Are you sure about that? You may think you know what you’re doing, but do you really? You can fix anything with a spatula and two eggs.
The sound of an egg cracking and falling into a bowl, with a bit of shell. The horror! What do you do? Hint: Fishing around with a spoon isn’t the answer.
If you’re having trouble with eggs, there’s an easy fix (check out tip number 10). If you’re having trouble with other food preparation, cooking, or baking, there are also easy solutions for those problems, from pitting a nectarine to softening butter.
We’ve upgraded your kitchen — prepare to save money, save time, and never cry from cutting onions again.
20 Kitchen Hacks to Get Dinner on the Table Fast
1. Stick to simple recipes.
At times, it can be enjoyable to spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing an intricate meal. However, this is not the case when you get home from work at 7pm after a long day or a difficult commute. It’s best to stick to simple recipes that only require a few ingredients. These recipes are typically more nourishing and filling.
You could pair your protein with roasted or steamed vegetables. To add more flavor to your dish, try using lemon and salt or any of these five ways.
2. Enlist family members for help.
You shouldn’t have to be the one stuck with all the work and pressure of getting dinner on the table. You can enlist the help of your family members, partners, spouses, roommates, or friends when you are cooking in the kitchen. Put on some music and make it a party. If everyone in the group helps with the prepping and chopping, it will be finished quickly. Additionally, this will be a good opportunity for the children (or adults who are not good at cooking) to learn some valuable cooking skills that they can use for the rest of their life.
3. Meal plan in advance and save those plans to be re-used.
If you want to eat healthy, it is easier to do if you have a plan. If you’re new to meal planning, it can be helpful to start with creating a menu for dinners only, rather than trying to plan out every meal including breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Plan your meals for the week by charting them out and including any recipes you’ll need as well as a shopping list. You can even plan to make large batches and have leftovers for lunch.
Once you have a bunch of meal plans, all you have to do is pick one, get the ingredients you need, and start cooking. If you want meal planning to be easier, you should repeat meal plans in your rotation. This way, you’ll be more familiar with the ingredients you need and how to cook them.
4. Create a prep schedule.
A schedule that outlines what you need to do in order to prepare your meals ahead of time will help you to stick to your menu plan. 6 ripe bananas, sliced 1 cup almond butter 2 tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 6 ripe bananas, sliced 6 ripe bananas, sliced 1 cup almond butter 1 cup almond butter 2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon salt Then assign yourself or someone in your family to complete that prep task by a certain day and note when they need to do it.
We suggest that you create a schedule for preparing meals that matches your menu plan, so you can get into a routine and reuse the schedule later.
5. Skip recipes altogether and cook what you know.
Although cooking from recipes can be enjoyable, it is often quicker and easier to cook dishes that you are already familiar with. This way you can avoid having to learn new techniques or ingredients, and can simply focus on getting dinner on the table. This is especially important when you have just started menu planning. If you try to cook six new recipes in one week, you will have a lot more to learn.
It’s a good idea to start by cooking simple recipes that you know well, and then gradually add more complex recipes as you get more confident in the kitchen. You’ll have more time to experiment with new recipes on weekends when you don’t have to worry about getting dinner on the table during the week.
6. Use high-quality ingredients.
Buy the best quality ingredients that you can afford. Use amazing ingredients so that you don’t have to do as much cooking to make the food taste good.
7. Master the one-pot meals.
Dinners that consist of a main dish and several side dishes are more work than meals that consist of one dish. Some great options for protein-rich soup, stew, and chili recipes are available depending on what is in season and the spices you have access to. They’re a perfect way to use up any produce left in the fridge!
8. Make DIY dinners.
Let everyone choose their own ingredients from an array of prepped options for a ‘choose your own adventure’ dinner. For example:
- A build-your-own taco bar with fresh veggies, beans, salsa and other toppings.
- Buddha bowls that combine protein, grains, greens, healthy fats and seasonal veggies (learn about the 6 Essential Elements of a Recipe-Free Dinner Bowl here )
- A build-your-own pho bar with fresh veggies, tempeh, herbs and lime
- A make-your-own healthy pizza with individual corn tortillas for a thin crust and top with sauce and veggie toppings
9. Make use of good kitchen equipment.
If you want dinner to be over quickly, make sure you have the right tools. Appliances like high-spend blenders and food processors may help with blending andgrating, but they are not necessary for a great meal.
It is important to have a sharp knife that will be able to handle the task you are trying to do. Having a good chef’s knife is important because it’s one of the most used tools. You may also find that you like using a paring knife. Choose a knife that feels comfortable in your hand and learn some basic knife skills to help you safely and easily chop food.
Other simple tools that you may find handy for cooking are a cutting board, a box grater, a vegetable peeler, or a microplane grater.
10. Go (mostly) raw when seasons allow for it.
Raw food doesn’t require cooking, so it can be prepared more quickly than cooked food. We’re talking about raw food like salads, zucchini noodles, or collard wraps that rely on fresh produce and herbs, not dehydrated kale chips or dehydrated almond burgers.
When it’s warm outside and there’s more fresh produce available, try to eat one or two raw or mostly raw dinners each week.
11. Use up the ingredients in your fridge.
DO not go to the grocery store to buy more food to cook dinner, look in your fridge to see what you have that you can make a meal out of. You can save both food and money by doing this.
