Some people love spending hours in the kitchen cooking. If you’re not one of them, that doesn’t mean you’re relegated to nuking frozen meals. Employ these kitchen hacks to save time and eat healthy with minimal effort.
We’ve all been there: your stomach is telling you that it needs nourishment in a hurry, but you just don’t have the energy or patience to spend hours in the kitchen preparing a meal. It’s a scenario that makes it tempting to make a beeline for takeout.
Luckily, learning a few smart kitchen shortcuts can help you throw together fast, healthy, and stress-free meals in a flash. And anything that encourages us to practise home cooking more often is a recipe for dietary success.
A recent study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that people who cooked their meals at home more often had an easier time achieving a better Healthy Eating Index score (more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc.) and saved money while they were at it, compared to people who ate out more often.
But pressing the easy button to take the stress out of meal prep and minimize effort doesn’t mean sacrificing flavour. Use these “oh-why-didn’t-I-think-of-that?” kitchen tricks to MacGyver delicious meals and help save time (and your sanity). Now, all that’s left is to decide what to do with your extra free time. Walk in the park, anyone?
Recipes
One Pot Sweet Potato and Kale Pasta
Carrot Orange Smoothie Packs
Blueberry Cheesecake Oats
Masala Cauliflower Soup
Lemony Tilapia Packets
Helping hands
You need not always cook from scratch to put a healthy meal on the table. These healthy time-saving packaged foods will help you get in and out of the kitchen fast.
Baby kale
It’s still rich in nutrients and antioxidants, but there’s no chopping required and it’s less bitter tasting than full-grown kale. Add to pasta dishes, sandwiches, salads, and green smoothies.
Canned beans
Budget-friendly canned beans are an easy way to enrich salads, scrambled eggs, and tacos with plant-based protein and hunger-quelling fibre. Some brands offer salt-free options.
Whole wheat pizza crust
Why tip the delivery guy when this ready-to-bake crust makes a weeknight pizza party a possibility?
Smoked wild salmon
No need to fire up the oven to get your fix of mega-healthy omega fats. Add this velvety delight to wraps, salads, pizza, and dinner omelettes.
Frozen cherries
Conveniently pitted for you, add these sweet-tart nutrition bombs to smoothies, oatmeal, desserts, or salad, and even use them to make a quick sauce for cooked meats like chicken.
Smoked tofu
This no-cooking-required tofu is an easy way to infuse your meals with smoky tasting protein.
Matthew Kadey, MSc, RD, is a dietitian, nutrition writer, and recipe developer. He is also the author of Rocket Fuel (VeloPress, 2016) and Muffin Tin Chef (Ulysses Press, 2012).
Nancy Hillis
Michelle von Hahn
Alexa Everett
Laura Bolt