Find yourself throwing away lots of food every week? Well chuck no more! By buying just five ingredients per week, you'll save yourself a whole heap of hassle at dinner time. Here's how.

At the beginning of the month, make sure you have all these essentials in your pantry, including:

• light olive oil
• vinegar;
• chicken stock cubes;
• tinned tomatoes;
• sugar;
• onions;
• garlic;
• chillies;
• potatoes;
• penne pasta;
• rice;
• flour; and
• eggs.

Week 1

Shopping list

• bacon;
• pumpkin;
• rocket;
• feta; and
• ciabatta bread.

Monday: pumpin' pumpkin soup
Lay bacon across pumpkin and bake until crispy. Put in saucepan with potato, chillies and garlic, add stock and bring to the boil, then blend and garnish with rocket and crumbled feta.

Tuesday: smokey salad
Fry bacon and pumpkin pieces until cooked. Throw into bowl with rocket, feta, just-cooked pasta and loads of olive oil and vinegar.

Wednesday: mini pizzas
Toast ciabatta bread and spread blended tinned tomatoes over the top. Top with bacon and feta and bake until bacon is cooked, then scatter rocket over top.

Thursday: bacon arrabiata
Fry bacon, onion and garlic until crispy, add a pinch of sugar and tinned tomatoes then leave to simmer. Roast pumpkin with oil, then mash with a splash of stock. Pour tomato sauce over mash and top with rocket and feta.

Friday: pumpkin and feta stacks
Mash pumpkin as above, then mix with mashed potato, feta and egg. Make into a patty and dust with flour. Shallow fry until golden, then top with a slice of crispy bacon, rocket and drizzle with vinegar.

Week 2

Shopping list

• eggplant;
• zucchini;
• parmesan;
• capsicum; and
• mushrooms.

Monday: stuffed eggplant
Cut eggplant in half lengthways and hollow out middle. Finely chop onion, garlic, capsicum and mushrooms and mix with olive oil, chilli and parmesan. Lay inside eggplant, top with an egg and bake.

Tuesday: zucchini broth
Gently fry chopped zucchini with onion and garlic. Add stock and potatoes and simmer for 20 minutes, add parmesan and blend.

Wednesday: vegie spaghetti
Bake eggplant, mushrooms, zucchini and capsicum with garlic and chilli and stir into cooked pasta with lashings of olive oil, vinegar and parmesan.

Thursday: new-schetta
Grate parmesan over eggplant, drizzle with oil and bake until crispy. Top with chopped capsicum, chilli, zucchini and a pinch of sugar and serve.

Friday: chilli pot pie
Simmer chopped zucchini and mushrooms with onion, garlic, chilli, stock and tinned tomatoes for 20 minutes, pour into a casserole dish, top with mashed potato and parmesan then grill until golden.

Week 3

Shopping list:

• beef mince;
• tinned cannelloni or borlotti beans;
• red capsicums;
• paprika; and
• sour cream.

Monday: Australian goulash
Roll mince into balls, dust with flour and fry. Add sliced capsicums, stock, a splash of vinegar, a pinch of sugar and lots of paprika. Simmer for up to an hour, stir in sour cream and serve with rice.

Tuesday: lasag-nearly
Fry mince, onions and garlic until browned, add tomatoes and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir into cooked spaghetti, pour into baking dish, top with sour cream and bake until bubbling.

Wednesday: relishy burger
Mix mince with onion, garlic and egg and make a burger. Dust with flour, throw on the barbecue until crispy then serve with a relish made from roasted and chopped capsicums with paprika, sugar and vinegar plus hot, homemade potato chips.

Thursday: cheat's chilli
Fry mince, onion and garlic until cooked, then add beans, capsicum, tomatoes, chillies and paprika. Simmer for over an hour and serve with rice and sour cream.

Friday: bean kofta
Mix beef with egg, onion and garlic and shape into sausages. Roll kofta in flour and shallow fry until cooked. Serve on warm, pureed beans with roast paprika potatoes.

Save more!
Here's a few extra ideas to save you money on food:

• Base your meals for that week on a reduced item, such as a barbecue multipack.
  
• Check out your local farmers' markets and barter those prices down.
  
• Try catching your own fresh fish.
  
• Grow your own little pots of lettuce leaves, herbs and tomatoes.