After the recent Covid-19 developments, it would appear that a lot of us are planning on spending the next few weeks living on tomato pasta. Tasty as it is, you might want to consider adding a few extra items to your cupboards whether you’re in lockdown or not.

Carbilious

We’re definitely all about the carbs in our house, especially pasta! But, you might also want to consider other carb options too.

• Rice - A very versatile option and can be literally ‘spiced up’ with only a few ingredients. Add garlic, onion, soy sauce and sesame oil. (2 of which can be kept in the freezer) also add an egg and some veggies if you have them handy and you have a quick tasty fried rice.

• Couscous - also a great option to play around with in the same way as rice, but handy as you can usually find pre-made sachets in your local supermarkets. These are usually already seasoned and you just simply need to add water.

• Noodles - a great option as you can usually find these made from many different things; egg noodles, rice noodles, udon, buckwheat the choices are endless… You can also get these pre-made to create a little noodle soup, or alternatively boil and then simply fry off with a little garlic oil, ginger and oyster sauce. Chuck in some veggies and meat to fill it out a little.

• Bread - definitely a great staple but also a great option during lockdown as it’s easy to freeze. Or alternatively buy the ingredients to make your own bread. 

Long lasting options

The freezer is definitely going to be your new best friend during this time as you can preserve most things in there quite easily. But if you do inevitably run out of space, the cupboard will be your the next go to, here you can easily store lots of tinned favourites.

• Pickles - pickled onions, red peppers, gherkins and beetroot are all great, especially if you don’t have freezer space.

• Preserved fruit - Tinned, jarred and frozen fruit will come in useful to make smoothies for that extra vitamin C.

• Root veggies - potatoes, garlic, onions, ginger and butternut squash all store well in cool dark places, so be sure to keep these in a dark cupboard if you can.

• Beans & Lentils - Baked beans may be hard to come by at the moment, but they are an amazing source of vitamin B and fibre. If you aren’t able to get them, lentils and other dried pulses/legumes can be the base for lots of things including warming soups and tasty sides.

• Tuna - Tinned is likely hard to track down at the moment but look for other tinned fish like sardines and mackerel which are all very versatile.

• Meat - meats which are cured can last a very long time if stored properly, build a little board with meats like prosciutto, salami, chorizo, pancetta, pastrami, jamón serrano etc. You can also throw in a little hard cheese like parmesan which will also last quite a while.

• Eggs - probably one of the most versatile and long lasting items, omelettes, fried eggs sandwiches, fried rice the list goes on.

• Spices and condiments - Marmite/vegemite, nut butters and honey are great for lots of things or just on their own (depending on who you ask). 😊 Check supplies of your favourite jarred condiments and also spices to make sure you can create some tasty dishes.

• Dairy - long-life dairy or veggie alternatives are great to have and also freezable if you have the space.

We hope this list helps you plan a little but remember, stocking your kitchen doesn’t mean stockpiling food. It’s important to consider everyone else and not overbuy.

Stay positive, Stay healthy

Love cocobabybox xoxo