Many of us spend more time in the kitchen than we would like, but even if this is not the case, proper organization can significantly reduce the time spent on cooking. In this note, I decided to combine tips that help save time in the kitchen, according to the same principle as in those that are more relevant than ever. Maybe after reading these tips you won't learn how to cook a three-course meal in five minutes - but it's a fact that it will take less time.
Food, dishes, knives and so on - everything should be at your fingertips. If you are going to make a recipe, think about what you might need and check where it is. This advice, however, is relevant in every sense. Imagine - it’s gurgling here, sizzling here, and you’re rushing around the kitchen looking for a spice that has disappeared somewhere. This situation is fraught not only with the loss of time and nerves, but also with the fact that, being distracted by unplanned searches, you can ruin dinner in no time!
Someone is standing at the stove, and someone is lying on the sofa. It's unfair, isn't it? Fix this situation! If they object to you (and they will!), do not believe the words about the low efficiency of slave labor - even a child can cope with peeling potatoes, washing greens, grating cheese and other simple tasks. But with two, three, four of you, you can do it much faster - which is quite logical.
Cooking in a dirty and untidy kitchen is not only unpleasant and not entirely healthy from a hygiene point of view. This also stretches out the cooking time, since you need free space for precise and quick actions, and wondering where everything is will only waste time. Don't shy away from regular cleaning, especially if it can be delegated to someone else (see above).
In order to prepare a full meal, you need a minimum of dishes and utensils, but additional equipment will make your life much easier. Sharply sharpened knives - all these devices, like hundreds of others, will not only help you expand your culinary arsenal, but will also save your time. If you feel that something will significantly help you, and you can afford it, you shouldn’t deny yourself.
If you physically cannot do something faster, you need to figure out a way to fit as many useful actions into one minute as possible. If you really want to do everything, combine what you can do at the same time. Example - cut what you will fry first, and cut everything else while frying. The same applies to cooking soups and other processes that involve the gradual addition of ingredients, not to mention the simultaneous preparation of the main dish and side dish. The main thing here is to correctly calculate your strength: the only thing missing is for everything to burn due to the fact that you did not meet the allotted few minutes.
Actually, I’m not talking about making borscht for a week in advance, although this also saves a lot of time and effort. We are talking about semi-finished products - not about those surrogates stuffed with chemicals that are sold in stores, but about everything that can be prepared in advance and then used as needed. Frozen, all kinds of sauces, marinades and preparations - these are just a few of the things that are not necessary (and sometimes impossible) to prepare anew each time. The main thing here is not to overdo it: basically, food that is cooked and eaten immediately is much more tasty and healthy.
Tip seven: Accustom yourself to waste-free production
It would seem that this advice is exclusively in the area of saving money, and has nothing to do with saving time. However, one is closely linked to the other, and for good reason he constantly gives advice on where to use the remaining products, and forces all his cooks to take a test to prepare an excellent dish from what is left after cooking. If you use your brains properly, it is quite possible to arrange the menu in such a way as to get the most out of all the products. When you throw away something that can still be used, you're not only throwing away your money, but also your time—priceless minutes are wasted in cleaning, chopping, and other preparations.
There are various little things that can make your life a lot easier. For example, by throwing flour and chopped meat into a bag and shaking it well several times, you will quickly bread all the pieces, and by cutting into a tomato and scalding it with boiling water, you can easily peel it. The main thing is not to descend, in an effort to quickly escape from the kitchen, to using bouillon cubes and similar obscenities. A kitchen samurai knows the line between what is permitted and what is forbidden.
Have you read all the tips described above, but still haven’t been able to save time on cooking? Well, especially for you, there are countless recipes for delicious and healthy dishes, which you can prepare in 10-15 minutes. Sometimes you really shouldn’t complicate things, but take the simplest path, especially if you got the freshest products.
A woman spends a lot of time in the kitchen. She needs to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and if at the same time she still goes to work and has other household responsibilities, then it is quite difficult to combine such a volume of work. How to save some time and get your kitchen things in order?
1. Plan
Before you go shopping, you should have a clear idea of what you're going to do next with your purchases, namely what you'll be cooking. Then you won’t have to open the refrigerator door and think about what to cook, and waste time on these thoughts.
