I spent a long, relaxing Christmas at home. We made pork roasts with gremolata, a simple mix of chopped parsley, garlic and lemon zest, tarts and purées and tried new, delicious recipes that we could enjoy with friends, stragglers or anyone else who might drop in. Cooking is so easy when there is time to do it properly. All too often time is eaten up with dashing to work, catching up with friends and doing basic chores.

Being constantly reminded of the obese nation we are becoming doesn’t help. Each time we worry about what and how we are eating, we enjoy food less. Scare stories proliferate, too, of antibiotic, hormone-fed meat and chemical-doused food. I was at a lecture recently where a professor spent three months trying to get hold of the ingredients of a loaf of supermarket bread, to no avail. Living on takeaways and ready meals is clearly not healthy, but where is the time to live life to the full and still feed ourselves properly?

Waste has become a huge issue, too. We now throw away more food than ever, whether it is the packaging that comes with processed foods or the food itself. According to WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, we throw away 6.7 million tonnes of food in the UK each year, a third of the food we buy. My grandmothers, who both lived through the Second World War, never dreamt of throwing food away. With an exploding global population, and rising food prices, we could be approaching a similar time of scarce resources. Quite apart from the mountains of waste we create, looked at through the eyes of my grandmother’s generation our attitude seems way too cavalier.

So what are we to do? We are told that if we buy fresh and local, and cook for ourselves, we will be doing good to the planet and our bodies. However, once you get out of the habit of cooking, getting back into it seems a daunting task, even if there is the time. Planning to cook simple, healthy food from beautiful cookbooks is great, but I know from past experience that if I haven’t got my shopping basics done and my cupboard organised it’s easy to get into a pickle.

Stay in control with a weekly list

A girlfriend told me the other day that what she dreads most about food shopping is having to think about what she is going to cook for the week ahead and the list she needs to make for her dreaded weekly shop. She never knows how many nights she will be in and, therefore, how much food to buy. Over the next few months I am going to suggest a weekly shopping list that ignores the boring bits such as milk, loo paper and lightbulbs that you can get with an internet shop or a monthly supermarket visit, and concentrate on fresh food and a few store cupboard basics you may need, such as pork chops and chicken thighs, lentils and celeriac.

Each week I shall add to the store cupboard so that over time you will have built up a full larder of useful ingredients that quickly can be converted into fun, nutritious suppers. Log on to timesonline.co.uk/realfood to check up on the growing list. I shall give tips to using store-cupboard essentials and storing food once you have cooked it so that you can use it again or add it to other dishes. I am going to write inexpensive shopping lists and a collection of quick and fun recipes to match, using good cuts of meat, fresh fish and seasonal produce. With the help of the pantry, the aim is to minimise waste and increase the time that you can spend enjoying your kitchen.

After all, everyone knows that the secret to looking and feeling a million dollars is eating well. Until next week, here are a few basic essentials to getting the most out of your kitchen.

The smart way to shop

In Britain we reportedly work longer hours than in any other European country. Being so time-poor means the internet is a brilliant tool, and though shopping lists may seem time-con-uming, they are essential to any kitchen. It is amazing how much easier it is to cook and follow recipes when your kitchen cupboard is fully stocked. The knack is always to try to have a spare of as much as possible – two tins of anchovies, two jars of capers, a spare jar of Dijon mustard. When you run out of the first tin or jar of anything, put it on the list. Keep a running list, adding things you’ve run out of and every few weeks use a little to do an internet shop for all the humdrum bits and pieces you don’t want to carry home after work. Cleaning products, kitchen towel, tins of tomatoes, pasta and sauces can all be delivered, once a month, hassle-free. You don’t need oodles of room. If space is a problem for you, just free a bit of cupboard space or clear a shelf.

If it suits, find a box scheme that will deliver good-quality meat and vegetables and find farmers online. For more help, check out the real food director and organic box finder at timesonline.co.uk/ realfood. Buy a whole or part of a pig, lamb or cow direct. They come neatly jointed in easy-to-cook pieces. You could share the cost and freezer space with relatives or neighbours.

With the tedious shopping done, you will be free to shop spontaneously for fresh food, avoiding that nightmarish, weekly shop. Spend your precious time picking up delicious things to eat from local shops, whether they are close to work or home. You’ll have more fun, meet more interesting characters and have more stories to tell than after a supermarket trawl. What’s more, equipped with good recipes and the wider choice available to you, you can spend your money on less expensive cuts of meat, more sustainable fish and cheaper, seasonal vegetables.

How to make food go a long way

One of the easiest ways to make food last longer is to store it better. If your vegetables have come plastic-wrapped, get them out of the packaging so that they can breathe. Preferably buy vegetables without wrapping; fruit and vegetables last far longer unwrapped in the crisper drawer of your fridge than sweating in plastic.

And buy better food. Packets of rocket and watercress work for throw-it-together suppers, but rapidly deteriorate. Buy whole lettuces, such as cos, baby gem and frisee. They last longer and can be dressed up with fresh herbs, toasted nuts and delicious vinaigrettes.

The deep freeze is another jewel for food preservation. I buy butter, artisan bread and milk and store it in the deep freeze for the week ahead. It means that on a Saturday morning you can whip out a croissant, a French baguette and coffee, and you have a wonderfully languorous breakfast at your fingertips without setting foot outside. I do the same buying sausages and joints of meat to put in the freezer when I visit a butcher’s. Take advantage whenever you see good food and buy it right away so that you can store it for an impromptu dinner. You don’t need much room to fit a small joint of meat, sausages and a loaf of bread, but do get a freezer pen and freezer bags. Then you won’t be staring in bewilderment at a lump of nondescript food and having to throw it away a year later.

Tupperware was once the preserve of kitsch, suburban parties in the late 1980s, but storage containers are my new passion. My first forage into breadmaking had me buying packets of organic flours. One bout of mealy worm later and all my flour, pasta, cereal and nuts had to be thrown out. Buy large plastic containers for flour, nuts, sugars, dried fruit and spices and marvel at how organised and professional they make your store cupboard.

Learning to love leftovers

Depending on how you were brought up, leftovers are Ambrosia or the dog’s dinner. In our home leftovers were always the “free” ingredients, already cooked. They could be amalgamated to create never-to-be-repeated new dishes or used as a side dish on their own. Bones became a stock; stale bread became a pudding, soup or salad; leftover meat could be added to wonderful pancakes or stir fries.

Both my grandmothers were sylph-like women who loved to cook and eat. They ran their cupboards and freezers like clockwork, with everything labelled and neatly packed. Run your kitchen like your wardrobe and you’ll never get caught without a tin of tomatoes just as you never run out of clean knickers.

What you need first...

KITCHEN NOTEPAD This is so that you can jot down when you’re running low on basic ingredients, such as tins of anchovies and Dijon mustard.

FREEZER PENS AND FREEZER BAGS To keep your freezer tidy and accessible; helping you to put your hands immediately on what you need.

PLASTIC CONTAINERS Tupperware boxes are good for storing everything from flour and pasta, to nuts, sugar and spices. (All are available from John Lewis and other leading stockists)

NEXT WEEK: Thomasina launches her new column, Pantry Girl, full of useful tips and advice on how to turn her essential ingredients’ list into three delicious recipes

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