Introduction
Currently, the world is facing the threat of pandemic due to the Coronavirus. To overcome this crisis, each of us has to play a part to ensure its defeat. Most countries have enforced lockdown either fully or partially. It is no wonder that your imaginative and creative skills take a backseat during this period. Almost every day, you find it difficult to decide the menu of the meals due to a shortage of vegetables or other food ingredients. In this article, Matthew Davies helps you with tips and tricks to prepare meals during the lockdown.
Tips & Tricks
- Always plan in advance – If you intend to provide a healthy and nutritious meal to your family during this period, it is best to plan a few meals ahead. You can divide it into breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next week. This saves you from the daily dilemma of thinking about what’s for lunch, dinner, or breakfast every day. You can make a short note of a few meals liked by your family. This helps you to plan and use the stock in the pantry judiciously and prevents you from buying more than necessary.
- Make a shopping list – Once you are done creating the meal plan, create the list of items you require to prepare the meals and buy them. It’s best to make a list for at least a week ahead as you don’t want to step out often during this lockdown. Go for online shopping as it reduces the impulse to buy non-essential items. You can make the list by writing it down on a notepad or use an app if that is more convenient for you.
- Meal preparation – With the ideas for meals and groceries sorted out, now you need to start your meal preparation. It is not necessary to prepare a full meal. You can start by preparing a batch of rice or sauté chicken to save time. You can also chop veggies for an entire week while watching your favorite show on television. Freeze it in batches either in zip lock bags or prep containers. This helps you to know the exact amount to be thawed for each meal. You can roast the veggies and potatoes too beforehand.
- Batch cooking – The best way to save time is to go for batch cooking and be relaxed the entire week. Some of the ideas for batch cooking would be soups and stews, a huge batch of chicken in a slow cooker, or just the perfect beans or legumes. This kind of food takes a lot of time but when you cook in a batch and store it wisely, you can have wholesome food any time of the week as per your liking.
- Keep some snacks handy – Don’t forget to prepare some healthy and nutritious snacks along with the meal. This will prevent you from grabbing a bite of unhealthy quick food when the hunger pangs hit you between meals. You can prepare some dip, hummus, cake, muffins, etc.
Conclusion
Matthew Davies feels that preparing a meal would not be difficult even during this lockdown if you follow the tips stated above. You would be able to put on a healthy, nutritious, and tasty breakfast for your family every day.
