how to save time in the kitchen

I CAN’T ARGUE WITH HIM. In his book “Cooked”, Michael Pollan says “The most important thing you can do with your health is cook.” He says things like this a lot, and he doesn’t mean adding wheat germ to everything. “Eat anything you want,” he explains in this great little animated RSA video. “Just cook it yourself.” Cooking at home is automatically healthier because you can control the ingredients, how much sugar or butter, even how many veggies you throw in. And no matter what you fix, cooking at home usually means way fewer calories. Yep, I agree with Michael Pollan.

But Michael Pollan doesn’t have four kids under the age of six.

The dirty truth is, cooking is not a no-work proposition. It takes time and effort but luckily for moms who have the same amount of minutes to make dinner as it takes The Wonder Pets to save a baby animal, cooking doesn’t have to take hours every time. I rely on these tips and tricks to make the most of my limited time on any given weeknight.

And this is just a start. Maybe you can add yours too?

My favorites:

1. Keep 2-3 of your favorite pans, spatulas and spoons right by the stove. Move everything else out of the way. (Organizing Idea: Put a small post-it note on everything in your drawers, removing a post-it only when you use it. Consider giving away anything with a post-it note still attached after 6 months.)
2. Use frozen cubes of minced garlic. Not the jars, but tiny frozen cubes. They’re right by the frozen food section. Pop them into any pan any time for instant flavor without so much as a cutting board in sight. (Note: There’s a bunch of preservatives in there and on this occasion, that’s the best I can do.)
3. Move the compost bowl. I drag mine out to the counter so I can pop egg shells, seeds or any odds and ends right in. Usually there’s a bag or other wrapper that I pile all the garbage on as well. This saves you from running over the the garbage bin every time you crack an egg.
4. Wet a rag. This one’s from my Cooking with Toddlers piece but I find that I like wiping my hands or the counter buy generic valtrex online just as much as my two-year-old, without stopping to head to the sink.
5. Don’t underestimate frozen vegetables. Not only are they ALWAYS in season and fully ripened, frozen vegetables are already washed, trimmed and usually half-cooked. Frozen broccoli even works when you roast it, just add a few minutes to cooking time. I always have frozen spinach and peas on hand.
6. Use an electric kettle to speed up boiling water. When we lived in Italy I didn’t have a microwave (Italians use microwaves, I just didn’t buy one). That’s when I started using my kettle for everything. Making rice, cous cous, even pasta could be done much quicker when I used the kettle to bring the water to a boil in only a couple of minutes.
7. 2-in-1 Dinners. I love a meal you cook once but use twice, in totally different ways. Tonight we’re having leftover steak but this time I’m slicing it thinly, adding blue cheese spread and putting it between our favorite slices of rustic bread. It’s a leftovers take on The Best Roast Beef Sandwich You’ll Ever Have.
8. Put everything in the oven. Any time you use the oven for a main, figure out a side you can throw in there too. For example if I’m doing a baked risotto or spaghetti squash casserole, I’ll roast veggies, like asparagus, in the same oven. That way my prep work is finished up front and there’s nothing left to do while the food politely cooks.
9. Keep take-n-bake whole wheat bread in the freezer, and baby carrots in the fridge. The bread is the fastest way to round out any meal. Baby carrots are already peeled and cut, making them perfect with dipping sauce as a no-cook side or roasted on a pan with maple syrup.
10. Move quickly. I once saw Jamie Oliver’s 30 Minute Meals, which is a show in the UK. Like Rachel Ray’s the aim of his show was to demonstrate how easy it is to whip up a 4-part dinner in 30 minutes or less. He moved like lightening. No wonder he can make dinner so fast, I thought. Now I make an effort to speed up my movements and I’m amazed at how quickly a meal comes together compared to my former puttering pace.