Make Do
Guides
Cook what you already have
How long food keeps, what to make with odds and ends, and how to spend less by wasting less. Written for the 6pm fridge, not the weekend project.
Articles
Food storage
How long does food last in the fridge?
A plain chart of how long meat, fish, dairy, eggs, leftovers and vegetables keep in the fridge, from US and UK food safety guidance, and what to cook first.
Method
What can I make with what I have?
A four-step method for turning random fridge ingredients into dinner: pick the thing that needs using, add a base, a flavour and a finish. With examples.
Use it up
Fridge clear-out: 10 dinners from odds and ends
Ten forgiving dinners built for half-used vegetables, the last of the cheese and leftover rice: frittata, fried rice, soup, traybake, quesadillas and more.
Budget
Cheap dinner ideas from what you already have
Cheap dinners start with food you have already paid for. Nine low-cost dinner ideas, plus the pantry staples that make the fridge go further.
Food waste
How to stop wasting food at home: 12 habits that work
Twelve practical habits that cut household food waste: fridge order, dates, freezing, portions and cooking the right thing first. Grounded in US and UK guidance.
Pantry
Nothing in the house? 12 meals from pantry basics
Twelve real meals from pasta, rice, eggs, tins and frozen veg, for the nights the fridge looks empty. Plus a short list of staples worth keeping.
Make Do for…
Make Do for students
Cheap student meals from whatever is in the fridge
Cheap, filling student meals from a shared fridge and a small budget. Photograph your shelf and get five dinners you can cook tonight. Free to try.
Make Do for cooking for one
Cooking for one, without the waste
Cooking for one means half a pack of everything going off. How to shop, store and cook single portions, and get dinner from what is already there.
Make Do for saving money
Save money on groceries by cooking what you already have
The easiest grocery saving is the food already in your fridge. How cooking what you have first cuts the weekly bill, and how Make Do helps.
Make Do for veg boxes
Veg box or CSA share? How to use every vegetable
Kohlrabi, three bunches of chard and a lot of beetroot. How to store, prioritise and cook a whole veg box or CSA share before the next one arrives.
Make Do for vegetarians
Vegetarian dinners from what is in your fridge
Filling vegetarian and vegan dinners from the vegetables, eggs, cheese and tins you already have, plus how to make them properly satisfying.
Make Do for halal cooking
Halal dinner ideas from what is in your fridge
Halal dinner ideas from the ingredients you already have, with the hidden non-halal ingredients to watch for and a recipe filter that checks for them.