Corona gives us unprecedented times. We are obliged to stay indoors. Only go outside when you have to. My mother is 82 years old. She only experienced this during the war.
However, we would like to go outside. For fresh air, for a walk or just to do some shopping and have a chat (at least 1.5 meters social distance). When we stay at home, we feel less productive. But is this really true? If you work long hours in the office or work in a factory, you are in a fixed rhythm. You don’t have time to do other things. Right now, during the corona crisis, you do have time for other things. Quality time! Spend more time with your family, your partner and your pet. Focus more on your hobby or developing your skills. Right now it is good to ensure that you find the balance between work and private life again!
Balance in the kitchen. What to do with leftover food? Soup: the healthy and practical solution.
Are you used to having lunch in the canteen at work every day? Then it takes some getting used to. You have to buy groceries and make your own lunch at home. Step into the world called “kitchen”. Have you bought too much? What do you do with those tasty vegetables before they are no longer fresh? We know what to do with it!
Tomatoes become soup or sauce
Tomatoes are very tasty fresh. Not only in the salad but also on the bread. A sandwich with 30+ aged cheese and a slice of tomato and pepper on top brings even more flavor to your food. If the tomatoes are old, you can use them in pasta sauce or in soup.
You can use all older and fresh vegetables for pasta sauce. Wash well and then put them together in the pan with a little oil. Stir and add a little water (50 ml). Then add fresh garlic, pepper, salt, parsley, rosemary, paprika. Just tasty herbs from the kitchen cabinet or from your herb garden.
Do you want to make soup out of it? Just add more water and your fresh vegetable-tomato soup is ready.
Tip: Do you want to remove the skins from the tomato? Then cut a cross in the top of the tomato and put it in boiling water for 4 minutes. The tomato skins will come off and you can easily remove them by hand.
Cucumber becomes a fresh soup. Who would have thought that?
Most people put the cucumber in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, that’s where it gets soft and wet quickly. And you don’t want that. Store a cucumber in a dark place. If the cucumber is old, you can make cucumber soup. Cut the cucumber lengthwise and remove the seeds. Now cut it into small cubes and put it in a pan.
Cut a few sprigs of parsley and garlic. Now add this to the chopped cucumber. Put a little olive oil in the pan and stir-fry everything.
Now add about 0.5 – 1 liter of water (depending on the amount of cucumber) and bring it to a boil.
Blender everything completely fine and let the soup cool slightly. Serve this with a sandwich with cottage cheese and some of the cucumber seeds.
We are going to grill peppers full of vitamins. Delicious!
A bell pepper contains many vitamins and minerals. A shame to throw it away. When peppers start to dry out, wrinkles appear. Don’t throw them out! Just like the zucchini and the aubergine, the bell pepper is very suitable for grilling. Clean the bell pepper and cut it into large pieces. Place them in a container and add some oil and spices. For example, Provencal herbs are very tasty. Grill them in a pan over a high heat until crispy. Then taste how delicious old peppers can be. Another idea is to process the peppers in tomato sauce.
Stale bread gets a new destination
You prefer to eat bread fresh and as it gets older, you throw it away. You really don’t have to! Stale bread also has its value. Make breadcrumbs from it. When you have spell or whole wheat bread it is really a shame to throw it away. You can roll them out with a rolling pin and turn them into a pizza base or the base of a quiche. You can fill this up with older vegetables.
A leftover avocado will be a delicious topping for your sandwich:
What do you need?
Cut the avocado into small pieces.
Drain the tuna.
Mix avocado and tuna.
Spread a sandwich with the low-fat cottage cheese.
Place the cucumber slices on top.
Put the tuna-avocado mixture onto the bread.
Add sesame seeds over it.
Add some pepper if necessary.
Ready! Tasty and healthy.
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André Mostard is a sports nutrition coach and has been active in the sports world for more than 30 years. André regularly writes a blog for ODS with practical tips to make you feel good! Sportvoedingscoach André Mostard
