Every day, we have to choose how we are going to spend our time. Learning how to portion out time can help ensure we make the most out of every minute of each day. For many of us, time in the kitchen seems to be one of the biggest time wasters.  How do we learn to portion our cooking time so that we are getting the most out of every minute in the kitchen as well?

A few helpful ideas:

  •  Cook once, eat twice!  Think of recipes you can prepare once as a main course; then use for a different recipe idea the next night.
  • Grill & chill for later.  Grill an assortment of your favorite meats and vegetables over the weekend, then reheat during the week.  Mix it up by using your favorite meat as protein in a salad, quesadilla or stir-fry.
  • Snuggle up to your crock-pot!  The slow-cooked aroma of this dish is wonderful to come home to, and it can be easily reheated and enjoyed again and again.
  • Buy prepared protein and add your own sides.  Purchase lean brisket from your favorite barbeque restaurant or a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket, add a bagged salad and a bag of steamable vegetables from the freezer and assemble a fast meal?
  • Cook dinner and pack a leftover lunch.  A real time saver I enjoy is to prepare enough dinner for leftovers.  There’s nothing better than grabbing an already prepared lunch on my way out the door to work!