Raw Prep and Clean Kitchen

[RawHealthyBeauty]

As much I love to eat raw food and preparing.....
Usually end up with a very dirty kitchen.
Wondering if anybody here has any good tips in keeping their kitchen clean that is easy and effective in the long run for a clean kitchen at all times!!
Looking for a change to keep my kitchen clean so that it's fun to look forward to do raw food creating in a clean kitchen!!

Off to clean my dirty dishes! Oh gee!! :)

[k8sl8]

Raw 'cooking' is basically a messy endeavour. Like any other labor intensive cooking, clean as you go is the only way to not have a total disaster when you are finished. I find that the more I do, the easier it gets. There are some shortcuts you'll figure out and if you are going to be uncooking a great deal, it's adventageous to prep things in groups as you bring them into your house. I always have frozen fruit ready to smoothies; ditto frozen greens, like kale (if you clean them and dry completely, then freeze in small freezer bags, you can break apart easily and use as much as you want).

If you are eating a lot of salads, have a prep day. Make dressings ahead of time rather than a serving or two at a time. For more gourmet type meals, you will still save time and mess by havin things ready ahead of time.

For me, I'd rather have a HUGE mess once and have a bunch of stuff ready than small messes every time I need to eat.

You'll get it figured out!

[snoops]

I agree with the prepping stuff ahead but do you think it makes the ingredients less fresh and therefore less nutritious. I guess I would rather do the extra work and have more nutrition - just me!!

But sometimes I wish I had everything already cut up!!

[Zipfelmuetze]

Juicing does take a bit of time and clean-up can be annoying. I try to listen to the radio while I am juicing. I listen to NPR; such wonderful programs!

Try cutting all of the fruits and vegetables that need cutting first and put them in a bowl, then put up any extra stuff back into the refrigerator. That way you can have the cutting board area clean and tidy before you even start juicing.

[DawnD]

This was my husbands first observation with raw food. "Boy you sure dirty up more dishes with raw food".

I designed my new kitchen so that I have a cabinet without doors. I keep my food processors, bowls, measuring cups, oils, etc so I can just grab, use and put away. I also have an 8'x3' bar that I can sure make a bigger mess on! Whew! I can't believe that I can cover that whole bar with just one meal prep. But I say clean as you go. The Vitamix is a permanent fixture on top of the counter. I keep my produce in the fridge or display it attractively in pretty bowls.

Glimr had a great idea for the Salad Box in the fridge a few weeks ago.

Whoa, you have so much energy that raw food prep can be a snap! Hehe. Kiddin!

[Mrs. Papaya]

If I make a smoothie, I clean the blender before I drink the smoothie. It perhaps goes a little faster because I want to eat that smoothie. :) I also try to make sure the kitchen is entirely clean at the end of the night -- there's nothing worse than walking into a dirty kitchen in the morning.

I try to wash and cut up veggies all at once and store in the fridge so they are handy to grab (and are still fresh...I don't freeze veggies, just fruit that I don't think I'll eat in time before it goes bad).

After I eat, if there are still dirty dishes, I try to hop up and wash them, which gets them done and also prevents me from eating more if I'm already full.

I'm operating in a tiny, tiny kitchen, by the way. In the beginning, the kitchen was always dirty from raw food prepping. But I'm getting better at clean as you go. It really does just take some getting used to, but you'll get into a rhythm.

[k8sl8]

I didn't mention that I live in not one, but TWO very small kitchens. I live in a park model in FL and a motorhome up north. If I can do it that way - anyone can!!! The MH is a bigger challenge just due to counter space and storage!! It works well, but I do have to be organized and NEAT.

I also find that I'm better at the process than when I started, and that I also do less of the really time consuming gourmet things unless I really want to! Simple works.

[RawHealthyBeauty]

Thanks!! :throwhearts: The tips here really helped me out.

Clean as you go drastically reduced the mess as I went along.

Cleaning out my food processor right away makes a huge difference instead of doing it later. More like the juicer concept where it's better to clean it right way.

Cleaning up the kitchen and putting everything away before I have my meal is a way to go!!

And making sure the kitchen is clean before I go to sleep is a big plus!!

Prepping my food ahead of time is something now that I find I like doing the night before my day which really frees my morning/day up!!

Oh, and I have a scrap bowl when I'm preparing my food since I have small counter space. Then it just one trip to the trash can with the scrape bowl.

I feel good about my kitchen now!!

Thank you. all of the tips which have really helped me out in a big way tp enjoy my kitchen again!! :)

[January Noir]

Great tips all around. I love a clean kitchen. The one I found the most valuable is the "scrap" bowl. I too have a small kitchen and it's a wonderful idea.