Now there’s a blog title that I never thought I’d be writing. Wow. What confusing and scary times we are living in. I’ve been debating whether to blog or not for the past couple of weeks. I decided against my Monthly Goals update because it just felt hollow in light of all that’s going on around us. But I also wanted to reach out in the hopes that I might offer something helpful.
In times of crisis, I head to the kitchen. Many of us do, I think. Right now, the groceries stores are struggling to keep up with demand. It’s hard to tell if people are hoarding or just in need of more food since we are all place bound. Probably a combination of both. I’ve tried to highlight some recipes on my Facebook page that are simple, comfort foods easily made with shelf stable ingredients. Dried beans are hard to find right now. It’s not shocking to think that Appalachians would turn to soup beans in times of stress and uncertainty.
We are all figuring this out as we go. Here’s some ideas that might help you and your family get through this.
- Clean out your pantry/freezer and do an inventory. It’s hard to know what you need if you don’t know what you have. Organize your pantry, freezer and fridge and see what you already have on hand. Pitch anything that’s past its prime. Look for meal ideas using what you already have. Maybe you have a new box of pancake mix and just need syrup. Maybe you have a full box of oatmeal but don’t feel very inspired to eat it. Check online for simple recipes or oatmeal add-ons to use it.
- Meal plan but don’t tie yourself to it. Prepare a meal plan but be flexible in case the store doesn’t have everything you need. If jarred spaghetti sauce is unavailable, have a simple recipe in your back pocket that you can prepare from scratch. Plain tomato sauce and seasonings are probably going to be available.
- Cook meals that you can stretch into a couple of days. Think big pot of chili or soup or some kind of gooey casserole. Last week, I made spaghetti sauce. We had spaghetti for dinner one night and then my husband took a bowl to work for his lunch one day. I made mashed potatoes on Monday and I made potato cakes with the leftovers last night.
- Use this opportunity to learn to make something new. I’m promising myself that I’ll learn to make biscuits from scratch while I’m cooking more. I’ve seen people experimenting with baking yeast bread from scratch.
You’ll notice that my advice relies heavily on using the internet. That brings me to my next suggestion: support food bloggers during this time. I’m not a professional blogger; I’m not even a very good hobbyist. But there are folks that make their living by cooking, developing recipes and sharing them with all of us. They are hurting right now because people aren’t planning elaborate meals or in the case of the healthy eating blogs, folks aren’t very devoted to their wellness plans right now.
A couple of my favorite of my bloggers are www.skinnytaste.com and www.theskinnyishdish.com. If there are folks you follow regularly, give them a click right now. They will appreciate it.
I wish all of you the best of health and safety right now. Take care.