The intuition of how much I need to cook comes with more experience, but it means I’d need to go through months of me cooking too much and either throwing it away, or eating the same thing for a long time.

I know exactly what you mean! Having raised kids, and now grandkids, this problem can come up often!

My only suggestion here (for anyone), is to make less than you think you can eat, and then have simple sides or snacks to cover any shortfalls. It’s far too easy to over prepare meals, so you do bring up a good point!