Today's post is about 4 cooking hacks that I've mastered for the past few months, and how they help me save my time.

Oh, the only commercial relationship I have with the brands is “I’m a happy customer!” :)

Let's go!

1. Foodi ninja

I wanted an air fryer. I also wanted a pressure cooker because my slow cooker was too... slow. Don't get me wrong, it lived up to its promise. But I wanted a utensil that allowed me to make rice & beans on the same day!

I didn't want to buy two separate utensils, though. So I did some research until I decided to buy a Foodi Ninja!

My experience with it has been GREAT so far. I can make an entire meal with it, like this Grains, Greens & Tofu Bowl recipe with little work. Most of the time is waiting.

Okay, to be honest, I mostly use 4 of the 11 functions it has, but at least I don't have 4 different gadgets in my kitchen ;)

2. A pair of non-stick sheet trays

Chop some veggies, season them, add them to the trays. Use the other tray to roast chickpeas. You can even add a whole grain (that cooks under 15min) in there.

Voila! A whole meal without you having to do much of the work.

Check out this Sheet Pan Dinners 101 guide to get inspired! Oh, you can also add the roasted veggies to soups, tacos, etc. for extra flavor 😋

I'm happy with the ones I have from Nordic Ware.

3. A blender

Super handy when you don't have lots of time to make breakfast. I try to always have frozen bananas, peanut butter, and cocoa powder in stock. Then I blend everything with whatever nut milk I have, dates, ground flax seeds, maple syrup.

I also use it a lot for making homemade almond milk. I love the taste of it, and I use the almond pulp to bake some cookies 🍪.

I won’t recommend mine because I’m planning to buy a better one soon. If you are happy with yours, please share in the comments ;)

3. Frozen veggies

I confess I'm addicted to them: they come chopped, washed, ready to be used.

I add them to all my meals: soups, stir fryers, tacos, etc. It's great to add more nutrition to my day.

My favorites are broccoli, spinach, okra, shelled edamame, and a mix of corn & carrots.

4. A Cookbook

Yes, a physical cookbook!

The Veganomicon is my best friend. It has hundreds of recipes.

That's how I start to plan for my weekly meal prep: I sit down, bookmark 3 to 4 recipes, write down the ingredients I need to buy. It takes me about 10min.

I also love cookbooks because it's a great way to be offline. I've been using this moment as an opportunity to practice mindfulness :)

Besides the Veganomicon, I also recommend “Forks Over Knives - The Cookbook”.

I hope you got some tips from this post! Now, I’d like to hear from you:

What is a cooking hack you've learned? What kitchen utensil you can't live without? And why?

Let me know! I'd love to have a part 2 edition with your tips! We can all learn from each other :)

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Thank you for reading,

-Stefanni