![Simon Davis and Yumi Stynes are coming to your rescue. Picture by Cath Muscat Simon Davis and Yumi Stynes are coming to your rescue. Picture by Cath Muscat](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/366980a3-d525-4dd0-a545-bff9d4581abd.jpg/r0_0_4380_2463_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
If the question "what's for dinner" sends shivers down your spine then Yumi Stynes and Simon Davis are coming to your rescue.
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Stynes, broadcaster and author, and Davis, food editor and writer, first met in 2017 when they collaborated on Stynes' first cookbook The Zero F**ks Cookbook, and discovered they shared an insatiable desire to nail the never-ending task of feeding a family. Stynes has four kids, Davis has three, they both know what it's like to be tired, busy, and hungry, all at the same time.
![Pimp some store-bought gyoza for an easy family dinner. Picture by Cath Muscat Pimp some store-bought gyoza for an easy family dinner. Picture by Cath Muscat](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/61ca8c9e-feeb-4ed5-b225-2a50ef910c84.jpg/r0_0_3430_1928_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Not long after they started a podcast The five-minute food fix which has since become one of the most downloaded food podcasts in Australia. In that short time you get meal inspiration, easy recipes and cooking hacks that will not only save you time and money, but get you fired up about food again.
Their latest collaboration is The Food Fix, a compilation of the greatest hits from the podcast if you like. A book which "is not one of those cookbooks you'll leaf through, sighing wistfully at a bunch of photogenic but ultimately unachievable dishes that you would cook if only you had a personal assistant, futuristic gadgetry, the spare time of a celibate retiree and your own personal dishwashing kid".
That introduction might also give you some idea about the tone of the book.
Davis agrees that cooking got complicated somewhere along the line.
"We're all absolutely bombarded with information these days in our permanently online world," he says.
"There's always a new food trend to jump on, an episode of MasterChef to watch, a new Instagram account to follow, or, my personal weakness, a fascinating new book on a particular obscure regional cuisine to jump on.
"Don't get me wrong, this can be a fantastic thing when it exposes you to new ideas, flavours and dishes, but when it feels that things are getting complicated for the sake of it and it leads to that sense of overwhelm that what you're putting on the table isn't enough, then something's gone a bit wrong."
![The Food Fix: Real world dinner solutions for the exhausted, by Yumi Stynes and Simon Davis. Murdoch Books. $39.99. The Food Fix: Real world dinner solutions for the exhausted, by Yumi Stynes and Simon Davis. Murdoch Books. $39.99.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/MUwv8t3Wj4u7LSUBpSbqhh/d1f8caea-a19c-4bb4-9bd5-4e4971c65697.png/r0_0_5040_2834_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Stynes said things got easier for her once she realised if she was the one who had to get dinner on the table, then she was the boss.
"If a decision about what's for dinner has to be made - and it does - then you need to take charge. You're taking feedback, but you're not taking orders," she says.
"I learnt very early on to never apologise for the food you put on the table. Most people are so grateful to have food cooked for them, they really don't mind.
"I don't put any pressure on myself to be anything other than appreciative of the company I have in my home. I am always grateful to have a person, people, friends or children sitting at my table. That's what life is about."
Do they have some quick pantry/freezer/fridge led dinner ideas?
Davis says good tinned tomatoes are an absolute pantry essential.
"They can be transformed into the easiest pasta sauce in the world, thrown into dahls, curries, soups and braises or used as a base for pizzas," he says.
"Aside from that, I'm never without pasta, rice and dried lentils in the pantry, frozen puff pastry and peas in the freezer - for the quickest tarts or pie-lids and soups you'll ever eat - and Greek yoghurt in the fridge for whipping into quick sauces, dolloping onto spicy dishes or making into speedy desserts."
Stynes goes even simpler.
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"Some soba noodles and a soba noodle dipping sauce, all pre-made, are fantastic to have lying around to be turned into a meal in less than five minutes," she says.
"Edamame beans in the freezer and people think you are some sort of culinary genius."
Any tips for saving money and reducing food waste?
"When it comes to food waste and budgeting, the best thing you can do is plan, plan, plan," says Davis.
"Boring as it may sound, if you've got an idea of what your weekly meals will be in advance then you'll be able shop accordingly, there will be less waste as you'll use everything you buy and you won't spend more than you need to."
And Stynes is a big fan of leftovers.
"One thing we do in the cookbook is really focus on how leftovers can be used and in fact, we craft meals so that dinner leftovers can be used as lunches for the following days. It's how I like to eat and it saves on waste."
"Simon and I differ in that I really love to measure, weigh, and be super precise with cooking metrics. I find knowing the exact amount I need for any one dish cuts down on leftovers and makes my whole kitchen system a well-oiled, highly functional machine. I'm super-proud of how little I waste and how everything is stored, clean, in-date and coherently organised."
If you're just starting out in the kitchen Davis says to start simple and nail the basics.
"Pasta with easy sauces, nailing rice and learning how to cook eggs the way you like them are all good places to start," he says.
"Then once you know you can fuel yourself without something nutritious, delicious and that you actually want to eat you can start branching out into more tricky stuff.
"Oh, and always, always wash your hands before you start!"
- The Food Fix: Real world dinner solutions for the exhausted, by Yumi Stynes and Simon Davis. Murdoch Books. $39.99.