5 Time Saving Kitchen Tips
I love eating healthy meals, but cooking from scratch can be time consuming. When you are trying to eat really clean or on a restricted diet you can’t use bottled, packaged or prepared ingredients, because they’re usually full of added chemicals and sugar. Instead, you have to do a lot of planning and prepping, which is why many people resort to eating takeout—and ditch the diet altogether.
If you have an allergy or illness, cooking for yourself is certainly one of the best things you can do to heal naturally. But how can you eat well when you don’t have all day to cook? Step 1: Talk to a chef! Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about how to save time in the kitchen. Here are some of the things I do when I’m in the kitchen.
I’ve learned tricks of the trade over the years and can create deliciously nutritious cuisine for an entire week in just a few hours. Of course, a lot of practice plays into my speed, but culinary tools, preparation, and organization can help professional and home cooks alike. To assist you on your journey, I’m sharing my best time-saving kitchen tips…
How To Save Time in the Kitchen
Use a Pressure Cooker
Once I finally tried using a pressure cooker for the first time, it became an essential tool. I was teaching a client how to operate hers, and 100 minutes later we were enjoying the most tender and moist pulled pork. (It was even better than the 12-hour slow cooker version.) You can even make a whole chicken in 25 minutes or less. It really is the ultimate way to save time. I purchased this Instant Pot from Amazon, as well as Pressure Cooker Perfection by America’s Test Kitchen and The Healthy Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Janet A. Zimmerman.
Using a Pressure Cooker will speed up your cooking time. For example, beef short ribs take about 3 hours in the oven but are cooked in only 70 minutes in a pressure cooker. And you can have one recipe in the pressure cooker while you make other recipes.
Mise En Place
This French phrase roughly translates to “everything in place.” What it really means is: get organized! Take a look at your recipe(s) and plan an efficient strategy. This is how effective chefs operate in the kitchen. For example, if two of your recipes call for carrots, chop them all at once and place them into separate bowls. Do the same for all of the ingredients. Plus, measure out herbs and spices in advance. Make sure all your ingredients are out, chopped and measured BEFORE YOU START COOKING. This way, when it’s time to turn on the stove, everything is ready to go.
What this looks like for me is to place all my vegetables on the counter that I am going to be prepping. Then I cut, peel, dice everything, (using my favorite bowls) and then all the mess is done and I can start the actual cooking without going back to cutting anything. Sometimes I’ll even do all my cutting and chopping the day before, store everything in the fridge and do the actual cooking the next day.
Double Each Recipe
If you follow the mantra, cook once eat twice, you will always have food available to you. My theory is that if you are in the kitchen cooking, you might as well make the most of your time. Make soup for 12, meatballs for 8 and roast enough veggies for the week. When you prepare extra portions, there will be nights when you won’t have to cook at all! Simply refrigerate and label your food after it’s cooked, and eat it for the next few days. Or, portion your meals and freeze them in individual airtight containers for another time. Sometimes I set aside a day just to fill the freezer with ready to go meals that take very little time to prep later.
Here are some of the recipes that I double and triple (and even more) for my freezer
Bolognese Sauce
Green Chicken Chili
Red Beef Chili - This one fills a large crockpot
Clean as You Go
You do not want to end up with a huge pile of dirty dishes. Before you start cooking, give yourself space, clear off the counters, put anything away that you don't need. Make sure the dish rack is empty, or put out a clean towel on the counter to place clean dishes. As you cook, any time you empty a bowl, set it next to the sink. When you have a minute, while something is sauteing, go rinse that bowl and set it on the towel. Now it's ready for the next time you need it. This will save you so much time at the end of your cooking session.
Sharpen Your Knife
This may sound like a no brainer, but when was the last time you sharpened your knives? A sharpened knife is one of the best tools you can have in your kitchen, while a dull knife makes it difficult to chop and get through your mise en place. Plus, a dull blade has a tendency to slip and can cause an accident. So save time (and your fingers) by sharpening your knives often. Look for a local kitchen store or a traveling sharpener that visits upscale grocery stores and farmers markets near you. And PLEASE never place your good knives in the dishwasher.
Some other tips to save you time in the kitchen
Use a premade sauce - I really like Rao’s for a marinara, and even though I frequently doctor it with ground beef, grated zucchini and carrot. I use this as a time saver. Green tomatillo salsa makes great pulled chicken when you braise chicken legs in the salsa!!
Keep staples in the pantry. Having extra cans of beans, or tomatoes means that when you get to cooking, if you need more, noone is running back to the store.
Don’t wait until you are out of an ingredient in your pantry to go get more. I always keep canned tomatoes, canned beans, oils and vinegars, rice and pasta in my pantry. Then when I need a quick dinner, the base ingredients are there. What can you keep in your pantry that comes together for an easy dinner without having to shop?
Hire a Chef
Even with the best tips and tricks, it can still be hard to find the time to cook. Better yet, maybe you don’t have an interest in cooking, but still want to enjoy homemade, high-quality meals. Look for a personal chef near you that does once a week cooking either in your home or by delivery. Ask them to stock up your freezer with easy to heat meals. It will save you so much time and energy not having to grocery shop and cook.
A personal chef might not be as expensive as you think. Share the cost with a friend or relative who eats similar to you. Have the chef cook enough for both of you and you can cut the cost in half.
