The Meal Minimalist: How to Streamline Your Cooking Setup

We all know the benefits of eating healthy, balanced home-cooked meals. But have you ever taken the time to consider if the setup of your kitchen is right for you and your specific needs? Having a well organised and efficient cooking setup could make preparing food and cleaning up afterwards so much easier. 

Below are tips on how to streamline your cooking setup:

Invest In Multi-Use Products

The beauty of investing in kitchen accessories and appliances that are designed to do multiple jobs is that it means you require fewer items in your kitchen. A good quality food processor will slice, chop, dice, blend, grate; the list is endless! Plus, having just one food processor instead of multiple kitchen appliances for various different jobs will free up valuable kitchen space and leave your benchtops free of clutter. 

Multi-use appliances will also save you time and make food preparation much easier. Food processors and other gadgets can often chop, mix and puree a handful of veggies quicker than you can peel an onion. Using one product will also mean less washing up. 

Figure Out The Best Placement

Being smart about where certain items are stored in your kitchen can really streamline your setup. Having your most used items within arms reach during cooking and cleaning can not only save time, but it can also make the after-dinner clean up much simpler. Consider storing your pots, pans and cooking utensils close to your cooker so that you can access them easily without having to step away from the stove. If you’re lucky enough to have a dishwasher in your kitchen, then think about having your dishes and cutlery in nearby cabinets or drawers. Doing so could mean emptying the dishwasher may take half the time.

Group Together Similar Items

Grouping sauces, sundries, tinned vegetables and other similar items together will make them easier to find and could also stop lesser-used items from being overlooked and wasted. Removing unnecessary packaging before arranging things neatly could also free up space in your fridge, freezer or pantry. Items such as rice and pasta that usually comes in plastic packaging can often be hard to store, so you may wish to use airtight containers. Containers can be a real space saver in your pantry or cupboards as they can be stacked on top of one and other. They also help to keep food fresher for much longer than if they were stored in the original packaging. 

Set Up Specialised Stations

This tip is great if you tend to cook the same kind of meals or snacks on a regular basis. For example, if you’re a keen baker then you may choose to have all of your main ingredients and equipment in a certain section of the kitchen. This way, every time you choose to whip up that delicious batch of brownies there’s no need to go around the kitchen searching for specific items. Instead, most of what you need will be easily accessible making the whole process much quicker. 

When trying to figure out how best to organise your kitchen try to keep in mind how you use the space. Think about the types of meals you make and the items you tend to reach for the most. Aim to have your items stored in a way that makes both cooking and cleaning as efficient as possible. Remember that how you organise your kitchen can be changed if your initial arrangement doesn’t feel right for you. Sure, larger items such as your fridge or oven may have to stay put but what you store in the surrounding cupboards can be switched around as many times as is needed before you get a placement that works perfectly for you.