• Prep a whole week’s veggies in advance
  Sunday afternoons are great to get the whole family involved in meal preparations. Use this time to peel, cut, chop, dice and store your week’s vegetables in advance. This way there is no excuse to reach for take-aways or high carb snacks.

• Make sure that you have enough space
  Clean and clear out an entire countertop or cover a table with plastic wrap to ensure that you have enough room to get a production line going. Have a dustbin or rubbish bag near for waste.
• Use the correct tools
  Certain equipment is necessary to make life easier for yourself, we recommend that every kitchen should have:

• Sharp knives for chopping, slicing and dicing

• Peelers, zesters and graters
• Chopping boards
• Plastic bags with a seal
• Plastic containers
• Paper towels

• Work like a factory line
  Perform one task at a time, peel all your carrots first, then chop off all the ends, then slice all the carrots before portioning.
• Portion your vegetables before storing
  Place each portion of vegetables in a plastic bag or container as it will be used for a meal, label it and store it in your refrigerator drawers.

• Store greens and leafy vegetables with paper towels
  Paper towels help to draw out moisture, this prevents them from wilting and keeps them fresh for longer.
• Freeze leftovers
  When the opportunity presents itself to buy in bulk, take it! Most vegetables can be frozen after you have peeled and chopped it – some can even be frozen whole. Freezing prepped and portioned vegetables makes mealtime preparations much faster and easier.
• Know the shortcuts:
  How to cut multiple cherry tomatoes at once:

Slice an avocado while it’s still in the skin:

Use a strainer to juice a lemon or lime while cooking (it catches seeds):

Start this routine and keep these tips in mind next time you go shopping. Once you get used to preparing your ingredients in advance, you won’t be able to remember a time when you did things otherwise!

The post 8 Awesome Veggie Prep Secrets first appeared on Sun Diet.