Lunch box

My colleagues often ask me how do I get time to cook lunchbox for me and my husband because they do not have time for that in the evening. My colleagues do not have kids and those who are the "busiest" for lunchbox in the evening are single (living on their own). I guess the secret to that is that during the week I only work and do not have social engagements plus I've got a husband who likes homemade cooking (who doesn't?).

I work pretty long hours in comparison with the standard office job. My commute is 1 hour, I start at 8 and I finish later than 6 following the commute mentioned above. Making your own food, I believe, helps me be slim, healthy and give me more energy that a sandwich that people around me normally consume.

I do plan the menu during my weekend and buy groceries online which I already described in another posts of mine. When I come home I wash myself, change into home clothes and immediately put food in the Oven or in the steamer. I am aware of slow cookers and am seriously thinking of getting one quite soon. By putting salmon and rice into the steamer I can do my own things while the steamer does the job for me. All I've got to do is to cut some vegetables for a salad right before serving dinner or I often dry leeks which I like to add to my dishes. I am using the cheapest steamer you can buy in London (Argod basic) as my previous expensive steamers got broken at certain point but this cheap one is durabel.

Fresh pasta is a fantastic dish as well as stir fry which needs 10-15 minutes of your full attention but its still not much. I can't think of a serious reason besides lack of planning that people don't have time to cook. I'd rather cook simple fresh pasta with prawns which takes 5 minutes that eat a ready meal.

Once again planning is the key. You need to plan you grocery shopping in advance, have a list written on your fridge on a postit. I use postit and write a plan for every day supper and lunchbox. All the ingredients are ready and when I come home I know exactly what I will do in the next 5-15 minutes.

 

Sainsbury's meal planner

I have to admit that I have been cheating to my dearest Sainsbury's later. Now I feel very guilty and obliged to tell the world about the Meal Planning ideas.

I have been using Sainsbury's meal planner on and off for at least 2 years. For some reason I stopped a year ago but it is a fantastic thing for a woman/family who decided to take organised approach to food consumption. Organised approach means you can achieve your goals: from eating healthier to non-starving weight loss. Sainsbury's website can definitely help you plan your meals and buy the ingredients so you save time and get into the habit of planning all your meals in advance so you are less likely to choose unhealthy options or indulge.

The main TIP I can give about Sainsbury's meal planner: swap basic and budget ingredients for higher value ones if you can afford it. Also top up your vegetables intake as Sainsbury's plan are relatively short on them. On top of that do not be lazy and prepare your own ratatouille for example rather than get cheap and not-so-healthy tinned one!

Another TIP: when you check out a particular meal planner it means that you automatically get cupboard essentials in your basket. Make sure to delete stuff you've already got before checking the basket out. 

Once you try all the meals you will come across the easy recipes you like the most and will stick to them. Once again, Sainsbury's is fantastic for the inexperienced online grocery shopper and someone who is not used to cook all the meals at home!

Our favourite easy and delicious recipes are:

Garlic mushroom and turkey bake

Hebry tomato and mozzarella chicken 

Stuffed aubergines 

Mediterranean chicken bake

Sweet potato and chicken hotpot

Prepared vegetables

Working women who actually cook at home both dinner and lunch boxes cannot live without a proper prepared vegetables. Some might argue that prepared vegetables lack vitamins because they have already been chopped but I say: "have you tried to prepare a dinner and a lunch for the next day after a proper commute and 8 to 6 in the office plus business drink?". If you have not please rest assured - prepared vegetables is a life saver for a busy woman who wants to eat more or less healthy fresh food.

Here is my favourite prepared vegetables that I buy on a weekly basis:

1) sliced mushrooms - we love mushrooms but it takes a little while to wash them properly and then chop hence for a quick mid-week meal I buy this cheap packs. The value is almost the same as the "un-chopped" ones but time is more precious. For the weekend I buy variety of exotic mushrooms which I mix together because there is enough time to prepare food.

2) chopped garlic - outstanding quality and I do not know why on earth I wasted time previously on chopping garlic mid-week. I put garlic in almost every main course I cook so this little pack is a time saver.

