Here are my top 5 tips for ensuring that you can enjoy your dinner safe in the knowledge that the post-cooking tidying up will be quick and easy!
1. Tidy up as you go – I always start my cooking by filling up the sink with soapy water; this makes it easy to wash your hands and wipe up any spills or wash up those items you are finished with. You need to utilise those empty minutes: while the pasta is cooking, wipe the surfaces and wash up the knife; while
your meat is in the oven, wash up any pans and utensils you have already used.
2. Choose one pot recipes and traybakes – these are the ultimate, low mess and low effort dinners. You’ll need to invest in one good quality non-stick tray (the Lakeland and Salter ones are really good) and a cast iron cooking pot: my favourite one of these was from a supermarket so you really don’t have to spend a fortune on branded items.
3. Don’t peel your vegetables – lots of the goodness is in the skin so, where possible, just give your veggies a good scrub before chopping and cooking. This not only leads to less mess to tidy up, but also saves you time and reduces food waste.
4. Buy a splatter guard – this will save you having to wash the hob each time you fry something. I am not a fan of having multiple kitchen gadgets, but this is one which will save you time when it comes to that post meal clean-up! You can pick these up really cheap from most homeware stores or can buy them online – the Procook one is good value for money. But, if you haven’t got the space in your kitchen for another gadget but you already own a metal colander, you can use that instead.
5. Use the same tool for multiple jobs – I am a big fan of finding alternative uses for everyday kitchen equipment. It not only leads to less washing up, but also means you need less ‘stuff’ in your kitchen. A teaspoon can measure your spices and peel your ginger; your scissors can cut pretty much anything that needs cutting; use the same spoon to stir your sauce and toss your roasted vegetables and use a silicone spatula to scrape your batter bowl, flip your pancakes and toss those roast potatoes.
Here are my top 5 tips for ensuring that you can enjoy your dinner safe in the knowledge that the post-cooking tidying up will be quick and easy!
1. Tidy up as you go – I always start my cooking by filling up the sink with soapy water; this makes it easy to wash your hands and wipe up any spills or wash up those items you are finished with. You need to utilise those empty minutes: while the pasta is cooking, wipe the surfaces and wash up the knife; while
your meat is in the oven, wash up any pans and utensils you have already used.
2. Choose one pot recipes and traybakes – these are the ultimate, low mess and low effort dinners. You’ll need to invest in one good quality non-stick tray (the Lakeland and Salter ones are really good) and a cast iron cooking pot: my favourite one of these was from a supermarket so you really don’t have to spend a fortune on branded items.
3. Don’t peel your vegetables – lots of the goodness is in the skin so, where possible, just give your veggies a good scrub before chopping and cooking. This not only leads to less mess to tidy up, but also saves you time and reduces food waste.
4. Buy a splatter guard – this will save you having to wash the hob each time you fry something. I am not a fan of having multiple kitchen gadgets, but this is one which will save you time when it comes to that post meal clean-up! You can pick these up really cheap from most homeware stores or can buy them online – the Procook one is good value for money. But, if you haven’t got the space in your kitchen for another gadget but you already own a metal colander, you can use that instead.
5. Use the same tool for multiple jobs – I am a big fan of finding alternative uses for everyday kitchen equipment. It not only leads to less washing up, but also means you need less ‘stuff’ in your kitchen. A teaspoon can measure your spices and peel your ginger; your scissors can cut pretty much anything that needs cutting; use the same spoon to stir your sauce and toss your roasted vegetables and use a silicone spatula to scrape your batter bowl, flip your pancakes and toss those roast potatoes.
