A GRIFTER’S COOKBOOK
Simple meal planning for the kitchen and budget you have
When money is tight, start with the next few meals. A short plan can make a shopping list easier to manage and help you use what you already have.
Your plan needs to fit your actual kitchen. A hostel shelf, a shared fridge and a small boat galley give you different options. Check your storage space, cooking equipment and time before deciding what to buy.
Count meals before ingredients
List how many breakfasts, lunches and dinners you need and what food is already available. Plan around the kitchen and storage you can actually use.
Look at the whole purchase
A low unit price is useful only if the quantity can be used. Consider pack size, transport, storage and the ingredients needed to turn the purchase into a meal.
Give each ingredient a job
Write down where each purchase will go. Bread might cover toast at breakfast and a sandwich at lunch. An onion might be shared between a soup and a pan of vegetables. Choose meals you will actually enjoy eating, and check that you have the other ingredients each one needs.
Make a small plan you can follow
Try this as a planning exercise. First, list the meals you need before your next shop. Next, write the usable food you already have beside them. Fill the gaps with a short shopping list, then check the total against the amount you can spend. Leave room for essentials you may have overlooked, such as cooking oil or breakfast food.
If you are shopping for one, check whether a smaller pack will serve you better than a bulk deal. If you share meals, agree on portions and who is buying what before spending the money.
Use your own receipts to improve the next shop
Keep the receipt and note which meals you made, what you ran out of and what you left unused. Those details give you a starting point for the next shop. Prices vary by place and date, so build your budget around the prices available to you.
You do not need a complicated menu to begin. A few meals, a realistic list and a place for each ingredient are enough for the first round.
