6 Dietitian Approved Cooking Hacks

Home-cooked meals provide a wide range of benefits, from customizing taste to controlling ingredients like sodium. Preparing food in your own kitchen doesn’t take a chef! We firmly believe that anyone can make healthy and delicious foods, even with the most hectic of schedules. We developed Mayhem to Mealtime for exactly that reason. The program provides recipes, grocery lists, and tips on how to maximize your time in the kitchen.

Here are a few additional cooking hacks to help out in the kitchen!

1. Baking hardboiled eggs is our favorite cooking hacks

I saw this on The Kitchen, and just had to try it! I’m always struggling with my hardboiled eggs. This was super easy and the eggs turned out perfect! Just place eggs in the wells of a muffin tin and bake on 325 degrees F for 30 minutes. When you take them out of the oven, shock the eggs in an ice bath, then store in the fridge until you’re ready to eat! Need a better method on how to peel the eggs? Tap the egg on the counter all over to cover with cracks, then roll the egg under the palm of your hand. This should loosen the shell enough to allow for easy shell removal.

2. Storing herbs in a glass of water in the fridge

There is nothing like fresh herbs in cooking. You just can’t beat the taste! It is definitely more economical to buy the bigger containers of fresh herbs, but you may find it difficult to use them up before the go bad! Firstly, you should store your herbs appropriately. Trim the stems, and place in a glass of water. Basil can be stored at room temperature, whereas other tender herbs should be placed in the fridge, and covered with an overturned baggie. Hardier herbs can be rolled in a damp paper towel, placed in a zipper lock bag, and stored in the fridge.

3. Freezing chopped herbs in olive oil is another of our favorite cooking hacks

To get even longer use out of your herbs, you can fill ice cube trays or mini muffin tins with chopped herbs, then fill with olive oil. Freeze the herb cubes until you’re ready to use!

4. Spiralizing veggies

This is one of my favorite ways to eat zucchini and squash! These noodles are a fun way to incorporate more veggies into your meals! They can be used in place of pasta, and are delicious when tossed in pesto or marinara sauce. Check out this recipe! 

5. Slicing soft cheeses with dental floss

This tip may not be used as frequently as storing herbs, but cutting a log of goat cheese with dental floss can be an easy way to portion it out or prepare a beautiful salad presentation that is sure to impress guests!

6. Keeping mashed potatoes warm in a double boiler

Do you ever work hard to ensure that your foods are finished cooking at the same time so everything goes out hot? With a simple double boiler, you can keep things like mashed potatoes (which always seem to go cold so quickly) nice and hot until you’re ready to serve the meal. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can place an inch or so of water in a pan and bring to a boil. Place mashed potatoes in a metal bowl that fits into the pan, but doesn’t touch the water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap while you finish preparing the rest of the meal!

7. Make smoothies ahead of time

Make all your smoothies at once, then store in mason jars in the freezer! Then you only have to clean the blender once! Just make sure to leave some space at the top of the mason jar to allow for expansion during freezing. Take one out the night before and let thaw in the fridge. In the morning, you’ll be ready to grab your breakfast and run out the door! Check out this cranberry orange smoothie recipe! 

Looking for extra help in the kitchen? We offer a Mayhem to Mealtime meal planning service that delivers recipes, how-to videos, grocery lists and more right to your inbox!