If you are a working mother you will know that every minute is precious right from the time you wake up in the morning till night. Since you cannot extend the God-given 24 hours in a day, you will need to find ways and means to use them better so you can get more things done - just as you would re-arrange a cabinet to make more space for clutter.



Since cooking takes a considerable of your time, and you are still always wondering whether your family is eating well or not, let us look into some ways to cut the time used here to the minimum. The following few tips would ensure not only that you will cook much faster, but also better and tastier dishes:

1. Have all ingredients you normally use (including a few exotic ones) always replenished before they run out.

2. Have your onions saut'ed and stored in vacuumed bottles for a whole week

3. Have tomato puree always on hand.

4. Have a couple of great sauces always in the kitchen.

5. Have at least one fresh vegetable in the fridge (you could store any vegetable in vacuum bag or airtight jar after cutting it).

6. Keep a little butter outside the fridge if the kids need sandwiches with butter in the morning.

7. Mince and use leftovers to make some fantastic fillings for sandwiches or baked patties.

8. Keep the breakfast readymade such as cereal and milk, fruit juice and cheese crackers, etc so you could use this time to pack the lunches for the family.

9. Always have an emergency protein or cereal bar stored in the fridge for those days when you oversleep.

10. Have the meat stored in small one-time-use pouches for fast defrosting and use.

Of course, it would be a very good idea to invest in some great gadgets around the kitchen such as automatic toaster, juicer, mixer, microwave that can cut your cooking time by more than two thirds. It is also a great idea to have the menu planned every Sunday so you do not waste time thinking what to prepare each day.