Are you one of those people who like vegetables but use the excuse that you don’t have time to prepare them? Here are a few ideas that help save some time.
- Let’s state the obvious: buy vegetables already cleaned and sliced and diced! Most grocery stores have these “ready to go” veggies in the produce section or in the deli section.
- While you’re making a dinner that involves chopping vegetables, such as a stir fry, go ahead and chop a few extra pieces for you and/or your children’s lunch for the next day. You can also do this while dinner is cooking. You’re in the kitchen anyway, so what’s a few extra minutes? This will save a few minutes the next morning.
- Invest in a new gadget... You can get a slicer like this:
http://www.oxo.com/p-543-mandoline-slicer.aspx or a chopper like this one:
http://www.oxo.com/p-544-chopper.aspx# This makes veggie prep fast and easy. Clean up is a breeze. Oh, and you might actually have some fun! - Bagged frozen veggies are easy to toss into a stir fry or to bulk up the volume of soups and stews. You can also cook them quickly in the microwave without losing much of the nutritional value.
- Spend a little bit of time to save some time. Make available a 15-20 minute time window on the weekend. Get the veggies together you need for the week, break out the cutting board and your sharp knife. Chop and slice the veggies, put them in separate containers in the refrigerator, and you’re one step ahead for lunch and dinner preparation.
Now what was your excuse for not having time to prep veggies?
Dina Griffin, MS, RD, CSSD
dina@fuel4mance.com
