If you’re someone who appreciates the goodness of fresh food, you’re in good company. Fresh food adds a vibrant touch to your meals and allows you to enjoy unprocessed, healthy ingredients. While the benefits of fresh food are numerous, the reality of time can be a challenge, especially when life keeps you on the go. Here, I’d like to share some smart food planning tips that I personally rely on.
- Ready-to-Use Pepper Mix: In Nigeria, this pepper mix is the foundation of many dishes. Typically, I use a mixture of tomatoes, pepper, tatashe (bell pepper), and onions. I employ a couple of methods to prepare this mix. Sometimes, I cook them as they are and then blend and freeze, while on other occasions, I blend the mix and simmer until it thickens. From my experience, I’ve noticed that these methods impart different flavours to the stew base. Another method I find quite appealing is roasting the peppers before blending. This option, in my opinion, brings out the most flavour in the pepper mixture. Regardless of your preferred method, the key is to have this mixture on hand in your refrigerator for making stews, porridge, sauces, or whatever your food needs may be.
- Jollof Pepper Mix: This one is a real lifesaver. Even when I don’t have the ready-to-use pepper mix on hand, I invariably have this Jollof mix in my fridge. Jollof rice is something I believe can be easily prepared. Typically, I use a generous amount of shombo (Cayenne Pepper), a smaller quantity of rodo (scotch bonnet), onions, and ginger. After blending, I boil the mixture and store it in the refrigerator. This base not only influences the colour to the rice but also infuses it with a great flavour. For my Jollof rice, I use tomato paste along with a substantial amount of this mix. Coupled with other seasonings, my Jollof rice always turns out great.
- Dried Vegetable Leaves: Drying vegetable leaves can be a bit challenging due to its nature, but I’ve had success with some, such as curry leaves and scent leaves. These leaves retain their flavour (especially curry leaves) and prove handy when making sauces or porridge. I’m aware that okro and certain other vegetables can also be dried and stored, and I look forward to exploring these possibilities further.
- Prepare Multiple Soups: While I still prefer the freshness of individually cooked meals, if you don’t mind, consider dedicating a day to cook multiple soups. For instance, you can prepare Egusi, Oha, and Okro soup separately and freeze them for future use. Though I don’t do this because I am still a sucker for fresh food, this can greatly reduce the daily cooking and meal planning stress.
- Pancake Mix: Homemade pancake mix is a convenient option. Combining flour, eggs, sugar, salt, and optionally nutmeg with water allows you to prepare a batch of pancake mix the night before if you’re planning to make pancakes the following morning. While I haven’t personally stored it in the fridge for more than a day, it is fine for a day or overnight use (refrigerated, not frozen) if your fridge maintains a suitable temperature.
These practical food planning strategies can make your daily cooking routine more manageable and ensure that you always have flavorful, healthy options readily available.
Do you have other meal planning strategies? Please let me know.
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Love,
Ayobambo