The average family throws away €400 worth of food every year. A good weekly menu cuts that dramatically.
1. Plan ahead
The biggest cause of food waste is impulsive shopping without a plan. You pick up what looks appealing, but at home you find the fridge is already full of ingredients you could have used instead. Set up a weekly menu before you head to the supermarket. That way you know exactly what you need — and what you don't.
2. Only buy what you need
A shopping list based on your weekly menu is the strongest check on unnecessary purchases. No "I might need this" items, no buying duplicates of something you already have at home. Stoof automatically generates a detailed list organised by store aisle — so you move through the shop with focus and nothing unnecessary ends up in the trolley.
Bonus: you save time too. No more zigzagging between the vegetable aisle and dairy.
3. Build in a leftovers day
Deliberately schedule a "leftovers day" in your weekly menu. Friday works well for many families: you use up whatever is still in the fridge at the end of the week. Half a bag of spinach, some leftover rice, a block of feta that needs using — with a little creativity that becomes a great meal. Stoof lets you filter recipes by available ingredients, so you quickly find something that fits.
4. Store food smartly
How you store ingredients largely determines how long they last. Herbs keep longer when wrapped in a damp cloth. Vegetables like broccoli and asparagus stay fresh longer standing upright in a glass of water. Store apples away from other fruit and vegetables — they give off ethylene gas that accelerates ripening.
Leftovers from cooked meals should go into the fridge once cooled (don't leave them at room temperature for more than two hours) and are perfectly fine to eat the next day or to freeze.
5. Use an app
The gap between good intentions and real change comes down to execution. An app like Stoof makes the system easy enough to stick to every week. Your recipes are in one place, the weekly menu takes five minutes, the shopping list is generated automatically and the whole family has access. Waste is prevented without you having to actively think about it.