With COVID-19 sweeping the globe, it brings with it an added element of stress to our daily lives. Not only is it changing our daily routines, it is altering the way that we have to go about our day-to-day.  During this time of unprecedented uncertainty, we believe it’s important to find joy in small things and finding new ways to manage our stress levels. For us, this means enjoying more time with family, catching up on our favourite podcasts, getting lost in novels and importantly, finding more time to get creative in the kitchen.

We wanted to share some of our favourite things that help us to take our mind away from stressors that may be out of our control, and give our minds a moment to recover and reflect on the fast-paced activities that we are so often engulfed in. So, if you’re in need for some yummy recipes that can be made from the most-basic ingredients, some podcasts that we couldn’t be without and how we try to remain focussed when spending more time at home then keep reading!

OUR NOT-TO-BE-MISSED PODCAST RECOMMENDATIONS

Here at Link Nutrition, we love podcasts! They’re a great way to learn more about your favourite topics, understand something new and feel connected within a community. Usually, they’re our favourite way to pass time on our daily commute, so when adjusting to spending more time at home, they’re still one of our favourite parts of the day! Some of our all-time favourites are...

 

MIND BODY GREEN 

Covering a wide range of different topics, this is a brilliant, insightful and super interesting podcast and is always on our weekly listen-list! We love the variety of topics and the extensive number of guests - plus there is always something new to learn! Find out more here. 

 

THE FOOD MEDIC PODCAST

Another brilliant listen - hosted by Dr Hazel Wallace, ‘The Food Medic’. Sharing her expert knowledge alongside leading industry experts, The Food Medic shares evidence based advice on how we can live healthier and happier lives whilst busting some myths along the way! Head to the podcast here.

 

POWER HOUR

Hosted by Adrienne Herbert this podcast is inspiring! It’s motivating and is the perfect morning listen. With weekly guests and innovators sharing their top tips for morning routines and daily habits - this is the perfect podcast to help us evaluate how we can switch up our routines to help us strive and achieve our goals. If you want to have a listen, find it here. 

 

HAPPY PLACE

The lovely Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place podcast is ultimate escapism! With a new guest in every episode, each shares different stories of what happiness means to them - go and have a listen!

OUR TOP READS

Reading is a brilliant way to keep up-to-date with the latest research and developments and in our spare time - you’ll find our team with their head it a new book. Something positive that comes with more time at home, is more time to read more! So we thought we’d share some of our favourite nutrition-based reads!

 

EAT DIRT - DR JOSH AXE 

Here at Link Nutrition we love talking about the gut, and we also love reading about it! This one is definitely in our top 5 list of recent reads - if you’re interested in gut health, and looking for some simple ways to improve your gut health then it’s worth a read. 

 

EAT YOURSELF HEALTHY - DR MEGAN ROSSI 

Another top favourite amongst the Link Nutrition team - can you tell we love talking about gut health?! We love how easy this is to read and is the perfect balance between science information and totally delicious recipes (perfect for all the extra time at home!). 

 

THE ANXIETY SOLUTION - CHLOE BROTHERIDGE 

Anxiety guru Chloe Brotheridge's latest book couldn’t be more fitting at the moment. We’re so excited to be working with Chloe throughout our Stress Awareness Campaign this April (yes, that means you’ll be hearing more from her!), and we have to say we’re slightly OBSESSED with her book - go go go and read it!

 

WHY WE SLEEP - MATTHEW WALKER

Sleep fascinates us - so we relished the opportunity to learn more in this brilliant book by Matthew Walker. The science behind sleep, why we need it, the history of it and of course finally learning how much we all need - it’s definitely a must read!

 

OUR FAVOURITE STORE-CUPBOARD RECIPES

There has never been a better time to get creative in the kitchen! With restricted access to ingredients, it’s time to look to our larders for inspiration. So, with that in mind - we have to just adapt, don’t worry though - you can make it FUN! Creating new recipes with store cupboard ingredients is easier when you create a bank of recipes with one main ingredient and the beauty of them means that there aren’t any set ingredients, you can just add what you have - so, here are some of our favourites!

