Produce storage
For containers, I like pyrex and glasslock - both are good for freezer and for oven.

Cookware: All Clad and Le Creuset Outlet

CookSmarts is a fantastic all around resource including infographics for reducing food waste. Scroll down for produce shelf life guide. Link for info on instantpot and air fryer and here is the article Instant Pot Wisdom, Half a Decade Later, by Melissa Clark (NY Times)

11 simple ways to make your food prep and planning easier

1. Keep a well-stocked pantry - don't even think about meal planning just all there in freezer and pantry and fridge to pull together.

2. Try new things to get inspired - it's easier if you have an ingredient to build a meal around

3. When you get home from buying groceries, wash and chop your vegetables so they're ready to go. When you get home and it's almost dinner time, put a pot of water on the stove to boil - by the time it's boiling you will have a plan (poached eggs, poach fish or chicken, make pasta or other noodles, lentils, ravioli etc.) Purchase pre-sliced ingreds, canned and frozen ingredients. Whatever is going to support you eating well. - if you shop well that's 50% of it - if you buy one broccoli, buy more than one and you can do so many things with those staple ingredients. don't have to eat the same thing twice. if make grain based veg salad, the next day fry it up w some other things add egg, frittata w tons of herbs dump the whole salad in there. makeover. turn into soup - spinach and potato and garlic - put in blender

4. Allocate one day to do batch cooking so you're good to go for the week - also take advantage of the moments in between, when cooking one meal do small things for the next.

5. Use your freezer - pesto, curry paste and other sauces freeze well, along with grains and beans. Start with a frozen base - pizza, soup base

any kind of dumpling from freezer to stove/oven - perogi, gyoza, bun, ravioli,

6. Sauces, fresh herbs, citrus fruit and juice, garlic, ginger, spices, nuts and seeds - these are your friends

7. Cook big batch of caramelized onions, garlic etc - a la Julia Turshen - Don't have to peel or chop garlic for months at a time. Peel a ton of garlic, put on a movie, get into it. Finely chop in food processor, add enough olive oil to make a paste, spread on a parchment lined brownie tin or whatever fits in your freezer (separate layers w more parchment if you're doing a lot) freeze until firm, cut into cubes, store in containers in the freezer, thank your past self each time you use some. Can also do w ginger. or garlic ginger and turmeric for curries, caramelized onions

8. Have a list of easy and quick meals (see below)

9. Make a plan (and delegate).   Take 10 minutes each week to sit down together and decide on the meals for the coming week. Perhaps -

Monday: your choice 

Tuesday: partner/friend’s choice 

Wednesday: leftovers** 

Thursday: easy option* 

Friday: take out

Put the plan on a chalkboard or paper on the fridge for easy reference. Sit down a week later and change it, tweak it, or keep it for the following week.

10. Reduce clutter in your kitchen - counter tops, cutting board. enjoy your space

11. Knife skills and sharp knives help with efficiency

* Easy Options 
Quesadillas
Fish
Yumm bowls (beans and grains out of freezer, steam or sauté whatever veggies, store bought salsa)
Baked potatoes/sweet potatoes with toppings
Breakfast for dinner – scramble eggs with greens, feta and smoked salt
Miso soup and add a lot of veggies and whatever protein (rice noodles) 
Blended herb soup
Pantry pasta (puttanesca) or Noodles- pnut noodles sesame noodles… - note that noodles absorb sauce or liquid - (soup). keep separate to store leftovers.
Pasta with pesto and veggies (freeze batch of pesto in ice cubes)
Dal (simple recipe below)
Tacos
Avocado toast and salad
Boiled eggs, toast and salad
Use freezer: Freeze soups, stews, chili, grains - pull out of freezer night before

** Don’t have enough leftovers from any one meal to make a full meal? Put everything in a pot with some broth; use tidbits to make fried rice; chop everything up, toss it with an egg and some bread crumbs and cheese, stuff it into peppers or hollowed out zucchini or tomatoes, and bake until hot and yummy. (Molly Watson)

