8 Tips for Easier Cooking

1. Garlic
Cloves of garlic can be easily peeled if you place them in the microwave oven for 15 seconds. Avoid frying garlic at a temperature that's too high, otherwise it will become scorched and bitter.

2. Potatoes
They won't burst if you salt the water they are cooked in. The skin is easy to remove if you peel them after they're cooked. Choose new potatoes when they are in season and you won't have to peel them at all. To give mashed potato a quick lift, add a pinch of grated nutmeg and a pinch of baking powder.

PLUS: 20 Questions to a Healthier Diet

3. Onions
To avoid tears, peel them under cold water and cut them next to cold running water. You can also put them in the freezer for a few moments before cutting them. To make onions brown faster, without burning, sprinkle them with sugar.

4. Green beans
Boil them for 2 minutes before peeling them and the strings will come off instantly.

5. Bell peppers
To remove the skin, cook them under a hot grill until they go brown, then put them in a closed plastic or paper bag and allow to cool - the skin will simply pull away.

6. Tomatoes
To remove the skin quickly and easily, stand them in boiling water for a few seconds.

PLUS: 12 Gadgets Every Kitchen Should Have

7. Lemon or orange juice
Heat lemons and oranges in a microwave oven for 15 seconds before squeezing and you'll extract more juice.

8. Oranges and grapefruits
If you soak these citrus fruits for at least 5 minutes in boiling water, the skin and the white pith can be removed much more easily.

Plus, other low-fat cooking tips you need to know.

Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter

Plus:
20 Secrets Your Waiter Won't Tell You
15 Foods You Should Never Buy Again

8 Things That Are Making You Fat
11 Biggest Red Flag Words on Packaged Foods
13 Things Your Barista Won't Tell You

13 Things Your Dentist Wants You to Know

13 Things a Movie Theater Employee Won't Tell You

13 Hotel Secrets You Should Know

13 Things the Pizza Guy Won't Tell You

19 Weight Loss Secrets From Around the World