Healthy Kitchen Hacks #14

Healthy Kitchen Hacks is a bi-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 and healthy living a snap.

Hello friends! This week’s #HealthyKitchenHacks are kind of random but definitely what I’m into right now. ‘Tis the season’ for spring greens. Then you got pie making and grilling seasons just starting to gain speed <– whoot! Forget Christmas, THIS is the most wonderful time of the year IMHO.

Let me know what you think about these hacks and if you have any additional hacks on these topics, please share in comments below!

1) Trick To Keep Natural Peanut Butter From Separating
Nick via @Peanut Butter Boy

Ok, maybe I’m the last one to hear of this hack but it was such an “aha” for someone who eats peanut butter every single day (Trader Joe’s Creamy Salted) and whose family goes through it by the jarful each week.

The trick? Simply store the jar upside down. Nick @Peanut Butter Boy has a few more tips on storing peanut butter, too. And I’ll add that placing the upside down jar in a small container/bowl prevents potential leaks….and saves marriages.

2) How to Make Mini Pies
Diane via @Created By Diane

I gotta say – sheer genius. Diane takes you step-by-step through the basic process of making mini pies using Mason jar lids. Not only do I love the built-in-portion-control, but they’re so darn cute. I made these using leftover strawberry rhubarb topping and Trader Joe’s frozen pie dough.

Side note: I demo-ed this hack as my first ever #Periscope post, thanks to support from Regan & Marisa (<— anyone posting on Periscope? LMK in comments!) Here’s the video:

3) Test Your Baking Powder and Baking Soda
via Cook’s Illustrated

Here’s a tip I picked up years ago from Cook’s Illustrated but had forgotten about it. Nowadays I make pancakes and waffles weekly and bake fairly often with my daughter so there’s no real risk of our baking powder or baking soda not being fresh. But it’s still a handy hack:

To test baking powder: Place 1 teaspoon in a 1/2 cup of hot tap water. If it immediately foams and fizzes, you’re in business. If you don’t get a reaction, it’s time to replace it.

To test baking soda: Add 1/4 teaspoon of vinegar to 1/2 cup of hot tap water (as baking soda needs that acid to react) and then add 1 teaspoon baking soda. Look for the same results.

4) What to Do With Wilted Greens or Herbs
Alejandra @Always Order Dessert

So, unfortunately, about-to-go-bad greens are inevitable when you are the only one (me) who eats a decent amount of them in your family and your first few weeks of CSA share are nothin’ but greens. Alejandra uses those wilted greens in pesto (Basil Arugula Almond Pesto) – yes please! I made a Basil Italian Parsley Pistachio Pesto basically following her recipe formula.

You can also use greens you might otherwise discard (or compost) like carrot tops, beet greens and radish tops in a pesto.  Here’s Serena’s easy Carrot Top Basil Pesto recipe.

5) How to Cook Uneven Fish Fillets
via America’s Test Kitchen & CHOW.com

This is filed under “Now Why Didn’t I Ever Think of That?” Here are 2 super quick ways to ensure your uneven cut of fish cooks evenly. (General rule of thumb is to cook fish for 10 minutes per inch of thickness.)

1) For delicate fish or thinner fillets, simply fold up the thinner end and secure with toothpicks.

2) For larger fillets fish, try this quick trick from CHOW.com using kitchen string.

Would you try any of these hacks? Any healthy kitchen or healthy living shortcuts to share? Shoot us an email (ddaly (at) teaspooncomm.com or sball (at) teaspooncomm.com) or share below and we’ll try them out.