Most of us are far too busy to have to worry about spending loads of time in the kitchen to prepare food. We want quick, easy and practical solutions to help us cook our meals, whilst offering healthy choices that mean we don’t necessarily just need to resort to a high-salt and fatty ready-meal.

So how can you make the time that you spend in the kitchen more practical and effective? Well, try starting with some of the following options.

Coloured chopping boards

If you don’t want to run the risk of getting a nasty bout of food poisoning then it is highly important that you use different chopping boards, depending on which type of food you are preparing. The easiest way to do this is by getting a choice of boards in different colours that you assign to a specific food group. For example, use a red board for darker meats, white for chicken, green for your vegetable chopping and brown for things like slicing bread. This way you’ll never run the risk of harmful bacteria remaining on them.

Good quality knives

It’s fairly easy to dismiss spending lots of money on items like kitchen knives, especially if you don’t think you use them that much. However, you’ll really be able to tell the difference when using a set of good quality knives. Vegetables will be chopped quicker than ever before, while meat can be sliced to perfect sizes, gliding through fatty pieces without leaving any messy edges. It’s definitely worth the investment.

A microwave oven

Although they are often associated with quick, ready-meals that are high in salt and low in nutritional value, a good microwave oven can actually be used for a number of healthier options. Jacket potatoes can be ready in just 10 minutes, while you can also find microwaveable vegetable packs which allow you to get one (or maybe two) of your five a day with the minimum of fuss.

A food blender

Another quick and invaluable way to prepare certain types of food; those who own food processors quickly turn into converts after first buying them. Throw in some fruits to make a delicious and healthy smoothie, or some vegetables to create a soup which can then be quickly heated up on the stove or microwave. These are a great option for those who don’t have much time to prepare food but believe in the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Spice rack

You don’t want your spices and items that can add some real flavour to your food all over the place, taking up valuable counter space or hidden in places that you can’t ever find. An organised spice rack situated in the corner of the kitchen allows you to keep all of these small yet invaluable pots together, allowing them to be easily located when required.