Many mums say they simply can’t cut on kitchen time because there’s just SO MUCH to do. And hungry mouths claiming “I’m hungry!” all the time. I’ll be the first to agree that there are some aspects of cooking where shortcuts just don’t work, but there are a surprising number of areas where you can save a few minutes here and there.

And those minutes add up. Quite nicely in fact. Especially when you factor in other time saving techniques such as meal planning and batch cooking.

Here are some of my best tips for saving time in the kitchen.

1. Get some help from tools.

I am not a big fan of buying too many gadgets, but there are some kitchen tools that are worth their weight in gold. I’d say a food processor justifies its price tag and the precious counter or cupboard space it occupies because it makes such quick work of chopping and shredding (besides other great uses). Other great time-saving tools include a slow cooker (if you’ve been following me for a while you know I’m obsessed 😅), an air fryer, a garlic mincer, kitchen scissors, hand blender, and good knives.

2. Chop vegetables in batches

If you rolled your eyes at the last tip because you hate getting out your food processor and then cleaning it afterward, this next tip is for you – although it also works just as well with hand chopping.

If you meal plan – and you should! – you can chop all your vegetables for the week at once. I like to do this when I get my weekly vegetable order delivered. You can also do it when they needed to chop something else anyway – for example, if you need to chop an onion for the burritos you’re making today and you know you’ll need another one for Thursday’s pasta, go ahead and chop them both and save the other one in the fridge so you only have to clean up once.

My secret to everything staying fresh? FoodSaver. It’s been a Godsend ever since we’ve started using this. It is a very simple food vacuuming system – we love the handheld gadget that’s easy to store as it’s tiny, inexpensive and effective. Food stays fresh up to 5 times longer, so I do not have to worry about my veg not staying fresh or nutrients deteriorating!

PS: Indeed, sometimes a food processor just doesn’t cut it for the job. My fabulous chef friend Alexia Apostolidis is getting ramped up to teach you some amazing knife skills for free inside of my 5 day challenge. I’m learning from her myself; this skill has been a gamechanger!
More info here.

3. Get familiar with passive cooking

I’ve already mentioned the slow cooker, but in all honestly, it deserves a paragraph of it’s own. I mean – passive cooking? Uh, YES PLEASE!

I can set it and forget it instead of parking myself in front of the stove for constant stirring. Goodbye hot oven, goodbye burnt food because my kid decided to paint her face red (true story! 😆), goodbye having to be home for my food to cook…ohhh and so much more!

4. Clean as you go

Although I do like cooking, the last thing I want to do after making dinner and enjoying it with my family is going back into the kitchen to clean everything up. So I try to find a few minutes here and there to clean up while I’m stuck in the kitchen anyway to cut on kitchen time later.

Say the rice needs just a couple more minutes to become tender. If I leave, I risk forgetting about it and overcooking it, but those few minutes are just enough time to wash the chopping board, knife and skillet I just used to prepare the sauce.

Also, leaving a bin bag or empty food box on the counter to toss peelings and wrappers inside while you’re cooking can be a big time saver.

5. Don’t be scared of all convenience foods

A lot of convenience foods sacrifice nutrition, but there are a few that are absolutely okay, and can save you a ton of time!

Frozen veg can actually be better for you than fresh ones because they are frozen right after being picked before they lose nutrients. They’re already cleaned, and they’re also often already peeled or chopped, like green beans. I love keeping garlic and onion in my freezer, for those days something comes up and I need to be SUPER fast.

Microwavable grains like rice, quinoa or barley are great to keep on hand. Just read the label before you buy to ensure that the product is preservative-free. These are great to keep on hand for those days when you want to whip up a quick lunch (hello lazy weekends in!), or when hell breaks loose. Or anyday really. Why not?

Ready-made, chopped, mixed salad is a Godsend. If my week looks packed, but I’d still love to have a green salad on the side, I’ll buy a bag of these. Sure beats not having salad or making one from scratch and regretting every second of it.

6. Chop into smaller pieces

If you need to put together a soup or side dish faster, cut the food into smaller pieces. I always use this trick for mashed potatoes – those bigger potato chunks always take ages to boil, but smaller dices can be soft and ready to mash in no time.

Now that you know how to cut on kitchen time, the next thing you need to figure out is how you’ll spend those precious extra minutes you free up in your day!

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