At lunchtime, roasting vegetables sounded reasonable. At 6:15, the meeting has run late, the kitchen is still untidy, and dinner needs a different plan. The ingredients haven't failed. The evening has changed.

Try separating two decisions that usually arrive together: what needs using, and how much work you can give it. A bag of spinach might be the thing to use tonight. It doesn't have to become the elaborate dish you bought it for.

With time to cook, it could join the pasta you had in mind. With less time, stir it into a pan of beans or tuck it into a toasted sandwich. With no appetite for cooking, put it beside a bought meal as a simple salad. These are different dinners with the same starting point.

A backup works best when it has an actual name. ‘Something quick’ still leaves you staring into the fridge. ‘Soup and toast’ or ‘beans on toast with the spinach’ gives you a place to begin. Choose something you already enjoy and know how to make. This is a poor moment to assign yourself a new cooking skill.

There is a limit to improvising, of course. If the ingredient is spoiled or has been stored unsafely, a clever dinner plan cannot rescue it. When it is still good, you can change its destination.

Next time you shop for a meal that takes effort, give one ingredient a second job in advance. Write the easy version beside the ambitious one. Then, if 6:15 arrives differently than you expected, dinner already has another route.