7 Essential Kitchen Plans To Reduce Stress.
7 Essential Kitchen Plans To Reduce Stress.
After our son was born, my husband and I were so overwhelmed we couldn’t even remember that dinner was a thing. Every day when 6 p.m. rolled around we were surprised that we were hungry and we wondered what to do about it.
We lived close to a Jack in the Box, so we would settle on burgers or tacos I think we had Jack in the Box for dinner every night for a solid month.
That’s not healthy, and it gets expensive. For most people, food costs add up to one of the top three expenses, behind housing and transportation. For us, it’s number two — we spend more money feeding ourselves than we do on our cars.
Our son isn’t a baby anymore, but when we don’t have a plan we still end up turning to takeout or delivery. Those expenses add up — home cooking costs about half as much.
Plus, for me, not having a plan doesn’t just waste money. It wastes my mental energy. When I’m hungry and I don’t have anything in the fridge, my brain gets occupied figuring out if I should just have another bowl of instant oatmeal, order takeout, or run out to the grocery store.
That means I’m not thinking about what’s important to me: writing my next great post, pitching ideas to my editors, or coming up with strategies to build my business.
Over time, I’ve figured out 7 Essential Kitchen Plans To Reduce Stress.
1. I plan my meals, even if it’s just for a day
I have a friend who used to meal-plan dinners with a rotating three-week schedule — after the three weeks were up, she repeated her meals from week one. I thought she was a bit extreme, but she made a good point. She said, “You never HAVE to eat what you planned for that day, but it’s nice to know it’s there as an option.”
At a minimum, in the morning I’ll think through what I’m going to eat that day and take something out of the freezer to thaw if I need to. I try to have an idea of what I’ll cook for the next three days — I’ll just make a note in my planner based on what I have on hand. And if I’m really organized, I’ll plan out my meals for a week before I buy my groceries.
2. I keep track of what I already have
I try to do my best to rifle through the fridge and freezer at least once a week so I know what’s there and I can use up anything that’s going to spoil.
I still miss things, though. A few weeks ago I discovered a half-container of burrata cheese that got pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten. It went bad — so when I threw it out I was basically tossing $4 in the trash.
3. I meal prep, just a little
I don’t spend all day Sunday in the kitchen, filling my freezer with labeled Ziploc bags. But if I’m cooking rice, I’ll cook enough for the week. If I’m chopping up vegetables, I’ll chop extra to use later. If I’m making something like chili that I can freeze, I’ll double it. It takes me a lot less effort to do a little bit more of what I’m already doing anyway.
4. I built a spice collection
Spices are expensive but they’re key to good cooking — salsa really is better with a little cumin. Plus, they last a long time. I have a good collection now, but when I was building it I would try to add one new jar of dried herbs or spices every time I shopped for groceries.
And when something runs out and I need to replace it, I check the international aisle of the supermarket first — a lot of times I’ll find cheaper versions of spices there.
5. I have a plan for the food I buy
I have mixed success with this one — last time I went to the farmers’ market I came home with a huge bunch of green onions and a big bag of fresh mint. They looked so pretty, and they were cheap, but I have no idea what I’m going to do with them. Usually, I try only to buy fresh things if I know I can't use them in the next week or so.
6. I’m not afraid to ask questions or do a little research
I’ll ask the person behind the meat counter how they would cook a steak. Last week I asked the shopkeeper at my wine store for the best chardonnay that costs less than $10. And when I needed to know if I could substitute something else for buttermilk, I turned to Google for the answer (regular milk plus lemon juice or white vinegar, if you’re curious).
7. Use Kitchen Tools like (Kitchen Kiwi Fruit Cutter)
Most time, I found it difficult to make the cooking process a fast one, especially when I'm cooking food with many spices. I decided to purchase a few kitchen gadget which will help me in cutting spices very fast. And one of what I use is kitchen kiwi fruit cutter.
Conclusion!!
Take your time to draw a successful kitchen plane and be very strict in following what you have drawn then the whole process when cooking will works smoothly.
Leave a comment