Quick breakfast ideas - egg frittata in muffin tins, oatmeal/overnight oats, yogurt w dollop of jam or sprinkle of frozen blueberries or chia or granola, breakfast fried rice, chia pudding the night before

1 hour of prep on Sunday for lunches all week part 1

1 hour of prep on Sunday for lunches all week part 2

The Benefits of a Well-Stocked Pantry
Creative options and variety at your fingertips to avoid boring meals and prevent having to plan ahead.
Save money and time - less last minute trips to the grocery store/take-out/delivery/restaurant.
Lower stress and optimize immune system when you have plenty of good, healthy food on hand.

Pantry Reboot

Take inventory of each zone.
Declutter as you take inventory - keep, toss, donate, compost
When was the last time I used this?
Will I ever use this?
Can I/will I make a meal with this today?
Do I enjoy eating this?
Clean - wipe down inside of cabinets, freezer, fridge etc along with their contents.
Organize
We eat with our eyes.
Clear airtight containers with labels for bulk to prevent bug infestations and organize.
Designated areas - group like items together
Use larger clear food containers to hold groups of small items like extracts or dried chiles
Display ingredients on multiple levels if you can’t see past the first row
Restock with ingredients - see suggestions below

Of course you don’t need to have all of these ingredients on hand - that would be ridiculous! But a few from each category below, keeping in mind “what grows together goes together.”

Dry goods
Rice – brown, jasmine, wild rice (it’s a grass)
Legumes (beans, peas and lentils) freeze well
Dry beans – make a big batch and work into dishes throughout the week- black, cannellini, garbanzos, heirlooms
Canned beans – for last minute throw together hearty meals.
Lentils – quick cooking
Split peas – quick cooking
Tuna/Salmon- cans or jars of tuna make a quick salad or sandwich
Polenta – sweet or savory, for breakfast or dinner. Great soft, baked or grilled.
Quinoa – ancient seed with high protein, gluten free. Great in salads with fresh veggies or cooked veggies as hearty healthy meal. Can always top with a piece of protein.
Millet – gluten free, nice in salads, breakfast cereals, stuffing veggies, absorbs whatever flavor you add to it.
Rolled oats- even though they’re not “quick” oats, only takes 7-10 minutes to cook up a hot bowl of oatmeal
Flax seeds and chia seeds – to add to smoothies, soak overnight for breakfast pudding in the morning. Flax seeds need to be ground for digestibility – store in fridge, freezer/dark location to prevent oil from becoming rancid
Popcorn – high fiber snack, top with all sorts of flavors
Amaranth – even higher protein that quinoa. Pop and mix into bars, puffed cereal
Nutritional yeast – high in B vitamins. For popcorn, grain salads, cheesy flavor.
Nuts and seeds – for salads, snacks, breakfast cereal (oatmeal), baked goods. Buy whole and raw to have them whole and chopped, raw or toasted. Or sprout them. Cashews, walnuts, pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pecans, pine nuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds and flax seeds (to add to smoothies, for breakfast pudding in the morning soak the night before
Dried fruits- raisins, currants, cherries, cranberries, dates, apricots, mango, coconut. Soak and blend dates and apricots into sauces and dressings for added natural sweetener
Jarred olives, capers and anchovies
Pasta + noodles spaghetti, penne, rigatoni, rice noodles (also called vermicelli or rice sticks), buckwheat noodles etc. -
Gnocchi
Rice/tapioca paper wrappers- for salad rolls
Dried mushrooms and chilies
Seaweed – wakame, nori, kombu, arame
Canned coconut milk
Canned tomatoes
Sun-dried tomatoes
Jarred roasted red peppers
Tofu
Panko breadcrumbs
A couple different alternative milks – almond, oat, hemp, soy
Tahini, almond butter, peanut butter
Baking powder
Baking soda
Jars of applesauce
Tetra Pak vegetable broths
Essentials
Garlic
Lemon/Limes
Fresh Ginger
Fridge
Miso
Pickled ginger
Kimchi
Bottled lemon and lime juice
Pure dark maple syrup
Hot Sauce
Dijon Mustard
Jams
Tortillas
Plain yogurt (dairy or non-dairy)
Eggs
Butter

