Recepieplanning
Shared-ingredient meal planning is the technique behind most “cheap” and “low waste” weeks. You pick a small set of building blocks — chicken, chickpeas, rice, spinach, onions, lemon — and let sauces and formats change. The cart shrinks. The compost bin slows down. Plates still feel different. This is the detailed habit behind stop food waste and dinner ideas for the week.
How to choose a spine
- One or two proteins for the week
- One starch (rice or pasta — not both unless needed)
- Two vegetables that can roast and stir-fry
- One herb or citrus with at least two jobs
- Two sauces max
Example shared week
- Lemon herb chicken + broccoli
- Mushroom spinach pasta (spinach shared with a side later)
- Leftover chicken → egg fried rice
- Chickpea curry (onion/garlic shared with Monday)
- Tofu stir-fry in the same soy/garlic lane
- Easy eggs — no new produce
Different sauce ≠ different cart
Taco spice vs lemon-herb on the same chicken reads as two dinners. That is the cheapest variety available.
List and aisle
After the spine is set, merge and sort — grocery list by aisle. If a recipe needs a one-off garnish, drop the garnish or drop the recipe. Browse the recipe library for swaps that respect the spine you already bought.
Build a week that shares the cart.
Recepieplanning drafts overlapping dinners for your diet and merges one grocery list.
