Create positive memories with a lockdown cookbook!

Please note: this is a sponsored post

How have you spent your lockdown?

It might just be down to the types of accounts I follow on social media, or Facebook’s algorithms for deciding which of my friends’ posts appear in my newsfeed, but it seems like a LOT of people have been using the last three months to brush up on their cooking and baking skills, or to try new ingredients or recipes for the first time.

In April, research commissioned by Tesco revealed an increase in the number of Brits cooking every meal from scratch, while consumer analysts Kantar told us that demand for flour in the four weeks to March 22nd was up 92% from the same period last year thanks to more people baking at home.

I’ve done a fair amount of baking myself – mostly tried and tested recipes, like my chocolate brownies and millionaire’s shortbread. And with restaurants closed, I’ve been cooking from scratch near enough every night, making it my mission to choose at least one or two new evening meal recipes each week. Between a monthly meat box delivery and weekly fruit and veg deliveries from the lovely Landgirls team – plus cupboard stocked with staples like grains, pulses, tinned foods and herbs and spices – I’m enjoying being a bit more creative with my weekly meal planning.

Many people I’ve spoken to have said the same: while we’re certainly currently not living in the most positive circumstances, cooking and/or baking are giving people the chance to express themselves, to distract themselves, to educate themselves, to occupy their children – and. in some cases, to keep vulnerable neighbours well-fed.

So why not turn lockdown into something positive, and create your own lockdown recipe book – either based on your own creations, or as a collaborative effort with friends and family?

Tried and tested

How many times do you try and find a new recipe (or make up your own concoction) to use up ingredients you have in your fridge or freezer, but the final result turns out to be a disappointment?

There are so many recipes out there – online, in cookbooks, in magazines – but just because they’ve been published, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re guaranteed to succeed. In fact, one of my favourite vegetarian recipes that I’ve found online calls for 500g of red lentils. Reading the ratings and reviews before making it for the first time suggested I’d be better off halving the quantity – and those reviews were right.

But despite the change I’ve had to make to the original recipe, it’s become a tried and tested favourite. And there are a few recipes I’ve discovered during lockdown that will also be added to the list, like this super-simple coriander cod with carrot pilaf from BBC Good Food, which was a massive hit all round.

Creating your own lockdown cookbook – whether just using recipes you’ve cooked/created during lockdown or those that are favourites from before, too – gives you somewhere central to treasure your favourite recipes, ordered in a sensible way, so you can continue to enjoy them post-lockdown without desperately trying to remember what the recipe was and what quantities you used.

Putting together your lockdown cookbook

It’s easy enough to copy and paste recipes into Word and print the document out…but realistically, how often would something like this actually be used?

Instead, why not make something more professional-looking, that you know will be used time and time again?

This may sound complicated – but it need not be. Head over to Design Bundles and you can choose mock-ups of a range of products. Here, you’ll find everything from desk calendars and baby blankets to various mug mockup options and, of course, hardback, paperback, spiral-bound and other books that you can use as a starting point for your lockdown cookbook.

These mock-ups are essentially templates for your product, allowing you to create something that looks impressive and professional without having to start completely from scratch!

Once you’ve sorted the design, it’s time to get others involved and start putting the cookbook together!

Collaborative cooking

Even though it’s not been possible to spend any real time with friends and family, a collaborative cookbook is a great way to create shared, positive memories of this time – as well as a way of getting your hands on new recipes that you know are loved by those you trust. Have a think about what approach you want to take: are you going for savoury or sweet, or a mix of both? Who do you want to get involved? Who will be responsible for collating the recipes and putting the cookbook together? Do you want to include photos of the finished dish? Once all that’s decided, and you’ve got all the recipes together, it’s time to start the design process and create lasting memories of lockdown that will make you smile…and keep you well-fed!

A lockdown cookbook is a great way to collate the recipes that you’ve cooked during lockdown: somewhere central to store them and look back to again and again, without the need to bookmark recipe sites or rely on handwritten scraps of paper! Is it something you might consider? What are the best recipes you’ve cooked during lockdown?