- Keep recipes simple for quick preparation
- Cut ingredients into smaller pieces
- Cook with fresh herbs and spice mixes for quick flavor
- Double and triple recipes for freezing and leftovers
- Buy pre-cut vegetables from freezer section or salad bar
- Keep your knives sharp
- Buy multiple cutting boards
- Cook with wide, shallow pans
- Use cast iron pans for quick thawing frozen ingredients
- Consider owning a crockpot, electric pressure cooker, and an air fryer
- Stock up on quality frozen vegetables
- Keep thin cuts of meat and seafood in the freezer for quick thawing and cooking
- Buy pre-chopped vegetables from the grocery store salad bar
- Collect spice mixes to use for flavorful seasoning
15 Minute Meal Pantry
The Flavor Builders
Vinegars: red wine, cider, rice, balsamic
Oils: extra-virgin olive oil, olive oil, coconut, avocado oil, dark sesame oil
soy sauce, Bragg’s aminos
Dijon mustard
avocado mayonaise
dried herbs (thyme, dill, oregano, basil, bay leaf)
curry paste and powder, Fajita and Taco Seasoning
Better Than Bullion- chicken, beef, and vegetable stock
whole and diced canned tomatoes, tomato paste in tube
Vegetables
fresh garlic, onions, red peppers , cherry tomatoes
baby arugula, baby spinach, red cabbage, kale, sprouts
fresh herbs: basil, cilantro, flat leafed parsley, rosemary
red potatoes, sweet potatoes
Dairy
feta cheese
parmesan cheese
fresh mozzarella
cheddar
butter
full fat plain yogurt
heavy cream
Meats/Poultry
eggs
ground meat-beef, pork, turkey, chicken
thin chicken breast or thighs
thin pork chops, pork tenderloin
sirloin tips
salmon, haddock, scrod
raw shrimp
Freezer-quick thaw
frozen shrimp-raw, salmon
sirloin tips, chicken tenders, boneless chicken thighs, pork tenderloin, sausages, ground beef
berries
petite peas, broccoli
Grains-Starches
quinoa, bulgur, farro
canned beans- cannellini, chick pea, butter beans
pasta- thin cuts or fresh
potatoes-small or cut small