HERO INGREDIENT: OATS 

GOLDEN PORRIDGE

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup of oats 
• ¼ cup your favourite milk (we love almond)
• ½ tsp turmeric 
• ½ cinnamon
• ½ handful of dried fruit (whatever you have in the cupboard)
• ¼ banana

METHOD:

Combine the milk, oats and spices in a saucepan on a low heat. Cook until the oats are soft and the mixture has thickened - serve up in a bowl and top with any dried fruit or seeds and banana - then enjoy! 

 

OATY COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of oats 
• Raisins (as little or as many as you like)
• 1 egg
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp our favourite milk (we love almond)
• 1 tsp honey 
• 100g flour (whatever you have - buckwheat chestnut, gluten-free, plain flour)

METHOD:

Combine all of the ingredients together and shape them into small balls, flatten them slightly on a lined baking tray. Bake in the oven at 180c for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

 

PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of oats 
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup of your favourite milk (we love almond)
• A squeeze of honey
• ½ tsp baking powder

METHOD:

Blitz the oats in a food processor until they are fine (like flour) then combine with all of the other ingredients. Whisk the mixture together until it is nice and smooth. In a pan heat a little oil (just so the pancakes don’t stick!) then dollop the pancake mixture into small rounds. Leave the pancakes brown on the bottom and then flip them over. Once they are brown, pop them on a plate and then top with your favourite toppings (we love almond butter and berries!).            

 

HERO INGREDIENT: LENTILS

LENTIL BOLOGNESE

INGREDIENTS 

• 200g any lentils (puy, green, brown soaked and preferably cooked overnight)
• Tin of plum tomatoes 
• 1 tsp dried oregano 
• 1 diced onion 
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 1 cup good quality vegetable stock
• Pasta of your choice (we love chickpea or brown rice pasta) 

METHOD: 

To make the bolognese, saute the diced onion, crushed garlic, dried oregano with the cooked lentils in a pan. Once soft, add in the plum tomatoes and vegetable stock and leave to simmer gently for 40-45 minutes. When the sauce has about 15 minutes to go, cook your pasta according to the packet instructions. When cooked drain your pasta and top with your bolognese sauce. Finish with a grind of black pepper and enjoy. 

 

VEGGIE DAHL

INGREDIENTS

• 1 diced onion 
• 1 crushed garlic clove 
• 200g lentils (any you have - soaked red split lentils work well)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 cup of vegetable stock 
• 1 tsp garam masala 
• 1 red or green chilli
• 1 beef tomato 
• Small bunch of coriander

METHOD: 

Cook your soaked lentils in a saucepan with your stock for 1 hour until they are soft. While they are cooking, heat the diced onion, garlic and spices in a pan until soft. Add in your spices and cook them until they are fragrant. Dice the tomato and add it into the pan. When the lentil are cooked, add them into the pan and stir them through the cooked onion mixture. The mixture should be thick and velvety! Top with chopped chilli and coriander (or any herbs you have in).  

 

WARM LENTIL SALAD

INGREDIENTS

The beauty of this one means you can pretty much include ANYTHING you’ve got in your fridge! We’ve listed some of our favourite ingredients, but it’s just a loose guide so get creative!

 

• 200g lentils (we personally love puy lentils for this one)
• 1 bag of salad leaves
• 50g soft goats cheese
• 1 red onion 
• 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Small bunch of parsley 
• 1 handful of seeds (we love pumpkin but any seeds would be delicious)
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil 

METHOD:

Roughly chop your red onion and roast it in the oven for about 15 minutes, then remove it and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar and pop it back in the oven for another couple of minutes. Whilst the onions are roasting, warm through your lentils (they are best cooked overnight so they are nice and easy to digest) in a pan. On a serving plate, place your salad leaves, then top with the warm lentils, balsamic onions, chopped parsley, chopped goats 

cheese. Finally, sprinkle over your favourite seeds with a drizzle of the extra virgin olive oil - YUM!

Using up store cupboard ingredients and creating recipes is a great way to de-stress and nourish our bodies at the same time! The key to cooking with less ingredients is adapting, and using up what you have. There are a few tips and tricks that can help - like why not try using aquafaba (the water from chickpeas) as a substitute for eggs?! We’d love to see your kitchen creations, so don’t forget to tag us if you share them on social media!

 

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