Hey there, viewers! Cooking your own food is the first
MAJOR step towards achieving your weight loss goals. It can be frustrating at times.
Especially when things don’t turn out the way you expect them to be.
This is what life hacks are for. In today’s video, we will be talking about 23 kitchen hacks that
will change your life. Tips for easier meal prep and better cooking for weight conscious dieters.
Why should you opt for cold pasta? What about adding coconut oil to
your boiling rice water? We’ll be talking all this AND more...
Crack eggs on the countertop
Do you often cook eggshells into your omelette? Like a stray piece of shell
that somehow sneaks into your mix? Don’t worry, there are easy hacks to prevent this.
Your omelettes and eggs will all turn out fine without any traces of egg shells.
Just make sure you crack the eggs right on the counter. When you crack them on the side of
your bowl, there is a high risk that a few eggshell pieces might get into your food.
How do you like your eggs? Runny or hard boiled?
Sunny side up or scrambled? Share your preferences with the Bestie community in the comments below.
Microwave garlic for 10 seconds for easy peeling
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely hate peeling garlic.
It’s one of the most intense jobs in the kitchen. Even peeling peas sounds easier.
If you’re like me, you’ll appreciate this easy hack.
Microwave garlic for 10 seconds and then peel them. You will be surprised how easy it is now!
No microwave? No problem. Place garlic cloves on a cutting board or clean counter top. Smash it a
bit with your fist, or the back of your knife. Now peel it. It would take just a few seconds.
Wash cottage cheese under running water
Are you conscious of the amount of sodium you eat every day?
Well you need to know this. Even bland cottage cheese contains a high amount
of salt. It’s added as a preservative, and to enhance the texture and flavor.
If you can’t find low sodium versions, rinse it under running water for at least 15 minutes.
Experts recommend doing this as the sodium content gets reduced by 63%!
Store leftover sliced potatoes in water
So you were making a potato dish and overestimated the ingredients you’ll need...
Now you have raw sliced potatoes you don’t want to throw away.
But keeping them as it is can’t be an option. Raw cut potatoes will turn brown pretty soon.
I get your problem. But there is an easy hack to save the situation.
Store these potatoes in a bowl of cold water. Make sure they’re
completely submerged. Store them in the fridge, but use them within 24 hours.
You can also boil them and store in the fridge.
They will easily last you 2 to 3 days. Make mashed potatoes for dinner the next day!
Store strawberries as is
Are you a strawberry fan? So am I! They’re loaded with vitamin C.
But be careful with how you store them. If you slice them all at once just to store, STOP.
Vitamin C is sensitive to light and heat. It gets destroyed easily when it comes in contact
with atmospheric oxygen. They will also lose some of their antioxidants. So instead of slicing them
altogether, store strawberries as they are. The same goes for oranges. No peeling and storing.
Better Storage for Avocados
This is essential. There is just one rule, unripe avocado belongs on your countertop,
while the ripe goes into the fridge. By letting
unripe avocado sit outside on your counter, you’re allowing it to ripen faster.
Wondering how to tell if your avocados are ripe? If you can
easily pop the "button" off the top of an avocado?
Frozen lemon juice cubes
Lemons are great, especially when you get them cheap. Don’t worry,
you don’t need to pickle them if you don’t want to.
There is an easy hack to make sure you have lemon juice throughout the year.
Juice all lemons and freeze the cubes in ice trays. There,
you have your lemon ice cubes. Add them to your drinks, or melt them when you need lemon juice.
Cold pasta is better
Do you love pasta? Here is a hack to help you eat your favorite pasta without worrying about weight.
Eat it chilled. Seriously. Chill your pasta overnight and eat it the next day. It’s okay
to reheat it. Cold pasta keeps you full for longer compared to being cooked and served immediately.
Freeze blueberries
Can you make healthy fruits even healthier? Of course you can. Blueberries are super nutritious
thanks to their antioxidants. Their skin is heavily concentrated with antioxidant properties.
Freezing them will make them even better for you. Wondering how? The freezing process forms
ice crystals on blueberry skin. This makes the antioxidants more available to your body.
Add oil to boiling rice
There is a trick to make rice healthy for you.
Just add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the boiling water before cooking rice.
It will have ten times more resistant starch. But how does that make things better?
Well, resistant starch is digested slowly. So you will feel full for longer. Your blood sugar levels
will be more stabilized. No unbearable cravings! Eventually you will end up eating less calories.
Poached eggs are healthier
Eggs are already incredibly healthy. But did you know the way you eat them affects the
nutrition you get? The best way is poached eggs. Crack open an egg in a pot of simmering water.
There you have your poached eggs.
You absorb up to 50% more nutrients from runny yolk compared to a hard boiled yolk.
