Remember at the beginning of stay at home orders when I said this was a fantastic time to get in the kitchen and cook because “we don’t have anything else to do anyway?”
Well, I still don’t have anything else to do but I am desperate for someone else to take over my kitchen.
Cooking isn’t fun anymore. I think my sourdough starter died (RIP Vincent Van Dough). I’m buying white bread as a “treat” for my family. That might not sound like much, but I grew up on wheat bread and have never regularly purchased any type of white bread in my life. This is a major thing in my house.
This is where I need not just ideas but an entire meal plan – breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Just tell me what to buy, when, where, and how to make it. If you could chew it up for me first I’d take that, too (Ok, I’m kidding on that one but for real I looked at Soylent at the store the other day, considering replacing a meal with it because I’m THAT tired of meal planning.)
I tried meal kits again, but the cost is just too high for my family. I have another one arriving today because I forgot to cancel it. I hope my people like the random recipes chosen for us.
In its latest Members Helping Members publication “Combatting Pandemic Meal Fatigue,” the Produce Marketing Association called on its content creators for ideas to help inspire consumers, to reignite that spark of fun and … the Joy of Fresh in the kitchen.
We all need it.
The ideas are separated into several categories:
- Make the Meal an Occasion, like a cruise or safari themed night;
- Let Someone Else Do the Work, ideas combining pre-cooked and fresh ingredients (I’m looking at you, Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee);
- Surround Your Meal With Something Fun, like “best meals ever,” which is something I did in my kitchen during quarantine using lettuce from lef Farms; and
- Turn Leftovers Into Something New, with ideas like homemade pizzas and the Chopped Challenge (don’t get me started on how my entire life is an episode of Chopped).
Take a look at the full list here.
There’s a whole lot to work with here, and surprisingly, I’ve done a lot of them, like fondue, charcuterie, snack meals, power bowls, and fruit frozen for smoothies (or…a combo of both because my kids are now asking for smoothie bowls for breakfast.)
Now it’s time to give a Fancy Dress Dinner Party a try? But I’ll have to give it my own touch. Banana costumes, maybe?
