7 Ways Quarantine Can Positively Impact Your Culinary Life

With all of the recent negativity in the news lately with the current growing Covid-19 pandemic, I felt the need to shed light on the opportunity and positivity this current situation can bring to us inside our homes – specifically within our kitchens – if we allow it.

While I do fully understand and can’t ignore the negative aspects of this growing pandemic – growing unemployment rates, people quarantined to their homes, social-distancing mandates, a halted travel industry and much more – I do believe there is opportunity for growth and learning in this situation.

The opportunities start at home. They start with us. Significant growth can happen right in our own spaces if we accept that positivity can come from this. For me, I’ve watched this growth unfold so beautifully right inside my own kitchen in the last week. I’m hoping you can benefit from even one small idea on this list. Because together, we can take back our kitchens and bring love to the spaces we inhabit, one day at a time.

1. There IS time for family meals.

Welp. This is an obvious one, folks. We are now taking up space inside our homes more than we ever have with the recent shelter-in-place mandates.

Even if your state doesn’t have a specific guideline set in place at the current writing time of this post, we are being federally encouraged to stay home. Stay safe. Flatten the curve. It’s pretty basic and it will work if we all do it.

This provides an opportunity for us to have dinner, or maybe your family’s favorite meal together.

Maybe it isn’t dinner, per se. Maybe dinner has always been a free-for-all-grazing-party and that.is.just.fine. Do your thing! Maybe breakfast is where you gather and that works better for you! Honestly, in our family, when my husband makes his hockey-puck style flat pancakes for breakfast (no offense, my love, because you’re killin’ it in the pancake arena-our boys LOVE your pancakes ;-)) is where the magic happens.

We have coffee around the island. We discuss our day. We talk about our dreams for the day/week/year. We TALK. We converse. We enjoy each other’s company (of course with the occasional argument or piece of food being thrown…because we do have three boys, let’s get real).

In a society where we are so “socially” connected, but “emotionally” disconnected, this is our opportunity to connect around the table.

No more excuses, I say! Little Johnny doesn’t have lacrosse practice. Little Susie doesn’t have piano practice. Little Jimmy isn’t at _____. You fill in the blank here. We are home. Use this as a time to try to intentionally connect with those you typically don’t have an opportunity to do so with.

2. It’s a Great Time to Use Up Random Groceries.

You know that half a bag of quinoa you’ve been staring at for the last 8 months? (Maybe even a year) Yep. You know what I’m talking about.

Quarter bag of frozen peas. Few tablespoons of unused tomato sauce. Package of frozen mystery meat in the freezer. Take-out leftovers in the refrigerator.

We all have this stuff shoved in the corners of our kitchen. Good heavens, whhyyyyyy?

Why does this happen? It happens because we can all effectively move on to the next thing on our to-do list. To-make list. We can easily block out the “weird” stuff because it isn’t important to use up at that moment. And by golly, that frozen pizza is so much easier to make than researching what to do with mystery meat. Am I right?!

But…right NOW could be a great time to use this stuff up! Yesterday, I shared a video on my Facebook stories checking in with my followers. We talked about using up that random stuff you have shoved in the far corners of your cabinets. It’s time! Let’s use it up! Have an adventure with it & most of all, have some fun doing it!

I know that sometimes using up random ingredients is not “fun.” It appears like work. Blah, blah, frozen pea blah. BUT, there are apps like the Food Network App and websites like allrecipes.com where you can plug in your ingredient that you want to use up, and it can come up with some inspiration for you!

If you aren’t impressed with the idea of using up ingredients just for the sake of doing it, REMEMBER this…

Using up random ingredients in a meal instead of letting them go stale is money in your pocket.

Not money down the drain.

I have faith in you! You CAN use up the weird stuff. (And if you get stuck, I’d love the opportunity to help you out – send me an email!)

3. Potentially spend less money on food overall

I tread lightly here because we have the potential to do many things effectively here. We have the potential for tremendous growth in our kitchens. We have all sorts of potential, BUT we have to adhere to boundaries, too.

Since take-out, delivery and curbside pick-up restaurants are considered essential businesses in many parts of the country, we still have the ability to order out, if we choose to.

Many of us choose to do this to support a local restaurant and by all means, I am a large supporter of this, within reason. Is ordering out for every meal necessary? NO! Is ordering take-out, curbside or delivery for your family a nice treat ___ amount of times/week? Absolutely.

According to a study done by Forbes –

Millennials spend 44% of their food dollars – or $2,921 annually – on eating out.

Whoa. That’s an alarming amount of money.

I do understand that many people eat out because it’s just easier OR perhaps they do not like to cook. It’s easier because we’re typically pressed for time to get dinner in while running to piano and soccer practice. Easier because we don’t have to do kitchen clean-up. Easier because no grocery shopping was involved. Easier because everyone ate what they want. Eating out is also a social activity. Of course, it’s only socially stimulating if you’re not held up in front of an electronic device while gathering with others. 😉

Besides saving money on not eating out all the time and by staying home and cooking, we have the opportunity to use up those random ingredients that we already own, saving us money. (Refer to #2 above).

Last, we can save money by doing less random grocery-store shopping. Oh, I needed milk and bread but came out with $50 worth of other stuff. I stopped at the food co-op for flour and ended up spending $100. How many times have we all done this? Like a bazillion.

Heres the opportunity: This situation of sheltering-in-place provides us with an unique opportunity to spend less money on eating out because we’re not forced with having to choose between what’s easier and what we have time for. The majority of us are at home right now or should be. The majority of us have time to cook now. The majority of us can peruse the cabinets and check Pinterest for a super simple recipe. Most of us are being given the blessing of time – let’s choose to use it as an opportunity.

