5 tips for making mealtimes more exciting

If you’ve watched one too many cooking shows, you may feel your own cooking leaves a lot to be desired.

After all, it’s way too easy to fall into a food rut, going through the same rotation of meals week after week, especially if you don’t have the time or money to plan something more interesting.

Thankfully, you don’t need to spend a fortune on ingredients and kitchen gadgets or put aside hours of preparation time in order to give your dinnertimes a much needed punch in the arm. All it takes is smart purchases, and a little creativity.

Follow these simple tips to make your meals much more exciting.

Give your chicken a kick

Chicken is a staple of many meals, since it can be incorporated into a huge variety of dishes. The problem is that when we find a chicken recipe that works, we often stick to it until it loses all its exciting flavour.

But the great thing about chicken is that it’s a culinary blank slate. Flavouring it with different seasoning, pairing it with different sauces, or smothering it in an exciting marinade is all it takes to make it come alive again (not literally).

To spice up a basic chicken, why not try a Greek marinade, a Cayenne rub, or a mushroom sauce? There’re easy to make, and can be paired with a side salad, potatoes, or rice. Nothing could be simpler.

Make your own pasta sauces

You know what you're getting with a brand jar of pasta sauce, which is part of the appeal, but nothing can compare to the flavour and aroma of home-made marinara.

It might sound time consuming and needlessly expensive, but it isn’t. After all, pasta and sauce was the staple dish of Italian peasants, not Italian kings, and it only takes a few ingredients and half an hour to make a delicious pasta sauce.

Search for various recipes online to make pasta night something to look forward to.

Try different meat

If your chilli or stew sometimes comes out a little bland, the answer may be as simple as swapping out your protein.

There’s more to meat than chicken, beef, and pork. With a little seasoning, lamb can make delicious meatballs. Chorizo brings spice and flavour to any stew. And venison – being the most nutritious and ethical meat – is a scrumptious substitute for the standard beef burger.

Make fresh wine choices

Often, it’s the wine that makes the meal. The right vintage paired with the right food is a harmony of flavour, so you should put just as much thought into the wine you pick as you do the food.

Don’t be afraid to try different varieties of wine with different meals. You don’t need to choose the most expensive bottle. The standard rule is that white wine goes with white meat and fish, creamy sauces, and light meals, while red goes best with red meat, tomato-based sauces and richer fare. Most wine labels will give suggestions for what to serve alongside them.

If you're looking for a truly unique, exciting wine-tasting experience, consider opting for organic wines. Organic wines are wines made without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilisers. They're packed full of natural flavour and vitamins, and are much better for the environment. Take a look at Forest Wines where you'll find a fantasist selection of organic wines to choose from.

Make a meal of salad

All too often, salad is the sad side dish to the main event. But this is doing salad a disservice.

Prepared correctly with the right ingredients, salad can be just as tasty and exciting as any stew, pasta, pie, or curry. It all depends on what you make it with. Try making a Greek salad with fresh feta, an Asian salad with chilli and creamy tahini dressing, or mixing in pomegranates and couscous for a Moroccan flavour explosion.

Making mealtimes more exciting is simple, cheap, and will help you rediscover the joy of food.