FREE FLOW SUSTAINABLE COOKING - NO RECIPES NEEDED!

27th November 2018

Do you trust yourself to create a delicious meal without following a recipe? When was the last time you created a dish with the ingredients you already have in your home? How many times have you cruised down the aisles in the supermarket, filling the trolley with supplies, whilst knowing that your fridge is already half full? Then, a couple of days later you go to utilize your previous batch of organic veg to see that it’s all gone mouldy, lost its appeal and all of its amazing taste! To follow you end up binning the entire fridge because the smell is unbearably contagious. Finally, you get fed up and decide to ditch cooking and order a take out. More food, more money!

Did you know that in most developed countries over half of all food waste takes place in the home? That is approximately £700 per year to the average family in the UK. We can help by being conscious of our weekly food supply, checking what we already have in the cupboard/fridge that we can use, before going shopping. This little bit of awareness will vastly assist in the cutting down process of the mass amount of food wastage we are experiencing globally.

There’s a satisfying feeling I get when no vegetables go to waste. Making up a dish based on not allowing veggies to get chucked out is when the real magic happens, minimalizing food waste and creating, it’s a big win, win! Earlier this month I was preparing to go away for a couple weeks and weighing heavy on my mind was that I had to use up all my beautiful organic veg from Leegreens. I decided on a full fridge cook clearance to ensure zero food wastage, the moto - “everything you got, throw it in the pot!” Cooking doesn’t come much simpler than this. Winter was officially upon us so the soup/stew vibe was calling me. If you’ve never cooked a soup or stew before then by all means research the basic steps you need to to follow to get you started, but trust in yourself to flow with the flavours that you’re putting together, experiment with different herbs and spices, the ones that you have in the cupboard that you never use because you’re not familiar with them.

Veggie soup/stew seasonings: onion powder, garlic powder smoked paprika, dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, grounded black pepper, cayenne pepper, rock salt (I use Himalayan – contains 84 minerals & trace elements). When you got a healthy selection of herbs and spices, any simple dish can be excelled!

                                        Veggie Soup medley     

                                     veggie soup medley:

                                 2 red onions 

                                  4 garlic cloves

                                     2 large potatoes

                                            Hybrid carrot mix, 4 orange,  2 purple                                                        

                                           1 extra-large parsnip Softened & steamed in Arbequina olive oil for 10 mins

                                   Added to follow:

                                1 green chilli

                                   1 green pepper

                                   1 small white cabbage

                                    Paprika Cayenne pepper

                              Dried parsley

                            Dried thyme

                               Dried oregano 3 tbsp.

Vegan Bouilion stock Fill water to cover all vegetables.

Cover with lid cook just above for 30-40 minutes till all veggies have softened.

Tinned kidney beans added 15 mins prior to serving.

Fresh parsley to serve.

Start little and taste as you go when adding in seasonings – this way you can’t get it wrong with too much, making the dish perfect to your taste buds. I never measure herbs & spices, I add intuitively and taste enjoyably.

How did I become comfortable cooking in free flow?

Well, when I didn’t have enough cash to purchase what I needed to for a specific recipe, I started to prep not knowing what I was preparing using only the ingredients I had in my tiny turtle kitchen. A supermarket run was not an option for me at this time. Sometimes a challenge, when in my mind I knew if I had shallots or a piece of ginger the dish would outdo itself but I let the missing ingredients go and followed through with the free flow meal challenge I set myself. This style of cooking soon became my creative hobby, the foundation to my business She’Gon’Prep and how I created some of the best dishes I’ve EVER MADE!

Shellbe Bowditch

Founder & Creator

SHE’GON’PREP - A local plant-based weekly meal prep delivery service, homemade meals cooked with a wholesome lot of love by Shellbe Bowditch. Find her on Instagram/Facebook @shegonprep