3) stir fry vegetables - some packs are high end some are lower end but still descent quality, super-fast, healthy and good value.

4) vegetable mix - just put them in the steamer after you come back home along with some chicken and new potatoes and leave it for a while to prepare a healthy delicious meal without much effort from you.

5) soup packs like the butternut squash for example. Soup is a quick and healthy mid-week meal or starter but we all know how difficult it is to cut the butternut squash or sweet potato! Ready-pack is fantastic value and quality!  

Jamie Oliver Antipasti Board

I have long been a fan of antipasti boards and recently I have finally bought one!

Any antipasti board looks great and stylish but I got Jamie Oliver Antipasti board. The size is great, it fits quite a few types of antipasti and serves as a cheeseboard too. It's fantastic for inviting friends for a drink or for serving starter of an Italian dinner party. The board is very informal though and wouldn't suit a more formal occasion which doesn't happen that often. I'm using my antipasti board a couple of times a week now. N

Spontaneous dinner party

Spontaneous dinner party is excited but could lead to a couple of mistakes.

First mistake was not to put 2 sets of forks and knives so the starter and the main course was eaten with the same cutlery.

The second mistake was to urgently cook a starter I never cooked before - pear, pancetta and Gorgonzola salad.

Ingredients:

1 bag of rocket

1 pear

50 gram of fried pancetta

80 gram of Gorgonzola

50 g of beetroot

For the vinaigrette

125 ml of balsamic vinegar

60 ml olive oil

1 tablespoon of mustard

some dried thyme

Salt and pepper

Optional: garlic

Cooking: just toss everything together and create a vinaigrette in a shaker or salad dressing container.

The problem with this salad: rocket and blue cheese is a classic mix. Pancetta is fine. But the pear just does not belong to this salad. Completely. I used ripened expensive Waitrose pears and it still did not work. Complete failure!

Verdict: planning is extremely important and spontaneous things being exciting and fun will definitely not work out in certain places.

Quick salmon recipe!

After a long day you get home, you and your hubby are hungry and you don't have time or energy (always in my case) to cook...  Try this salmon recipe which is super fast and doesn't require your attention!

All you need is salmon, cream, fresh herbs of possible and oven.

Use any fresh herbs available. 

Pour your cream on salmon to cover it as much as possible 

Then cover your salmon with herbs.

And depending on the size of your salmon chunks leave them in the oven for 15-20 minutes (200 oven/170 gas)

Delicious! 

My top 5 meals for mid week dinner.

1. Stir fry

Never underestimate the prower of a simple stir fry. It's super easy, quick and healthy meal with lots of flavor. Almost every supermarket has got "stir-fry" promotion where you get fresh noodles, stir-fry vegetables, meat/seafood and a stir-fry sauce cheaper altogether. I usually use prawns and duck breast in my stir fry as this combination works for me and my husband. You can add pretty much anything you like.

Ingredients: 

any meat but there are also special stir fry options

stir fry sauce

stir fry vegetables 

noodles

garlic and ginger

Recipe:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan or wok if you've got one (I don't), add the meat or fish and fry briskly until browned all over. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for another 3-4 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook the noodles to pack instructions; drain, run under cold water, then toss in the sesame oil.
3. Add stir fry vegetables to the pan and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the noodles and sauce and toss together. Cook for 2 minutes, until the meat/fish is
5. cooked through and no pink color remains. 

2. Pasta (bake)

I only use fresh pasta as it tastes better than the dry one. Making my own pasta from scratch is on my retirement to-do list. Fresh pasta with homemade pesto is undoubtedly one of the most delicious meals ever but my husband doesn't like pesto (I still make it for my lunchbox). He however likes pasta bake and I am sure everyone does. Again as with stir fry you can use any ingredient at pasta bake: any vegetable, any meat, and any sauce.

Ingredients:

Fresh pasta (I use fusilli as it absorbs more sauce)

Courgette

Cream

Cheese

Meatballs

Mushrooms

Recipe: 

1. Cook the pasta according to pack instructions. Drain and return to the pan.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs, mushrooms and courgette for 6-8 minutes. 

