Hacks For the Holidays: How to Save Time in the Kitchen

The holiday season is full of get-togethers with family and friends, late night hot coco…or spiked eggnog, and festive dinners. We’ve got a few holiday hacks to help you spend less time making dinner and more time enjoying that cocoa with your loved ones.

Plan Ahead:

Plan to do your holiday meal shopping a week in advance. Take inventory of what you have and write down the foods you’ll need for that perfect holiday dinner. Doing so will keep you organized, help you beat the holiday rush, and give you some extra time just in case you missed something.

Prep Side Dishes Early:

Start cooking foods like stuffing, gravy, or pie dough a day or two before your big get together. That way on the actual, day you can spend more time with your loved ones and less time in the kitchen. But avoid cooking foods like green beans that could spoil early.

Grate Frozen Vegan Butter:

If you’re like me then you love creating all kinds of scrumptious vegan pies, cookies, and treats during the holidays. With a million things to get done, I end up not having the time (or patience) to wait for my vegan butter to come to room temperature. I know this may sound weird but if you freeze your butter before hand and grate it with a cheese grater it will come to room temperature a lot quicker. Bonus, grating it creates the perfect size pieces for extra flaky pie crusts.

Buy Cooking Mesh Bags:

Cooking space is limited when preparing for a holiday feast. Steamed or boiled veggies are a staple in a plant-based foodie’s house hold but it can be time consuming to boil one vegetable at a time. Instead invest in some cooking mesh bags which will allow you to cook multiple foods at once!

Use A Bowl For Trash:

Instead of continually running back and fourth between the trash use one giant bowl. Place scraps, packaging, and produce odds and ends in your bowl and once your done cooking make one simple trip to the trashcan.

Clean As You Go:

Rather than having an unbearable amount of dishes at the end of the night try to clean as you go. By multitasking you end up with less mess and more time with family and friends.

Related: 11 Not-So-Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick

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