When you are juggling home and work, it can be tough to spend hours in the kitchen preparing ingredients and cooking up a healthy and balanced meal for your family.

On the other hand if you know certain tricks,you can make the prepping and cooking a lot faster and easier. So, here are 8 food hacks that will help you immensely and make you feel like a true kitchen pro:

1. Removing Strawberry Stems
Rather than struggling to remove strawberry stems and spending hours trying to do it, make use of a plastic straw. Push the straw into the strawberry at the pointed end and take it out from the stem end. This will help to remove the stem and make the task less tedious and messy.

2. Baking Cookies for Kids
During the weekend, most parents try to spend time with their kids and baking is popular activity that all members of the family can enjoy. But picture the look on your kid’s face after telling them you won’t be able to bake cookies because you have run out of eggs. Those sad faces will kill you! If you have bananas at home, substitute half of banana for each egg and you will be able to make delicious cookies for your kids and other family members.

3. Cutting Soft Solids
Cutting Soft Solids, such as cakes and cheeses can turn into a mess very quickly if you are not careful. Make sure you always keep a supply of unscented dental floss in your kitchen. Use the floss to cut these soft solids perfectly and also avoid making a mess.

4. Making Chocolate Bowls
Making Chocolate bowls for your kids and filling it up with a helping of ice cream and cut fresh fruit is an innovative way to get your kids to eat fruits. However, making these bowls at home can be tough and difficult. Or is it?

Use medium-sized inflated balloons; dip them in the melted chocolate and put them on a greased tray to dry. Once the chocolate dries, you can remove the balloons and voila! You have a chocolate bowl that you can fill with fun goodies and serve your kids. They will love it!

5. Slicing Bread
When you slice bread, you can squish it if you’re not careful. You can avoid doing this by keeping the bottom side up and then using a bread knife to slice it. It cuts through the bread without squishing or making a big mess.

6. Grilling Fish
Sunday barbecues are great way to spend meaningful time with your kids and loved ones. And, most times, you prefer marinating poultry and meats as it is easier to get them to turn into flavorful delights. However, have you tried grilling fish? Most people avoid grilling Fish, as it tends to get stuck to the grill and falls apart.

Nonetheless, fish is a healthy choice for kids, as it contains Omega-6 fatty acids that are good for the brain. To grill your fish without having it stick to the grill or falling apart, just place lemon slices on the grill and place the fish on the slices. Not only will you be able to grill fish to perfection, the lemon will give it a lovely flavor that you and your kids will love.

7. Get Perfectly Boiled Eggs
Whether you love your egg salad or you want to munch on boiled eggs with a little salt and pepper, the key is getting Perfectly Boiled eggs.

Most people don’t know this food hack, which can help them boil eggs to perfection. Use a thumbtack to make a hole on the broad end of the egg. Remove the tack and boil the egg as usual. The end result will be great – the perfectly boiled egg that you can transform into a culinary delight!

8. Making Undiluted Ice Coffee
There is nothing like sipping a glass of refreshing and rejuvenating iced Coffee on a hot summer’s day. You can sit in your garden with your favorite book and enjoy your caffeine fix or sunbathe on the patio while enjoying a glass of iced coffee.

The problem with iced coffee is it gets watered down as the ice melts, ruining the taste. To prevent this from happening, pour your coffee into an ice tray and put it in the freezer to set. Use the coffee ice cubes to make your ice coffee. This will prevent the coffee from getting watered down.