3. Stir the meatballs into the pasta and transfer to a heatproof dish. Sprinkle with cheese and place under a preheated grill for 2-3 minutes until golden.

3. Salmon and rice

Besides being superfood salmon is super-easy and very delicious. We use our steamer (£10 from Argos, works for 3 years already - my expensive one didn't survive till his second birthday) for cooking salmon when I don't have time to fry it. Steamer is my husband's favorite way of cooking chicken and fish. Actually I agree as it somehow makes chicken and salmon taste better!

I also use steaming rice bags whenever I get a chance to buy them. This way I can just put everything together in the steamer and do my own thing.

We at thinking of trying a very fashionable slow cooker but not sure yet.

As a sauce you can mix mustard and mayo or lemon butter sauce. If you don't have time just use lemon and chop some tomatoes and cucumbers on a side.

Lemon Butter Sauce:

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon approx.)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

pepper 

chopped parsley

Recipe:

   Melt butter in a warm pan (not hot!). Add lemon juice and warm briefly. 

   Add Worcestershire sauce and pepper.

   Add to salmon and sprinkle with parsley.

4. Chicken with mozzarella

I came across this recipe while testing weekly meal planner from Sainsbury’s. It is very easy but nevertheless delicious. You can't go wrong with chicken!

Ingredients:

olive oil

1 garlic clove

1 onion

1 red and 1 yellow pepper

400g British chicken thigh fillets 

390g carton chopped tomatoes 

1 teaspoon mixed dried herbs 

1 teaspoon Italian tomato purée 

250g pack mozzarella

250g rice

parsley 

Recipe:

1.  Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, and gas 4. Heat the oil in a large pan. Gently fry the garlic and onion with the peppers for 2-3 minutes to soften. Add the chicken to the pan and fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden all over. Transfer to a 1.5 litre baking dish.

2.  In a small bowl, mix together the chopped tomatoes, mixed herbs and tomato purée until combined, then pour over the chicken. Scatter the mozzarella over the top and bake for 25 minutes until golden and bubbling.

3.    Meanwhile, cook the rice to pack instructions.

4.    Garnish the chicken with the parsley and serve with the rice on the side.

5. Meat/liver with cream mushroom sauce

We love chicken or duck liver but fully aware that some people cannot stand it! The cream mushroom sauce I am talking about is easy to make and delicious. It will work with any meat you like. We use buckwheat as a side dish because it is healthy and boosts your Vitamin B intake leading to more energy.

Ingredients:

750g ChickenLivers, Cleaned and Rinsed.
1 Large onion, finely chopped
4 Cloves Garlic, crushed
250g Portobello mushrooms, chopped
250ml Cream
500ml Milk
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
Salt and Black pepper to taste

Recipe:

1.  In a large frying pan fry the livers until brown and almost cooked. Remove from pan and set aside.

2.  Wipe the pan clean and add more oil. Fry the onion and garlic until soft and add the mushrooms. Sauté for another 5 minutes.

3.    Allow to reduce a little and add the cream.

4.  Return the Livers to the pan and add the seasonings. Allow to cook for 10 minutes on a low heat.

5.    Allow to thicken and serve over a side dish of your choice.

How to plan your weekly menu?

Freshly prepared meals require planning if you are working and/or have kids. I know people who shop every day after work on their way home, queue at the supermarket after an already refreshing commute and then cook something at home. If you value your time then you have to organise your groceries delivery and know exactly what you are going to prepare today and every day of the week. 

Plan, plan, plan and you will always have a fresh meal in the evening and a lunchbox at your lunchtime.

My planning technique is the following.

1. Every week I create a list of dishes I am intending to cook the following week. Usually I create a list of food that my husband and our guests like. 

2. I insert all the ingredients I need into a "list of products" at Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Ocado or another website I am using for grocery shopping.

3. Deliveries can be booked 2-3 weeks in advance. I usually book 2 deliveries a week because I do not freeze meat or other products. Some people prefer to order groceries once a week.

