5 meal prep ideas to save you time in the kitchen
MEAL prepping in 2021 is the modern woman’s Betty Crocker School of the 1940s — any busy home cook worth her salt knows that getting a good meal going with limited time will require some preparation.
But it’s not just about pre-peeling potatoes or seasoning meat ahead of time — there are great ideas being shared in cyberspace and utilised by women world over that are meant to wow, and save you loads of time and effort in the kitchen.
What are some of those we’ve spotted and tried?
Here are some interesting meal prep ideas to save you time in the kitchen.
Separate meat into cooking portions
When you purchase your meat in the meat shop or supermarket, instead of setting it in the freezer right away, parcel it out into cooking portions to make things easier when you’re ready to cook. Portions will depend on the size of your family. Doing this will also ensure that when you’re ready to thaw, you’re just thawing what you need for your specific dish.
Cut and freeze vegetables and herbs
Hot pepper, sweet pepper, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, beetroot, pumpkin, escallion and lots of other vegetables and spices can be washed, cut and stored in freezer bags in the freezer for months at a time, saving them from spoiling in the crisper drawer. When you’re ready to use them they’ll still be fresh and ready to go. The trick is to wash, slice, remove seeds and allow to air dry on a towel before placing them in bags and freezing them.
Portion out kids’ fruit snacks
If your children are in daycare or kindergarten and you need to send fruits to school daily, you can portion out fruit cups for them in containers and freeze these ahead of time. These can include pineapples, berries, mangoes, and the like. This will reduce spoilage, and the containers can be sent to school frozen, with some yoghurt and granola for a fun snack.
Freeze ripe bananas
When your ripe bananas start to go brown, peel them, freeze them in freezer bags, and then thaw when ready for your smoothies or banana bread. These can be stored for months at a time.
Save your bread
Save your bread by freezing the loaf before it goes bad, then when you’re ready to eat, thaw a bit, then toast, and it will be as yummy as usual.
