Are you stuck in a ‘what’s for dinner’ rut? Or are you finding it hard to make time for healthy, home cooked meals? When it comes to kitchen shortcuts, believe me, we’ve road tested them all.
As part of Scoop’s Supporter series with KRAFT Nuts’ new Naturals range of Peanut Butter, we’ve compiled the top three kitchen shortcuts for creating nutritious and delicious meals in no time at all!
See below for the secrets to success and three stunning new recipes.
Secret 1: Cook like a boss
If you’re a confident cook, you’re more likely to be efficient and enjoy cooking.
Cooking skills have been linked to better health, so if you feel a little daunted in the kitchen, taking a class is a wise investment in your future. A Melbourne survey of over 1000 women found that those who ate two or more serves of vegetables per day also reported planning meals, enjoying cooking and liked trying new recipes. Conversely, women who ate less than two serves per day reported finding cooking a chore, spent less than 15 minutes preparing dinner and ate more takeaway foods.
Challenge:
Try one new recipe a week for the next 10 weeks. Start off with our stunning Peanut Butter Pork Burger. Switch in wholegrain bread for a fibre boost. Download full recipe here: Peanut Butter Pork Burger recipe
Secret 2: Batch cook
Batch cooking doesn’t necessarily mean cooking double or triple of the same dish. Let’s face it, some fresh recipes just don’t work frozen. So think about batch cooking as a way to have healthy extras always on stand by so you can become a quick meal arranger on those nights when the count down clock to dinner is ticking fast.
Challenge:
Batch cook extra wholegrains, like rice, barley and quinoa, and store them in easy to defrost freezer containers. Then once a week when the oven is on for a meal, add a roast tray of root or mixed vegetables to have on standby. You can then whip up our Barley and Nutty Roast Vegetable Salad in literally minutes. Download the recipe here: Barley and Nutty Roast Vegetable Salad recipe
Secret 3: Plan ahead
We know it sounds obvious, but investing the time in forward planning really pays off and saves you big time in the long run. Stop staring at the pantry shelves each night and aim to:
- Create a weekly menu of evening meals with flexibility built in for nights out or a takeaway, plus set meals and flexi meals.
- Shop with a list or shop online, where you can create saved lists by categories.
- Section and label your pantry, marking down items as soon as they run out.
- Use a slow cooker to do the work while you’re away at work.
- Swap tried and true recipes with friends.
Challenge:
Collate your “meal in minutes” recipe ideas in the front of your recipe folder, iPad app, or on the fridge / pantry door. Our new Chicken with Nutty Cauliflower Rice recipe is going straight to my list. Download the recipe here: Nutty Cauliflower Rice recipe
We suspect that our lovely readers have their own kitchen shortcut tricks too? How about it? Love to hear your ideas. #peanutbutterlover #scoopnutrition #kraftnaturals
KRAFT Natural’s new100% peanut butter is a Scoop Supporter and has collaborated on this post and a recipe series with Scoop Nutrition. Any opinion regarding general health and wellbeing are those of the author, not the Scoop Supporter. Scoop Supporters are carefully selected to eat, drink or think like us. We like to work with our Supporters on something you will love and use all proceeds exclusively for site upgrades and to help us bring you more.
