A FEW MINUTES OF FOOD PREP THAT WILL SAVE YOU TIME LATER
If taking a few extra minutes to prep food when you get home from the grocery store would help you save time during the busy week would that be worth it to you? If you answered yes, then I’ve got some food preps that you really must start doing now! These 10 food preps really don’t take much time at all and I promise you they’ll save you quite a bit of time lat
1. Wash And Prep Your Herbs
Wash herbs and dry well with a paper towel making sure to get as much moisture off as possible. Cut off any stems you won’t be using and store herbs in Ziploc bags so they’ll stay fresh longer and will be ready to use when you need them.
2. Wash And Prepare Fresh Vegetables And Lettuce
Prepping lettuce in advance will save you a step or two when it comes time to make salads. Wash lettuce and dry well using a lettuce spinner or with paper towels. Store in Ziploc bags or use a lettuce keeper to preserve freshness. To prepare fresh vegetables like carrots, celery sticks, and peppers for snacks or lunch boxes, wash and dry well. Cut up and store in Ziploc bags.
3. Wash Fresh Fruit
Washing fresh fruit right away and storing them in a pretty bowl on the counter will ensure that they are always ready to grab and eat for a healthy snack or to pack in a lunch box.
4. Portion And Freeze Meats
If you buy meat or poultry in family packs, dividing them up into the portions you will need for recipes will make meal prep easier. Just package them into pound portions or a number of pieces you will need for a recipe and store them in the fridge or freezer. If you have a small household, you can wrap individual chicken breasts, pork chops, or steaks separately making it easy to take out 1 or 2 portions as needed. Once they are wrapped individually they can all go into 1 large freezer bag and freeze until needed. The freezer bag can also Be reused later as it hasn’t come into contact with food.
5. Throw Meat Into A Marinade
Go 1 step further when you prep your meat or poultry and throw a marinade into the Ziploc bag before you put the bag in the fridge or freezer.
6. Divide And Freeze Bacon
If you don’t cook bacon often, freezing it in individual portions makes it easy to just grab what you need. Tightly roll up 1-2 slices of bacon at a time and insert each portion into 1 section of an ice cube tray. Put the tray into a freezer bag making sure to remove as much air as possible and freeze. Then just take our 1 or 2 pieces as needed. Even if you will use the entire package within the week storing it in a special bacon container will make it easy to grab when you need it and you’ll save on Ziploc bags.
7. Put Flour, Grains, Nuts, Coffee, And Tea Into Airtight Containers
Things like flour, grains, and coffee and teas are perishable items and will only keep fresh for a few months (or even weeks) so packing them into airtight containers right away not only makes them easy to use but will keep them fresher longer and save you money.
8. Portion Nuts, Trail Mix, And Other Snackables
Divide and bag foods you might want for snacks later in the week. If you bag things like almonds or other nuts, trail mix, raisins, popcorn, and other salty snacks into individual portions or snack packs it will be easy to just grab them on the run or stick 1 in your purse, lunch box, or even your car for that quick snack when you need it.
9. Freeze Half Of Your Bread
This is a great tip if you live alone or have a small household. There is nothing worse than wasting food or having it go stale before you can use it all. Freezing half a loaf of bread while it’s still fresh will ensure you always have fresh bread on hand when you want it.
10. Take Eggs Out Of The Carton
No need to fuss with those cardboard or plastic cartons. Taking eggs out of the carton and storing them in a bowl in the fridge makes it easy to just reach in and grab what you need. You can even go a step further and hard boil some eggs for snacks or salads throughout the week. Make sure you keep them in a different coloured bowl so you can tell which is which.
BONUS TIP;
11. Unpack Toilet Paper
Okay, this has nothing to do with food but it’s something that I find useful and saves me a little aggravation. There is nothing worse than having to fight with getting the toilet paper out of the plastic wrap when you ahem… “need” it! As soon as I get home I unwrap all the toilet paper and store it in an attractive basket in the cupboard. This way I just have to open the door and grab a roll as needed.
So there you have it! 10 food preps you can do as soon as you get home from the grocery store that will save you time during the busy week. I hope that you find these tips useful. If you have any other food prep tips I’d love to hear them in the comments below.
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For more organization tips check out my post on 10 Amazing Closet Organization Solutions.