You can make quick and easy meals like stir-fries, soups, stews, and pasta by using a variety of veggies and herbs that are already in your fridge. Fridge-scrap dinners are easy – all you need is to be creative and use whatever you have on hand!
12. Peel boiled eggs in a big batch
Now is the time to put all your eggs in one basket – or one pot or other Crockery.
To peel multiple hard-boiled eggs at a time, shake them in any lidded container. Smash, bang, boom! Shells are cracked and ready to shake right off.
The eggs will be ready for an egg salad quicker than traditional methods, but they won’t be pretty.
13. Make eggshell removal even easier
The fresher your eggs, the harder it is to peel their shells when hard-boiled. You can solve this problem by adding either baking soda or vinegar to the water when you boil the eggs.
The two substances help the egg whites to separate from the shell.
14. Pit and peel an avocado with just one utensil
To remove an avocado pit, cut the avocado lengthwise into quarters and then twist the quarters apart to break the fruit from the pit. To remove the skin from each section, run a knife under the skin at the tip of the section and then peel the skin off in a downward motion.
15. Make citrus fruits even juicier
Chill a lemon in the fridge, then zap it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds for maximum juiciness.
Here are some tips to get the most juice out of your citrus fruits: Roll them before squeezing, cut them lengthwise, and/or use a pair of tongs to squeeze instead of your own two hands.
16. Keep seeds from falling into citrus juice
If you want to avoid seeds in your citrus juice, wrap the fruits in cheesecloth (or a clean stocking) before juicing.
17. Keep potatoes white
soak your potatoes in cold water for a bit before cooking them to prevent them from turning that gross grayish/brown color. that happens when they release a starch that causes them to oxidize.
18. Slow down rotting
You should store tomatoes stem end down to keep them from spoiling as quickly. This prevents air and moisture from entering or exiting the scar where the tomato once attached to the vine.
19. Separate yolks from whites
This hack is borderline wizardry!
Break an egg into a bowl and balance an empty water bottle on top of the yolk. Grip the bottle tightly and squeeze it until the egg yolk is lifted inside. When the mouth of the bottle touches the yolk, ease up on the pressure you’re applying to the bottle.
Schloooop! The change in air pressure causes the yolk to be pulled into the bottle, leaving the white behind.
Need a tutorial? Check out this video .
20. Cut cherry tomatoes in half all at once
A handy trick for cutting multiple cherry or grape tomatoes in half is to use a lid.
Stack the lids with tomatoes in between so that there is a layer of tomatoes between each lid. Carefully cut the tomatoes in half while holding down the top of the container.
What kind of lids? Anything works! Lids from large yogurt containers or Tupperware are good options.
21. Soften butter in a flash
Leaving butter out on the counter for an hour is not the best idea if you are trying to stick to a schedule. To make the process go faster, you can grate the cheese with a cheese grater, or flatten it with a rolling pin (but put it in a plastic bag first).
22. Soften butter faster (without a grater or rolling pin)
Then put it in the freezer for a few minutes until it hardens If you would prefer not to use one of the tips mentioned above, cut a stick of butter into small chunks and place it in the freezer for a few minutes to allow it to harden. The more surface area and air flow there is, the more quickly the stick will soften.
23. Bring melted butter back to solid form
Revive oversoftened butter by giving it an ice bath. Place the butter in a small bowl and then fill a larger bowl with a few handfuls of ice and some cold water. Nestle the small bowl in the larger bowl.
24. Measure sticky stuff without the mess
Coat a measuring cup or spoon with hot water or a dab of cooking oil (or spray) before measuring sticky substances such as molasses or honey. The heat or oil will make it easier to take the batter out of the bowl and into a new bowl without leaving any behind.
25. Make a perfect poached egg
If you want your poached egg to look and taste good, crack it into a fine-mesh strainer before cooking it. This gets rid of liquid-y excess egg white.
The strainer can also be used to gently lower the egg into the water.
26. Keep knives sharp
It is best to store knives in a countertop knife block with the blades pointing upwards to keep them from becoming dull.
A way to keep your food from losing its sharpness is to use the back of a knife to transfer it to a pan or bowl instead of drawing the blade across the cutting board. Be safe and use a sharp knife.
27. Put an end to slippery cutting boards
Need a little traction underneath a wooden cutting board? Put a lightly wet dish towel under the board to stop it from moving around on the counter.
28. Keep recipes clean
Although we often turn to our phones and laptops for cooking recipes, there are times when we prefer using cookbooks.
To keep your cookbook or recipe card clean while you’re cooking, clip it to a pants hanger and hang it from a cabinet handle.
Another way to keep cookbooks from taking up valuable counter space is to use a laptop stand.
29. Clean fruit and veggies without harsh chemicals
To clean fresh produce, mix baking soda and water together and scrub the produce. This will remove dirt, grime, and pesticides.
30. Remove icky cooking smells from your hands
There are several ways to remove the smell of garlic or onions from your hands. One is to rub them with lemon juice, another is to rub them with baking soda, and another is to hold on to something made of stainless steel.
Why stainless steel? When you touch the material, the molecules in the steel bind with the molecules causing the stench (such as sulfur from garlic).
If you find it difficult to make dinner and feel stressed about it, try some of these favorite healthy tips to help make mealtimes a great way to relax and unwind at the end of the day.
Feeling ready to get cooking? We can’t turn you into a master chef, but these tips might help you become more confident in the kitchen.
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