Making Do with What We’ve Got
Making Do With What We’ve Got
There come times in our lives, I call them “seasons” when things don’t go as planned. How do we make do with what we’ve got in times of uncertainty and scarcity? Right now, as of writing this, we are in the beginning of a lockdown for Corona Virus 2020. So we are learning hygiene and social distancing. But we are also learning to use half the toilet paper we did before, and how to make food out of what’s left on the shelves. I want to help with that!
I’ve seen picture after picture of empty shelves and meat departments on Facebook. I know, so have you, and likely in the stores yourselves.
If I knew how to add sound effects to my blog, you would be hearing the whistle from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly with this picture.
As I am super duper pregnant right now, my husband is doing all of the shopping. But today, although I had already heard that it was true, someone sent a photo from our local grocery (which has been one of the barest in our small town) of a FULL beautiful, thriving green and lush PRODUCE department.
This is a real picture taken by my gorgeous neighbor Catherine last night! The same time everyone else is posting completely empty shelves from the same store!
Seems to me that the ONLY thing left on the shelves is actual FOOD! Yes, they are out of meat, bread, eggs, milk, and cookies and crackers and twinkles. But what would happen if we decided to take this time to actually…
BOOST OUR IMMUNITY
I have an inside track on what’s happening in the grocery world, since my husband works for a national distribution center. That does mean that although he works in an office at a huge warehouse, he is considered ‘grocery’ and still reports to work. But all of the major stores are still placing HUGE orders, and those orders are being delivered. I am talking Thanksgiving sized orders. (In the grocery world, those are records, it’s grocery Super Bowl) So even though we are continuing to empty the shelves for fear of being without, the food is still coming. I’ll give everyone an update if that changes, but food and drugstores and hospitals aren’t going on lockdown. So breathe about that for a moment.
Let’s talk about the making do with what you’ve got part of this equation. I have seen many posts complaining that people can’t get their specific type of bagel crisp for their fussy kid, or that how dare people stock up, I can’t get any (fill in the blank junk food) What are we supposed to eat? The meat shelves are bare! Does ANYONE know where I can get some meat, who has it? (Hey, and no judgement, bagel crisp Mom! My daughter is super picky too!)
I’m going to go ahead and take that as a sign that we should all give plant based a go right now, as if God is saying, “Hey, let’s work on keeping our immunities up, I have provided, just like you prayed for!”
So quit scouring the state for meat, and hit the extremely full produce section!
OK, so of course, we are ALSO short on some of our regular items, but for once, vegans actually had the most choices for the longest. Our family rejoiced.
However, even in my house of weirdo Plant Based Health Nuts (I wear the title with pride) We couldn’t get steel cut oats, so we are using rolled oats. We will survive. We can’t get unsweetened plant based milks, so the children are SUFFERING the added sugar. LOL, we will survive! I couldn’t find flax meal, so I got whole flaxseed and ran it through the food processor. I actually like it better.
We, along with everyone, couldn’t get our special bread, (although we had it longer as it’s the most expensive, and it’s brown, grainy, and nutty.) So we aren’t using that much bread, but we grabbed some from the bakery, where they actually had plenty. You MIGHT have to slice it yourself. Just imagine that you are in France with a chef hat on and a curly pencil mustache saying “Oui, Oui!” as you slice. Because I am 100% sure that’s how you act If you are a French baker.
Oui, Oui!
Invest In Yourself
My point is, you’ve got nothing but time to explore your kitchen and the internet for some delicious ideas on what to do with vegetables. Lastnight, we ate spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce, steamed collards, and some vegan sausages. It was awesome. EVEN THE CHILDREN ate it all!
There has NEVER been a better time in history to focus on your health, and the grocery stores are practically begging you to.
“Look at my beautiful produce! It’s all here! Just for you! So you don’t get sick! EAT ME!!! I’m out of everything else!”
Your local grocery store
Here’s your chance to give it a try. I can help you along the way! Join the Facebook page to see ideas on what to eat, how to survive, how to make sure you get your nutrients, and ALL the good stuff. You’ll also have a network of people who are feeling it out as well, many of whom are further along the road and can offer suggestions.
You can also get support by clicking the green box below and adding your email. It puts you on the newsletter list, which comes out once a week, and as a gift, you’ll get a free Kitchen Prep guide! 11 pages of how to rock your kitchen on a Sunday so your life is super easy the rest of the week.
I am convinced that I have been called to duty to help out right now while people are wondering what on earth to do. We are safe, we are resourceful, we are respectful, and we can do this together and get back to normal life! Let’s take full advantage of the gifts that come with this season of social distancing and embrace the opportunities to come together online, to work on ourselves, to do some online learning, to love on our families, to invent new family traditions, and to learn to cook new things!
You’ve got this, and I’ve got your back!
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