Sweet Potato & Lentil Empanadas — Freezer-Friendly Recipe

Last week, school in the Netherlands started, and my routine changed completely once again.

This summer has been extremely fulfilling and yet busy.

Together with Hiske, from Sterk in Eten, in the beautiful greenhouse Kas keerweer, we welcomed more than 170 children and cooked delicious meals together.

We laughed, we tried new combinations, and we even extended the camp into two new locations in the city because so many children wanted to cook with us. We saw familiar faces coming back, a little taller, a little older, and met new children, nourishing their new passion for cooking.

Every year I feel it's been the best cooking camp I've done (this was my 4th one, I believe), and yet every year a new one comes to steal the scene.

It's so special and joyful to unleash our creativity in the kitchen with the children during the summer, discovering new flavor combinations together, somehow becoming children again with them, and letting the flavors fill our hearts.

It's also joyful to see the other teachers at every camp, catching up on our lives, the new flavors we've tried, the trips and dishes we tasted while we weren't cooking together.

The cooking camp with Sterk in Eten has become a whimsical, sweet tradition of the school holidays here in Amsterdam for me.

But while it fills my heart with joy and creativity, once it finishes, I often find it hard to come back to my usual routine.

We got used to this summer rhythm for six weeks, and now that school began last week, I honestly feel so spaced out.

I'm so grateful to have started my lessons at school again, seeing the children after the summer holidays, chatting about memories together, cooking with kids who waited so long to come back to my courses.

I still can't believe my courses have a waiting list, not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that.

Last week alone, I cooked with 60 children already.

And yet: I find it difficult to put my errands in order, to keep my focus up.

Even without ADHD, attention can still be hard to manage. And as an extra ingredient to the soup, I'm leaving for Japan in a few days, and my brain simply can't take it all in. I'm so excited, yet feeling guilty because I need to stay productive in the meantime.

While this inner conversation has been taking place daily lately, I've noticed something else.

When changes come and routines shift, grounding food habits become hard for me, it's one of the first things I notice I skip. Why is that?

I'm aware that food is my fuel, that it gives me energy to go through my day more nourished.

So why do I skip it? Why do I eat rushed, or find it boring to cook for myself?

It feels like my mind is so full of thoughts that my body simply forgets it needs food.

If I give myself room to sit with this thought, I find it extremely funny, and honestly, it makes no sense at all.

I love food! Perhaps you resonate with this too?

Here's an idea I came up with: when new routines settle in, I find it hard to make time to cook, maybe because I live in a busy city, or because of my schedule, but I can't simply change that. I've realized that's okay. I can accept it and work with what I have.

But what if I cook before my routine changes? What if I trick time itself, cooking ahead and storing it in the freezer? That way, even while I'm adjusting to a new rhythm, I'll always have something healthy ready for me, and perhaps for you too.

During the summer camp, Hiske introduced me to this super yummy empanada recipe, and I made extra batches to keep in the freezer. Honestly, they've been a lifesaver these days.