Not everyone has time to cook. But many people who have a little extra time on their hands often overestimate how time-consuming preparing a healthy home-cooked meal has to be. If you’re looking to putting more time in the kitchen but need to be able to prepare meals in 30 minutes or less, take these tips to heart.
Equip yourself
Living in a luxury apartment, some of the work has already been done for you. You’ve got state-of-the-art appliances and a nice space to work with. Add to that a set of good knives, a few essential food prep accessories, and a comprehensive set of cookware to the mix, and you’ll save tons of time and frustration spent sawing away at produce and protein. You’ll also spend less time coming up with alternative methods when you don’t have a crusher, grater, or slicer a recipe calls for.
Plan ahead
Outlining your meals for the week over the weekend is a serious time-saver. Sit down with a cookbook or your favorite collection of cooking websites, select meals with common ingredients, and make a shopping list. Make one trip to the store to get everything you’ll need for the week, and spend less time stressing and preparing food over the week.
Don’t shy away from convenience ingredients
Fresh, local ingredients offer plenty of nutritional benefits. But so can convenience ingredients. Reduce food prep time using pre-diced or minced garlic, canned beans, quick-cook rice, quinoa, and other grains. Pre-sliced fruits and veggies can also save you time without robbing a meal of its nutritional value.
Make more than you need
Unless you absolutely cannot get on board with leftovers, prepare more food than you need almost every time you cook. You’ll get more meals out of fewer cooking sessions, and it’ll take just as long as if you were cooking only one serving of food.
Clean while you cook
If you’ve prepared all ingredients for a meal and have down time while a dish is sautéing or simmering, use it to start cleaning. You’ll have less work ahead of you once the meal is ready, and probably be able to enjoy your food more as a result.
Make one-pot meals
One-pot dishes save time on multiple fronts. One-pot meal recipes tend to be simpler than recipes that crowd your stove top with pots and pans. They usually freeze and reheat well. And they almost always result in less cleanup.
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View All Posts by Jason Ernst