The thrifty 50: Meal prep tips

• The thrifty 50

Save time and power and do future you a favour by adopting the mantra "cook once, eat twice". Roast more potatoes than you need and set some aside for tomorrow's frittata. Cook extra chickpeas and use the rest to bulk out a curry another day. And that leftover portion of mapo dofu? That's the filling for a round of killer jaffles later. Roslyn Grundy

This is going to sound mean, but it isn't. Because there are usually the two of us at home, we do what chefs call "one for two". Instead of grilling two steaks, we cook one and share it. Instead of roasting a whole chook, I halve it along the backbone, freeze half, and roast half. One big schnitzel for two. One big fillet of salmon, cut in half lengthwise. It forces me to up the grains and greens, and makes for a more balanced meal and zero waste. Jill Dupleix

One chook = several meals. Joint a whole chicken (or ask a butcher to do it for you) into two breasts, two marylands (drumstick and thigh) and two wings. Use the carcass and neck to make chicken stock, with onions and carrots. Pound the breasts flat for schnitzel, and freeze. Roast the marylands (30 minutes at 200C) for dinner, and marinate the wings for tomorrow night's barbecue. Terry Durack

Legumes are a nutritional and fibre-rich powerhouse, and a fraction of the price of meat. Bulk out mince dishes and stews with lentils, swap steaks for chickpea stew or make your own baked beans, with a splash or two of something a bit special (think maple syrup, chilli sauce or cider vinegar). Megan Johnston

Go fruit-picking or, better still, go foraging. Weed enthusiast Diego Bonetto's new book Eat Weeds: A Field Guide to Foraging is a great place to start, or look up your nearest orchard and check what's in season in your suburb at ripenear.me. MJ

Want some fresh cookbook inspo without spending a cent? Head to your local library for new and classic titles from Yotam Ottolenghi, Jamie Oliver, Maggie Beer, and many others. Can't schlep it down the road? Check out your library's digital catalogue for e-cookbooks to flick through on your phone. MJ

Carve a couple of hours out of your weekend to batch cook some meals for the week ahead – it's therapeutic, too. Top of the list, Katrina Meynink's quarantine sauce stretches one tomato sauce into 10 delicious dinners. Andrea McGinniss

Chop ahead. If I'm making pumpkin soup, say, I'll chop the whole pumpkin but keep some aside for another meal (like Julia Busuttil Nishimura's roast pumpkin galette, pictured). You can do the same with onions, garlic, ginger, and any kind of mirepoix veg so they're ready to go next time. They will keep for a week in an airtight container. Dani Valent

Plant your own kitchen garden as close as you can to the kitchen. Include the Scarborough Fair quartet: parsley; sage; rosemary and thyme. You will save a fortune in herbs and your food will taste fresher, better, brighter and deeper. Plant a bay tree also, the leaves make most braises sing. Richard Cornish

If you do find yourself buying herbs – one of the biggest culprits when it comes to food waste – rather than let it rot in my crisper, I try and find another recipe that uses the same herb so I don't end up throwing out half the bunch at the end of the week. Coriander for a green curry can also jazz up a winter slaw to pack for lunch one day. Sage leaves for saltimbocca can be repurposed for a tray of roasted root vegetables. Emma Breheny

Not exactly revolutionary but rice is your friend. We got a (Korean) rice cooker because the result is so much better. Do more than you need, keep in the fridge to use in lunch bowls, stir through lemony chicken soup or toss in a wok with kimchi for fried rice. David Matthews