2. Pre-treatment and freezing
Imagine that you bought a large piece of meat. Each time before cooking you will have to defrost it for a long time. But if you cut it into pieces for frying before freezing, then it will be much easier to take it out, defrost it, or even throw it straight into the frying pan.
You can do the same with vegetables. Wash it, cut it into pieces for frying, and put it in the refrigerator. Then you just take it out and put it on the frying pan. It’s easier to cut everything at once and freeze it than to take it out, cut it, and then remove the table and cutting board each time.
3. Garbage collection
When you're chopping or cleaning something in the kitchen, have a small container on hand, such as a plastic container or tin. You will put garbage in it, then after finishing work, throw the waste into a large trash can and wash the container. What does this give? You save time walking to the trash can or bending over to it. You also save cleaning space, because, one way or another, drops are an integral part of the cleaning process.
4. Don't let dirty dishes accumulate in the sink
If you have a dishwasher, check whether there is a place in it where you will put dirty dishes after eating or cooking. If you don't have a dishwasher, fill the sink with soap and water before preparing food. This way, as you go, you will immediately place dirty dishes in soapy water and be able to wash them in between.
5. Prepare the base
On the weekend, or whenever you have the most time, make the base for salads and instant meals. For example, boil eggs, carrots, potatoes and other vegetables, chop fresh vegetables: parsley, onions, peppers, lettuce, cabbage, etc. (greens can be stored in this form in the refrigerator for several days). With all these ingredients on hand, you can quickly prepare a hearty salad, pasta with vegetables, or make a side dish for meat or chicken.
6. They grabbed it and ran
This principle applies to the food you take with you or give your children to snack on during the day. You buy dried fruits, yoghurts, cheese curds, etc. Then you put it all in bags for all days of the week. In the morning, you can just grab a bag and run about your business.
7. Professional cleaning
When you peel potatoes, place paper (newspaper, cling film) on the surface above which you are peeling. This saves time on cleaning. After you've peeled the potatoes, you simply roll up the newspaper with the peelings and throw them straight into the trash.
8. Saving steps
Furniture, household appliances and kitchen utensils need to be placed correctly, as this saves time. Proper placement includes the following:
- minimum distance along the triangle between the stove, sink and refrigerator;
- location of dishes near the sink and dishwasher;
- placing pots and pans between the sink and stove, etc.
All this allows you to save on walking here and there and on cleaning, since the less you move around the kitchen with food, the less you get dirty.
Don’t always find time to cook something tasty and healthy for yourself at home, but don’t have enough money for restaurant food? Well, from this, as from any situation, a way out has been found! Now you won’t have to think long about what to cook or stand over the stove for hours trying to create a culinary masterpiece. We are revealing to you a few tricks that will help you save a lot of time and even money. These tips have long been used by thousands of housewives around the world. Breakfast, lunch or dinner can now be prepared in just a few minutes!
1 . Three dishes - one answer!
Surely you often use chicken in your daily diet. But, whatever one may say, the same dish quickly becomes boring and boring. There is a way out! Save time without having to worry about preparing different dishes. Try making these foil partitions in a baking tray - and several dishes of your choice will be ready at the same time. This is the idea: three dishes - one baking sheet!
2. One egg for breakfast is good, but a dozen is better!
Eggs are not only an excellent source of protein, vitamins A and B, and fatty acids, but also breakfast for millions of people on the planet. The problem is that you can usually boil only 5 eggs at a time. To prepare a delicious breakfast in one go, distribute the eggs into baking dishes and place in the oven for 30 minutes. Ta-da! You will receive a large batch of perfect hard-boiled eggs.
3. Smoothie in a couple of seconds? No question!
Don't have enough time in the morning to blend dozens of ingredients for your favorite smoothie? Great idea: mix the ingredients of your favorite drink ahead of time, then place everything in muffin tins and put them in the freezer. All you have to do before breakfast is put a couple of these fancy frozen “muffins” in a blender. Your favorite drink is ready in seconds!
4. Full combat readiness!
Too hungry to play with dinner at the end of the day? Clean, cut vegetables and place them in special containers ahead of time to save valuable time. For example, such chopped zucchini “noodles” can be stored for 3-5 days, and chopped carrots, onions and peppers can last in the refrigerator for at least a whole week if they are first placed in special plastic bags.
