Kitchen Hacks- 4 Quick Tricks That Will Save You Time and Headaches

After a long day at work, cooking weeknight meals can be a struggle. But there’s no need to let dinner get you down. Here are four easy tips that will help you cut down on stress and put great meals on the table in no time.

We all love fresh fish, but if you don’t eat it within a day or two of purchase the quality quickly deteriorates. Don’t you hate throwing out those beautiful salmon filets when you don’t get a chance to cook them in time? The easiest way around this problem is buying your wild caught fish in the freezer aisle. The fish is frozen soon after it’s caught (often while the boat is still at sea), so you can count on high-quality fish that can be stored for more than just a few days. Look for packages that are vacuum sealed—they’ll stay fresh in your freezer for months. Fish defrosts in a matter of hours, not days, so having some stashed in your freezer can be a great last-minute dinner solution.

Dull knives are difficult to work with, and they’re also dangerous. Periodically using your honing steel is good for your knives, but in order to get them in peak condition you’ll need professional help. Speed up your prep time and avoid cuts by using a mail-in knife sharpening service to refurbish your cutlery. It’s cheap, it’s easy, and you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

Instead of throwing away those plastic bags from the supermarket, use them as countertop trash bags while you prep your dinner. Use one bag for compostable items and one for trash, then dump the contents and recycle the bags when you’re done. This is all about kitchen efficiency—you won’t believe how much time you’ll save when you’re not stepping away from your cutting board to walk to the trashcan every few seconds.

Putting together sides adds needless stress to any meal, so why not plan ahead? Spend a few extra minutes on Sunday chopping enough salad veggies to last the whole week—lettuce, onions, tomatoes, carrots—and then pack the ingredients in separate containers in the fridge so that you can assemble side salads in seconds. Your future self will thank you!