4. I always cook a large meal in the evening because both my husband and myself, we eat our lunch boxes at work. So if we have an Italian week - home-made Italian dishes like lasagna, pasta bake, risotto, cannelloni, I have two lunch boxes ready next to the oven/cooker (to be filled with our lunches). We even take a tiny container with cheese for topping or some sauce. 

5. Try Sainsbury's weekly meal planner or something similar but swap cheaper ingredients for more expensive ones if you can. Pack of 20 sausages for 60 pence will not add to the flavour of your dish. 

6. Create baskets at online supermarkets which you can use once a month/once every two months when you, say, want an Indian week or Best-dishes-from-around-the-world week. Saving baskets make your shopping super fast and easy, also you can decide what to cook for the whole week in a couple of seconds. 

Guide to online grocery shopping

Actually this post would never happen without my best friend. She is working full time in amultinational  organisation where hours are not 9-5. Her husband is a successful businessman leading an incredible socially responsible e-learning business. They have busy social lives and they struggle to cook healthy food from scratch when they reach home after a refreshing day at the office. Sounds similar to most of us, right? She actually asked me for a detailed guide of online grocery shopping providers and some information on how I manage to cook every evening on top of preparing our lunch boxes for the next day. Not sure about "detailed" but here is a quick overview of online grocery shopping. 

Well I actually assume that the majority of full-time working Londoners shop for groceries online. I have been doing it for the last 4 years without a fail. Online shopping saves me time, money, products are always fresh, if an item is missing it takes me 2 minutes to buy it at our local Waitrose. People who have funny arguments against online shopping (something like fruits will not be fresh or I relax spending my Saturday lunchtime at the queue) can carry on spending their lives and weekends at overcrowded supermarkets and then pleasantly work out carrying those plastic bags.

We tried quite of a few of online grocery providers, most supermarket long enough, to form a more or less objective opinion. Supermarkets develop and improve their shopping websites constantly which is great. So far I am ready to  talk about Ocado, Sainsubry's, Tesco, Asda and Waitrose.

1. Sainsubry's
2. Ocado
3. Waitrose
4. Asda
5. Tesco

Sainsbury's

Website: the website improved a lot actually, now it is more user friendly, easier to navigate and you have more options to sort your products according to reviews ect. Reviews, however, are still not available on all products. 

Mobile/tablet: Mobile app is bad, ipad app is non-existent.

Couple of years ago it was very easy to register at Sainsbury's website, very easy to select a slot. The website was simple and intuitive. It actually improved now and became even easier in my opinions. Shoppes get a very generous time to shop while the slot is being reserved for them. It is great in comparison with the others meaning you can take a break and do something else while shopping online for groceries (I rarely do that but sometimes it is necessary).

Time slot: one hour and 99% of the time the driver is on time. Until two years ago Sainsubry's gave 10£ vouchers for being late but they stopped it :( However they are rarely late as i mentioned. Currently slots are available 3 weeks ahead. Also most of the time slots are available for tomorrow but I would not recommend to shop for tomorrow as you might 1. Not get the time you want 2. You need to plan your grocery shopping a couple of days in advance.

Also the driver can contact you directly which is very important! It is fairly difficult to contact Sainsbury's support in comparison with Ocado.

Delivery cost: is relatively high - from 3,50£ to 5,50£ unless you shop from Tue to Thu and your order exceeds 100£.

Substitutes: Sainsubry's weakest point. You can opt out of substitutes which we did. Substitutes are usually crazy with all the providers besides Ocado. Sainsbury's constantly misses something. 

Exp date: if the expiry date is close then the product is packed in a blue bag and you can decide on a spot whether you want to keep it or want a refund. Easy!

Packing: 99% of the time groceries are packed nicely! it is very rare that eggs are broken and usually drivers at Sainsbury's check them with you which is very different from the other supermarkets.

Additional features: Sainsbury's has got a wonderful meal planners. They are not that straightforward but still very useful. I tested them for a while prior to establishing some rules that one needs with this meal plans. Plus we just had a delivery and Sainsbury's are looking for more drivers which - hopefully - means more slots are available.

