It’s 4pm at my house right now and both of my kids are napping – at the SAME time!  If you’re a mom of little ones you know how glorious these moments of silence truly are!  So this afternoon I’m making the most of it with a quick blog post to share 9 Easy Kitchen Tips, all of which I did TODAY when I got home from my morning grocery trip.

When it comes to the kitchen, I’ll take any shortcut I can to make things a little simpler and a little easier.

I’m sure there are thousands of Kitchen Tips out there and I know you could probably add about a dozen more to this short list, but these are a few of my most tried and true tips that have made life in THIS WHOLE KITCHEN just a little bit easier.  And who doesn’t love easier? So give ’em a try, let me know what you think and please, share with you friends!

9 KITCHEN TIPS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER

1. STORING LEFTOVER AVOCADO – Never worry about your leftover avocado half going bad again (ok, unless you stuff it in a drawer and forget about it for like 2 weeks.)  So here’s my trick.  I use Press & Seal (very important that you don’t just use saran wrap).  First, I always leave the pit and then rip off a sheet large enough to cover the avocado and then gently press it against the flesh until you’ve created a seal all the way around and there is no air.  Take it out the next day to enjoy and you’ll be so surprised by how very little it has browned.
2. ROLL YOUR LEMON BEFORE CUTTING – If you plan on squeezing the juice from a lemon, roll it on a hard surface first.  This will burst open all those little membranes and make the juicing process so much easier!  So be sure to break down that lemon with a little pressure before slicing it open.
3. DON’T THROW OUT LIMP CELERY – Just today I was cleaning out my fridge and noticed some limp celery that didn’t quite get gobbled up in time.  Don’t throw it out, make soup! If you know me at all, you know I absolutely love Celery Soup. I literally have it for lunch every. Single. Day.  You’ll find the recipe on my blog by clicking HERE or searching Celery Soup in the top right corner.  It’s amazing.  Promise.
4. REGROW YOUR GREEN ONION – Just like that limp celery, do NOT throw out your green onion when it’s gone.  Did you know all you need is a little water in a jar and some sunlight to regrow your green onion?  I’m not even kidding.  I keep mine in my window sill and snip away at it throughout the week and watch it completely regenerate itself all on it’s own the very next day.  I’ve seen mine grow 2 feet tall before.  It’s incredible.  And the best part is, you’ve always got fresh green onion on hand for any recipe.  My person favorite is my Paleo Asian Lettuce Wraps.  Click HERE for the recipe.
5. FROZEN GRAPES – I don’t know about you, but I love frozen treats.  But when I’m trying to “be good” I have to get creative.  If I find that my grapes are starting to go a little soft on me, before they go bad, I stick them in the freezer.  They’re like little grape popsicles.  So easy to grab and go and satisfy that need for something sweet.
6. STORE HERBS IN MASON JARS – I’ve shared about this trick in a previous post called Prolonging The Life Of Your Herbs, but it’s just too good to not share again.  Do you find that your cilantro, parsley and other delicate herbs seem to go limp in your refrigerator within a day or two?  I used to experience this frustrating problem, but now my cilantro stays fresh for weeks!  Yes, you heard me right, weeks. I like to treat my herbs like a cut flower.  I give them a fresh snip and place them in a jar of fresh water in the fridge.  With the amount of Mexican food we eat in this house, we appreciate always having fresh cilantro in the fridge.
7. STORE GINGER IN THE FREEZER – I first learned this trick from a friend on instagram and it just might be my favorite.  Simply place your leftover ginger in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 months (I’ve kept mine ever longer!)  Not only does storing your ginger in the freezer make it last longer, but it actually makes it easier to grate as well.  I love to pull mine from the freezer and grate it straight into soups, smoothies, and my favorite asian inspired dishes.  You’ll love having fresh ginger available at all times.
8. SAVE THOSE BROWN BANANAS – Do you find it hard to eat all the bananas before they go bad (ok, we don’t really have that problem, but we do purposely buy too many so we can use up the brown ones in our favorite recipes.)  What I’m trying to say is – don’t throw out those “bad” bananas.  And gosh darn it, stop making banana bread with them.  That stuffs not good for you.  LOL!  Have you tried my favorite version of Oatless Oatmeal?  I call it Banana Egg Scramble (although my kids won’t eat it if I call it that – so we call it Oatless Oatmeal).  You guys will DIE over this recipe.  It’s hands down my most requested recipe.  And if Oatless Oatmeal isn’t your thing, well then save those bananas in the freezer for homemade ice cream, shakes, or smoothies. And might I recommend first peeling them and breaking them into smaller sections before placing them in that plastic baggie.  Remember, I’m just here to make your life a little easier!
9. JUICE YOUR LEFTOVERS – Do you sometimes find 1/2 a cucumber, or a lone carrot, maybe a few slices of pineapple and a 1/2 an apple?  Sometimes it’s easy to let those foods get lost in the fridge and eventually end up in the trash.  That’s when we pull out the juicer and make something yummy!  Today I actually used my Blendtec to make this AMAZING green juice with all the kids lunch leftovers.  We tossed in cantaloupe, mango, pineapple, spinach, celery, cauliflower, apple, lemon and ginger. After it was all blended I used my nut bag to strain out the pulp and let me tell you, that juice was amazing!  So packed full of nutrition, nutrients, and most important for mama…energy!  So stop letting those lone fruits and veggies waste away and start juicing them!

Try these 9 Kitchen tips to make your life in the kitchen a little easier. And never throw out spoiled food again!

So what do you think? Do you already do a few of these easy tips in your own kitchen?  Are there any new ones you’re excited to try?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.  And please, please, share with your friends.  Let’s all make each others lives, at least in the kitchen, just a little bit easier!