Pantry essentials for one person.

What's one to do when the time feels right for cooking but the fridge is bare?  Cook with pantry and freezer staples, of course! 

Busy singles can stay safely stocked up on long lasting ingredients, so when life's demands delay shopping, kitchen creativity goes on.

It pays to deck-out shelf displays!

Picking up plenty of pantry essentials for one person is worth it, because staying stocked up saves time, boosts meal planning power, and protects solo shoppers from getting gouged at checkout. 

Ready to pounce?

Shopping ahead is the best way to cultivate a casual, catlike shopping style, so you can purr through the isles like a pampered pet, intermittently pausing to pounce on discounts.

Here are three steps to maintaining a convenient supply of freezer and pantry essentials for one person:

1.  Source & track long lasting pantry & freezer staples. 

Capture ideas for stock-ups in the Try & Buy and Delicious Thoughts notepads and image boards, then pounce on discounts as long-term ingredient investment opportunities appear. 

Track inventory with the planner's Freezer Tracker, Seasonings Sorter, and Inventory Image Gallery.

2.  Freeze leftovers.  

Plan intentional leftovers each week to build up a small storehouse of homemade freezer meals, snacks and preps.

3.  Salvage scraps. 

Use the planner's Mix & Match Scratch Pad to coordinate recipe choices for using up non freezable perishables, so nothing goes to waste.

Here are three steps to tracking scraps:

1. Log frozen scraps in the Freezer Tracker as they are added to or pulled from the freezer.
2. Display fridge scraps in transparent airtight containers like mini mason jars. 
3. At the end of each week, migrate leftovers notes from the Tasklist Builder to the Mix & Match Scratch Pad, so purposing perishables directs each week's meal planning process.

About that empty fridge...

Long lasting fridge ingredients like eggs may keep for weeks, but shelf-to-fridge "refrigerate after opening" foods may last much longer, so long as they remain unopened.  

Small sized shelf-to-fridge supplies are super handy for singles, so stay poised to pounce on discounts! 

Spare the freezer, spoil the food.

Most foods that end up spoiling in the fridge or pantry could have been saved by freezing.  Milk, bread, bananas, and marinara are among commonly wasted items.  

Every ounce counts.

Common inexpensive ingredients like onions, tomato paste and broth are routinely purchased for recipes, then leftovers end up being scrapped; a half an onion here, a few ounces of tomato paste there, and so it goes.  

Why fret over a few cents worth of scraps?

Wasted ingredients contribute to unnecessary shopping, the enemy of kitchen efficiency!

Portioning mini freezer preps like leftover pizza sauce, broth, yogurt, or coffee/cream into ice tray cubes makes cooking for one less work and more fun! 

Leftover servings of prepared foods like roasted chicken, sauteed onions/mushrooms, homemade stuffing, or garlic bread can help bring easy meal plans together deliciously.  

Do yourself a favor, fill your freezer full of flavor.

Myriad sauces, gravies, roasts, casseroles, pies, doughs, breads, potato dishes, soups and stews, cookies, cakes and candies freeze fabulously!   

Frozen preps, meals and snacks may be labeled and logged in the tracker.  Meanwhile, mini mason jars can keep fridge scraps sitting pretty for days in cute little airtight displays.

Fridge foods for months, weeks, and days.

Here are some examples of fridge foods that can keep well for weeks or longer after opening:

• Opened salsa, sour cream and buttermilk may keep for up to two weeks, and opened heavy cream may keep for even longer. 
  
• Semi-soft cheese is good for up to two weeks after opening, but harder blocks like cheddar or Swiss can keep for three-four weeks after opening.  
• Cabbage and head lettuce may keep well for over two weeks if stored intact.  
• Mayo and many salad dressings may keep for up to two months after opening.
• Butter freezes beautifully, and can also stay safe for months in the fridge.  

Here are a few more examples of fridge foods that can keep for weeks:

• Apples can refrigerate nicely for well over two weeks.
• Citrus fruits, carrots, and cabbage should all keep for up to two weeks.
• Refrigerated eggs can stay safe for up to a month.

Here are examples of fridge foods which should be used up within a week or so:

• Fresh cottage cheese should be used up within one week after opening.
• Fresh yogurt can last between one-two weeks after opening.
• Cream cheese and half & half should be used up within ten days after opening.
• Leafy/watery veggies like sprouts, lettuce, cucumbers and broccoli should be used up within one week after purchase.  Head lettuces can stay fresh much longer if left intact.

Here are examples of fridge foods which should be used up within days:

• Ripe pears.  Berries, avocados, and bananas spoil quickly also, but are more freezer-friendly.
• Raw animal proteins should be cooked or frozen within two days after opening.
  
