5 cooking exercises you can do if you have 20 mins (or less) to spare

If you want to learn to cook and make more homemade meals this year, you’re most likely to find success if you do something cooking related every day. We know spare time can be hard to find, so we’ve made learning to cook easy with exercises you can do whenever you have the time (access all exercises with your free Swich membership). 

Here are 5 Swich cooking exercises you can do if you have 20 mins (or less) to spare 

1. How-to: Make nut-based "milk"

If you're already a big  fan of  store-bought nut milk, then you have to try the homemade version—trust us, you’ll love it even more!  This how-to on making nut-based milk is not only simple to follow, but the results are flavorful, exciting, and easy on the wallet. Win-win!

Try the exercise: Learn how to make nut-based "milk" (15 mins)

2. How-to: Prepare salad greens

Salads don’t have to be “same old, same old”. There are a wide variety of salad greens available and you can make a different uniquely satisfying salad every day of the week.  In this exercise,  you will learn how to clean, refresh, dry (because nobody likes soggy lettuce), and store greens. You will also learn how to properly dress, toss, and combine greens in order to compose different salads. 

Try the exercise:  How to select and prepare salad greens (15 mins)

3. How-to: Handle a chef's knife

You’ve probably heard the saying “you are what you eat.” Well, our founder, Joe Girard, is fond of saying, “you are what you cut.” After all, if you’re not cutting, you’re not cooking. Knowing how to comfortably and confidently handle a chef’s knife is the most important cooking skill to have. Learn this fundamental skill in this 20 minute exercise. 

Try the exercise:  How to handle a chef's knife (20 mins)

4. How-to: Cook vegetables in water 

Seems pretty straight-forward, right? But ask yourself: Do you know the difference between boiling, simmering, blanching, and parboiling? If you answered no, then this exercise is for you. Ensuring you’re serving perfectly cooked vegetables can be a challenge (after all, you’re not going to eat more veggies if they’re always soggy!) 

Try the exercise: How to cook vegetables in water (20 mins)

5. How-to: Sweat ingredients

We’re all for not sweating the small stuff—except when it comes to cooking! Learn  how to properly 'sweat' your ingredients in this exercise and elevate the flavor of  your entire dish. 

Try this exercise: How to sweat ingredients (15 mins)

 

Busy schedule? We’ve got you covered with these time-sensitive recipes:

15-minute meal ideas you should try if you’re short on time

30-minute delicious plant-based meals