Healthy Kitchen Hacks #3

Healthy Kitchen Hacks is a weekly series on Teaspoon of Spice. We share fellow bloggers’ and our own favorite cooking shortcuts, kitchen tricks and “aha” ideas for making healthy meals a snap.

We’re having so much fun with this new Healthy Kitchen Hacks weekly series (posted each Wednesday) – thanks for all positive feedback and for sharing some of your tricks, too.

If you missed them, here are our first two posts:

Healthy Kitchen Hacks #1
Healthy Kitchen Hacks #2

And now, here are my favorite Healthy Kitchen Hacks that I’ve (Deanna) tried out in the past week:

1) How To Get Rid of Garlic Smell From Your Hands
via Stephanie @Recipe Renovator

Being Italian-American, I cook with garlic almost daily. I joke that it’s in my blood, so aside from garlic breath, I’ve never consciously tried to get rid of that garlic smell from my hands. I’ve heard about this trick – rinsing with soap & water and then rubbing hands on metal (like your kitchen tap) – but have never tried it.

Until now and holy cow, it works like a charm! Here’s a quick video showing the method.

2) Save That Empty Peanut Butter Jar For Overnight Oats
via Danika (guest blogger) @The Scoop on Nutrition

We got through a lot of peanut butter in this house even with just 3 people. My go-to brand is Trader Joe’s creamy salted – I always have an emergency jar in the back of the pantry.

The first time I tried this empty peanut butter jar trick, I made these PB&J Overnight Oats. And it continues to be the only overnight oats recipe I make because I love it that much. ( My one ingredient swap: I use ground flaxseed for chia seeds.)

3) How to Make Homemade Taco Bowls
 via Emily @Emily Bites

I’ve always been a soft taco kind of gal (soft fish tacos for the win with Lean Green Bean’s Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas) but more recently, I’ve bought hard taco shells (Trader Joe’s of course) and Mia (my 7 year old) loved them.

So, I saw this hack from Emily on using a muffin tin to create mini taco bowls (baked not fried!) Another big hit at dinner time for us – and here are some ideas for taco salad fillings:

Tomato Soup Sloppy Joes,
Loaded Veggie Nachos
Avocado, Bean Chipotle Cheddar Tacos

4) How to Make a Lighter Grilled Cheese Ultra-Cheesy & Melty

Serena has several tips & tricks on How to Make Healthier Grilled Cheese including a technique she learned via Cooking Light using a combo of lighter cheddar (Cabot’s our fav!), cream cheese and a dab of mayo. This oozy, gooey sammie sure hits the spot – especially with a bowl of soup during these endless winter months….

5) How to Revive Stale Bread
via Sara Moulton on The Rachael Ray Show

And if you are craving that grilled cheese but your baguette is a bit stale, check out this trick from Sara Moulton. A little water, foil and a 5 minute oven can bring that hunk of bread back to edible life. (Credit goes to Linda @Giggles, Gobbles & Gulps and Colleen @Souffle Bombay for posting this video on their Facebook pages where I discovered it – thanks gals!)

Would you try any of these hacks? Any healthy kitchen or healthy living shortcuts to share? Shoot us an email ([email protected] or [email protected] ) or share below and we’ll try them out.