Our first digital happy hour...and lots of pantry meals
Grab your bags
Hi friends,
First, let’s talk happy hour! I’m hosting a digital happy hour tomorrow (March 19th) and I hope you’ll join me. I’m excited to put on a cute top, maybe some makeup, and open a bottle of wine to hang with you all. I’m doing a two-part happy hour so you can find an option that works with your schedule (and because free zoom calls with more than 3 people can’t be longer than 40 minutes).
Zoom Happy Hour: 7:00-7:40 p.m. EST (Meeting link here, password is 058034) This will be a time for us to check-in and hang out, so pour yourself a drink and join me!
IG Live Happy Hour: 8:00-9:00ish. EST (I’ll go live on This Needs Hot Sauce and you can ask questions, join, and drink along with me. I can also show you all the groceries I bought).
Can’t wait to see you!
Now, for the practical stuff…pantry meal ideas, tips on eating produce, and other shopping strategies.
The good news: experts are not projecting a shortage of food. Remember to be kind to workers at the grocery store as they are first responders in this crisis. If you are not feeling well, order groceries via contactless delivery.
Wash your hands before and after shopping and wash your produce before eating it. Yesterday, Julia and I spent 2 hours shopping at a large market near us (Food Bazaar). We were very thorough with our list and the line was quite long (everyone’s cart was very full which slowed things down). The store was well stocked, which was encouraging.
I understand the temptation to stock up and it’s hard to know how much we need, but take some time to think before you shop. It makes sense to buy food for a week or so and supplement it with delivery. Make sure you don’t run out of cooking oils or basic seasonings.
This doesn’t require strict meal planning, but it might help to select a few staple recipes, plus breakfast items, and snacks and go from there. Take inventory before you go (we realized we had 4 bags of quinoa while organizing the pantry). Don’t take the last of something, don’t horde toilet paper or medical supplies, and don’t buy things you wouldn’t normally make or eat as it may go to waste.
Lean into comfort foods from your culture and childhood, don’t forget to get some produce, and make use of canned goods and the freezer. Instagram is a great place to show off your quarantine meals, but don’t feel pressured to suddenly start making bread or Alison Roman vegetables just because you’re stuck inside. There are other creative outlets and simple meals can be just as nourishing. You can also buy ingredients for turkey sandwiches if that’s your ideal lunch. No shame in this game.
One more thing: do your best to avoid food waste. Restaurants use the guidelines FIFO (first in, first out) to keep track of inventory and you can try this at home. The bananas you bought a few days ago need to get used or baked with. If you’re making a recipe that calls for kale, throw in some about to wilt spinach as well. If you have doubles of things, use one up before opening another. Label items in the freezer. Now is not the time to follow recipes by the letter. Commit to being flexible and using what you have.
Carla Lalli Music has a very soothing voice so I enjoyed hearing her shopping recommendations on GMA.
Now for the recipes.
Breakfasts:
Oatmeal is my #1. I make it with fresh or frozen fruit, chia seeds, almonds, and a little nut butter and salt. You can also use dates, raisins, or frozen bananas and add any honey/maple syrup/brown sugar you like. If you want something ready when you wake up, make overnight oats or a tray of baked oatmeal.
Pancakes are super fun and the mix is easy to prep for later (combine the dry ingredients in any recipe in a container).
Smoothies use a lot of frozen fruits and are a good way to get fruits and veggies in. If your store is out of frozen fruit, you can buy fruit and freeze it.
Eggs are a great way to start the day either in a fritatta (use veggie odds and ends and any knobs of cheese), or a breakfast taco (tortillas are so great to have around). Make an egg in a hole or avocado toast if you have bread around (buy avocadoes in varying degrees of ripeness and they’ll last for a while).
Grain salads keep really well for a working lunch:
Quinoa salad with broccoli and cheddar
Tahini Caesar dressing (put this on anything)
Farro salad with asparagus and feta
Quinoa salad with thai peanut sauce and crunchy vegetables
Farro with tomato and basil (use dried if necessary)
Soups and stews: Freeze some and eat some now to avoid repetition. You can freeze portions in ziploc bags so they’re stackable.
Red curry lentils with sweet potatoes
Taco soup (Julia swears by this recipe)
Pancakes/Fritters: Another way to use up veggies and you can top them with any condiments you have.
Broccoli fritters (also like these ones)
Spotlight on beans:
Canned beans are so great. We stocked up on chickpeas, cannellini beans, black beans, and refried beans on hand.
Man Repeller linked to some good recipes.
Roasted broccoli with cannellini beans
Weeknight nachos (why not?!)
I use refried beans for breakfast tacos or quesadillas with any number of fillings (zucchini, cauliflower, etc).
Produce:
Broccoli, kale, onions, garlic, ginger, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, squash, potatoes, and carrots will keep for a week or more. You can use these items in so many ways: spruce up a jarred sauce with the aromatics, roast or mash the potatoes, add greens to eggs or pasta.
On the fruit side, apples, pears, and citrus will keep for a long time. I cook with lemon and lime all the time so make sure to stock up on those. If you buy more perishable fruit like berries, just eat that first or freeze it.
Pasta/Grains: I don’t cook a lot of rice as you can tell, but I love pasta.
Quinoa meatballs or turkey meatballs (you can freeze them)
Pasta with chickpeas (linking it twice because it’s so good, add spinach if you have)
Pasta with jarred sauce (I love Rao’s)
Fried rice (super flexible for vegetable odds and ends)
Desserts/baked goods/snacks:
Chocolate chip/tahini chocolate chip cookies
Marbled banana bread/regular banana bread
Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins
Vegan chocolate cake (really short ingredient list)
Hummus to eat with chips/pita or veggies.
Hard cheeses keep for a long time so we got some manchego and crackers for happy hour tomorrow.
If you find yourself baking more than you can eat or store, set up contactless delivery with friends in the neighborhood. Make sure they’re home and leave something at their door with a cheerful note.
Reminder: If you’re dropping $$ on groceries, drop some on donations. Give to food banks, give to food service workers, give to LGBT youth. I shared more ways to help in this article and am sharing ideas and updates on Instagram.
Take care and feel free to reach out if you need anything. I’ll see you tomorrow!
xo, Abigail