We tend to consider ourselves a foodie couple, and indeed, Pikalily initially started out as a food blog before evolving into travel, home and lifestyle. So now, our readers can enjoy a little bit of everything 🙂
The foodie side to our blog will never leave because we both have an inner foodie. From trying new recipes in our kitchen and exploring new cafes and restaurants, to checking out food tours and markets when we holiday, there are lots of ways to embrace your inner foodie. Below we share 10 ways in which you can start to find the foodie within,
1. Decide On The How
To begin with you need to take time and evaluate everything to understand how you can actually begin to embrace your inner foodie. While you don’t need to be specific about the methods, it’s good to get an idea for how this will work.
Do you want to make more space to cook? Or more time? Do you want to try a food tour or hit your local food market. Or perhaps it’s a case of doing a bit more socialising with friends and going out of your comfort zone when it comes to places to eat. Whatever it is, the first step to becoming a foodie is trying something different to what you’re currently doing.
2. Assess Your Equipment
Now, you need to take a look at what you’ve got in the kitchen. So go through what you have equipment wise, and throw out what you don’t need, use, or anything broken. This will make room for the things you do want and will use!
This is also a good time to consider new appliances for your kitchen. We’re big fans of both the slow cooker (more for winter stews) and the pressure cooker, while it’s hard to look past a blender as well. Assessing your equipment and getting the right tools for the job is a big step.
3. Reorganise Your Pantry
When you’ve done that, you can now do the same with your pantry. We all accumulate so many tins and seasonings and packets of food – and when was the last time you went through it all.
Work out what’s out of date and what you never used, and make some space for things you want to start using!
4. Invest In New Stuff
Now that you’re way more organised, you’re going to find that you’re able to replace things that you’ve taken out. Because now that you’ve actually done the dreaded reorganisation (or cull) and there’s room, you can finally buy new equipment.
Whether it’s searching for wine racks or coolers on somewhere like Cooling Wine, or investing in new pots and pans or perhaps some new cook books, creating the space will finally give you the impatience you need to invest.
5. Have Fun With Recipes
Then, you can get cooking. Oh it’s fun to experiment in the kitchen. And now that you have the equipment you want and more space for ingredients, you can try out a range of things. So have fun and make new things, to bring more foodie fun into the home.
We’ve had lots of fun experimenting with recipes in the kitchen over the years. View our recipes page to check them out.
6. Try New Ingredients
As you’re doing that, why not make the effort to try new ingredients and perhaps new cuisines too? You could pick up one new thing each week to make something with, or try staples from different cuisines and cultures to make cooking more fun.
7. Create A Foodie Garden
It’s very limiting if you only ever see your home as the space to eat, enjoy, entertain, and indulge. Never forget about your garden. Because your garden is such a breath of fresh air – and it’s always a great idea to open your living space outwards too.
So, ensure that you have an outdoor dining set and look to utilise it more. Even invest in a good bbq or outdoor bar area if you can (although the NI weather will likely impact the time you can spend here). Lastly, consider adding a herb garden or vegetable patch in your garden so you can start to grow your own food and gain a real appreciation for them.
8. Host Events
One thing that many ‘foodies’ love to do is host dinner parties. This is a great step to embracing your inner foodie and can become a real social experience with friends and family. Don’t worry about making it too formal to begin with. You’ll just want to ensure you create an environment and an event that your guests will enjoy and remember.
9. Have Foodie Theme Nights
Another really great way to bring a slice of foodie fun into the home midweek, is for you to theme your evening meals! Yes, it’s simple but it works and can be really enjoyable. What’s more, the entire family will love it.
When you’re planning themed meals, it’s just a really easy way for you to try new things and spice up the tired old meals you’re used to having. Even if you just have one day a week that you switch up different themes on, it can be a lot of fun.
10. Bring In A Private Chef
Finally, if you really want to be able to do something special, why not look to bring your favorite foodie experiences to you? You don’t always want to go out, and you don’t always want to cook – but being in that situation doesn’t mean that you have to get a takeout.
Instead, you could look to bring a gorgeous dining experience to you. Hiring a private chef can be incredible. You get the idea of having a great meal, but in the comfort of your own home. This can be great for special occasions, or sharing with guests.
Got Something To Add?
Do you consider yourself to be a foodie? What tips would share to add to our list of 10? Share with us in the comments below.
Welcome to Pikalily, an award-winning food, travel and lifestyle blog. We are Nial and Helen, a happily married couple from Northern Ireland, who share a passion for food and travel among many things. We became parents to our beautiful boy Lewis in 2017. Follow our adventures through the blog.
