cooking tips
- I found Rubbermaid food storage containers for vegetables. They have a plastic grate inside to keep veggies out of moisture and small vent holes in lid. I use them for storing cleaned greens and green beans and other fragile items. They stay fresh a very long time. These plastic containers come in a size for a head of lettuce and in 1 cup size. I use a timer clipped to my shirt to remember when I need to check something cooking on the stove so I don't forget. I keep a note paper in each cookbook with lists of favorite recipes in that book plus a composition notebook with recipes and cooking tips. I number each page and make an index inside the front cover.
- —Virginia010637
Cook big and all at once
- I tend to cook a large quantity of something and then freeze it in single-meal-size portions. I like to wrap the individual portions and then put several of them in one freezer bag that I label with what it is, the date I made it, and reheating instructions. This works wonderfully with casseroles, pasta sauce, chili, lasagne, etc. When I cook something like chicken breasts, I'll cook several at once so that I can use them for different things during the week: hot dinners (then all I have to do is make a couple quick sides dishes), salads (bagged kind, then add extras, like feta cheese and kalamata olives for Greek; parmesan and packaged croutons for Caesar, etc.), or sandwiches. Same with burger patties, baked potatoes, and scrambled eggs -- all are easy to microwave to reheat. And once you've done the cook-in-quantity thing a few times, you've got a nice selection already in the freezer, so it gets easier to have something different every day. Plus, it's cheaper than eating out! :
- —Guest Rani
Trouble w/ Heat/Cold
- All these tips are great -- but what keeps me out of the kitchen with FMS is the heat from the stove/oven and the cold from the fridge. The back/forth flux of temperature is awful for me. A hot stove makes me dizzy, sick to my stomach and tired. And the oven...I KNOW when the oven is on, from any room in the house. I get a roaring headache, dizzy, confused. ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO DEAL WITH THESE ISSUES? From Adrienne: Do you have a natural gas oven? If so, I wonder if you're sensitive to it and that's why it'll bother you from anywhere. As for the hot-to-cold flux, maybe it would help to get everything you need out of the fridge at once so you're not constantly going from hot stove to a blast of cold air. Other ideas: use the microwave and slow cooker as much as possible because they generate less heat. Hope this helps! ~Adrienne
- —Guest Rebecca
Cooking Tip for Pacing Yourself
- I don't work outside the home, so I find that beginning dinner at 10 a.m. helps me. This means getting things like chopping veggies and chicken for stir-fry, for instance, then storing in the refrigerator. If you don't have the luxury of doing that, try doing it at a table before bed or at another down time. Any thing you can do prior to actually cooking dinner gives you shorter prep time and less need for breaks while fixing a meal.
- —Portiahardesty
Shop at Asian markets
- Invest in a good rice cooker and buy good quality rice in bulk at your local Asian grocery store. Making perfect, great-tasting rice is a snap, cook up some boneless, skinless chicken breasts, throw in a handful of prechopped veggies, combine with a jar of curry or your favorite oriental sauce and it's dinner.
- —Guest Cinder
what helps me
- I also try to keep it simple. Also I have a padded fold-able stool so I am not on my feet so much.
- —hatlady53
what helps you with cooking
- I plan a menu with some easy recipes we have a wednesday where everyone makes their own meal and book on bench with recipes so everyone can cook or prepare some of steps or remember bits of shopping needed for meals whilst shopping i often text my daughter when i forget what i need she sends back what i need to get good knives are fabulous and extra padding on arms so bench doesn't dig in or hurt you and multivitamins for all those nutritional back up
- —Guest Jennifun
careful planning
- It helps me to write down what I am going to do and the how and the when. I use the alarm clock my mobile a lot. I also put "yellow" reminders in the bowls, and plate I use for serving the food.
- —Guest Kolbrun Gunnarsdottir
Order Groceries Online
- I order my groceries online. For $4.95 the store does my shopping for me and brings the groceries out to my car. They will even keep the food fresh and cold if I can't pick up my order as planned. And I make sure I get my groceries after school, so the neighborhood children will bring the bags inside for me. I don't have the energy to cook every day, so I will make a large batch of food at one time. I've invested in food-grade plastic freezer containers and use blue painters tape to mark what's in them (this tape is great - it stays on the container even through dishwashing, yet peels off easily without leaving a mark). My secret weapon for batch cooking: the crock pot! I've learned to adapt my favorite recipes to the slow cooker (no can of cream of mushroom soup for me!), and the results are wonderful.
- —MaryJordaine
Making Cooking Easier
- I find it helps to prep and cut the produce well ahead of time, so I don't have to do that when I'm trying to cook. That way there is a lot less distraction when I'm doing the actual cooking part and I don't have to spend all that time on my feet, which is so painful.
- —Friend2Indeed
rbarber100@gmail.com
- One more, I can't stop! I use the rolling stands that go under planters for lots of things. Right now they are under my computer tower and printer so I can pull them out from under the desk easily. Anytime casters would be nice I think of these!
- —Guest weeroo
rbarber100@gmail.com
- Great ideas! I sometimes have reactions to foods and additives so I cook my own meals and snacks as often as possible, I just feel better that way. Here are some tips I can add. If no padding on a tool or handle, use a hot pad or mit, or even a kitchen towel. (It is the only way I can get my wine open!) I have adjusted to a cluttered countertop and odd cabinet uses to make what I need accessible. A sacrifice well worth it. I don't have fancy cabinets with 'appliance garages' but get by with bread boxes and baskets to control the mess. Vitamins are in with the glasses by the sink, old cookie sheets and plastic trays are 'pull out devices' for stuff on shelves. This is actually in fashion now, called repurposing! In books and recipies I use magnetic bookmarks to mark the exact line I need to look at. Expectations of what and when I 'should' eat have relaxed. Breakfst is great for dinner and cold pizza is great for breakfast!
- —Guest weeroo
My cooking energy savers
- I do a lot of cooking in my crock pot. I just chop everything in the morning(or the night before) and let it cook all day. This summer I purchased a Bullet Express to take care of slicing (or grating) everything I need for a good soup or stew. Once the veggies are cleaned, it only takes a few moment to cut them all. The slicer rinses off easily except when I use it to shred cheese. Then I have to wash it with soap. Because I am so sick, I make soups or stews most days, varying vegetables and spices to avoid boredom. One day I might add whole kernel corn and black beans with Mexican spices. Another day might have tomato sauce and Italian spices or rice and nuts with curry.
- —mindwing
Light weight cookware
- I loved cast iron cook ware but I had to give it up the light weight stuff is easier on my arms and wrist.
- —Guest chadsmom
recipes
- I have my favorite recipes stored on my computer. I print out the page when I'm ready to start and tape it in front of me. When I'm finished, I can toss it, and don't have to worry about spills and splashes. I've typed in or scanned my old favorites, but there are recipes for almost everything on-line that you can e-mail to yourself with just a few clicks.
- —stellachiara
