I’m not a domestic goddess AT ALL. I can cook some things extremely well, but most things not at all.
So, when we were planning our move to the UK, my foremost concern was how I was going to manage without my beloved Munna (my cook), who came in twice a day and was willing to cook whatever mad YouTube recipe we came up with.
Thankfully, it hasn’t been as terrible as I envisioned, and that’s because I have really leaned into following a few simple rules and a formula.
- Don’t buy in bulk. This is against most efficiency guidelines. All the rule books say stock up for a week, meal plan, and so on. I find it easier to just wing it. It helps that I have an Indian grocery store, and a Sainsbury’s Fresh practically next door. So, I can quickly plan a meal depending on my meeting schedules and workload every day. It actually relieves me of the stress of having to finish cooking up vegetables before they spoil.
- Get recipe suggestions from Tesco or Sainsbury’s. Both their websites have a very good selection of recipes, and even better, you can just buy the ingredients directly and make a shopping list. I find both very inspirational, and I have not had any failures while experimenting with them. Sainsbury’s especially is 🧑🍳😙🤌.
- Keep a couple of ready-to-eat staples on hand. I have taken to stocking a couple of frozen pizzas, or instant noodles for those super-rushed days, and I don’t beat myself up over it. At first, we were eating pizza at least once a week, but now it’s been a month or more since we went that route, and that’s a sign that we are getting more efficient with the food.
- Bags of frozen and canned veggies. I’m leaning into mixed frozen vegetables. They are an easy addition to rice dishes, noodles, or even pizzas. They are a good way of getting in your 5-a-day, something we were not necessarily doing very well in India. Canned rajma, channa, and other beans are also amazing. I don’t need to plan in advance, and I found we eat these beans a lot more than we used to back home.
- Experimenting with local vegetables. At first, I found the department stores a bit intimidating. I had no idea what a lot of the vegetables were, but I have now gotten used to them. I have experimented with leeks, courgettes, and squashes, and it’s all turned out quite decent. Sadly, my son isn’t the greatest fan, so I need to find better ways to hide them in his food.
- Semi-cooked food is a blessing. I experimented a couple of times with these Udon noodles using the opportunity to introduce the kids to bamboo shoots and bean sprouts (all provided in a super beginner-friendly package). I am now looking seriously at these semi-cooked grains. They look like a great source of protein.
- Rely on fruits to fill the kids up. These last three months, we have eaten our body weight in fruits—strawberries, raspberries, plums, pears, and more. If the kids don’t fancy any of my experiments too much, they just eat a little less and fill up with fruits or ice cream—the ice creams here are heaven!
- Let the kids help. In India, because of the cook situation, the kids never really went near the kitchen. But here, they have really stepped up, and cooking is a pretty communal activity. The boy is the designated garlic peeler; the girl is the one who peels the potatoes. I do the bulk of the cooking, and K does the bulk of the washing up. But we are all pretty flexible with this, and it works great.
- Flexible with the palates. We were never really a family that couldn’t survive without Indian food. Restaurant visits were always an opportunity to try new cuisines, but now, again, we have learned to try other cuisines at home – tortilla wraps are a family favorite. We are exploring all the cheeses – a little too enthusiastically, my waist protests. The best part is that while I can’t really make a lot of Indian dishes – chapatis, dosas, etc. are beyond my capability, I can still give my family some variety with the noodles, rice, pasta, wraps, and pies.
- Getting accustomed to bread and eggs as staples. This is hard for me, and I confess I am not fully there yet.