5. Keep track of the time!
Fried vegetables are a fairly popular dish on everyone’s table, but often waiting 40 minutes to prepare it can be extremely tedious. Try frying foods at the same time in a frying pan depending on their cooking time. For example, asparagus, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes cook very quickly, while carrots, cauliflower, onions, potatoes and parsnips take much longer.
6. Don’t chew too much!
Tired of having snacks instead of a full meal? Often this can be very harmful - before you know it, you’ve scored a couple of marks extra pounds thanks to such “food”. Well, an excellent solution: place such products in portions in plastic bags or jars. This will make it very easy for you to regulate your diet so that next time you don’t “gnaw off” too much!
7. Health is in jars!
Oatmeal is useful product for any breakfast, adored by many people. But often it is impossible to eat store-bought oatmeal with various additives: it contains a lot of preservatives and chemical dyes. Great solution - add to clean oatmeal favorite additions: raspberries, banana, chocolate, raisins, candied fruits - and distribute into different glass jars. Now every day begins with a complete and healthy breakfast for every taste.
8. No extra calories!
Has it ever happened: you seem to add a little of this and a little of that to a smoothie, but in the end you get a super-calorie cocktail? Saving yourself from unnecessary calories is simple: prepare berries, fruits, and herbs in advance, weighing them and distributing portions into ice trays. This way, every shake you make will be as balanced as possible.
9. Healthy breakfast - in a couple of minutes!
Tired of coming up with every morning what to eat that is so nutritious and healthy? Now you don’t have to bother: make “egg muffins” in advance - blanks. And then in the morning, just take them out of the refrigerator and heat them in the microwave, before wrapping them in paper towels so that they don’t dry out. A delicious dish is guaranteed in a matter of seconds!
10. Don't rush to buy!
Everyone knows the rule: after grueling workouts, the body simply needs to replenish its protein reserves. Just don’t rush to buy special protein bars in the store: they can contain up to 400 kcal and 28 grams of pure sugar! Try making your own “energy balls”: tasty, quick and extremely healthy. Great quick solution!
11. Shish kebab - tasty and convenient!
Kebab is not only street food or an integral attribute of any picnic. Making homemade kebabs at home is very effective: this way you know exactly how many calories you get in one sitting (easy to calculate by the number of pieces placed on one skewer). Advice: if you use wooden sticks for this, do not forget to dip them in water so that they do not catch fire during cooking.
12. Your salad is always fresh!
Don't like making salad at home because it turns out somehow dry? Use a regular glass jar to always have fresh food. Place salad dressing at the very bottom, then layer hard vegetables such as peppers or beans, and then layer the greens. Don't forget to cover the top with a paper towel to absorb moisture if you plan to store the salad for several days.
What do you think of these tricks? They really help save your time, and in many cases, money. Moreover: you always eat organic foods that are as balanced and nutritious as possible. What could be better? Try to put them into practice today. See for yourself and be sure to share with your friends - they are also tired of agonizing over food!
Every woman is forced to spend a huge amount of time in the kitchen preparing dishes for the whole family. And sometimes all the energy goes into such a necessary activity. However, it is also impossible to leave your family and friends without tasty and healthy food. But is it possible to somehow optimize the time spent on cooking? It turns out that this is quite possible, you just need to follow a few simple tips. So, let's talk on the www.site about what cooking time is acceptable for you and how to save time in the kitchen if you “try.”
Save time on cooking!
We are planning
In order to spend less time in the kitchen, it is extremely important to plan your menu. Write in advance what you will cook during the week, which menu option is suitable for a holiday and for some special case. Thanks to this approach, you will be able to think through everything in advance and avoid panic: “what should I cook?”
Having determined the dishes that you plan to prepare, write down on a separate piece of paper the products that you will need for this, and make a shopping list. Separately write down the products that need to be purchased in advance, and separately those that are best purchased fresh. With such a plan, you can always know what you have in your refrigerator and what dishes you can create from it. It is best to plan the menu for the week on Friday evening or Saturday so that you can purchase the necessary products on Sunday.
