3 new food habits that came from the pandemic

This normally would be the column about making nutritious resolutions for the New Year.

But nothing has been normal for the past 12 months. Through all the isolation and misery, there have been nutritional bright spots. During a weekly phone get together, I asked three friends about any food habits developed during the past year that they found beneficial.

Susan tried jumping on the bread-baking craze but it did not click.

Fish is her primary animal protein source but since she wasn’t shopping as much, her fresh fish purchases were fewer. In the past, when eating out she would order tofu but never made it at home. Her food first was cooking tofu and using it in dishes such as stir fry.

Her daughter gave her the tip to cut the block of tofu horizontally to squeeze out excess liquid.

Maybe tempeh is next.

My friend Eleanor enjoys eating vegetables and fruits but is also going to the market less frequently. She lives alone and wanted easy to prepare fresh and quick meals.

For the first time, she started doing food prep. She buys fresh produce, cuts it up and stores it in airtight containers.

When it is time to cook, her

is ready. is a French cooking term for having all your ingredients measured, cut, peeled and sliced. This makes cooking a lot more fun.

Norma May has daughters living up North. She and her daughters, as well as friends, have been sharing recipes. After a shared recipe is cooked, they send each other pictures of the dish.

This is a beautiful way to share the joy of food.

A friend sent Norma May a picture of a kabocha squash for assistance in finding a recipe. A bit of digging revealed Squash Malai Kari. https://theveganatlas.com/roastedkabocha-squash-malai-kari/

Experimenting with new foods, meal prep for easier cooking and shared recipes are three positives from 2020 that I’ll keep.