HACKS to Make Life in the Kitchen EASIER

[@LetsEatPlants]

✨Make sure you get your copy of the FREE Kitchen inventory guide here! bit.ly/kitchen_inventory_guide (If you’re on my mailing list, you’ve got this in your inbox already. 😉) Enjoy!

[@MayWonder]

Do you have an Amazon shop for the containers?

[@MayWonder]

Looking for links mentioned

[@LetsEatPlants]

@@MayWonder In the description box! 😃

[@Insightfill]

My favorite: silicone muffins trays (especially jumbo.) You can freeze a whole bunch of anything - soups, chili, beans, grains, etc. - and then remove the little hockey pucks when frozen and move to a different container. You then get uniform sizes and can grab "two chili and one rice" for a meal.

[@LetsEatPlants]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Yesss! Great tip!

[@name.terrie]

Great tip!

[@Insightfill]

@@peggymarie2524 Mine are jumbo sized, and held together in sets of six muffins. They're a little floppy to get into the freezer, so I have a small "cookie sheet" that came with the toaster oven that I use as a base. Once frozen, I'll pop items into large freezer bags and then grab what I need. The freezer bag can be reused over and over. In the summer, I'll use the same trays to make big ice cubes! (Edit: well, not "cubes" so much as hockey pucks.)

[@subversivevegan]

I love bright painters tape for labeling. Holds up in fridge and freezer.

[@LetsEatPlants]

Great tip! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@cltinturkey]

I was in the coolest class in sixth grade. We'd do country days, where we'd learn about the country, listen to their music, make and bring dishes from the country to share for lunch, and really dive into the experience. Those lessons really stuck with me, and I've spent 25 years living and working overseas. You could plan a country week and watch some shows from or about that place, listen to radio or music from that place, and have a special candlelight meal to celebrate the whole experience!

[@Grace-lw4hd]

What a wonderful idea! 💕💕

[@LetsEatPlants]

Love this idea! I’ve traveled a bit and would love to try and recreate some of the amazing dishes I’ve had. 😍

[@maggie2936-q1m]

Most items are still good after the “expiration “ date. Best by dates can certainly be extended. Use your five senses to help determine when something truly needs to be trashed. I’ve been doing this for many years. I’ve never gotten sick, and save money and food waste. Those dates are guidelines and the government/companies just covering their you-know-whats.

[@LetsEatPlants]

Great point! There are often “best by” dates, not just expiration dates. 😊

[@Grace-lw4hd]

This channel will have 2+ million subs in no time - I swear when people find you - your channel is a GEM

[@LetsEatPlants]

Hahaha thank you! You’re too kind! 🥹🥰🤗

[@SpringFlowers537]

Monday-Indian, Tuesday-Mexican/Latin, Wednesday - Chinese/Japanese/Thai, Thursday- Italian/ Mediterranean, Friday - Easy/ Pita Pizzas- Casserole, veggie burgers and air fries, Saturday-Soup/stew, Sunday- soup/ stew. Either Sat or Sunday is a leftover day depending on what we’re doing that weekend. Lunches are always whatever we had the night before or need to use up that way dinner isn’t the same thing every night and your using/ planning to use leftovers 😊

[@LetsEatPlants]

Love this schedule and the range of cuisines! Thanks for sharing!

[@Insightfill]

4:11 Try to get a bunch from a single source or brand. We all know the pain of trying to nest containers in storage when they're not matching.

[@LetsEatPlants]

Omg so true!! Very good tip! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@cavenavasagam6461]

I didn't know you can freeze lemon zest. Game changer. Thank you, Maddie. Labeling is another thing I need to work on. 😂 Garam masala, chat masala, roasted hot chilli powder, all spice are all spice blends.

[@LetsEatPlants]

Wohoo! You’re so welcome! 😊😊

[@tracyhuckaby5876]

Also, for labeling things, Amazon sells labels that dissolve easily in water. They work really well.

[@LetsEatPlants]

Great tip! I’ve never seen those, I’ll have to check them out. 😃 Thanks!

[@bjoyp7463]

I haven’t been tempted once to stop for any fast food since I started this method of preparation for my meals. You always have the best tips and suggestions. And my Instant Pot is finally my friend. 😊 I just wish I had a bigger freezer!

[@LetsEatPlants]

Awww yay!!! I love hearing that! I bet it feels great too. 🤗🤗

[@lp7931]

We do soup Sunday! (Or salad Sunday in the summer) Then we have soup for lunch the rest of the week too.

