My aim is to get the nation cooking from scratch, and ditch the processed foods. I achieve this through live cookery demos, either in workplaces, my kitchen or your kitchen. If you see a dish being made, smell it and taste it you are much more likely to make it rather than flicking through the pages of a cookery book.
The core part of my work these days is visiting different workplaces and presenting my live cookery demos,I bring my kitchen to your workplace! Whether it is a 1 hour workplace demo or a 3 hour themed demo I cook,
you eat
and you are empowered to nourish
yourself and those around you.
I have put together in this blog my top 5 steps to help you cook from scratch. I have also included lots of recipes for you!
1. Try one new dish a week.
Depending on which cookery demo you attend you might walk away with 4-10 new recipes to try. I suggest you try one
new recipe each week. It can be so daunting to try lots of new dishes, it can become stressful and reduces the sense of achievement. I also have a lot of recipes on my website you can access. My most popular meal recipes are Seafood chowder
, turkey & courgette burgers
and Dahl.
2. Be a smart shopper
Shop wisely, make a list, do not go food shopping when you are hungry, avoid the money off coupons for products as these are generally processed foods. By the weekly special offer veg and use these if possible.
Be aware of the providence of food, buy local as much as possible and organic where practical. E.g I try to buy Irish veg all the time, always buy organic eggs and free range chicken.
If certain items are less expensive in one store then stock up where possible so that you don't have to visit two supermarkets to get all your weekly items. e.g Lidl have the best value chickpeas but often don't stock all the items on my list so when I do go there I stock up on chickpeas!
3. Don't buy processed foods
Avoid buying items such as crisps, sliced pan, ready made meals, biscuits, sugary yoghurts, chocolate spread etc. If you don't have them in the house it is much easier to avoid them!
Instead make healthier alternatives, I always have a batch of power bars in the fridge. if I want a snack, I take a small one, loaded with nuts and seeds and topped with a chocolate I make myself - much easier than you would think! Email me if you want the recipe.
Shortbread
has only 3 ingredients, compared to several ingredients, many which we don't recognize, in shop bought alternatives, toasted seeds
keep in a jar for at least a week and are a great alternative to crisps, I teach a simple sourdough bread method in my fermentation demos ,
again only 3 ingredients and if you really want a chocolate hazelnut spread, here is the recipe
! Overripe bananas make a
lovely banana bread
!
4. Plan
Planning is so important, I tend to plan my meals 4-7 days out, get everyone in the house involved, either to cook a meal each, if old enough or to have input, within reason on meals for the week. I find that if each person chooses a meal (can be from a limited list) for a certain day then others are more accepting as their own meal choice day will come around.
Make your time in the kitchen as manageable as possible, plan easy tray bakes or slow cooked meals when you don't have time to cook at mealtimes or are out of the house, plan quick easy meals on days when you don't have much time, plan leftover meals for days when you have zero time!
5. Batch Cook
Prepare food at the weekend or whenever you have the time. If I am low on stock then I make up nut porridge , dahl, toasted seeds and power bars at the weekend. That way I have breakfast, lunch and snacks for the week.
If I make a bolognese then I make enough to have some for other days as chilli con carne, lasagne & taco bowls. If I make roasted veg then I make enough to put it in lasagne, have with goats cheese and pasta and blend up left overs to make a soup!
When using the slow cooker I always make more than I need and freeze portions. I often make a large bowl of quinoa salad to have with left over roast chicken or a piece of fish for a quick meal during the week.
I hope you found these tips useful and please get in touch if you would like me to come to your workplace
or check out my upcoming demos
or watch my videos
to learn how to #CookFromScratch
Happy Cooking!
Fiona
