Guide · 4 min read
Cook from what you have.
Thirty seconds a week.
Most of what gets thrown away was bought with good intentions and then forgotten behind something else. A thirty-second video of the fridge, once or twice a week, turns into meals you can make tonight, the things to use first, and a shopping list that only has what you're missing.
The habit
- Sunday, before you shop: open the fridge and film it for thirty seconds, shelf by shelf, then the pantry.
- Make Meals from your fridge. You get what you have, what to use first, a few meals and a shopping list.
- Shop from the list, not from memory.
- Midweek, film it again. It picks up what's left and suggests the next few meals.
How to film it so it reads everything
- Lights on, door wide open, go top shelf to bottom.
- Pause a second on each shelf and the door racks. Every pause becomes a scene it reads.
- Pull things forward that hide behind others.
- Say what it can't see: "half a chicken left from Sunday", "no eggs".
- Turn labels to the camera when a date matters.
Room by room: what to film
Fridge shelves
- Leftovers and opened containers first
- Dairy and eggs, with dates
- Meat and fish, with dates
Crisper drawers
- Vegetables and herbs, pulled open
- Fruit that's getting soft
Door
- Sauces, condiments, jars
- Milk and juice levels
Freezer and pantry
- What's already frozen
- Rice, pasta, tins and spices
Tell it what you like
Ask in your own words and it plans around it: "vegetarian, under twenty minutes", "something the kids will eat", "lunches for the week". Change the page afterwards ("swap the pasta for rice") and it updates in place.
Share the week's plan
Send the page to whoever cooks with you. They can open it on any phone and ask it questions like "what do I need for Wednesday?" without installing anything.
Questions
Does it know what's in the containers?
Only what it can see or what you say. Say "leftover curry" as you film the tub and it will plan with it.
What does it cost?
A meals page uses a few credits. New accounts start with free credits, enough for months of weekly scans.
Can it track what I used?
Each scan is a fresh look at what's there now. Scan before and after a shop and the two pages show what changed.
Read next
- Protect your rental deposit with one video A step-by-step guide to filming your apartment on move-in and move-out day, what to point the camera at in each room, and how to turn the video into a dated report you can send your landlord.
- Fridge and pantry Open the fridge, film it for thirty seconds, and Simple Capture lists what's there, reads the dates it can see, and tells you what to cook and what to buy.