Blanks
In order to spend less time in the kitchen, you can try cooking for future use. Some homemade dishes can be frozen, for example, soup, cutlets, pilaf, roast and gravy. Just don't freeze cooked vegetables. Take time on the weekend and prepare dumplings, dumplings, cabbage rolls, and stuffed peppers for future use. You can cook them with the whole family, discussing the events that happened during the week, or watching an interesting movie. Freeze such preparations, and you will always know that you have something to prepare even in conditions of complete lack of time. In addition, homemade semi-finished products are certainly healthier than store-bought ones, which contain a lot of preservatives, dyes and other aggressive substances.
Dishes
A list of dishes that can be prepared very quickly and with a minimum amount of labor will help you seriously save time on cooking. Pick these up and be sure to include them in your daily diet.
If you are planning a festive feast, you should plan in advance what you will treat your guests or loved ones with, and break down the entire menu into stages of preparation. It's better to prepare everything you can in advance. You shouldn’t cook all unfamiliar dishes on holidays; their number should not exceed one or two. This way you will save yourself from unnecessary hassle.
Useful tips
If you purchased a little more vegetables than you needed, chop some of them into cubes or circles (the way you will use them later), seal them tightly and put them in the freezer.
Find some easy techniques for cutting and peeling vegetables. After all, such routine activities require a lot of time, and there are a lot of training videos on the Internet.
When grating meat and poultry before the actual cooking process, it is better to combine salt, pepper, herbs and spices in a separate container. It is better to use the resulting mixture once than to perform the same manipulation several times.
Homemade preparations will help reduce cooking time. But not those for the winter! So when preparing tomato sauce for spaghetti, you can cook it several times more (three to four). This product freezes easily and can be used to create many dishes.
When baking pancakes, make a large batch and freeze part of it. This way you will always have a tasty and quick snack or breakfast in your freezer. You can defrost pancakes, wrap hard cheese, cottage cheese or ham in them and heat them in a frying pan.
You can bake several pizza crusts at once, once they have cooled, wrap them tightly in cling film and freeze. You can do the same with the base for the pie, which is made from shortcrust pastry.
If you brought home lettuce leaves, various greens and herbs, rinse them immediately and dry them in a special dryer, or simply lay them out on the kitchen towel. Place slightly damp but not wet greens in bags or airtight containers and store in the refrigerator.
In general, get some useful items in your kitchen, they can help you out on difficult days!
When cooking, try to immediately clean up after yourself, clean and wash the dishes, and then put them back in their places. When cleaning becomes a habit for you, you will notice how the speed of your movements has increased. This way you can prepare dinner and put things in order in one fell swoop.
To save time on cooking, kitchen appliances will be an excellent find for every housewife. Even an ordinary oven can make life much easier. You can just put the dish in it to cook in the sleeve, and forget about it until the end of the cooking time. In addition, such food will be both tasty and healthy.
A multicooker will also be a wonderful assistant for ever-busy housewives. You can use it for preparing soups and pilaf, for stewing and frying meat, potatoes, etc. In addition, modern equipment has a timer mode, turning on when it is convenient for you, and delighting you with delicious food by the time you come home or wake up.
Don't forget about a steamer with a toaster and microwave. Why do you need a toaster? A slightly dried slice of loaf is very tasty! The same slice with sausage and a piece of cheese placed on it will turn into a hot sandwich for a minute... The steamer is also not inferior in terms of usefulness. It can “steam” almost anything and also turn off on a timer!
And finally, don’t forget to give yourself a break sometimes. Kitchen appliances will also help with this. The pursuit of perfection can exhaust anyone. From time to time, your family can have dinner in a cafe, or eat pizza or sushi ordered by phone.
Spend a couple of hours on the weekend to save time on meal prep for the coming week and ensure you're eating healthy. Due to lack of time, we sometimes cook not what is needed, but what can be prepared quickly, and this is not very useful for us. Therefore, it is necessary to take care in this regard for the benefit of your own health.
These 9 ideas for stocking up on some staples will help you take control of your meals all week until next weekend. If you are on, then these tips will also be useful to you. Take a look at my site and be healthy!
How to save time on cooking - 9 ideas
Salads
On Sunday or Saturday I buy various salads and greens at the market. I rinse and divide into portions. Then I wrap each portion in a linen napkin and store it in the refrigerator. In a linen napkin, greens and salads remain dry and fresh, as if fresh from the garden, and last all week, unlike storage in plastic containers.
