trick is to get higher quality produce, make multiple services, and lean how to store things. Cheap produce goes back quicker. I live alone yet go to Costco every 2-3 weeks and I expect everything I get to last.
Meat is split up, vacpacked and frozen. produce is put in the fridge in containers that best store them: some lined with paper town, some not, some with lids, some not. I have 2 week old tomatoes peppers cucumbers romain for salad that is totally fine. Onion garlic and potatoes go in burlap in the pantry. Rice and grains are put in sealed containers. And so forth.
And when I cook it’s always multiple servings. Today and tomorrows dinner, 5-10 servings of soup and I freeze most.
Storing food so it keeps is a skill.
150-200$ every 2-3 weeks, much cheaper and healthier then ordering in or frozen.
Well, space is something else that is at a premium in a city... I have two 5.5cu-ft freezers for storing bulk stuff that I see cheap on sale... have fun with that in an apartment. And especially if you are doing soups and other liquids, you really kinda want a chamber vacuum sealer, which is a big dealie that sits on your counter with a 1/4hp motor. Even keeping the sealing area very clean (wiping down the foam seals and electric seal strip regularly, etc) I cannot get one of the cheap vac-u-saver vacuum-pump machines to last more than a year, after that the seals on the packets start getting marginal and they leak air and eventually ruin the food. Someone in a new york apartment doesn't have space for 2 cubic feet of vacuum sealer and 15 cubic feet of freezers.
(do you need the chamber sealer, no, but they do a much better job, if you're doing tons of bulk food prep and sealing they're really a nice tool for it.)
Tbh I don’t vacuum seal soups, toss it in a glasslock and freeze. Year later it’s still fine because soup.
I live in an apartment, have a good commercial sealer, but it sits in my office, and just my fridge and a 7cuft (upright being key) freezer that’s in a closet. It’s more then enough space then I need to buy bulk from Costco, have a wide selection, and space for portions. 15 cu ft seems like way more then you need to just buy bulk and freeze?
sorry i don't off hand :(. mostly it was trial, error, and googling. If i buy something from costco and it doesn't last i would try different was to store it and if none work just stopped buying it. really only couldn't get blackberries and raspberries to keep long thou.
suggest getting commercial food storage bins, they stack and can seal in moisture, great for storing something like sliced peppers. Don't just toss everything in with the package they came in, do a little prep and get them in better containers. If things go moldy paper towel does wonders to manage moisture.
as for vacpack i got a good commercial one, and then put it in another room out of the way. i prep in the kitchen then i take it over to seal. it would be a lot of counter space but its not so bad in the corner of my office. Also i only use it for ingredients like meat. soups and sauces i just toss in glasslocks and freeze as they seem to do just fine that way.
Meat is split up, vacpacked and frozen. produce is put in the fridge in containers that best store them: some lined with paper town, some not, some with lids, some not. I have 2 week old tomatoes peppers cucumbers romain for salad that is totally fine. Onion garlic and potatoes go in burlap in the pantry. Rice and grains are put in sealed containers. And so forth.
And when I cook it’s always multiple servings. Today and tomorrows dinner, 5-10 servings of soup and I freeze most.
Storing food so it keeps is a skill.
150-200$ every 2-3 weeks, much cheaper and healthier then ordering in or frozen.