When OutForTeaWithLucy is made to stay in for over 8 weeks what does she eat? It seems I’ve become quite the chef during lockdown after trying (and sometimes failing) to recreate the experiences of some of my favourite meals out. 

I do change up my meals fairly often as I can’t be one to eat the same thing over and over but here’s a little taste (lol) of what a typical day in lockdown looks like for my stomach. 

Breakfast 

I’ve recently become slightly obsessed with overnight oats. I do plan to do a blog on this at some point but for now, you basically throw together oats, milk, yoghurt, peanut butter and any other yumminess you wanna chuck in there. I also add Skinny Food Co’s white chocolate spread, dark chocolate chips, and some mixed nuts. Mix it all together and leave overnight for a satisfying breaky the next day. I tend to forget to do this on a Sunday night so Monday’s breakfast can be anything we have in while I make the oats for the rest of the week. These are ALWAYS paired with a hot Vimto, a drink I’ve been obsessed with since before anyone I know can remember. 

On the weekend however, I like to treat myself to a sausage and bacon butty on a Sunday. I am also partial to homemade pancakes with golden syrup! A strong believer that pancakes are not just for pancake day. 

Lunch 

My go-to lunch is almost always egg-based; poached eggs, fried eggs, boiled eggs, I’m a fan. My favourite is my own creation of Egg Mess. A fine dining, only for the egg connoisseur speciality, consisting of throwing some yummy veggies, halloumi, and chorizo (if you’re treating yaself) into a pan along with a couple of eggs and placing the cooked masterpiece on top of 2 slices of buttered toast. Bear with, I don’t always just ‘throw ingredients’ into things lol. This is an absolute winner for me, its filling, tasty, and has a going-out-with-the-girls-for-brunch-like vibe, which I am missing wayyy too much. 

Tea 

So, obviously tea is my favourite meal of the day. For any non-northerners, I don’t mean the thing you make in a teapot served with scones, I mean the masterpiece of the evening meal. We’re big eaters in this house and when a recipe says it’ll serve 6, that’s fine for the 3 of us. 

So my, go-to dish that I have perfected over lockdown is the Katsu curry, a winner in my house. It fills you up, warms you up and shuts you up. When I cba to bread chicken and make a sauce from scratch however, I LOVE the ease and satisfaction of a stir fry. I love that it can mean so many things to so many people. Veg? Chicken? Beef? Rice? Noodles? Make it your own. At uni, this was my saviour and I bet I could get the cooking time down to about 10 mins these days. 

Here’s some other successful lockdown dishes…

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On a weekend, we do like to treat ourselves to a takeaway, lockdown or no lockdown. My top 3 lockdown treats have been Buttylicious (Todmorden), La Perla (Hebden Bridge), The Vedas (Todmorden). You’re pretty much covered for burgers, pizza and Indian there. I am missing my absolute fave Chinese takeaway since they’re closed, but stay tuned for my Chinese fakeaway extravaganza!

Of course, the day isn’t complete without a few snacks thrown in there. My fave snacks are probably biscuits paired with a Nespresso coffee, especially after tea (dinner). I’ve also eaten my own body weight in baked goods since lockdown, anything from scones, to butterfly buns, flapjack, lemon drizzle, and the nation’s current favourite, the banana loaf. 

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