In any home, food preparation is perhaps one of the main chores. Family members, or often one of them, spend hours in the kitchen readying meals every single day. Though cooking is an elaborate process involving a lot of labor, there are a few things you can do to shorten your time in the kitchen and not be consumed by mundane tasks. We are here to share some secrets.
Pre cut and wash veggies
This might seem like a simple, obvious tip but not many people do it thinking they will chop and ready whatever they need when they need it. But it’s usually the chopping and washing that takes most time when preparing a dish. Many of our readers confessed that some prepping of basic ingredients well in advance can save a lot of time in the kitchen. So look at your produce and figure out what can be cut and stored. Most veggies like carrots, cauliflower, and mushrooms can be cut, washed, dried, and stored in an airtight container in the fridge a few days in advance ready for use. Similarly, you can also store coriander, mint, and other herbs. The idea is to eliminate the need for immediate preparation.
Invest in a spice rack
Do you have a dedicated spice rack within easy access? If not, it’s time you considered building one. A small thing as a spice rack that is easily accessible and stores all the essential spices at one place is one of the most basic ways to avoid confusion in the kitchen and make cooking a breeze. Many people store spices randomly and in what different jars and boxes are available at home.
Having all the necessary spices at one place saves you the hassle of having to search for what you need when you are in the kitchen making meals. It’s a small thing but the impact is life changing.
Think one pot meals
One of the many reasons why we end up spending so much time in the kitchen is because cooking usually involves a lot of separate steps. There’s boiling, blanching, frying etc and all of these take multiple dishes and are time consuming. So when you are in a rush, it helps to have an arsenal of one pot meals up your sleeves. There are many stews, pastas and other vegetable dishes that you can whip up in a single pan. This significantly lessens your cooking and cleaning time.
Put the oven to use
Cooking can sometimes be an ordeal especially when it’s hot like it is these days. Also, having something simmering on the stove can mean more time in the kitchen as you have to constantly attend to it. If you have an oven, put it to good use by whipping up meals that can be baked. This way, you can assemble the ingredients in a pan and then pop it in the oven and attend to other things around the house as your meal gets cooked. If you don’t have an oven, cooking in an air fryer is also a good option.
Get creative with leftovers
You can turn leftovers into new dishes with minimal effort if you put some thought into it. Leftovers can become great bases for fried rice, salads, tacos, and even lasagnas. So whenever you are feeling too lazy to cook, just look inside your fridge and pull out everything that is there and whip something up with them. There are many apps and YouTube channels that teach you ways to utilize leftovers to make some delicious meals. You could also have one day in the week where you only eat what’s in the fridge. Alternatively, you could also make double batches of rice, pasta, and lentils and use them in different ways to avoid repetition fatigue.
