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I am not what you would call a meal prep mom. In fact, writing the previous sentence at 11 pm just made me realize I forgot to pack my kids’ lunches and I honestly have no idea what they’re going to eat tomorrow. While life would surely be less stressful if I were better at planning a week’s—or even a few day’s—worth of sandwiches and snacks, it turns out that hastily washing a handful of berries mere hours before sending my sons off to school is actually a good thing.
Of course, fruit should always be thoroughly rinsed under cool tap water, but only right before you eat it or cook with it, because putting it into the fridge damp actually speeds up decay. So if you don’t want to eat gross grapes and mushy strawberries on Thursday, resist the urge to prep absolutely everything in big batches on Sunday. Instead, lean into rinsing your produce at the very last minute. And if you need a little motivation to be less on top of things, I suggest adding a tiny colander or two to your kitchen.
Sometimes called berry bowls, tiny colanders are perfect for rinsing single servings of berries, cherries, grapes, and more. In addition to rinsing berries for last-minute lunches, I use them to “cook” frozen peas (a.k.a run them under hot water) for my kids and to drain and rinse single cans of beans for my own dinners. When used with a plate or saucer, ceramic berry bowls are even nice enough to double as serveware. Depending on the material, most can be used to strain small servings of pasta too.
I wish I could say this was a discovery I made on my own, but I received a set of two small ceramic colanders from my sister-in-law a few years ago and I’ve used them multiple times a day since. They’re not something I ever would have thought to buy for myself—which is why they make such a great kitchen gift—and I love them so much that when I broke one, I ordered two more right away.
If you have kids, it’s not a bad idea to stock up on these cute ceramic colanders. I can almost guarantee you’ll reach for them at least daily, and either way, you’ll be really glad you have one hidden away the next time you need an eleventh-hour host gift.
Creative Co-Op Stoneware Berry Bowls
