Where did you buy your bulk beans?
And, yeah, I look in the fridge to see what needs to be used as the first step when figuring out what I’m cooking. Lunch, for example, used up the end of a package of bell peppers, the already grated cheese, the last of one package of eggs, etc.
I buy in bulk and have a working pantry (a coat closet I put a wire rack in) and a regular fridge/freezer but no additional space since I live in an apartment. I don’t keep a written inventory or schedule on rotating but that’s not my style for most things. I’m more of a hands on/in my head person, and since I’m getting in my freezer/fridge/pantry on a daily basis I pretty much know where everything is and how much I have. I start meal planning by making a list of things I want to use that week, and then build the menu around that so I buy as little as possible.
I also clean everything out very regularly because I’m kind of a stickler for how my kitchen is kept. Probably 2-4 times a year I clear out my entire pantry and reorganize it, and when I do that I write down the things that most need to be used and incorporate that in my meal planning for the next month or so. I find that this works for me and I throw away very little from my pantry or freezer, but it seems like a lot of experts prefer more structure. Whenever I’ve tried to make a schedule I can’t stick to it but if I have no schedule I keep up with everything fine, lol. I stock up on things from several sources because I’m particular, so I rotate where I go too, but again that’s not on a schedule. I went to the co-op maybe 8 weeks ago for bulk/crunchy things, for example, and then this week I’m hitting up HMart for a mix of pantry (oils, vinegars, etc.) and freezer items (meats, dumpling wrappers, rice cakes, etc).
I would love to have a deep freezer and if we buy a house instead of an apartment I’ll definitely get one. I’m currently rearranging my freezer a lot because I want to prioritize freezer meals instead of all meat (which is what I was doing before). This week is a major freezer cooking week and soon it’ll be fully stocked.
I think overall the reason my method works for me is because:
We use CSAs, (community supported agriculture, buying from farms) which means in the spring I have a sudden influx of perishable greens.
So, when we bought our “deep freezer” instead of buying just that we got a convertible unit. In the early spring - early summer, I use it as a fridge. About June, it becomes a deep freezer and we use it that way til somewhere between March and May the following year.
This isn’t the brand we’ve got, but it’s a similar unit:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-13-8-cu-ft-upright-convertible-freezer-refrigerator-white/6336451.p?
That’s neat, I’ve never heard of units like that before!
We got the bulk beans from the business Costco (it is different from normal Costco and supplies restaurants and such). I bet you could look for a restaurant supply store or Hmart near you.
I agree with everything @AllHat and @noodle said too. Only buy in bulk things I will use. I also can’t keep a rigid schedule.
Something that my friend told me is “freezer space is sacred so only use it for really high value things” and that helps too. Not using my freezer as a catch all helps make sure we use things up. We really only use it for meat or meals that we cooked ahead and this helps cut down on the “X is about to go bad just throw it in the freezer then a year later throw it away”.
I also have a CSA but mine goes through the winter too (we are super lucky!) our food costs are cut down dramatically by not going to the grocery store for fresh produce weekly because we always get a lot of extra stuff when we grocery shop (the curse of Costco I swear).
To simplify this:
-only buy bulk things you will absolutely use
-try to only buy bulk on sale
-cut down trips to the grocery store and get creative on using things in your house 2x/month instead of 4.
-use freezer space thoughtfully
-make recipes and meal plans based on what you already have instead of getting all of the ingredients for the recipe. I have a TON of spices so I can make almost anything I want but I will not have the exact correct veggie/starch/protein but I get close enough and it works really well.
The only thing missing from my plan is we don’t have a constant influx of fresh fruit. We get fresh fruit for a week after the grocery store, then one week without until the next run I keep some in the freezer to combat this.
Won’t work for fresh fruit, but in winter we try and use dried. Found a lot of things at my local coops, but they’re all about 1 hour or more away. (So are the farms.) So, I’ve bought some from OliveNation, which works, but of course is more expensive.
One of the two semi-local health food stores still has bulk bins although you can’t bring your own containers still, that also helps. The cheapest for us is the far coop, 1.5 hours away, and I stock up when we go, with fresh and dried.
How were the dumplings?
I don’t know yet! Going to make them tonight!! I know the fillings will be good. The gamble will be if the dough works out. If not, we live pretty close to a Korean grocery store so we can get some pre-made wrappers. Luckily, the fillings would also taste great in stir fries or over rice!
Dumpling dough is strangely easy! IMO if you can do pasta you can do dumpling dough.
Oh that’s good to know! We’re still borrowing my mom’s pasta machine too so that might help!
Thank you everyone for the discussion. This reminded me: I need to stop stuffing the freezer with bits & pieces for soup and make soup more often. Because I have to have the unit EMPTY in 1.5-2 months.
Guilty 
I definitely need to be more judicious about this.
I tried the premade meal thing and it did NOT work for me. I just had no interest in the food I had made up and threw out shelves of unfinished/uncooked meals when I converted the unit the following year. I buy premade foods, for the next 2 weeks or so. (Right now, it’s tamales.) But the idea is to have an “instant” dinner in case that’s needed, and only 1 or 2.
Since there’s dumpling talk going on - suggestions for fillings?
I recently picked up a kids book about Chinese New Year and that’s coming up in a few weeks so I thought I’d do a Chinese New Year themed dinner. I won’t be copying this exactly but here’s a picture from the book:
Tonight we’re doing a classic pork scallion filling and this red lentil one I’ve made a few times and love.
Also got this cookbook for fiancé last Hanukkah! There’s a chicken sesame recipe in there I want to try next time.
https://bookshop.org/books/let-s-make-dumplings-a-comic-book-cookbook/9781984858757
That book looks great! Kiddo is into comics and he’s sometimes into cooking depending on his attention span, maybe I’ll bookmark that for a future gift idea for him.
We have this one, which is similar, and use it allllll the time. The illustrations have helped us ID items in the grocery store, an added bonus!
https://bookshop.org/books/cook-korean-a-comic-book-with-recipes-a-cookbook/9781607748878
Pork and/or shrimp dumplings are usually my favorites!
The dumpling dough turned out great! It was so much easier to work with than the pre-made stuff, too. Unexpected bonus. Lovely and soft and pliable. We are making more this weekend!
My Block Bin is on crack. The website said pickup was not until the 19th. According to email, it was just emptied. WTF.
OK, so, at lunch I can rush over with it. But, seriously, how to plan. There was supposed to be a pickup in very early Jan. Maybe someone got covid and couldn’t do it?
That being said, I’m paid up thru mid-Feb. so I can cancel after that.
