21 Extremely Helpful Food Charts That Will Come In Handy During Quarantine
Handy grocery lists, food storage tips, and visual meal prep charts abound.
1. First off, it's super hard to actually plan for what you need when you're in panic-buying mode and trying to get in and out of the grocery store as fast as possible. I've found a lot of inspiration in seeing smart, food-savvy people posting their self-isolation grocery lists for new ideas of what to add to mine.
2. Know what your longer-lasting produce options are, and buy things like canned tomatoes (for throwing together sauces) and apple sauce.
Instagram: @nutritionxkitchen
Apple sauce might not be something you normally eat, but it can be used as a substitute for staples like oil and sugar in baking, and even as an egg replacer.
3. You'll want lots of long-lasting, shelf-stable foods.
4. Here are all the long-lasting fruits and vegetables, complete with storage advice.
5. And if it's easier to just think about grocery shopping in categories, use this chart.
6. For the more discerning palate, here's some advice on what vegetables actually taste good frozen.
7. You might not ordinarily be a meal planner, but if you're finding your grocery shopping and meals to be haphazard, you might want to consider a shopping organizer sheet like the one below.
8. The following sheet is an easy-to-follow guide for people who might want to just throw together meal "bowls."
9. Do a big reorganization of your refrigerator to ensure your foods last as long as possible.

10. Better plan your meals, transitioning from fridge to freezer or vice versa, based on this meat storage chart.
11. Here's a great, easy guide for storing fruits and vegetables.

12. For anyone who is doing lots of delivery and take-out, here's a great guide on how long your leftovers will keep for.

13. Here's how long food can be kept in the freezer for.

oprah.com
I was surprised by the one-month freezer life of fruits and vegetables, tbh.
Here's a hot tip for freezing meat:

14. For anyone who is freezing their own vegetables and fruits, this printable is incredibly helpful with its easy instructions.

15. If you're buying a lot of bulk dried beans, this is a great handy cooking guide.

16. The rest of this post will show you some easy, non-recipe, visual guides to meal prepping and simple meals.
Instagram: @workweeklunch
For myself, it's overwhelming to suddenly be presented with having to feed myself three whole meals a day.