How do I meal prep vegetables and proteins during lockdown for healthy meals and cut down food waste, food expenses
Living in lockdown is our current reality. Over the last two to three weeks, impulse buying of groceries has become widespread in Australia, India and many countries worldwide. It began with toilet paper and sanitiser, and then all grocery items, medicine, and everything vanished from the supermarket. There is no need to say that it’s not only affecting our community, but this panic buying affects our personal finances, too. One problem leads us to another one, and it seems we are all stuck in a loop.
Accept the reality and Check your fridge before grocery shopping to avoid food waste!
A minimum of three weeks of lockdown is a reality; we must accept it. Some of us can afford to stay home and work from home, but some professionals from different sectors can't afford to work from home. People who work in emergency sectors like healthcare, water and electric supply offices, Police, cleaning services, age care, and child care are to name a few, but I am sure there are many other professions where people can't work from home. Day by day, the situation is getting tougher.
The key to coping with this quarantine or lockdown situation is making nutritious meals without wasting what we have in our fridge and pantry. Food waste is another giant issue that the world has been dealing with for many years. Preserving fruit and vegetables during lockdown is a great way to maximise the local harvest and save money. Check your pantry and make sure it is well stocked for the emergency situation or lockdown, next check what are the vegetables and fruits you already have in your fridge!
We are a family of three, one kid and two adults. I don’t enjoy last-minute shopping, so it is obvious that panic buying is not my cup of tea. Having a routine to organise and manage the pantry and fridge, meal plan, and meal prep always gives me the cushion to be prepared for any emergency situation. It’s been two weeks since the last time Biswa went to the farmer’s market and local shops for vegetable and fruit shopping, and he bought all these:
Pine Mushroom- 1 box
Red and yellow capsicums- 4-5
Purple cabbage 1/2
Cauliflowers-2
Green beans-500gm
Cucumber-4
Sweet potato -1
Truss tomato - approximately 1kg
Garlic - 2 bags
Banana - A bunch ( 4-5 Bananas in a bunch)
Grapes - 1 kg
Plums - 2kgs
Strawberry- ½ kg
Avocadoes- 2
Eggs - 1 tray ( 30 pieces)
Carrot - 1 bag ( 2kg approx)
To get more information about Farmer's market in Melbourne, Victoria, please visit the site.
How to store vegetables
Freezing, canning, pickling, sun drying, there are many ways we can store our vegetables and fruits for longer than a month. Not all vegetables are alike, so there is no single best way to store them all.
In the fridge or refrigerator!
Mushroom - this veggie will last 3-5 days in the refrigerator in a paper bag. Personally, I prefer to cook them within two days. If I can’t consume within two days then, I clean, wash and pan-fry them. When it’s cool, keep them in a glass container to make pulao, pasta, or curry. If you are looking for a gluten-free, easy, one-pot meal with mushrooms, then you can try this Spinach Mushroom rice recipe. If you don’t have spinach in your refrigerator, then skip it.
Eggplant, Bell pepper, Snow peas, zucchini, cauliflower, cucumber- These vegetables will last up to a week in the refrigerator! If you have all these vegetables in your refrigerator, then with some pantry staples, you can make delicious vegetarian side dishes, such as Begun Bhaja, Beguni, and Begun Posto.
Ginger - I prefer to wash the ginger, next dry them with a piece of cloth, then I cut them into ½ inch round coin and keep them in a glass bottle in the refrigerator. I have seen that I can store them for over a month.
Garlic - I prefer to remove the garlic pods from the bulb and peel the skin off, then I store them in a glass container with a lid. This way, I can store them for more than two months.
Green Chillies - Remove the stem and keep them in a zip lock or glass bottle. This way, you can store them in the refrigerator for about two weeks.
Freezing!
Freezing is my best-loved way to store vegetables and avoid food waste. Except for root vegetables, mushrooms, and Eggplant, I think we can freeze almost all the vegetables, along with the leafy ones, such as spinach, kale, and Fenugreek leaf. But if we want, we can wash, cut, and shred carrots, beetroot, and freeze them. We need to follow all the steps below:
Wash them thoroughly with warm and soapy water ( Don't worry, soapy water won't harm your health. Make sure you are rinsing the veggies a couple of times )
Dry with a piece of cloth
Chop/slice/shred them as you require
Put them in a zip-lock bag, seal them, and keep them in the freezer.
We never have to worry about expiration.
Tomato - Tomatoes can be stored in the refrigerator for over a week. I often use tomatoes as a curry base or as a souring agent. When I buy tomatoes in bulk, I follow these steps to store them for months.
Wash the tomatoes and then blanch them
Let them cool and make a puree
Pour them into an ice tray (here, I used a small muffin tray)
Place them in the freezer
Remove the frozen cubes and keep them in a plastic or metal container or zip pouch and store them in the freezer.
Fruits which I stored in the freezer - As a family, we are not smoothie lovers. We enjoy seasonal fresh fruits, which we generally store in the refrigerator. But if we get good deals on berries, I like to freeze them. I usually add them to the muffins or cakes. Sometimes I make mixed berry chutney.
Pickling!
Pickling is my other favourite way to store vegetables. Last week I made this Carrot and cauliflower pickle.
Cool, dark place!
A cool, dark place is best for storing potato and onion for a month.
Let's talk about Fish, Chicken, Meat, and Mince too!
Before I conclude the blog post, I would like to share how I preserve proteins. I prefer to buy local fish and try to consume it within 3-4 days. But, if you want, you can freeze them. For chicken and meat, after buying them as soon as possible, I try to wash and marinate them with ginger, garlic, and a few spoonfuls of oil. Then, I portion them into plastic or metal boxes and freeze them.
How long can we freeze them?
Check these links for guidance.
I hope this post will help you to store food and remember satisfaction and peace come into life from sharing. Please make sure you are not hoarding food or any other item. And if you think this post can help someone you know, share it and help us to connect. Stay safe.
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