Is there anyone else out there that hates to cook? Me too!
Wait, what? There’s a bunch of you that love to cook? Well, then more props to you!
But, either way, whether you like getting fancy in the kitchen or despise it, making healthy food can be time consuming so it often takes a backseat to more pressing issues like finishing up all that content you’ve got to post every week, answering fans, and of course, camming.
If you find yourself skipping meals and/or downing junk food because you don’t have time to cook, here’s a few hacks that can make it easier to whip up a good meal so you can look and feel your best.
Lékué Silicone Kitchen Products
Developed in Barcelona, Spain, these cute yet extremely functional kitchen helpers can cut your time cooking and cleaning in half. Made of food-grade silicone – which is different than plastic – they’re safe to put in the microwave. None of the items below absorb odors or need oil.
Three of their best microwave products:
- Vegetable Steamers – Simply put your veggies in the steamer, shove it in the microwave, and they’ll turn out perfect, even better than on the stove which takes forever. It also comes with a cookbook of recipes for fish, meat, and even desserts. In addition, the steamers which seal in moisture, are great for heating up chicken and other items that can get rubbery in a microwave.
- Spanish Omelet Cooker – with this handy tool, you can have a gourmet potato omelet every day with a quarter of the hassle it would take to make in a skillet. Slice up a few potatoes, mix them in with the eggs, microwave and voilà you’ll start your day off on the right foot.
- Popcorn Maker – Sure you can buy microwave popcorn, but you’re getting a lot of preservatives, not to mention the taste isn’t the best. With Lékué’s microwave popper, follow the directions carefully (so you don’t burn the popper) and you’ll have perfect popcorn every time. For a slim treat, use olive oil spray and season it with some tasty Amish Butter Flavored Popcorn Salt.
This gadget will save you time on cleanup. Instead of having to wash a full-on strainer, this handy item clips to any pot or pan and is a simple quick rinse. It’s also great for removing grease from hamburger easily, clip it on the skillet, and pour.
Pricey, but worth it. You may not be able to get rid of all your pans, but you can get rid of most of them, as this will work across the board – you can even make soup in it. Not only does it cook fast and evenly, the big winner here is once again, the cleanup. Hardly anything sticks to this amazing surface – it gives no-stick pans a whole new meaning. Most of the time, you can just let it cool then use a paper towel to wipe up, vs. having to immerse the whole thing in water, scrub and dry.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully these items will get you cooking healthy food again even when you’re pushed for time. And for those of you who are substituting meals with protein bars or shakes in a rush, that works too. Just make sure they’re as healthy as they claim to be and not full of fillers and preservatives. One great bar to try is Papa Steve’s No Junk Raw Protein Bars – which though a bit more costly than your average protein bar – you get what you pay for. All natural ingredients, Papa Steve’s really do stave off your hunger and they’re yummy. Ideally, however, the best course of action is to cook and with a few of the above hacks, you can squeeze it in even on a busy day.
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Alyssa Collins hails from Minnesota, where snowy days were the perfect excuse to stay warm inside and write. Over the years, she turned that joy into a career and has authored numerous articles for various publications (under pen names). Email Alyssa via alyssa@ynot.com.
Photo credit: iStock.com/Zinkevych
