Today we’re talking about strategies that will help to save time in the kitchen! If you are making home cooked meals, you know that can take more time than simply pulling a meal out of the freezer and heating it. How can we save time in the kitchen and get healthy meals on the table for our family with less time? That’s exactly what I’m sharing about today!
Save time in the kitchen with meal prep
There are a lot of meal prep strategies. The way that works for me may not work for you and vice versa. I’ll share a few meal prep strategies and maybe one will resonate with you!
Get a little ahead
The strategy that I most often use is to get a little bit ahead when I’m already in the kitchen. That looks like me thinking about what we’ll be eating the next day, while I’m making dinner.
I ask myself, “could I prep some overnight oats for the next morning right now?”
Or can I prep a pancake batter so I don’t have to mix it the next day?
What can I do right now to get a little bit ahead?
This is really the strategy of thinking about your future self. How can I help my future self in this current present moment?
I use this strategy for so many areas in my life, but especially in the kitchen. If I’m already in the kitchen with my cutting board and knife out for potatoes at dinner, can I also get my kale out and chop it for the next day? It allows me get a little bit ahead, and then I also have less dishes to wash because I’m using them once instead of twice
Prep full meals
Another strategy that many people love is to prep full meals in advance. It could mean taking a couple hours on a free day to prep 2-3 full meals in advance.
You prep them fully instead of having components prepped. Then all you have to do is warm the meal and dinner is ready! That can be really helpful because you are in the kitchen for a bigger bulk of time, maybe 2 hours, but it saves you future time and energy. You can get all the chopping in at once, then you only have to wash the dishes once.
Read: Meal Prep Versus Food Prep
Double + freeze your meals
Another strategy that is so smart is to double what you are already making, and then freeze the extra for a future meal.
Here is an example. It’s taco night and the next week you know you’re going to have the same tacos. Make a double batch of the taco meat, cool half, freeze it and then the next week all you have to do is pull it out of the freezer and warm and voila it is ready for you!
Make sure to label and date anything that you put in the freezer so that it doesn’t get forgotten and wasted.
Use kitchen tools to your advantage
My last tip is to use your kitchen tools wisely. My food processor is one of my favorite kitchen tools because it can chop, blend, shred and more for me. It’s a magical kitchen tool. If you have tons of chopping to do, try out a food processor.
A slow cooker or instant pot is also a really helpful tool because it allows for hands off cooking. If you’re searching for an excellent knife for cutting cooked meat, sausages, chicken, steak, vegetables, and fruits, visit wetheknives.com for some tips.
Another tool that I absolutely love that is mini but mighty is my garlic press. You simply put in a garlic clove (that you don’t have to peel), press it and out comes minces garlic!
Use kitchen tools if you have them, or think about what would be helpful to add into your kitchen. Here are my top 10 kitchen must have tools.
Looking for more resources to help you save time in the kitchen, meal plan and feed your family? Check out these posts:
- How to take stress out of feeding your family
- How to meal plan
- Should you meal plan?
- My meal planning secret weapon
- Strategies for picky families
- Easily add more variety into your meal (with examples!)
Prefer to watch + listen? Head to YouTube to watch the strategies to save time in the kitchen the video.
How do you save time in the kitchen?
Leave a comment below! Any more questions? I’m here to answer them!
XO
Heather