Longer lasting vegetables (remember- hard, medium, soft veg)
Carrots, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Potatoes, Sweet potatoes, Winter squash, Beets, Onion
Freezer
Fruit for smoothies, hot breakfast cereal, winter crisps (bananas, berries, peaches, plums, cherries – whatever I picked over the summer)
Vegetables
Cooked grains and beans
Gnocchi
Ravioli, pot stickers, other dumplings
Makrut lime leaves/curry leaves
Butter
Sauces - pesto, tomato etc
Bread and breadcrumbs
Meat/fish/meat alt proteins
Kale stems finely chopped
Grated ginger
Citrus zest
Ends/rinds of parmesan or pecorino cheese
Spices and Dried Herbs
Sea salt, black peppercorns, smoked salt, cumin seed, coriander seed, fennel seed, brown mustard seed, turmeric, cayenne pepper, cinnamon sticks, red pepper flakes, whole nutmeg, whole cloves, sweet smoked paprika, chili powder, oregano, thyme, bay leaves
Fresh herbs are the perfect foray into growing your own. Try planting basil, thyme, rosemary, dill and parsley. A living pantry!
Oils/Vingears/Liquids
Avocado oil – neutral in flavor, high heat
Extra virgin olive oil one for adding to salads and for cooking, another for flavor
Coconut oil – for cooking and baking
Toasted sesame oil – for flavor
Truffle oil
Roasted walnut, almond, hazelnut oil for salad dressings
Balsamic vinegar
Rice vinegar
Red Wine vinegar
Sherry vinegar
Apple cider vinegar
Champagne vinegar
Tamari/Soy Sauce
Mirin
Honey
Dark pure maple syrup
Molasses
Fish sauce
Tamarind (paste)
Vanilla extract

Guidelines for meal planning

Sentence structure:

Protein + grain + veggie = balanced meal
Protein + noodles + veggie + broth = noodle soup
Protein + grain + veggies + tortilla = easy wrap or burrito
Frozen veggies + egg + rice = fried rice
Frozen veggies + noodles + protein = noodle soup
Frozen veggies + oil + spices = roasted veggies
Frozen veggies + garlic + oil = sauteed veggies
Frozen fruit + coconut milk + lime juice = smoothie
Noodles + proteins + marinara sauce = easy pasta dinner
Eggs + leftover veggies + optional cheese = frittata
Fried or poached egg over pasta (or really anything) = fancy restaurant-quality dish
Eggs + flour + other baked goods = pancakes

What grows together goes together. Think olives/basil/tomato vs. olives/coconut
High note and low notes. - Acidity/high notes Umami/low notes to balance. Fatty salmon with squeeze of lemon to balance

Some spices to try:

Anything from Diaspora Co.
Urfa pepper
Aleppo chili
Brown mustard seeds- toast in a dry skillet until grey. Adds flavor and texture to your dishes
Sweet smoked paprika
Pimente d'Ville
Smoked Salt
Sumac

A Simple Dal
Serves 4

2 Tablespoons ghee, oil or butter, or a combination
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 cup dry red lentils
1 can coconut milk
½ pound greens (spinach, chard, kale…), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice, plus more to taste
2 Tablespoons minced cilantro

Heat the ghee or oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent, around 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and spices and stir for 30 seconds. Add the lentils, coconut milk, and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Stir in the greens and cook until they are tender, about 3 – 4 minutes. Add lemon and salt to taste and garnish with cilantro.