QUARANTINE SAMPLE WEEKLY MENU RECOMMENDED BY AN IYC YACHT CHEF
We spoke to one of IYC’s top chefs for tips on how to make your grocery list take you further and work better with the pantry and stock you have in your home.
Below she shares a sample menu keeping her top tips in mind, namely prioritizing fresh ingredients, incorporating easily perishable ingredients into several dishes, buying high-flavor items that take up little space and using your freezer more.
She writes: “I put together this menu to show how you can use fresh ingredients throughout the week without them going bad. The dishes are well-balanced and interesting, keeping you from social distancing food burn-out during this Covid-19 epidemic.”
Fresh stone fruit and yoghurt // Spinach tart with tomato salad // fresh shrimp with rice and salad greens
Notes: eat stone fruit first as it goes bad easily. Same thing for spinach and tomato.
Tuesday
Eggs with avocado, tomato and steamed spinach // white bean and rosemary soup with fresh sausage // whole chicken in a skillet with root vegetables
Notes: Here we’re using any leftover tomatoes and spinach from yesterday while incorporating (sausage) which doesn’t take up that much room in the fridge but packs big flavor. The chicken also needs to be consumed within a few days of purchasing.
Wednesday
Cheese and wholewheat bread with stone fruit // Spicy chicken tacos with fresh salsa and cabbage // courgette pasta
Notes: We use the leftover chicken from yesterday and the last of the tomatoes. We begin to use our hardier vegetables, like cabbage and courgette
Thursday
Soft boiled eggs with toast and fruit // broccoli pasta // grilled fish with courgettes and baby potatoes
Notes: We are continuing to use our hardier vegetables.
Friday
Pancakes and bananas // lentil soup with coconut milk and frozen greens // quinoa salad with nuts and roasted root vegetables
Notes: We’re running low on fruit here so using frozen bananas in our pancakes. The rest of the meal can be made up exclusively from pantry and freezer items.
Saturday
Oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts // pasta with vodka sauce // omelette with broccoli
Notes: Here we use dried fruit if we’re all out. Pasta with vodka sauce requires very few ingredients: garlic, onion, tomato paste, vodka and cream, but it’s also a very comforting dish. The last of the broccoli goes into an omelette.
Sunday
Toast rubbed with garlic and oil, cheese // egg fried rice with stir-fried cabbage // onion and anchovy pasta
By day 7 we are almost out of fresh ingredients but we can still make interesting and nutritious meals from the pantry and long-lasting ingredients.