20 food hacks that will SERIOUSLY change your life!

We all know the one about squeezing lemon on sliced apple to prevent it from browning. But what other food hacks could you be using every day to save time and money, especially in the current restrictions?

We’ve compiled a list of our favourites here to save you time in the kitchen and help reduce the amount of food you throw out. Some of these will blow your mind!

1. Ripen an avocado in 10 minutes

If you are craving some guacamole but you have nothing but rock hard avocados in your fridge, use this tip to speed up the ripening process:

  1. Preheat the oven to 100˚C and wrap the avo in aluminium foil.
  2. Put it on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
  3. Remove from the foil, and put it in the fridge until it has cooled.

2. Make bananas last longer by wrapping their tops in gladwrap.

3. Use frozen grapes to keep your wine chilled. They look great and won’t water down your wine like ice cubes will.

4. Cook perfect bacon the easy way

Always on the quest for perfectly cooked, crispy bacon? This method will ensure great results every time:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C.
  2. Line a baking tray with baking paper and arrange bacon on it.
  3. Put in oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.
  4. That’s it! Enjoy crispy bacon without having to stand over a spitting frying pan, or adding more oil.

5. Bring butter up to room temperature quickly by grating the required amount.

6. Freeze leftover fresh herbs in olive oil.

7. Dip spoons in oil before measuring out sticky ingredients like honey or treacle – the oil will prevent them from sticking to the spoon.

8. Place a damp tea towel under your chopping board to prevent it from slipping.

9. To remove the stem from strawberries, push a plastic drinking straw all the way through from base to top.

10. Keep your salad leaves fresh for longer by placing in a bowl, putting a piece of kitchen towel on top and covering with gladwrap.

11. Stop your kids getting sticky with ice blocks by pushing a cupcake case up over the bottom of the stick to catch any drips.

12. If you’re pushed for time and need to wait a day before you ice a freshly baked cake, place a slice of bread on top of it to keep it fresh.

13. To get more juice out of your lemons and limes, roll them on the kitchen bench for 10 seconds, or pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds.

14. If you have leftover wine (what’s that?!) freeze it in ice cube trays to add to soups, stocks and casseroles.

15. Fill a cupcake tray with water and drop in some slices of lemon or lime for great tasting (and looking) ice cubes.

16. Stop the pan from boiling over when cooking pasta by adding a couple of drops of olive oil to the water, or placing a wooden spoon across the top of the pan.

17. If you’ve let your prosecco or sparkling wine go flat, pop a raisin into it to restore the fizz.

18. Pour warm milk into an almost empty jar of Nutella for an instant hot chocolate fix, or use ice cream for a delicious treat.

19. Rest your fish on top of sliced lemons when cooking it on the BBQ. It will add flavour and reduce the mess as the fish won’t stick to the grill.

20. Use a spoon to scrape the skin off of fresh ginger instead of cutting it off with a knife. The skin will come away easily and you won’t waste so much of the ginger that way.

What are your top food hacks? Let us know!


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KOTC issue out now MREC

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By Claire Gilligan
WITH A FIFO HUSBAND WHO WORKS AWAY WEEKS AT A TIME, CLAIRE ENJOYS FINDING FUN, LOCAL THINGS TO DO AND PLACES TO VISIT TO OCCUPY HER AND HER TWO GIRLS' TIME. ORIGINALLY FROM SYDNEY, CLAIRE AND HER FAMILY LOVE ALL THE THINGS THE SUNSHINE COAST HAS TO OFFER AND ENJOY SHOWING IT OFF TO VISITING FAMILY AND FRIENDS. Kids on the Coast is a free family magazine whats on guide for Kids: things to do, school holiday fun and free activities for kids... Fun attractions, family food & travel, kids health & wellbeing, kids parties venues, parenting, pregnancy & babies, guide for parents. Servicing Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and beyond, Kids on the Coast is an online guide for parents with kids things to do with kids, schools and education and lifestyle news located on Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast & Brisbane, QLD.

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