• Cooked animal proteins should be used within three days.  Long term leftovers should be frozen a.s.a.p.

Here's what to buy now for cooking without shopping later:

Basic root veggies:

Raw potatoes can keep for weeks in a cool cupboard, away from other produce.  All types of potatoes freeze well after cooking.  To use up aging potatoes, whip up and freeze yummy single serving sides, like buttery mashed potatoes or cheesy au gratin potatoes.

The strongest onions last the longest, but even sweet onions can keep for a few weeks in a cool cupboard, separated from other produce.  Diced onions may be frozen in mini mason jars.  Freezing degrades the texture, but the flavor works for cooking into recipes.  Sauteed onions make an excellent freezer prep for adding to recipes.

Raw whole garlic can last even longer than potatoes or onions, and should also be stored similarly, in a cool, dark cupboard, away from other produce.  

Cooking and baking pantry essentials for one person:

• salt
• sugar
• brown sugar
• cocoa powder
• oats
• flour (I keep the bulk of my flour in the freezer).
• yeast (I keep mine in the freezer)
• baking soda (both fridge & freezer)
• baking powder (freezer)
• corn starch
• vanilla extract
• dry herbs & seasonings
• dry beans, split peas, legumes & popping corn
• dry pasta
• rice
• nuts (keep longer in the freezer)
• whole grains
• bullion 

Bottled and canned pantry essentials for one person:

• oils
• vinegars
• unsweetened applesauce
• shelf-stable milks
• canned & jarred proteins
• pickles, olives, anchovies, capers
• condiments
• broth
• ghee/clarified butter
• canned tomatoes and tomato sauces
• canned veggies & beans
• nut butters
• canned milks and soups

Basic freezer staples:

• animal & plant proteins
• bread & baked goods
• butter
• nuts
• bagged produce
• flour & yeast

Organic frozen produce is a staple, for sure, because blanching veggies or soaking fruits in fresh lemon juice to prepare for freezing is a hassle.  Thankfully, there are a few freezer-friendly produce items that don't require prep prior to freezing.  

Here are some examples of freezable leftover produce:

• Well wrapped or pureed avocado
• berries
• peeled bananas
• nectarines
• peaches
• plums
• beets
• apple sauce
• tomato sauce
• mashed potatoes
• almost all cooked produce - even watery items like roasted tomatoes can impart good flavor to saucy, soupy recipes.
• citrus fruits (for zest and juice).  

Freezing not-so-freezer-friendly foods.

The question of whether or not to freeze foods can be confusing, especially since the internet is peppered with conflicting information on the topic.  The truth is, while some foods should never be frozen, other not-so-freezable foods can integrate within raw freezer dump recipes or cooked freezable recipes.  For instance, heavy cream and cooked eggs typically don't freeze well, but both raw and cooked quiche can be frozen (in my opinion).   The truth about frozen food quality also depends largely on time.  The less time frozen, the less dehydration/degradation.  

The short term freezing loophole:

While freezing homemade mac & cheese is not typically advisable, there is a marked difference between two-weeks and two-months frozen.  Homemade mac and cheese won't keep in the fridge for two weeks, but it can be frozen for two weeks quite nicely, in my experience.     

Frozen heavy cream separates after thawing, so it's not ideal for whipping into fluffy cream (although people do it anyway) but it can be whisked or blended partially back into shape for adding to drinks, sauces, soups and stews.

Fresh eggs may be cracked and whisked for freezing, but will burst if frozen intact, within shells.  Cooked eggs tend to become rubbery after freezing.

Sour cream, cream cheese, and cottage cheese are not considered freezer friendly, yet can be incorporated into raw freezer dump meals.  Milk freezes well enough for drinking if shaken or blended before drinking, but can break down and create a watery consistency when frozen and thawed in some recipes.  Evaporated and condensed milks freeze and thaw well within recipes.

The consistency of cheese can become less creamy and more crumbly after freezing, but feel free to freeze hard cheese anyway.  The harder the cheese, the more freezable it is. 

Onions, green onions, chives, celery and bell peppers may be frozen without blanching.  Texture is degraded, but the flavor works within cooked recipes.

To learn tons of fabulous freezer recipes, check out Freezermeals101.com.  These ladies have contributed countless hours of kitchen time to simplify freezer cooking for everyone.  Their YouTube videos are filled with realistic recipes and unique nuggets of first hand knowledge.  They offer additional recipes and meal plans for sale on their site, including single serving recipes!   

Stay stocked up to shop less often.

Shopping once a week is a sensible schedule for busy singles, but when life gets in the way, that's okay.  A small storehouse of pantry essentials for one person can save the day.