SIMPLE TIPS FOR STRESS-FREE COOKING AND LESS CLEANUP

 I hope you’re all having a great week and finding ways to make the most of your time amidst the busy days.

If you’re anything like me, you absolutely love eating great food, but sometimes the actual process of cooking—the chopping, the timing, the endless cleanup—feels like too much work. I want delicious, wholesome meals without the effort of a professional chef! I deserve comfort food that doesn’t lead to hours of scrubbing. I’m all about finding the easiest path to a good result. I’ve figured out that the secret to cooking more often is just making it less messy, less intimidating, and less complicated. It’s about efficiency, not fancy techniques! Here are four simple kitchen tips and mindset shifts for making weeknight dinners stress-free:

The worst part of cooking isn’t the stirring; it’s staring at the mountain of greasy pots and pans when you’re finally ready to eat. When you have a few minutes of downtime while something is simmering, boiling, or roasting, use that exact moment to wash something. Clear the sink, wipe down the counter you just used, or put away a cutting board and the spice jars. By the time dinner is ready, you’ve already done 80% of the cleanup. This makes sitting down to eat feel like a true reward, and the final tidy-up is just a couple of plates or extra pots. This simple habit changes your whole relationship with cooking!

 

We all love the idea of using fresh ingredients, but honestly, I am not a fan of chopping vegetables, which takes time if you don’t have choppers and all. This leads to food waste, which is frustrating and costly. So the tip here is to stock up on frozen vegetables for bulk use. Keep bags of mixed veggies and onions, or corn and peas, ready in the freezer. Frozen vegetables are picked at their peak of freshness and flash-frozen, meaning they are just as nutritious. You can toss them right into your soups, stews, stir-fries, or sheet-pan dinners without any washing or chopping. It saves you at least 15 minutes of prep on a busy weeknight and eliminates that guilt over wasted food.

 

The idea of meal prepping a full week’s worth of lunches and dinners can feel massively overwhelming, which is why I mostly ditch the idea. On a Sunday, only prep your main protein base. Roast two chickens, have a big batch of soup or cook a pound of ground beef. This works because having a cooked protein ready means you can pivot easily every night. Monday can be chicken and rice bowls, Tuesday can be spaghetti bolognese using the ground beef, and Wednesday can be a warming soup meal. It gives you the flexibility to decide what you actually crave each day while cutting the active cooking time dramatically. It’s half the work for all the reward.

 

Don’t let the side dishes stress you out. For me, this is usually a struggle since my family is not that into side dishes. A main meal is great, so no need for complex sides. Simplicity is elegant! Keep your sides to two ingredients or less. Think quick and simple: a big handful of mixed greens drizzled with olive oil, or steamed-in-the-bag asparagus. This tip is all about focusing your limited energy where it matters most—the main event. If your protein and sauce are fantastic, the side just needs to be a nice, easy foundation. It cuts down on cooking time, dishes, and decision fatigue! See? No need for complex planning or fancy tools. Just a few tweaks to how you approach cooking can make a huge difference in your weekly routine. It’s all about working smarter, not harder! You deserve to enjoy your evenings.