As of yesterday, Montanans have been ordered to shelter-in-place. This means that all individuals currently living in Montana are being directed to stay at home to the greatest extent possible. The Governor issued a directive stating that “non-essential social and recreational gatherings of individuals outside of a home or place of residence are prohibited, regardless of size”.
In simple terms: If you don’t live with them, you don’t visit them.
Does this mean we can’t go outside at all while this directive is in place?? Not exactly. Residents may leave the home for essential activities or to operate essential businesses and operations. The directive defines essential activities as leaving the home for: health and safety, necessary supplies and services, outdoor activity, certain types of work, and to take care of others. Of course, it is still important to ensure a distance of six feet from others while engaging in any of these essential activities.
If you’re a foodie like me – and tend to make multiple trips to the store in an average week – you might be wondering, ‘when am I going to get all my food?’ Well, a general rule of thumb is to shop for groceries once per week. If you have the option for delivery or pick-up, even better. While this commitment might be difficult for some of us (hello), now is a crucial time to do our part by doing everything possible in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.
That being said, I thought I’d throw together some helpful kitchen tips that I’ve been trying to implement during this new normal that we’ve found ourselves in.
*Disclaimer: we do not have kids and we are both still working, so I fully acknowledge the privilege of time and resources that we currently have.*
TIP #1
Stock up on hardier produce. It’s no secret that food waste is common across households, even in the best of times. Now that our trips to the stores are becoming less frequent, careful produce selection can make a wealth of different to what’s being thrown out. Try picking produce that can keep for weeks in a cool, dry place – things like potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, brussel sprouts, winter squash, cabbage, broccoli, corn, cauliflower, peppers, onions, oranges, and apples.
If you regularly enjoy delicate leafy greens like spinach and salad greens, you’ll know they languish quickly in the fridge. If you’re like me and don’t want to completely nix these items from your diet – but still enjoy buying them fresh – try putting them in a freezer bag and keep in the freezer. You can break off clumps as needed and throw into soups, smoothies, casseroles, curries, etc. Same goes for delicate fruit like berries and bananas (frozen bananas are the secret to thick, creamy smoothies, and mixing frozen raspberries into Greek yogurt will result in perfect homemade and naturally sweetened frozen yogurt!).
Lastly, don’t forget about the frozen aisle! If you have the space, stocking up on frozen fruits and veggies is a great way to still get micronutrients in without worrying about an item’s shelf life.
TIP #2
Produce going bad? Even the hardiest of fruits and vegetables run their course, so what can you do when you notice your produce nearing the end of its shelf life? For vegetables: try brewing up your own vegetable stock, cooking up a chili, throwing together a stir-fry, or making a vegetable curry (one of my favorites – just throw in any veggies you have on hand, add a can of chickpeas, a can of coconut milk, some curry paste and voila, you have a warming meal served best over rice…which you probably already have in your cupboards). For fruit: whip up some banana bread/muffins/pancakes, mix up a marinade, or blend up a smoothie.
TIP #3
Procrastibaking. I know I’ve been doing a lot of this lately – especially since transitioning to working from home. Because let's be honest, there’s nothing more comforting than homemade chocolate chip cookies or muffins that are fresh from the oven. Most of us probably have the baking essentials at home already: flour, sugar, baking soda/powder, salt, vanilla, cocoa, etc. But what about the perishable essentials, namely eggs? While eggs do have a fairly long shelf life, if you find yourself without any and are in the mood to bake, don’t put that mixing bowl away just yet – there are other alternatives! Some great egg replacements include flax/chia eggs (1 egg = 1tbsp ground flaxseeds or chia seeds + 3tbsp water), mashed banana/applesauce (1 egg = ¼ cup), or aquafaba (the liquid brine from canned chickpeas – don’t knock it till you try it! 1 egg = 3 tbsp).
TIP #4
Now’s the time to experiment! While your regular diet might not consist of many beans or legumes, chances are you have recently stocked up on some of these nonperishable pantry staples. Not sure what to do with them? One of my favorite resources is the Minimalist Baker. They’re known for recipes that require 10 ingredients or less, 1 bowl, or 30 minutes or less to prepare. You can also try searching for pantry staple recipes on Pinterest or Google. Some of my favorite bean/legume go-tos include things like chili (just throw everything in the slow cooker and walk away!), lentil bolognese, soups/stews, falafels, veggie burgers, and lentil/bean “meat”balls. With most of us having more spare time than normal, now's the time to get into our kitchens and get creative – I encourage you to try and get the whole family involved in the cooking process too!
Final Words
Personally, we haven’t been eating as many fresh fruits and vegetables as I would like, but we are doing the best we can, with what we’ve got. At the end of the day, we all need to give ourselves a little grace during this time. And that goes far beyond the food we’re consuming. So what if our diets/exercise regimes/schooling/social life/work/fill-in-the-blank looks a bit different than normal right now? In the grand scheme of things, I’m choosing to take these measures because I believe it’s a critical time to do our own part to stay in front of this pandemic and slow the growth of infection.
What a unique time we're living in – the fact that there is one sole thing connecting our entire state, country, continent, and even world – making us feel as though we are truly one big small town. This is hitting us all hard, so let’s be in this together.
Looking for even more tips to encourage produce consumption and why it’s important to eat a colorful diet? Here’s a link to an article I wrote earlier this month for our Simply Local Billings magazine: https://simplylocalbillings.com/taste-the-rainbow-why-its-important-to-eat-a-colorful-diet?fbclid=IwAR1eTxI6EvPP3x_ZoStfx37zJe6J90rd3wqjkiJVLB8-j2R3Pfo5qFJD65Q