Vegetable preparations
I make salads almost every day for lunch and dinner, and I also plan small portions for late-night snacks. To make it easy, I cook a lot different vegetables and store them in separate containers in the refrigerator. My preparations are thinly sliced cucumbers, red onions and sweet peppers, grated carrots and chopped parsley.
For some vegetable side dishes, I often blanch broccoli or cauliflower florets, or roast pieces of zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper or asparagus in a hot oven and cool them. During the week, these vegetables are quickly and easily processed for hot lunches or salads, saving significant time.
Chicken meat
Preparing chicken ahead of time is a real lifesaver for me. I usually use chicken breast. I take about 1 kg of chicken meat, add some salt, sprinkle with ground black pepper and sometimes paprika. Then I fry them on one side in a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Then I turn them over, add a few tablespoons of liquid (white wine, broth, water or lemon juice), cover the pan and let them steam for 5-6 minutes until cooked. I add this meat to lunch salads, use it for quick soup or snack (sandwich).
Beans or lentils
The slow cooker is great for cooking homemade beans, peas or lentils. It can also be deliciously cooked in a pot or a special pan for stewing in the oven. I like slow cooked beans with onions, garlic and spices. When the beans are well stewed, they are very soft and aromatic. I store it in the refrigerator or freezer. Ready-made legumes are easy to use later. I add it to salads for lunch or as a base for soup or a side dish.
Hard boiled eggs
Eggs are one of the best sources of protein and can easily be stored for a whole week. They only take a couple of minutes to cook. I use hard-boiled eggs as a source of protein in my salads and as quick snacks. When I have very little time for a full lunch, it helps me out by adding a boiled egg and herbs. It's very satisfying and fast.
Canned fish
When I have canned fish (tuna, saury), then this good way quickly prepare the salad. This way I get more fish in my diet. I mix canned tuna with different ingredients - mustard (for flavor), lots of chopped vegetables (again, pre-cooked), lettuce. Tuna serves as a source of protein for a salad at lunch, or in sandwiches for a snack.
And you can very quickly make a delicious soup from saury, and also use it in salads. I add pre-prepared pearl barley to saury soup. To save time on preparing this soup, have saury, barley and greens on hand!
Hummus
Hummus takes just a few minutes to prepare and will stay fresh in the refrigerator for a week. It is also very inexpensive compared to the price in the store.
I take a can of beans, drain the liquid, rinse it, drain it again, put it in a blend and beat until smooth. I add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and beat again. Everything takes a couple of minutes.
Hummus goes great with raw vegetables. You can snack on vegetables with hummus! I also use it in place of mayonnaise in tuna or egg salad, or I dilute it with a little water for a tasty salad dressing or sauce for steamed vegetables.
Salad dressings
All sauces sold in stores are expensive and often contain a lot of salt, sugar and preservatives. Such sauces cannot be classified as healthy eating. Making your own dressing is easy and allows you to control the ingredients.
I mix two parts olive oil with one part acid (citrus juice, vinegar), then add salt and pepper to taste. I vary the acid and often use a mixture such as lime juice and rice vinegar. You can experiment with adding dried herbs, mustard, garlic powder or onion powder. I add finely chopped fresh garlic, I don't like the taste of powders.
One more gas station. I pour olive oil into a glass bottle, add garlic, finely chopped herbs (dill, cilantro), black pepper, Japanese Kikkoman soy sauce, lemon or lime juice. Infuses for 3 days. I dress salads and use it when baking main courses.
Pearl barley
I respect barley for its valuable composition: fiber, amino acids, in particular lysine, necessary for the production of collagen, vitamins B, A, D, E, H and PP, minerals: potassium, calcium, zinc, selenium, copper and manganese, iron, iodine, chromium, fluorine, molybdenum, cobalt, nickel, phosphorus.
I cook it in a cast iron pan. I fill 1/3 with water, bring it to a boil on the stove, then put it in the oven, preheated to 150 degrees. After half an hour I turn it off, but don’t open the oven; it sits there for about another hour. The porridge turns out crumbly and the grains are soft. It keeps well in the refrigerator all week. It can also be frozen in portions and stored for a long time.
I use it as a side dish for a meat dish for lunch or add it to fish soup, in particular saury soup.
Time is a precious commodity! Save it with these 9 tips.
Do you want to lose weight without starving? Is it tasty, healthy and at the same time losing weight?
