Have you ever found yourself not wanting to cook for yourself because it takes so much time? Then you probably don't see the benefits of cooking for yourself. Or you don't like cooking because you don't know what to cook or how to put something tasty yet healthy on the table in a reasonable amount of time? Or you say you still have to learn how to cook.

1) It's best to plan your whole week in advance

This saves you time when shopping and also prevents you from standing in the kitchen at a loss, opening and closing the fridge, pulling out old recipe books and muttering to yourself "what am I going to cook today". Use a menu planner for the whole week and shop specifically based on this.

2) Prepare basic recipes in larger quantities

Make salad dressing for several days at once, for example, or cook larger quantities of pulses or wholegrain rice. There is also nothing wrong with cooking double quantities of a dish from time to time so that you can eat it twice.

3) Feel free to use frozen vegetables from time to time (unseasoned, of course!)

They don't need to be cleaned and cut and can be kept well in stock. As the vegetables are frozen fresh, they often contain more vitamins than vegetables that have been sitting under the lamp in the supermarket for days.

4) Get your utensils ready

Get everything you need for your menu ready in the morning (or the evening before) (bowls, knives, chopping board, spices, non-perishable food, etc.), then it will be ready in no time when you get home in the evening. At the very least, you should have all the ingredients prepared and chopped before you start cooking. Professional chefs call this mise-en-place.

5) Use only one pan or pot

Pick a few recipes that you can cook in a single pan, so you don't have to supervise several pots and save time washing up. Wok dishes or stews are good for this.

6) Plate service in the kitchen

Place the food directly on the plates in the kitchen (place the cutlery right next to it so that everyone can grab their own), this saves you having to wash service dishes and set the table.

7) Use only a few ingredients

Especially when time is short, use very simple recipes with only 2-3 ingredients (maximum 5!). Even simple dishes taste great if they are prepared with love! A fresh culinary herb or an interesting spice immediately gives even a simple dish a special touch.

8) Cut vegetables and meat into small pieces

The smaller the pieces, the shorter the cooking time. It only takes a few minutes to cook chopped vegetables al dente!

9) Do not cook a starchy side dish

Instead of a starchy side dish, simply serve a piece of rye bread with your meal to save time and another pot of food.

10) The right appliances save time

Invest in good knives and a few efficient kitchen appliances, such as a multi-shredder, possibly combined with attachments to finely slice vegetables.

11) Use the oven or a steamer to prepare your dish.

Dishes prepared in this way do not need to be supervised while they are cooking, which means you can use the time in between for other things (for example, tidying up the kitchen straight away)! I like to use the Thermomix for this myself.

12) Collect scraps

When preparing the food, use the plastic bags or cardboard containers to collect the scraps and throw them away at the end or take them to the compost. This will save you several trips to the garbage can and there will also be less to clean up afterwards.

13) Clean up and wash up while the food is cooking.

There is always time between the work steps to put a few things back in the right place. Don't be afraid to put as much as possible in the dishwasher, today's machines use even less water than washing up by hand!

14) Your friend, the kettle

Always boil water in the kettle (unless you have an induction stove, which is just as quick), this will easily save you a few minutes.

15) Stock up on non-perishable and frozen food.

For example, peas, broccoli, green beans and salmon fillets in the freezer, chickpeas, kidney beans from the jar, dried tomatoes, dried mushrooms, lentils, quinoa, raisins, cranberries, chia seeds, hazelnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, etc. So you always have something at home when you can't go shopping!

You don't need more time! You just have to decide. Do you like cooking? How long does it take you to get something tasty and healthy on the table? And: do you have another tip for us to save time in the kitchen?