Blog Post

I couldn't be bothered cooking anything

Fiona Staunton • Jul 02, 2020

If you can relate to this then read on....

Usually my role at my cooking school, Fiona's food for life, is to inspire and motivate people to cook nutritious food from scratch.

However, following the Covid Lockdown which we have all experienced together with the recent death of my father I seem to have lost my Mojo lately!

I always promote my 20 min meals, quick and easy recipes using local produce and cooking from scratch but now I find myself in the same shoes as many of my clients after a hard days work, with no energy to cook.

I am writing this article to share what I am eating on a daily basis to keep the family healthy, even though I couldn't be bothered cooking. While I am helping my mum adapt to her new life without my Dad I am creating meal plans and some basic food prep for her but when I come home I couldn't be bothered cooking anything myself. Obviously if I have bookings for cook-alongs or cooking classes I jump right into it. I want to share tips and ideas to help anyone else out there not wanting to cook but who values nutritious meals.

Eating the most nutritious foods we can and looking after our immunity is more important now than ever.

1. Menu

Here is a sample of the meals we have been eating over the past few weeks (without my mojo we are on rotation with these!!)

Breakfasts

Store cupboard muesli with milk kefir and fresh berries

Wheatabix/eggs - kids

Lunch

a. Omelette with leftover salad/kimchi

b. Red lentil Dahl

c. Stuffed avocado with Shines tuna

eggs/soup/sandwich - kids

Dinner

a. Fish - from my fabulous local fish supplier, see below for more details - 4 times a week

Lentil salad with cherry tomatoes, capers, scallions and roast chopped nuts

Strawberry and asparagus salad with Wildwood balsamic vinegar

b. Chicken - whole roast or thigh pieces in a tray bake

c. Burger from James Whelan Butchers

d. Steak/venison

New or roast potatoes or wedges with the above, two steamed veg & some kraut.

Tips:

Zero waste stir fry - use up any veg and stir fry with onion, ginger and garlic for a tasty side dish
chicken/burger/steak night can always be done on BBQ if weather is good with peppers, mushrooms & aubergine
I always aim for half a plate of veg at each dinner
Make once, enjoy lots - I do this for Dahl, lentil salad, pasta sauce etc.

2. Weekly shop

Needing to limit visits to shops is a priority so I draw up a rough plan for the week and buy enough for three meals and snacks for the family, two adults and two children for seven days in one shop.

I gave lots of tips on my recent interview with Clare McKenna on Newstalk Radio around shopping in quarantine, organising the list etc. Being organised is imperative!

I don't usually encourage separate meals but if stuck for a meal the kids would be happy with pasta with tomato or bolognese sauce and the adults would have a bowl of Dahl - both from the freezer, made another day.

3. Shop local

The Catch Fish Shop, Cornelscourt - From day 1 of lockdown, The Catch got the whole Covid restrictions right away. It is a 10 min walk from my house and I always felt safe going there. This is the only place I went to in addition to the weekly supermarket shop.

They sell their fish, Firehouse bakery bread - Ciabatta popular here, Beechlawn organic veg- we love the salad leaf, readymade meals and some deli items like spoonful botanical, pasta, couscous, pate etc.

You could ring in an order and get it delivered to your car boot outside the shop or to your home or you simply walk to the porch, no need to touch anything and the lads will sort you out.

Rather than looking for a specific fish, I tend to go with an open mind, "what's fresh in today is the first question" or "what would you recommend" and I go from there. Over the past few months we have had the following

Plaice - Grill

Lemon sole- Grill or pan fry

Black sole -Grill

Halibut - pan fry/bake

John Dory - pan fry/bake

Cod - Thai fish cakes or Bake with cream, cheese & mustard

Mackerel - pan fry

Hake - grill or pan fry

Haddock - pan fry

Salmon - Poach/pan fry or in Thai fish cakes

Scallops- Sear on the pan

Squid - Deep fry

prawns - fry with garlic butter as appetisers or with rocket and pasta

We would simply cook the fish as per above with a little butter & fresh herbs and it is ready in 10 mins!

My 14 year old will eat whatever fish I get but my 9 year old prefers salmon Teryaki or I make Thai fish cakes with salmon and cod (or similar white fish)

4. Enlist help

With everyone spending more time in the home rather than commuting to work or to school it is a great time to get everyone involved, from menu planning, sorting shopping, food prep, cooking and tidying up there is a job for everyone. My husband has cooked most of the fish & cooked the BBQs over the past few months and I tend to prepare the side dishes.

I miss the connection with people in the various workplace wellness programmes I have delivered over the past few years, answering their questions and making a difference to help people cook from scratch. The pleasure on people's faces when I cook a dish and they get to taste it! I hope these will return in the not too distant future.

During July and August I hope to find my Mojo and test some recipes as well as doing some food photography and prepare for Autumn/Winter 20/21. I will be back in September for team building cook along session, cooking classes and group cookery demos - all in the virtual world!

Please contact me if you are interested in any of my cooking classes - workplace, private or groups!

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