time, and if I don’t get back to the market and need to use frozen, great, I’ve got it.
Fruits and Vegetables (These are my favorites that I tend to buy often):
Apples
Peaches
Bananas
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Artichokes
Asparagus
Bok Choy
Broccoli
Cabbage or napa cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes (Potatoes keep a very long time and are easy to cook in the microwave or toaster oven, or a combination of both)
Spinach
One fresh herb, like parsley, cilantro, or basil
Tomatoes, onions, and lemons or limes are definitely staples for most people
The list goes on and on. I’m not going to try to list every fruit and vegetable — there are just too many. And also I think it’s important to buy what’s in season and grown locally to you. You’ll have better quality produce (which means it will taste better and be better for you) and the less distance a product has to travel to arrive at the market, the less impact it has on the environment.
I try to not buy the same thing week after week, and it can be fun to try something I haven’t had before (I need to do more of that).
I also try to limit myself to buying only two types of vegetables and two types of fruits a week so I don’t feel overwhelmed and worry about the produce spoiling. I’ve just found that that works for me.
Dairy
Butter — Yes, I like real butter, it also freezes well.
Cheese: Parmesan, cottage cheese, and maybe a hard cheese
Note: cheeses can be frozen pretty successfully, especially crumbly cheeses, like blue and feta. In fact if I buy blue cheese or feta cheese, I always freeze it because I go through it so slowly. If you take it out of the freezer to put a couple of spoonfuls on a salad, soup, or vegetables, it thaws right away.
Non-fat milk
Yogurt
Protein
Eggs
Herring — This is an occasional treat for myself.
Sandwich meat, kielbasa, or bacon (one meat that will keep in the refrigerator for awhile)
Tofu
Meat, fish, or poultry — One fresh item to be eaten, or at least cooked that day
Oils
Unrefined vegetable oil, corn oil, or canola oil
Dark sesame oil — I use it when I stir fry vegetables (a few drops give an instant Asian edge), and because I use so little of it, it would go rancid in the cupboard — yuck!
Note: I keep all my oils, except olive oil, in the refrigerator. I never used to think about oil as being fresh or not, but oils do go rancid (smell yours) and for one person who would probably go through it slowly, it’ll keep fresher a lot longer in the refrigerator. Olive oil gets thick and cloudy in the refrigerator, so for that oil, I buy a small bottle of extra virgin olive oil at a time and keep it in the cupboard. I’ve also heard of people transferring olive oil to a wide mouth jar, keeping it in the refrigerator and spooning it out to use it.
Condiments and Miscellaneous
Barbecue sauce — This one isn’t a staple of mine, but you might want it.
Capers
Catsup
Coffee, instant and ground — I keep mine in the refrigerator because I don’t drink coffee but I want to have it for guests and it will keep fresh longer in the refrigerator.
Horseradish
Hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
Hummus — This is also an occasional treat. Sometimes I’ve made my own.
Maple Syrup — I keep it in the refrigerator mostly because you can keep it in the refrigerator and I don’t want to tempt ants into my house. I warm it a little in the microwave before using and it’s great warmed anyway.
Marmalade, jam, or jelly (once opened)
Mayonnaise
Mustards: Dijon and yellow
Olives: green and black (once opened)
Peanut Butter — I keep it in the refrigerator because I like the kind without preservatives.
Pickles (once opened)
Roasted red and yellow peppers
Salad dressing — I usually keep one or two.
Salsa
Tortillas — Corn tortillas keep a long time in the refrigerator.
Vinegars: rice wine, balsamic, red wine, apple cider
Wasabi — I buy it in a tube (like toothpaste) and it’s very convenient!
Worcestershire sauce — I don’t cook with it, but if I bought it, it would go in the refrigerator.