Lockdown means no takeaways, no Uber eats and often long lines at the supermarket but perhaps it also allows - or forces us - to be more creative in the kitchen.
Celebrity chef Nadia Lim Photo: supplied
For some tips and tricks on meal planning to get through our latest lockdown, celebrity chef Nadia Lim told Morning Report that this a chance to try out new recipes and ingredient combinations in the kitchen.
Firstly though, lockdown is the perfect time for people to take the opportunity to look in their freezer and use up what they have stockpiled, Lim says.
"Most people would be surprised to see what's actually lurking in their freezer and what an opportunity to use it all up.
"I went through out freezer the other day and discovered all of this frozen stewed fruit from summer that I'd made so we're making our way through that."
To minimise your trips to the supermarket in lockdown, Lim says it's important to use alternatives for ingredients you might not have on hand.
"A lot of the time people follow a recipe and they go 'oh I don't have this I can't make that recipe,' but you really can because all recipes are basically just a guide so be really flexible with your ingredients."
With many supermarket shelves devoid of flour at the moment, people will be turning to the less tasty wholemeal flour they have in their pantry or some might be avoiding baking completely.
However, Lim says there are plenty of alternatives flours and one you can even make at home by draining canned chickpeas and blending them in a food processor to create an flour substitute that can be used in some baking recipes.
Lim says lockdown is forcing people to be a bit more creative and try new things in the kitchen.
"A lot of the time when we've got all of these ingredients at our fingertips you know you can just pop down to the shops and grab a chicken for dinner or something but I think lockdown is making everyone think a lot more resourcefully."
However, she says this time spent at home is also an opportunity to get back to the basics of cooking.
"Eat simply and enjoy it... when we have all of these ingredients you often tend to complicate some recipes you'll be like 'oh I'll throw some of this in" or 'I'll go down to the supermarket and grab this that'll be nice' or 'I need this specific herb for this recipe."
"I've really enjoyed just eating recipes that only have three or four ingredients in them you know potato gnocchi, tomato sauce made from canned tomatoes and whatever fresh herbs you've got."
For now, there's no McDonalds, KFC or local fish and chip shop that will cook for you so maybe consider giving Lim's advice a chance and go check out what's in that freezer of yours.
