it's not that grindy actually once you figure the mechanics, first thing you do, go to the meadows, find as many berry and mushroom spots and bushes as you can and mark them all individually and call it like B or M for Berry and Mushroom, every 4 or 5 days(not exactly sure on the time it takes for them to respawn but 5 days is a good bet) they will reset and you can collect them all again do the same thing in the black forest for blueberries and thistle hence they are both important food recipes find them and tag them.
also carrots and turnips are easy farms as well, you just need a big ass cultivation area to plant 400 seed of each or more, meat is also easy once you have access to two star boars
cloud berries can follow the same method mentioned above, as for honey, find as many beehives as possible, they usually spawn on the ocean side or close by rivers also located in the meadows, can't remember anymore food items. good luck.