By Michelle Shearer
MamaBake is ALL about freeing our time up as women so that we can do other things. We are cooking and prepping food every day so we may as well find some handy shortcuts wherever possible to get us out of the kitchen and out solving the world’s problems! We have also included hacks that help us reduce food waste.
Here are 28 time saving food hacks you need in your kitchen life.
1. Milk going off?
If you suspect your milk might just be on the turn, add a pinch of baking soda to get it fresh again
2. Peel beetroots in a jiffy!
After boiling your beets, plunge them into a bowl of icy cold water and the skin will slide off easily. Here’s a big batch Borscht recipe for you.
3. Dropped eggshell in your mix?
If you get eggshell in your mix, use another piece of eggshell to fish it out easily. Oh, and don’t throw your eggshells out! Here’s what you can do with them.
4. Peel ginger easily!
Don’t peel ginger with a knife, use the back of a spoon and scrape. Here’s some ginger recipes for you (some may be member recipes though not all).
5. No crack hard boiled eggs!
Prevent hard boiled eggs from cracking by sitting them in very warm water prior to boiling
6. Fruit going off too quick?
Be sure to keep bananas separate from other fruit – they release a ripening gas.
7. No time in the week to think about what to have for dinner each night?
Meal plan for the week ahead on the prior weekend. Here’s how.
8. No time in the coming week to cook dinner each night?
MamaBake! The best time saving food hack known to Motherkind. Start your own group here and here’s how to MamaBake, here.
9. Sick of stinging eyes when you peel onions?
Peel onions under water to prevent tears. Here’s some other tips on how to chop onions without the tears.
10. No time to make dinner in the evenings?
Dust off that your slow cooker (get inspired by some of our slow cooker recipes)!
11. Need to defrost meat quickly?
Sit the frozen meat on an aluminium tray for a quicker defrost than running cold water over it.
12. Hard peaches?
Ripen hard peaches by popping them in a brown paper bag with an apple
13. So many herbs! What to do with them?
Preserve an abundance of herbs by preserving in oil and freezing. Here’s how.
14. Over-salted your stew or soup?
Pop in a whole, peeled potato and let it bob around in there for a while. It will absorb the salt.
More very practical and surprising uses for the humble potato, here.
15. Need the water to boil quicker for pasta?
Boil water quicker by covering the pot. You could also boil the water in the kettle first before pouring in pan on stove.
16. Chicken legs always take longer to cook than the rest of the roast chicken?
Cook a chicken all over evenly by popping the bird in the oven with it’s legs pointing towards the back corner of the oven.
Here’s a recipe for Rosemary Roast Chicken Pieces.
17. Get more out of your citrus.
Before squeezing a lemon or orange for it’s juice, zest it first, pop zest in bags and freeze for later cake making or ice cream.
18. Sick of those ice crystals you get on top of the ice cream?
Pop the entire container in a zip lock bag.
19. Get that garlic smell off your hands…
…by rubbing your hands vigorously on a stainless steel sink for 20 seconds. Then wash as normal.
20. Bake potatoes in half the time..
…by pricking the potatoes with a fork and then sitting them in hot water for 10 minutes.
21. Got a wilted lettuce? Don’t throw it away!
Simply plunge it into a large bowl of icy water mixed with 3 or 4 spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar. Leave it in there for 15 minutes and it should be good as new.
22. Don’t toss out boiled water you used for cooking pasta or vegetables.
Allow to cool then water your veg with it.
23. Got leftovers from last night but the kids won’t eat them as is?
Chop up and chuck the lot in a heavy bottomed frying pan, sautee gently, cover with 5 beaten eggs and cream, sprinkle cheese on top and cook slowly. Finish under the grill for a crispy cheesy finish: you have a wonderful frittata ready for dinner and maybe some leftovers for packed lunches the next day too. Here’s a recipe for a frittata if you need.
24. Keep your vegetables fresher for longer by …
…lining your vegetable drawers with newspaper.
25. Get extra juice from your lemons (and they are expensive at the moment!) by …
….popping it in a pan of water and bringing to the boil, hook it out and juice.
26. To prevent cut apples from browning…
…keep them in bowl of slightly salted water. Here’s another super tasty way of ‘doing’ chopped apples.
27. How to get the most out of parsley.
Wash parsley in hot water to retain flavour and to make it easier for chopping.
28. Tenderise chicken quickly by..
…after giving it a rinse, rubbing it all over (inside and out) with lemon juice.
Phew! I need a cuppa after that little lot! Need hacks for school lunches? Go here.
Tell us, what are YOUR fave foodie/kitchen/time saving dinner hacks?
