By Keye Wu
I enjoy cooking occasionally.
It helps me relax my mind from my work.
It boosts my creativity in a slightly different way.
It also feels good to me when I accomplish a small task from start to finish.
But what I enjoy even more is to be able to prepare food fast, cook fast, eat healthy and clean the kitchen fast. If I spend only 60-90 mins for a meal, I would consider it a victory and a nice refreshment session.
However, one of the biggest lies you see commonly in books and online is that you can cook a meal in 5-10 minutes.
How often have you seen books with titles like 'Ten Minute Meals'?
There are a few things you can cook under 10 minutes (if you don't want diarrhea!) but really, these don't get much more ambitious than beans on toast or 'an egg'.
If you want to make an actual meal though, you'll spend a lot more time in the kitchen.
The perfect example of this is when you see an instruction like 'take your chopped onion'.
Hang on a second! Where did this onion come from? Who chopped it? The onion fairies?
These are the common unmentioned time spent when you are new to cooking.
But even other instructional manuals that don't use these little tricks fail to acknowledge that you will spend more time clearing the surfaces, washing up afterward, finding the food in the cupboards and even shopping for those things.
A 10-minute meal in reality takes 30 minutes if you're lucky!
While I am not a professional chef who makes Michelin level of food, let me give you 3 quick tips you can use so you spend a little less time preparing meals.
Tip #1 Cook in Bulk
One of the best things you can do to spend less time cooking is to cook in bulk.
This way, you cook a large pot of food that will provide more food than you need. Then, instead of dishing it all up, you put some of it away in the freezer or in the fridge.
3 daily meals can easily be cut into 2 or even 1 cooking sessions. This then allows you to get it out on evenings when you're in a rush and heat it up ready for dinner!
Tip #2 Use a Slow Cooker
A slow cooker can save you a ton of time in the kitchen because it cooks your food when you're on the way home.
You prepare the food that morning or the night before then leave it in the cooker.
It turns on at about 4pm and cooks slowly without risking a fire. When you get in at 6pm, the food will be ready to eat!
Of course, use this with EXTREME CAUTION and I don't recommend you do it every day risking losing your home!
But once for a while if you need to cramp some extra time in, it's a nice hack to have in place.
Tip #3 Get the Right Appliances
Many appliances can save you a ton of time, effort and energy while preparing meals.
One of the best examples is a food processor.
But another great less well-known one is a waste disposal unit for your kitchen sink. This lets you throw anything down the sink without risking blocking it!
It may sound sneaky but hey, if you want to save time, definitely check out great tools to use and invest in them.
While these tips aren't that common, but if you are new to the kitchen and don't want to spend too much time dwelling on it, try them out so you remain as a productive champion!
Do you REALLY not know the 5 Little Known Ways To Double Your Productivity yet? Join hundreds of other guys who are already using it right now in my step-by-step free training. Feel free also to check out my value-packed productivity blog here.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Keye_Wu/2314157
I enjoy cooking occasionally.
It helps me relax my mind from my work.
It boosts my creativity in a slightly different way.
It also feels good to me when I accomplish a small task from start to finish.
But what I enjoy even more is to be able to prepare food fast, cook fast, eat healthy and clean the kitchen fast. If I spend only 60-90 mins for a meal, I would consider it a victory and a nice refreshment session.
However, one of the biggest lies you see commonly in books and online is that you can cook a meal in 5-10 minutes.
How often have you seen books with titles like 'Ten Minute Meals'?
There are a few things you can cook under 10 minutes (if you don't want diarrhea!) but really, these don't get much more ambitious than beans on toast or 'an egg'.
If you want to make an actual meal though, you'll spend a lot more time in the kitchen.
The perfect example of this is when you see an instruction like 'take your chopped onion'.
Hang on a second! Where did this onion come from? Who chopped it? The onion fairies?
These are the common unmentioned time spent when you are new to cooking.
But even other instructional manuals that don't use these little tricks fail to acknowledge that you will spend more time clearing the surfaces, washing up afterward, finding the food in the cupboards and even shopping for those things.
A 10-minute meal in reality takes 30 minutes if you're lucky!
While I am not a professional chef who makes Michelin level of food, let me give you 3 quick tips you can use so you spend a little less time preparing meals.
Tip #1 Cook in Bulk
One of the best things you can do to spend less time cooking is to cook in bulk.
This way, you cook a large pot of food that will provide more food than you need. Then, instead of dishing it all up, you put some of it away in the freezer or in the fridge.
3 daily meals can easily be cut into 2 or even 1 cooking sessions. This then allows you to get it out on evenings when you're in a rush and heat it up ready for dinner!
Tip #2 Use a Slow Cooker
A slow cooker can save you a ton of time in the kitchen because it cooks your food when you're on the way home.
You prepare the food that morning or the night before then leave it in the cooker.
It turns on at about 4pm and cooks slowly without risking a fire. When you get in at 6pm, the food will be ready to eat!
Of course, use this with EXTREME CAUTION and I don't recommend you do it every day risking losing your home!
But once for a while if you need to cramp some extra time in, it's a nice hack to have in place.
Tip #3 Get the Right Appliances
Many appliances can save you a ton of time, effort and energy while preparing meals.
One of the best examples is a food processor.
But another great less well-known one is a waste disposal unit for your kitchen sink. This lets you throw anything down the sink without risking blocking it!
It may sound sneaky but hey, if you want to save time, definitely check out great tools to use and invest in them.
While these tips aren't that common, but if you are new to the kitchen and don't want to spend too much time dwelling on it, try them out so you remain as a productive champion!
Do you REALLY not know the 5 Little Known Ways To Double Your Productivity yet? Join hundreds of other guys who are already using it right now in my step-by-step free training. Feel free also to check out my value-packed productivity blog here.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Keye_Wu/2314157