I'm excited to announce my brand new 5-Day Pantry Cooking Challenge.
But before we get into all that… Let's face it.
Meal prep looks different these days.
Real different.
Because many of us are staying home to stay healthy.
And we're staying home to keep others healthy — and to keep our healthcare system and other resources from becoming overburdened.
Also important: if you're an essential or healthcare worker on the front lines today — thank you for your service! We appreciate you!
All this is to say that grocery shopping and meal prep is a totally different ball game these days.
Meal prep in the New Normal
Chances are, we're going to the store less often, because we want to reduce our exposure (and reduce exposure to others).
For instance, if we're shopping in person, we find ourselves waiting in socially distanced, often lengthy, lines outside of the store. And then we wear masks in the store, and try to shop quickly while physically distancing as best we can.
When we do get to the store — or manage to snag a spot for home delivery — we find out that the foods we're used to getting aren't always available. Frozen vegetables (who knew everyone loved frozen broccoli?), frozen fruit, oats, flour — out of stock.
And for many of us, making those big once-a-week trips to the store means having to juggle more food than we're used to — we wonder how to use it all before it goes bad.
Or, if we decide to get a CSA or produce box, we end up with vegetables and foods that are unfamiliar to us. That happened to me recently… what to do with two big bunches of turnips? Soup and salad, it turns out.
Lastly, we may have fallen into a comfort food rut. Lasagne, banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, the trending cacio e pepe — it's a comfort food overload!
However, after the comfort has worn off, we worry that, at the end of all this, we'll be saddled with a case of the “Quarantine 15.”
Getting back to healthier fare — even in quarantine
In spite of the long lines, Instacart delays, and everything else that's going on, it's still really important to make the most of what we have on hand, and to support our immune system with healthy and nourishing meals.
I say this with the most gentle of nudges, because I, too, have been guilty of some quarantine overindulging (Juanita's chips, enchiladas, cocktail hour).
But it's time to get back to basics, even if shopping and cooking in the New Normal is a bit, shall we say, awkward.
Join the free 5-Day Pantry Cooking Challenge
May 18 -22, 2020
I'm excited to announce a fun new activity we can do together: the 5-Day Pantry Cooking Challenge.
Please join me for 5 days of coaching, Q&A, tips, and support designed to help you get healthy meals on the table amid these challenging times.
This free 5-day challenge is designed to help you cook with what you have (or can easily get), make healthy meals, and have some fun in the kitchen.
Here's what I have planned for us:
- Learn how to use your pantry, refrigerator, and freezer to make nourishing, healthy, and delicious meals.
- Put together an organized and realistic meal plan.
- Learn about foods to eat (or avoid) to help support the immune system.
- Explore how batch cooking can reduce overwhelm and stress around meal prep.
- Find out how to make simple sauces and spice blends that add flavor to simple dishes made with pantry staples.
How does it work?
Each day of the challenge, you'll receive an email from me with the day's tips and/or featured recipe.
I'll also be providing a special workbook you can refer to throughout the challenge.
In addition, you'll be invited to join a private Facebook group, where you'll find additional content, “live” sessions with me, and support from your fellow participants.
Sound like a plan?
I'm super excited for this, and I hope you'll join me for five days of healthy cooking inspiration, my tried-and-true tips, and a lot of fun. To get started, just click on the link below. Hope to see you in the challenge!
Click here to join the 5-Day Pantry Cooking Challenge.
Dates: May 18 – 22, 2020
