OPINION: Masters of our kitchens one day and craving comfort food the next - or is that just me?

Yesterday I had a tasty fresh salad for lunch and a few rice cakes with fruity homemade jam for snacks while I worked. Today I had Mug Shot sweet and sour noodles, followed by toast to keep me going.

This sums up my pendulum attitude to food since this coronavirus crisis began, and judging by which shelves are emptying fastest in the supermarkets, it is much the same for a lot of people. 

The need to get back to basics seems to be strong; to cook our own food from scratch, to be masters or mistresses of our own domains - or at least, of our own kitchens.

For those of us who are parents, it is also one of the ways we can actively care for our children. This is a strong instinct when so much else is out of our control.

But so too is the need for comfort food, especially in times of stress and worry.

So little surprise that fresh meat, vegetables, eggs and flour are selling out at much the same rate as frozen pizza, baked beans and ice-cream. And that’s OK, as long as we don’t get too used to the least healthy comfort food. Like everything else, it’s all about balance and acknowledging our choices.

But spare a thought for those who don’t have a choice and who are simply glad to have any food at all. There are many families and individuals here in our community struggling every day in ways we will never know. 

Thankfully, there are good people doing their best to get food parcels to those in need. So next time you are shopping, if you can spare a little to help someone else through this rough patch, consider buying something extra and dropping it into a food donation trolley. It's that simple. I’m not sure how widespread they are in other places, but in Donegal Town you can donate in Lidl, SuperValu and through the Mustard Seed community café. 

Meanwhile, I’m off to cook something for dinner that will balance out my earlier questionable choices.