[@LetsEatPlants]

Oooh I love that! We might have to start that too. My husband loves soup. 😃😃

[@geniew-f7522]

Thank you for all your practical advice! I like that you move along and give so many great common sense tips to help us all eat better by putting a little upfront work into the process. It really does make a huge difference to have everything all set to go. Thanks again!

[@LetsEatPlants]

You’re very welcome! Yes, upfront work can help immensely. 🤗🤗

[@jwest2133]

It really does make a difference when I wash the veggies and prep grains and beans once a week! I’ve been doing this since I started following you, thanks 🙏 Actually, I learned how to do brown rice, oats, and beans in the instant pot from your videos 🧡

[@heatherphelps3799]

I started prepping beans after seeing Maddie do it with the instant pot. Saves me money & it’s so easy. I love this channel!❤

[@LetsEatPlants]

YAY!!! That makes me SO happy to hear!! 🤩 That’s wonderful it has made a difference. 🥰🥰

[@franciscachesca]

I love videos with tips, tricks and hacks. You give good tips in all your videos. And I like that you vary in content. Sometimes a meal prep video, other times a recipe and now a video with tips.

[@LetsEatPlants]

Aww yay! So glad to hear that! 🤗🤗 Yes I try to vary it a bit to keep it more entertaining. 😋

[@Smudgemom2003]

Squash-piration

[@LetsEatPlants]

😂🙌🏻🙌🏻 Love it!

[@trinamarietv600]

Thank you Maddie for this great video. I will use all these hacks because I'm always trying to come up with something to eat for dinner. I'm just beginning to meal prep and it's really helpful. I just have to stay consistent.😊

[@LetsEatPlants]

Oh yay! I love hearing that!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Consistency and routine are definitely key but don’t beat yourself up if you have a slow learning curve! Took me a while to get into a regular pattern with it (I’m talking years!). Just starting is already great! 🤗🤗

[@Insightfill]

2:03 There are also a few web sites devoted to "use up things in my cabinets." You can sometimes have AI/GPT/Bard success: "I need a vegan recipe that uses up capers and rainbow chard."

[@LetsEatPlants]

Ooooh that’s a great point! Do you have one you can share here? 😃

[@Insightfill]

@@LetsEatPlants I was just poking around and found Supercook. It's got a decent interface. In the past I've just relied on Internet searching all of the ingredients in the search box. The AI/chat tools are pretty good, too.

[@SpringFlowers537]

The freezer is your friend. Seriously put away half of a meal to go right to the freezer. Granted it needs to be a meal that you really like. If you don’t like it you’ll never defrost and use 😊

[@LetsEatPlants]

Omg GREAT point! I've definitely frozen mediocre meals and never wanted to defrost them... lesson learned! 😂😂

[@BettyHorn]

My husband and I just prepped our food for the week last night. It makes mealtime a cinch! We're having "fried" rice for dinner and all it's going to take is mixing and heating. All the components are already cooked even! I'm loving this! And you are such an inspiration!

[@LetsEatPlants]

Wohoo! Way to go Betty! “Fried” rice sounds delish and even better when everything’s ready to cook. 😃😃

[@BettyHorn]

@@LetsEatPlants it was, and there's even leftovers!

[@LetsEatPlants]

@@BettyHorn Wohoo! 🤩

[@BettyHorn]

@@LetsEatPlants 😋😋😋

[@JPMasonDun]

I plan out meals a week in advance and decide the theme then. Ie Korean, Italian, Mexican, Lebanese, etc.

[@LetsEatPlants]

Love this! I think we might have to try it out. I would love to explore making food from new cuisines!

[@larkendelvie]

Great ideas - thanks! One thing I do being a solo prepper is to pick a week's default food "almost always potato and salad" and have that for dinner for three days and for the others I do two days of leftovers (frozen prep from prior weeks) and two days of new prep. For lunch on the non potato days I usually do a salad so I just need to come up with three lunches that are usually a wrap or burrito. It might seem like a lot of repeats but different sauces make a huge difference. For example creamed potatoes and peas with an oriental orange salad is totally different than baked potato with ranch salad. Breakfast for me is usually the same everyday but Sundays - waffle day!

