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When you love cooking, you know you sometimes spend more time cooking than you do enjoying the food with family and friends. Because of this, you may hesitate to cook when you have little time in your schedule or simply don’t feel like it. You constantly worry that you will waste a lot of time cooking and cleaning up. However, when you don’t cook, you often go for unhealthy and less fulfilling meals even if you could make something better at home.
As a result, the ingredients end up going to waste or you still feel hungry after a quick meal. One solution you may not have known is time management and proper planning. Knowing how to cut the time you spend in the kitchen is key. If you ever find yourself dealing with conundrum, here are five meal prep tips to help you make the most of your time in the kitchen and save time cooking.
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Have a Meal Plan
Starting your weeks with a clear plan can help you reduce the amount of time you spend in the kitchen. Allocate an hour or two each weekend to outline the meals you intend to prepare for the upcoming week and shop for them at once.
On busier days, consider planning simpler meals or adhering to pre-prepared portions. In case you decide to experiment with new recipes, carefully review them to confirm the availability of all essential ingredients. Routinely assess your kitchen essentials, replenishing items as they deplete, preventing potential shortages throughout the week.
It is advisable that you prioritize what is available locally and in-season and stay up-to-date with any special offerings at the butcher or fish market.
Consider Meal Kits
A healthy meal prep kit is your best friend when you’re running high on demand with little time. Meal prep kids offered by services like HelloFresh ensure you enjoy the benefits of a healthy nutritious meal without having to worry about the hassle of shopping and cooking. They offer a wide range of menus carefully out together to ensure you get sufficient portions of a nutritious meal. Everything comes pre measured with instructions on how to make a great meal with the included ingredients.
Be Creative With Leftovers
Leftovers can be a cheat code when you want to reduce the time you spend cooking. If you have a busy day tomorrow, you can make double portions the previous night and use the excess for the next day’s meal. Utilize remaining dinner portions for lunch the next day.
Should you have surplus vegetables at risk of spoilage, consider preparing a savory stir-fry or incorporating them into a hearty soup. Leveraging leftovers serves a dual purpose, streamlining kitchen activities and curbing unnecessary waste.
Go Raw When Possible
Not every meal is meant for cooking. Adding a few raw foods in your meals can help you save time and preserve key nutrients that you would otherwise lose when cooking. Meals such as smoothies and salads can allow you to harness the nutritional richness of some foods while saving time.
You can tap into the variety in flavor and texture in your diet without having to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You don’t have to spend time peeling the skin off your veggies. They are rich in healthy fibers which are essential for gut health. If you have to peel them, you can save them for later when you want to make a stock.
Precut Your Produce
You can complete some of the prep work with your produce whenever you have some free time on your hands and store it in the fridge. This way, you can have everything ready to go when you need to make a salad, snack, or soup. You don’t have to waste time finding the tools and utensils needed to slice, dice, grate, and chop these items or cleaning up after.
However, this does not work with every item since some fruits such as avocados, tomatoes, and berries need to be cut fresh. Anything that can withstand short-term storage works perfectly.
You need not sacrifice your healthful and delectable homemade meals; there are strategies to enhance efficiency in the kitchen. Returning home to a tidy kitchen and a refrigerator stocked with readily available ingredients will surely bring relief. Dinners will be served in no time.