Before we move ahead, here’s another video you might like. Watch and learn
more about 11 foods people eat that can kill you.
Toasted bread is better
There is a way to make your healthy sandwiches even healthier. Of course,
adding grilled chicken breast and avocados is just GREAT.
But don’t forget to toast your bread. Experts say toasting bread reduces its glycemic index.
The lower the glycemic index, the higher the satiety. This means you’ll feel full for longer
and your blood sugar levels won’t crash. You can also freeze your bread before toasting.
Your body will absorb even less glucose from frozen bread than toasted.
Cooked tomatoes are healthier
Do you love tomato soup and sauce? Here’s a reason you will love them even more.
Whenever you get a chance, make sure you eat tomatoes in cooked form.
Roasting and cooking increases the level of a powerful compound in tomatoes.
This powerful compound lowers your risk of heart disease and cancer.
A study has found that people who ate sauce cooked for 40 minutes had 55% more
of the compound in their blood. Patience is the key my friend
It’s really difficult to let your delicious steak rest right after being cooked.
The temptation is too much. But you have to keep your patience.
If you slice into the meat just after cooking, the juices will escape.
Wait, for five to ten minutes. Let the juices settle,
and then take a bite into your burger or steak. In case you’re carving a large roast,
wait at least 15 minutes. Flip your meat often
Nobody likes eating uneven steak or chops. If you’re wondering how to make sure your steak is
evenly cooked, there’s a very simple way. Flip the meat as often as you can. Try one flip per minute.
Not only will the meat cook faster, it will also cook evenly.
Go to farmer’s market early
Want to get your hands on the best produce? Then go to the local farmer’s
market early in the morning. You’ll be the first to pick the freshest products.
Get more fruit juice
Tired of squeezing through limes, lemons and oranges
only to be disappointed from the low volume? You can get more fruit juice with this
trick. Microwave for 15 seconds right before juicing. You will get TWICE as much juice.
Ice water will liven up your leafy greens
It used to happen a lot with me. I would buy fresh kale,
spinach and parsley, then store them in the fridge.
But when I would get to them later in the week, all my fresh greens would be wilted. Not anymore!
You can rescue your aging produce by giving them an ice water bath before cooking. Green leafy
veggies spoil due to loss of moisture. Ice water easily penetrates their cells, restoring them.
Opt for in-season produce
I cannot recommend this enough. Always get fruits and veggies that are in season.
They are better than the cold storage produce you get all year round.
In season produce is fresh and cheap. Plus they are healthy for you!
Experiment with ingredients
Cooking is an art. Just like you experiment with colors and music,
experiment with ingredients. Do not stick to recipes as if they’re set in stone.
If you don’t have eggplants right now, you can substitute them for mushrooms.
Tofu can be a substitute for cottage cheese if that’s what you have in your
refrigerator right now. You might even make something better by switching ingredients.
You only need to understand basic techniques. And know which foods taste good together!
Pay attention to your plate’s temperature before serving
Not paying attention to the temperature before serving food is a rookie mistake.
If you’re serving warm food, heat your dishes in the oven for 10 minutes,
at 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Do this right before plating the meal.
In case you’re serving cold dishes, chill your plates lightly.
This will preserve the freshness of your cold food.
Trick to get crispy chicken without frying
Even the thought of crispy chicken skin makes my mouth water. But frying it is a no-go if you’re
health conscious. Does that mean you need to give up on crispy chicken? Of course not!
Here’s what you do. Buy a whole chicken the day before cooking. Sprinkle a teaspoon of kosher salt
on it. Store it uncovered in the refrigerator. Salt and air will draw out the extra water.
Before you cook this chicken, pat it dry with a paper towel.
You will definitely get crispy chicken skin after cooking.
Time your salt
Adding salt to your dish is an art in itself. You need to know the correct
amount to add as well as WHEN to it. As for the amount of salt, trust your mouth.
Don’t go by the standard recipe, as each one of us has a different palate. Taste and adjust.
Don’t use a salt shaker as it won’t give you accuracy.
Instead, use a bowl and spoon so you know the actual amount you’re adding.
Now comes the question about when to add salt. If you’re cooking pork, chicken, or turkey,
season them up to 8 hours before cooking. This will give the salt
enough time to penetrate the meat. You will get a juicier, fully seasoned meal.
But if you’re making burgers, season just before grilling them. If the salt is left on longer,
it will break down the protein strands. As a result, you will get a tougher burger pattie.
Knowing kitchen hacks can be a life saver.
You save precious time along with cooking even more delicious dishes! How about some more hacks?
Watch 19 Tips on How to Clean Faster and Better.
You can also try 10 Life Hacks to Get a Good Night’s Sleep.
Go ahead and click one. Better yet, watch both. Did you know about any
of these 23 kitchen hacks before? Let us know in the comments below!