Whilst there are many benefits to these efficiencies we now live with, we are growing to understand their toll on health, both mental and physical. And this is particularly true in the world of food. In 1921, American chain White Castle was the first to offer ‘fast food’, followed by McDonalds in 1948 which spread like wildfire across the globe. What was once a convenient and cheap way to eat has been hijacked by questionable ingredients and lack of nutrients. As for ‘slow food’, there are countless of tech companies competing to get restaurant meals to your door as quickly as possible. The problem is that these meals are expensive and, in most cases, less healthy than a home cooked meal.

Time is now our most important commodity, and many people are finding it a challenge to spend a day at work and come home to face more work in the kitchen. We unpack the groceries one by one, turn to a recipe and start the laborious process of cooking a meal. All at once our efficiencies go out of the window. But they don’t have to!

As with many startups, YOU ME KITCHEN uses the platform of technology to make your life easier. We do this by publishing recipes online and on social media that are split for two people to complete at once – so you get healthy home-cooked food quicker.

Founders Olivia Abrahmsohn and Dorothy Woods have spent the past few years creating the solution to quick home cooking for modern young adults.

Here is our list of tech that will maximise efficiency and maintain a healthy home-cooked diet:

Cook together. We would be neglectful if we didn’t over-emphasise that two people in the kitchen is obviously better than one. A problem shared, is a problem halved. Online resources such as youmekitchen.com can get you started as you learn to cook collaboratively.

Online grocery delivery. We love Ocado.com. If you are trying to meal plan or cook a specific recipe, it’s a great resource. We don’t love the plastic or the carbon footprint of the delivery but for efficiency, it’s hard to beat.

Organisational apps that allow you to coordinate grocery lists between multiple people. We use Apple ‘Reminders’ and ‘Todoist’. This way one person can go to the farmers market for the fresh foods, and another can run by the shops for the larder ingredients.

Equipment. Electric blenders and high-speed choppers and whisks such as Magimix, Vitamix and mandolins are great and can save lots of time. But you don’t need to shell out on the expensive stuff to maximise your kitchen equipment. Having basic equipment that is kept in good condition is also a huge help. Many people let their freezers frost up or don’t clean their ovens regularly. These small oversights can make it much harder to prepare a quick meal, whilst also costing more energy. Keeping your kitchen clean and in good working order will help so much in both the short and long term.

So, our advice is to scrap meal delivery and grab your partner, flat mate, friend, or kid and turn your home cooking into the high efficiency operation it can be – while throwing in a dollop of shared satisfaction for good measure!

The reason that restaurants can send out hundreds of identical plates of delicious food is because they have a lot of people helping in the kitchen. Let’s take that model and bring it into the home.

You can follow us on our journey and access our fast recipes through our website (youmekitchen.com) or through social media (@you.me.kitchen).