4. Learn a New Culinary Skill

You’re probably like “Tara, slow your roll. I literally just got laid off or am learning to work from home, I am suddenly being tasked with the responsibility of homeschooling my children and now you’re asking me to learn how to make macarons.”

Bahahahaha! Not really.

I’m not asking you to learn something difficult – unless that is your jam – maybe just take mental note of something that you’d like to learn within the culinary realm.

Ever wanted to make croissants but thought you never had time for it? It’s flour and butter, and well, you got time now, baby. I learned how in an afternoon and so can you. YouTube is filled with how-to videos. Same goes for homemade _____. You name it, there’s a video on how to do it.

You’ve been following a few food bloggers for weeks/months/years and have found a really great food writer who inspires you. You’d love to read his or her posts more frequently, but didn’t have time to do it before? Most of us can squeak 20 minutes into our day now. And, when you do this, you’re supporting someone’s dream – we can ALL feel good about that, right?!

Remember all of those Pinterest boards you saved recipes to circa 2016? Peruse those again and make an effort to try something NEW!

Try something new in the kitchen – even if it’s boiling water.

We have the opportunity to learn. Learning transpires growth. Growth reeks of positivity.

5. Take Advantage of the Teachable Moments

There are so many teachable moments that happen in all areas of the household. I find it to be specifically true in the kitchen.

While many of us parents are now tasked with the responsibility of “distance learning” (the fancy new term for homeschooling while being digitally connected to our child’s teacher), we can use the basic life skills we learn in the kitchen for math, science, reading, competency and social interaction lessons.

On those days when little Susie throws a hot fit because she just doesn’t understand her math worksheet, take a pause. Let’s get creative. Can we learn fractions using the visual representation of measuring cups?

When little Johnny isn’t comprehending anything he’s read all day because let’s face it – this situation IS. JUST. WEIRD. – take a pause. Can you bake cookies (even use pre-made dough if you’d like to) and give him the opportunity to follow a given set of instructions? And then enjoy the cookies with loads of sprinkles…because it’s FUN!

Can you create a science experiment with baking soda + ____? Yes. Watch it bubble, create a chemical reaction, and learn. (Just make sure you research what products you’re combining first! I do not condone home explosions.)

I’m a firm believer that some of the greatest life lessons my children will ever learn are within the walls of our kitchen.

There are endless ways to use basic life skills in the kitchen to unite us, bring us closer together and to teach us. Let’s use this opportunity.

6. Marie Kondo Your Kitchen

I laugh at this only because I’ve never read Marie Kondo’s book, do not follow her on any social media platforms nor have I *actually* practiced any of her suggestions…BUT I know her name and what it stands for.

Marie Kondo’s name has become synonymous with the terms re-organizing, creating space and de-clutter.

I LOVE this.

I’ll share a short story here: We moved into our home 10 days prior to giving birth to our youngest son. I couldn’t even see my feet at the time. I didn’t give a tinker’s toodle about organizing my home for the “best flow” and “space” at the time. I cared about survival. I needed plates, flatware, pots and pans – stat or someone was going to starve.

Flash forward nearly four years. (We will be celebrating four glorious years in this home in just three short weeks). About 75% of the things I half-arsed threw into my cabinets in seemingly appropriate spaces 10 days before giving birth are still in the same spot. It’s time, people. It’s time.

It’s time to make sense of it all. It’s time to pull everything out. And by everything, I use that term loosely. Pull out the stuff that bugs you. Whether it’s one cabinet or 35, lay it all out in its big, messy glory.

During the first few days of quarantine, I used that time to get a jump-start on this project because it’s probably the thing that has bugged me the most, but was the easiest to push out of my mind.

Within 1.5 days of consistently working on it, I had created a small pile of kitchen things that I no longer find useful so I’ll donate or give them away. I also created a “bring to the cabin” pile and a “where have you been hiding” pile of items that I was so happy to find! I found them a better home in the kitchen so they are not lost and I can use them! I found my cannoli forms, you guys! GAHHHHH! All the heart eyes, here.

Not only will a reorganized, better laid-out kitchen help you find things easier, less clutter = cleared mental headspace. That is something we can all breathe in these days. And who knows, perhaps now that you know where things are and it makes more sense, maybe you’ll want to play in the kitchen more, too!

7. Create a New {Culinary} Family Tradition

Let’s start small here.

For some reading this, I just suggested that you have family meals together and that is where you will start and possibly end the culinary tradition. Because we don’t want anyone to die here. That is PERFECTLY fine! I am so happy that most of us will have more time to gather around food at the table during this time. This sparks intentional engagement…which sparks opportunity…this leads to growth.

For others, this may mean that this window of time opens up the opportunity to create regular Sunday dinners around the supper table. Saturday morning breakfasts may become routine (and yes, mimosas and bloodies are perfectly acceptable ;-), and Taco Tuesdays or Meatless Mondays or even designated take-out nights if cooking with/for your family sounds like death. Go through old family recipes and make your grandmother’s coveted spaghetti sauce recipe. Open up a cookbook and cook your way through it.

Try doing this once per week or even once per month. My point here is this:

Get intentional about spending time together in the kitchen.

Create a new tradition that your family values and it will produce an environment where you can deeply connect and love on your people.

“Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate.” –Alan D. Wolfelt

I hope this post has deeply inspired you to look at this time at home in a different, more positive light. I get it – It’s tough. It’s weird. It’s a little eerie. But, it can be amazing and it can create an opportunity. If we let it.

If you need recipe inspo, head back over to the recipe tab on my blog and find something delicious to cook up with your family!

Until next time…Eat Well. Travel Often. Love Much.

xoxo