Try it . .

Life hacks. I recall first hearing the term in the early aughts and wincing. A wordophile, I thought the harsh, dry-cutting sound of the word seemed so violent. Should I look away? Or what, are we talking about coughing? 

I've since learned that, of the 8.5 billion Google searches made each day, more than half involve some version of how-to or a life tip.  I'm not much on social media, but I don't live under a rock. Before long, I caught on that the hack was just a hip way to talk about making life easier or more efficient. Always one for innovation, yay, I said to myself, it sounds like a party.

I love to cook, so today I'll feature food hacks for two of my favorite carbs: oatmeal and pasta.

Oatmeal is a time-honored breakfast staple. For years, it's helped me maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Plus, I like it. These could be significant factors that outweigh oatmeal's dirty-pan drudgery: the long wait involved in cooking and the gummy pan to clean.

For me, making oatmeal in the morning is just too much of a nuisance, and, as it is, I'm not alone. I heard about the viral mason-jar version called Overnight Oats, which burst onto Instagram screens in 2012. Fine for some, but nighttime food prep is not my strong suit.

Microwaving oatmeal is another well-known hack, but it comes with the risk of the cereal blowing up and spattering all over the microwave. Some say it can be done by carefully watching the height of the oatmeal as it rises to the top of the bowl, then turning the microwave on and off to avoid the inevitable explosion. I've tried this, and while the approach works, it's way too hands-on for me. I've tried covering the top of the bowl with a saucer only to watch my little plate lid crack miserably in two.

My current oatmeal hack will appeal to spur-of-the-moment eaters who love oatmeal, have suffered the disappointments above, and, like me, are devoted and willing to forge on. 

I still microwave my oatmeal, but now - drum roll - I simply use a bigger bowl. Same serving amounts of ingredients (½ cup of oatmeal to 1 cup of liquid), just use a larger container. Turn your microwave on and walk confidently away. Fix your hair, open your mail, catch up on the news. I don't want to minimize the fun of my trials and errors, but who knew life hacks could be so good?  

Now that breakfast is squared away, I turn to my latest dinner. Like many of us in our frantic world who love to eat and cook yet dislike cleaning up, I've embraced the hack referred to as the one-pot meal.

It starts with any skillet stir-fry, chili, curry, or Italian dish, yet with one-pot cooking, you don't use a separate pan to cook the rice or pasta. Simply increase the amount of liquid called for in the recipe, add the uncooked rice or pasta, and cook the dish longer until the liquid is absorbed. There are tons of one-pot recipes online for specific proportions. This one for Shrimp Pesto Pasta details the steps for one of the most delicious one-pot dinners I've had in a while. 

Easy cleanup is where the true glory of life hacks like these reveals itself - nothing like the triumph of avoiding yet another sink full of pans to wash. 

While the term life hacks was coined twenty years or so ago to describe life workarounds, I'm with those who say there's nothing really new under the sun. Every generation offers a fresh vision and new ideas.

I'm old enough to remember my grandmother preparing mustard plasters for congestion and my mother putting moistened bread on cuts to draw out infections. Today, we run out to the CVS. I might have nostalgic memories of my mother hanging out clothes on a line, and, along with my siblings, feeding clothes through the rollers of her old wringer washer. But I equally recall the excitement when Dad installed the family's first automatic washer and dryer.  

If I inventoried my grandmother's kitchen, I'd probably find fewer than a dozen manual tools compared to hundreds of specialized, electrified gadgets out there today. I'm sure she didn't count pans when she was cooking for her nine children, just as I'm certain her head would spin at the thought of preparing oatmeal without a stove, and in an oversized bowl. 

Life hacks may come and go, but, like my grandmother and mother before me, I always tuck an apple half into a bag of stale bread or brownies, knowing they'll soften. 

Try it and see. . .