Save Time with these Hacks (but not others)

Have your groceries delivered

During the pandemic, I had groceries delivered whenever I had a cold. Back then, delivery time slots filled up fast and there were a few odd substitutions because of shortages, but those problems are pretty much gone. When I use Instacart now, I can get groceries the same day and I'm happy with items (like produce) that the shoppers pick.

Whole Foods now delivers groceries even if you aren't a Prime member. Instacart delivers from Kroger, Wal-Mart, Target, some regional grocery stores, and a long list of hardware stores, dollar stores, drug stores, etc.

I don't recommend meal services, though--the kind where someone delivers a recipe and just enough ingredients for one meal. You still have to cook, you still have to clean, and you still have to shop for coffee and eggs.

Use a Food Processor

I used to be a prep cook at a restaurant, so I'm pretty fast at chopping, shredding and slicing ingredients. Even so, I use a food processor to prep ingredients for fermented produce like cultured cranberry-apple treat. It chops, shreds and slices food in seconds. You can also use it to make liver pâté, mayonnaise and hummus. I use a Cuisinart like this one I've had for over ten years. If you make a lot of these foods, it might be worth it to have one.

I don't recommend many kitchen gadgets, though. We didn't use them at the restaurant where I worked. A good set of knives (chef's, paring and serrated) and a good food processor are more versatile and durable than a bunch of little specialty choppers. If you're not ready to buy a food processor, check out this video from America's Test Kitchen on 3 knife skills everyone should know.

No-Fuss Fermentation

Making yogurt takes five minutes' prep and three ingredients. And yet I constantly see people adding make-work steps and looking for things to fuss over as if they're operating a nuclear reactor. Keep in mind that people have been fermenting food for thousands of years without thermometers, instant pots or ranges. I used to make yogurt in an insulated grocery bag with a heating pad (the setup I still use to ferment produce). In fact, I rarely see anyone complaining that simple methods like this didn't work for them--complaints are almost always from people using expensive equipment.

That said, do pasteurize raw milk before you ferment it. Bad bacteria can multiply exponentially during fermentation--killing it is time well spent.

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Pain, Pain, Go Away!

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