Shopping / The planning notebook
The shopping list starts in your cupboard
Turn a calculated recipe quantity into the amount you actually need to buy.
Three numbers, three different jobs
The quantity needed for a meal, the quantity already in your kitchen and the quantity sold in a pack answer different questions. Mixing them up can lead to buying an ingredient twice or adding the whole pack to a recipe that needs only part of it.
Start with the quantity from the recipe or planner. Subtract usable stock in the same unit. The remainder is the shopping requirement. If the remainder is zero or negative, you do not need to buy more for this plan. This is a stock calculation, not a food-safety assessment: check the condition and suitability of what you already have.
A worked rice example
Imagine your plan needs 1,250 g of dry rice and you have 400 g available. The shopping requirement is 850 g. If the shop sells 500 g packs, two packs provide 1,000 g. After using the planned amount, 150 g from the new purchase remains in addition to any stock you deliberately set aside. The recipe still calls for 1,250 g in total.
For equal-sized packs, packs needed = shopping requirement ÷ pack weight, rounded up to the next whole pack. Do not round up the recipe quantity itself. Buying two packs does not make a two-pack recipe.
Make a compact list
For each ingredient, record the needed amount, available amount and amount to buy. Keep units visible. A list reading “rice: 850 g to buy” is easier to follow than one containing several unlabelled numbers. If the ingredient uses cups or pieces, retain those units until you have a reliable conversion for that specific item.
Combine entries for the same ingredient only when they represent the same form and unit. Whole spices and ground spices are not interchangeable stock. Neither are bone-in and boneless quantities. Keep recipe-specific distinctions on the list.
Compare pack sizes against the plan
Use the unit-price tool to compare similar packs, then look at the total purchase cost. A large pack may have a lower price per kilogram while requiring a larger payment today. Consider whether the surplus fits your usual meals and storage arrangements before choosing it.
After shopping, keep the bought amount separate from the used amount. That small habit makes the next plan more accurate: your pantry record reflects what remains, rather than the size printed on the original package.
Compare pack prices