How To Conserve Energy: Kitchen Edition #1 (fruits and veggies)

It seems like such an easy tip but to be honest, I personally never thought of it when my pain was at its worst. I had a family of five to feed and chopping vegetables for stews or soups was often very painful. Mostly I would just grin and bear it until I realized that there is absolutely no shame in 'cutting corners' and still getting the same healthy results!

TIP #1: Buy frozen vegetables for cooking.

Easy, no? I recently discovered all sorts of frozen veggie mixes that are so practical! 'Mirepoix' is a flavour base usually made up of things like onion, celery and carrots. It's used in soups and stews. While I realize that cutting your own vegetables is usually more cost efficient and I have had to watch my own budget for years, these frozen mixes can save a lot of time... and energy.

TIP #2: Buy Frozen vegetable as sides.

I don't know about you but my kids will eat a side of frozen green peas over fresh brussel sprouts any day! Using frozen veggies have benefits threefold. First, you don't have to do the peeling or chopping yourself which saves you, yup you guessed it again; time and energy! Secondly, frozen veggies are as healthy as their fresh counterparts. Fresh produce can often spend between 3 days to a few weeks in transit before arriving at their final destination to be sold. Then they sit at a grocery store waiting to be purchased and finally sit in our own homes up to 7 days (sometimes more) before they are eaten. Frozen vegetables are picked at their prime and usually blanched . Blanching can cause a slight loss of the water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C. However after picking fresh vegetables their nutrients also continue to decline so the loss of vitamin content is pretty much equal in both forms. Last but not least, the cost. Although processing vegetables generally costs more the exception is when that particular vegetable is out of season (thus often making it cheaper to buy frozen) or if you live in a place that's difficult to purchase fresh produce to start with (think northern Canada).

TIP #3: Buy frozen fruit for smoothies.

Buying frozen fruit for smoothies just makes sense. There's generally no blanching when it comes to frozen fruits so the nutrient content is high. It's also already frozen so the consistency of the smoothie is better. No peeling. No chopping. Win win.

TIP #4: Frozen fruit for school lunches.

My kids like fruit. A lot. Not all frozen fruit thaws equally (think berries becoming soggy) but for my family frozen mango has worked really well! The consistency once thawed is good and who doesn't love a good mango? Okay some people don't but this gal does! Also adding a few pieces of frozen fruit to yogurt keeps the yogurt cool and makes a nice snack for school lunches. Likewise some frozen fruit on top of yogurt with muesli and nut butter makes a protein rich, easy to assemble, time saving breakfast or lunch for yourself!

TIP #5: ALREADY CHOPPED GARLIC!

Excuse the all caps! Chopping garlic was the bane of my existence! Especially when I had to chop a large quantity for a big batch of spaghetti sauce, etc... I know that some people will argue that the taste isn't exactly the same and I'm not here to deny it BUT personally, I'd rather not have to peel and chop half a head of garlic if I don't have to! You can find already chopped garlic in jars at your local grocery store and if you use a lot of it, Costco! You can always find a jar of chopped garlic in my fridge and I will not apologize for it!

The tips above are offered as suggestions when your pain levels are high, you're tired or you want to regularly conserve energy in order to focus on some of the more meaningful things in life.