[@LetsEatPlants]

This is a great idea! We love repeats as well.. it honestly makes it so much easier than trying to come up with lots of new ideas all the time. 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@deannashriver6412]

How many containers do you think would be necessary to maintain batch cooking, meal prep, leftovers, etc.

[@LetsEatPlants]

That’s a great question! It definitely depends on the size of your family. My husband and I (2 ppl) use about 3-4 of the big ones (holding beans grains and cooked veggies), and quite a few of the smaller sized as well (I have at least 8, but not all of them are constantly in rotation). I also have 4 minis for dressings and a few medium-small for hummus, or other leftovers. Sometimes some will be in the freezer for a couple months so I like to have extra, but I always suggest to start with less and you can always add to the collection!

[@Simplyluvly]

Thanks for the kitchen tips. Meal prep really saves time.

[@LetsEatPlants]

You’re welcome and yes it absolutely does. 🤗🤗

[@CS-zw5im]

Great video! Thank you for all of the tips. Keep up the great work!❤

[@LetsEatPlants]

Aww thanks! So glad you enjoyed! 🤗🤗

[@SpringFlowers537]

Lol on the label! I thought Fiesta corn chowder was golden French lentils🤣

[@Insightfill]

Love the idea of ice cube tray for juice!

[@LetsEatPlants]

It’s so handy!! 😀

[@SpringFlowers537]

Lol I batch a lot, but never thought to batch stir fry sauces! These take the longest when you need fast😊

[@LetsEatPlants]

Definitely! Those freeze well too so you can even quadruple the batch if needed. Enjoy! 😁

[@luci4087]

Can also freeze leftover wine into cubes, so you can use it for cooking.

[@LetsEatPlants]

Great idea! 🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@LauraCastillejos]

Lots of great tips! Thanks for the video, Maddie! 💕

[@LetsEatPlants]

So glad you enjoyed! 🥰🥰

[@jillt.3195]

Thank you for another great video!

[@LetsEatPlants]

So glad you enjoyed! 😃

[@evag5041]

Another excellent video jam packed with things that really help 👏🏻

[@LetsEatPlants]

🤗🤗 So glad it was helpful!

[@Grace-lw4hd]

Snacks are something I always forget to prep- what a great idea to include them weekly! 🤯😍😍😍😍

[@LetsEatPlants]

Hahaha me too! Had to start making sure I had them prepped for that 4pm snack break. 😋

[@davidthescottishvegan]

Another fantastic video Maddie with awesome food prep hacks and love 🥰 this video and Let's Eat Plants. Love 💞 Maddie & ❤Q.

[@LetsEatPlants]

Thanks David! 🤗🤗💕

[@Insightfill]

Nice to see this all in one place. 1:19 What an organized pantry!

[@LetsEatPlants]

Haha thank you! That was just after cleaning it. 😅😅

[@Grace-lw4hd]

I would love to see BROL meal ideas? Dr Gregor uses the mix in sweet and savory ways - not sure if that’s a theme but BROL is supposed to be healthy and I think it can be used in lots of ways?

[@LetsEatPlants]

Yes! I’ve been wanting to make some BROL! I’ll have to do a video on it. 😊

[@SpringFlowers537]

Yes BROL video would be great!

[@juchidaf]

Great advice Maddie!

[@LetsEatPlants]

So glad to hear it! 😊

[@Insightfill]

When it comes to batches, some things REALLY lend themselves to it more. You had mentioned in a past video making pancakes and waffles in batch and freezing them. Their shape stores well, and most of the work is in the prep and cleanup, so best to get that done ONCE. Edit: ah, you covered that at the end here too!

[@LetsEatPlants]

Good point! Yes I feel like pancakes and waffles are perfect bc I hate making them and so if I’m going to do the work I’d better be making a triple batch. 😂 Plus I used to love buying freezer waffles and homemade are so much healthier and cheaper!

[@Grace-lw4hd]

BEST TIP VIDEO I have SEEN! Love and gratitude for your channel- I get so much inspiration and have learned so much ! 🍁🌎🎃🫶💕🐾☀️

[@LetsEatPlants]

Aww thank you! What a sweet comment!! 🥰🥰 So glad you found the tips helpful!

[@janellemartinez538]

I’m terrible about using all my leftovers 🫣

[@LetsEatPlants]

I hear ya!! I do a lot straight into the freezer if I know I won’t use them up within a week. Otherwise, just start looking for recipes for repurposing right away, otherwise I’ll forget. 😆😆