We eat for comfort and pleasure. It helps us define our own identity as well as relate to our community. We all deserve to eat tasty things. Nourishing yourself is not only self-care; it is self-love and an investment in your overall health. Self care is not selfish.

Embrace the visuals of your meal as much as the texture and flavour. The old adage ‘we eat with our eyes first’ exists for good reason. Seduce yourself with colourful, tempting dishes. A garnish of herbs, a shower of seeds or a scattering of cheese can go a long way.

Freely use flavour shortcuts such as miso (umami is the great taste-multiplier) as well as acid boosters like citrus, vinegar and even sumac.

Embrace The Smaller Vessel
eg. muffin tins, ovenproof bowls, single serve enamel pie tins, mugs etc

• Muffin tin mini quiches using a slice of bread as the base, mini muffin tin using wonton wrappers in the same vein, gratins, mac & cheese etc
• Microwave cake in a cup
• Upside down pastry baking (see @dominthekitchen)
• Small cast iron – pizza, quiche, galettes using pastry you keep in the freezer to fit this size volume
• Give in and actually make the full recipe but freeze in pre-portioned amounts
  eg. cookies, gougeres/cheese puffs, shortcrust pastry, mini hand pies, lasagna/cannelloni/dumplings ( swap with family/friends)

Choose Naturally Smaller Portion Pieces

• Something fancy? try duck leg/confit Maryland not whole roast duck
• Something slow cooked? buy lamb shank not shoulder
• Pork belly strips not 1 kg piece
• Rachel Khoo Coq au vin skewers (lardon, steak, carrot, potato, chicken thigh – all in marinade) you’ll find the recipe in her Little Paris Kitchen cookbook

Make Larger Portion Do Double Duty

• Bake whole sweet potato – half top with salsa & avocado, peel and dice rest for salad later in the week
• Leftover roast chicken – soup, chicken Caesar salad, Mexican wraps (with whatever salad veg in the fridge), Vietnamese chicken slaw mint, peanuts etc
• Whole baked fish stuffed with lemon, herbs (choose rainbow trout, whiting etc not snapper) leftovers are great mixed with mayo for sandwich filling
• Leftover beef – toss in gravy/juices or bbq sauce make a po’boy/crusty roll, make chilli with red beans
• Leftover pork – banh mi, tacos = toss in chilli sauce + accompaniments,
• Leftover sausages – pizza, add to tinned beans and tinned tomato then bake,
• Leftover lamb – shepherds pie obvs, glass noodle salad
• Bunch of radishes – pickles or roast (yep, you can roast radishes)
• Leftover rice/grains – stuff capsicums/small pumpkins/field mushrooms, also you can freeze for grain bowls/salads
• Leftover herbs – in oil ice cube tray, salsa verde, herb oil, salad dressings
• Leftover mussels 1kg bag only – freeze in pot liquor, or make omelette, chowder