All in all: Drivers at Sainsbury's are very friendly and efficient. Due to the delivery time availability, quality, variety and product prices this is a well-rounded choice for us so far.

Ocado

Website:  Superior! It looks good, very easy to navigate and shop, fantastic feature with reviews where almost all products have got customers reviews (one may argue reviews are not necessary as products change throughout the year).

Mobile/tablet: fantastic mobile and ipad app. I guess that is why their average basket is so pricey - they spend lots of money on technology while it would be beneficial for them to improve their food quality.

Delivery cost: Can be anything from 0 to 6 pounds depending on your order price and time. Smart pass is available but we never used it as it suits Ocado fans only.

Substitutes: Ocado is the winner in this. We never had a grocery substitute with this provider.

Exp date: Never close to expiry, always fresh.

Packing: Decent, bags are massive and have different color according to the type of food that is in it - fridge, freezer, cupboard etc

Additional features: Receipt is arranged according to your product expiry dates which is very useful as you will not waste food and make Jamie Oliver happy. Ocado also has promotion for first-time shopper ranging from £10 to £20.

All in all: We have been using Ocado for a long time because they always, always have a time slot available as late or as early as we need and their website and customer service are fantastic. However Ocado is not my favorite for a very important reason: food quality. Their bakery, fruits and vegetables are of a lower standard and much pricier than Sainsbury's, Waitrose or Asda. Similar food basket will be more expensive in Ocado in comparison with Sainsburys with less food quantity. Unacceptable. We had enough and now I use Ocado in case of emergency if I, say, need a lot of food for tomorrow and no one else has a time slot available.

Waitrose

Website: fairly simple and user-friendly, easy to shop. Waitrose improved its website too. Very easy to register.

Mobile/tablet: Better than Sainsbury's, worse than Ocado.

Time slot: Waitrose improved a lot in my opinion - time slots are now easily available and reserved for 2 hours for you while you shop. However drivers are still late and they never call - not allowed to call customers directly hence you have no idea what's going on. Bad.

Delivery cost: Free with a minimum order being £60. I never shop below that minimum.

Substitutes: Rarely but happens. Agains something between Sainsbury's and Ocado.

Exp date: The best option for fresh products for sure.

Packing: Average.

Additional features: Promotions for first-time shoppers available.

All in all: Food quality and variety in Waitrose are superb however it comes with a price tag. Would order at Waitrose more often if their driver deliver my groceries on time.

Asda

Website: average.

Mobile/tablet: It is heavily criticised and reviewed badly however I find their mobile app manageable.

Time slot: 2 hours... So it is only a weekend option and still it is too much, believe me. Drivers arrive on time however but it is difficult to miss 2 hour slot.

Delivery cost: Expensive for 2 hour slot. Ranging from £1 to £5. Asda also offers delivery pass, currently discounted.

Substitutes: Disaster. Asda is the worse when it comes to substitution. I wonder whether they substitute on purpose despite all their claims.

Exp date: Very good and if a product expiry date is close the driver make sure you are aware of that. You can refuse to accept such product.

Packing: Random. You never know where your washing powder may end up (can be next to your bread). Doesn't bother me as we never know how supermarkets operate before we see their shelves. Or at least I don't know and don't think highly of them.

Additional features: Drivers are careless and not particularly polite. One guy smashed 12 (!) eggs and was pressing us to accept them and throw them ourselves.

All in all: Food choices are limited however fruits are good. Asda also has got a particular mix of mushrooms we like hence I occasionally give them a go.

Tesco

Website: not too bad.

Mobile/tablet: manageable.

All in all: basically I had terrible experience with Tesco. I have heard that their drivers are the worse but this incident was a disaster. The driver refused to deliver products to our flat (1st floor) as he was arguing he is only responsible to deliver it to the main entrance. The driver started to shout, became offensive and took or products back to the van. When I tried to grab the products and told him to leave them he pushed me and I fell. When I called their support a person without a command in English language did not even understand what happened. The investigated was going on for months. I figured out that in London it was relatively normal to get this problems with Tesco. Taking into account the fact that products quality in Tesco is the worse in the UK I am not sad that this provide is not for me.