Feeling the holiday blues are you? Not just any holiday, the Christmas holidays, all that face-stuffing, catching up with friends and family. Yes, we too wish it could go on forever, but here we are, soldiering through the longest month of the year. It’s hard to look forward to week mornings with all these in mind but fight on we must. However, to make resumption a wee bit more bearable for you, here are five kitchen hacks to make mornings easier to look forward to, and maybe well as earn you longer sleep time.
- PREP YOUR TUBERS THE NIGHT BEFORE: Peel your yams and potatoes and slice them down the night before and leave them beneath water level, you can rest assured you will meet them as fresh as ever in the morning just waiting to be tossed into the fryer, the oven, or the saucepan to do whatever you want. And if you are one of those who can’t be bothered peeling yams, packaged ready to cook brands now exist breakfast. Life is that easy!
- PACK WHAT YOU CAN OF LUNCHES THE NIGHT BEFORE AND REFRIGERATE: Mornings can so easily turn into a nightmare. You wake up few minutes late, get breakfast ready, rush to get the kids ready for school, pack school lunches, your lunch, make arrangements for after-school care and lunch, and still get to work in time to clock in early. Clearing one or two items off your list just might make the difference between having a good day or a bad day. Lunch packs which include things like pancakes, fritatas, wraps and sandwiches can be packed the night before or even days ahead. For office meals, pretty much anything really, as most 21st century offices have microwaves for staff.
- STOCK UP ON FRESH FRUITS FOR BREAKFAST SMOOTHIES: Anybody can have a smoothie for breakfast – you, your family, the boo, kids…anyone. Keep your favourite fruits, herbs, nuts, and healthy yoghurt handy, and start your day on a healthy note. With world being a health aware village, there all sorts of helpful combos, reviews available online for you to try out. Get a good food processor if you don’t already have one, and keep it healthy.
- COOK EXTRA, SAVE LEFTOVERS: When cooking your soups and one-pot meals, do not cook just the portion you’ll consume that day. Cook a bigger pot of stew, soups, jollof rice, parboil more white rice, make extra beans, spaghetti, porridge, and batch the rest into plastic bowls. These can easily be chucked into the microwave and take some stress off you. Even plantains can be fried in bulk. Don’t be scared of your bunch getting ripe all at once and going to waste, if you can fry them, you can preserve them. Fry all till lightly brown and freeze in ziploc bags in quantities of what you’d ordinarily fry for yourself or family. To consume, bring out a batch till it’s defrosted enough to be individual pieces and drop in hot oil for few minutes.
- SHAVE PREP TIME OFF YOUR TO-DO LIST: Dedicate some time during the weekend to prep those ingredients you’re likely to use to make meals. Slice, chop, dice your garlic, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, greens pack them in containers. Mince your meat and store, blend your pepper mix and store. Parboil what you can parboil and store. Debone your fish and store. Make your own crayfish powder, dried fish flakes, and store. Prep ahead, and tick prep time off your list!
Have a wonderful resumption, and subscribe on our platforms for tips and hack for pleasurable kitchen experiences!
