Preparing too much

When you first start meal planning, it's easy to get overly ambitious and prepare too much food, which leads to waste. According to FoodPrint, the majority of food waste occurs in home kitchens, where over-preparation and poor planning are the primary causes. Spoiled ingredients rot in landfills, emitting greenhouse gases unless composted, which only 27% of US households have access to.

Home chefs can help by putting extra thought into meal preparation to avoid making too much. Plan your week with some wiggle room. Make room in your weekly menu for leftovers, for example. It's easy to overestimate your weekly food consumption and fail to account for company lunches or last-minute dinners with friends or family. Even if you plan your meals carefully, things happen unexpectedly, and your carefully packed dishes may end up sitting in your refrigerator for longer than you expected.