I made up the word. But believe me, this word is the best way to describe the system I’ve developed over the years to pull creative meals together out of (almost literally) nothing, skip that extra trip to the store, and use up everything in your fridge so that nothing goes to waste. Adding the -ist suffix translates to “one who scrounges” where scrounge is defined as (v.) “to gather something you want or need from what is available.” This system is all about using what you have and throttling what needs to come into your kitchen to create beautiful creative healthy meals, yet also minimize “inventory.” Anybody who has been through business school (or even picked up a business book at the library) has heard that inventory is expensive! This is no different in your own home. Being a scroungist is about pulling together amazing meals from a very low inventory of perishable ingredients.

Start here. The overview and introductory blog posts will tell you the foundational tenets of the system and why it works.

Contrary to popular belief, pantry staples aren’t snacks, convenience foods, milk, and eggs. Pantry staples (at least for a scroungist) are basic ingredients that provide the backbone for almost all recipes. Instead of having eight different dressings, 15 different spice mixes, five different sauces, plus 20 different condiments and still feel like you don’t have what you need for the week, some simple staples in various combinations can become dressings, sauces, and seasonings. These simple staples will keep your inventory low, and again, because inventory is expensive (and perishing as we speak/read/type), keeping inventory low will reduce waste and save you money. 

I hear what you’re asking. Am I going to get a whole bunch of recipes that I will pin and never make? Let’s hope not. I definitely share many of my go-to recipes, but even better, and the whole point: you will get ways to adapt recipes to what you have, as well as methods to create your own recipes, again based on what you happen to have on hand!

I’ll be honest. Yes, you can get a meal kit and reduce your food waste. However, this increases other kinds of waste. Since every ingredient is individually wrapped, you’ll have a lot of extra packaging, Typically serving sizes are relatively small– which may be a good thing if you’re trying to cut calories, but might end up more expensive if you have some big eaters in your family. You will still have to log in weekly to plan out your meals, which takes at least as much time as the scroungist meal planning method (although perhaps with less mental load). Bottom line, there are pros and cons of meal kits. If you want to eliminate the mental load, I say go for a meal kit. But if you enjoy being creative in the kitchen and are looking for ways to further reduce costs and waste, join in on the scroungist journey! 

Being a scroungist, you won’t get pre-planned weekly meals and printable grocery lists. Instead you will get formulas, rules-of-thumb, and systems that help you to create your own that work for your schedule, lifestyle, and tastes. You will likely get a lot of inspiration that comes with a meal planning service, but more importantly, you’ll be able to dial in exactly what and how much to buy to eliminate food waste and still cook fresh, healthy meals.