Save Time in the Kitchen

1. Cook once, eat twice (or more). When you have time to cook, double your recipe and freeze the rest. It doesn't even have to be a fully prepared dish that is frozen. Having pre-cooked hamburger meat ready to toss into sauce and pasta is a great time saver. 

2. Use the microwave. I cook nearly all my vegetables in the microwave, and I think I've baked a potato in the oven about 3 times in my 4 years of marriage.

3. Buy convenience products when they help. I buy mac & cheese in a box, even though I could make it from scratch. I buy "baby" cut carrots because I found that I never got around to peeling the whole ones before they turned moldy. I buy individually frozen boneless, skinless chicken pieces for making fast dinners. The convenience products can be worth the extra cost.

4. Optimize cooking times. Start the dish that takes the longest first. While it's cooking, do everything else. For example, scrub the potatoes and cook them in the microwave (poke with a fork on all sides for even cooking, cook about 5 min per potato, rotate half-way through). Start browning hamburger patties in a skillet, and in a small sauce pan, cook some veggies. Being able to do this takes practice. Just start cooking regularly, and you'll find ways to multitask.

5. Use a slow cooker. This can allow you to get dinner on the table almost as soon as you get home.

What's holding you back?

Information on healthy eating is out there. It's all over the web, but fitting that advice and what everyone knows they should do into everyday life can be difficult.

What I hear from friends and coworkers is: I can't cook, It costs too much, I don't have time.

But I can't cook.
If you can follow the directions on the box of mac and cheese, you can cook. You just need simple recipes and practice to build your confidence and skills.

But it costs too much.
Keep costs down by buying fresh produce in season or buy frozen or canned fruits and veggies. Use the grocery store ads. Plan menus around what's on sale. Buy only what you will eat. Learn to use your leftovers. Wasted food means wasted money.


But I don't have time.
If you don't have time to cook everyday, don't. Cook when you can. Make leftovers intentionally. Freeze them in meal sized portions and thaw them as needed. Just about everything will freeze. Whole potatoes and rice get an off texture when reheated from frozen, but mashed potatoes and noodles freeze just fine. (I recently heard there is a way to properly freeze rice, but I have not tried it.) Get a crock pot and learn to use it.

Frozen vegetables are an answer to each one of these excuses for not eating better. They are cheap and cook quickly in the microwave. You can cook them in any quantity and they have a long shelf life, so there is no wasted, spoiled food.

Cost and time are big factors in food choices for most people. It can be challenging to stick to a tight food budget with a busy schedule. It takes creativity and advance planning to do it without eating the same thing everyday.

My next post(s) will have recipes for meals that I have prepared. Then I'll start compiling lists of meal planning and cost cutting tips.