From all of us here at Heart & Parcel, we offer you our collection of TEN tried and tested foodie activities to try out whilst self-isolating at home. We hope you like them as much as we do!
1.Restock, Revitalise and Clear! Sort out that spice drawer, sharpen those knives, reorganise the pans – look at all the little jobs you wanted to embark on but couldn’t do before.
2. Connect through Food. Take photos of your food and send to family and friends. This is about conversation starters and sharing recipes whilst going about your day. We’ve started our own Heart & Parcel whatsapp group with some of the ladies of our classes. A great way to learn new ways of cooking, practise communication skills and stay in touch!
3. Revisit Recipe Books Go through old recipe books, supermarket food magazines and any old dog-eared notebooks to try out any recipes that you were too busy to try previously. You could even try our podcast, Tastes of Life to listen to some of the Heart & Parcel ladies describe their faovurite reicpes, dishes and stories!
4. Get Smart with Waste. Keep an eye out in your kitchen for any food that is about to go to waste. Have a look online and see how you can make something delicious. We love Supercook.com – a search engine where you input your leftover ingredients and it generates recipe ideas for you!
5. Batch Cook. This can be a very satisfying task. get out old containers, set aside some time to look through all cupboards, fridge, veg boxes and see what meals you might be able to make. Big one pot recipes work well, stews, soups, pies, dumplings! Once you’ve filled all the containers, you can freeze them until you need them for ease.
6. Make simple food with few ingredients. One of our learners had some leftover dough the other and decided to make flatbread out of it. So useful!
7. Come Online with Me Have a virtual dinner party with food and nice drinks with your friends. There are so many different video platforms you can use. See here for a list. Book in a time, cook a nice dinner and enjoy the moment with your loved ones!
8. Explore Different Food Lifestyles Get curious about expanding your culinary skills with food cooking and lifestyle videos. We absolutely love 李子柒 Liziqi, a food blogger from a small village in Sichuan provvince, China. She lives in her village with her grandmother, grows her own produce and makes all her food from scratch! Very inspiring.
9. Practising Gratitude. This point is not necessraily food related, but can definitely help with feeling more satisfied with what you have. Everyday write three things you are grateful. Research has shown the hugely positive impact in reducing dissatisfaction with exercising this character trait. It could be written down to yourself or could be a shared group with friends. Three things. This could be as simple as that first cup of tea in the morning, to cooking with a new spice or having a nice phone call with a friend.
10. Cooking as a Family. Cooking with others can be a really rewarding experience, to pass on memories and to bond. It’s also great for life skills! Making dumplings together are a great way to pass the time learn a few different cooking techniques and eat together afterwards! You can try this recipe, a wonderful Bangladeshi sweet dumpling from some of the ladies we worked with – kids absolutely love them! Or, if you want a wider range of parcels, you can purchase our fundraising cookbook complete with 28 delicious recipes created by the women form our English language & Cooking projects! You can purchase your copy here and have it delivered to you. Happy cooking!
