Your 5 biggest kitchen fails – fixed! Your 5 biggest kitchen fails – fixed!

Whether you're on a mission to hide carrot in your kids' burgers or whipping up hash browns for brunch, patties and fritters that won't stay together can really grate! The problem here is that raw, grated veggies contain a lot of water, and you'll need to get it out before your grated bits can unite in one delicious bite. You can try this fix using our Veggie Burgers with Beet Hummus as a delicious test run.

Step 1: To remove moisture from your grated sweet potato and zucchini, place it into a strainer and lightly salt to draw out moisture, then leave for 15 minutes before placing your veg in a clean tea towel and squeezing out the moisture.
Step 2: This recipe calls for breadcrumbs as a binder – the element that holds all the other ingredients in the mix together. Most burger or hash brown style creations need a binder (e.g. egg, chia seeds, flour), so make sure you stick to the recipe.
Step 3: Once your patties are shaped, place them in the fridge to firm up before throwing them into the pan. Then resist the urge to constantly flip your Veggie Burgers, this will only lead to destruction. Let one side go golden brown before flipping to the other side. Voila! It's a party and every last grated morsel is invited.

Pancakes should bring joy, not deflated, uncooked in the middle or not-fluffy-enough problems! Let's remix your technique using our Chocolate Raspberry Pancakes.

Step 1: To max fluffiness, save those muscles for your Rulk workouts and don't overmix the batter – too much will make for tough pancakes. Once all the flour, cocoa and protein powder is mixed in, you're done.
Step 2: Keep your burner on a medium heat – too hot and it will burn your bottoms before the middle is cooked.
Step 3: Watch closely! Once the edges start to firm and the centre bubbles, lift the edges with a spatula. If it moves easily, it's ready to flip. Leaving your pancakes to cook just a little longer will also ensure they have time to rise and are cooked through.
Step 4: If all else fails, check the best-before date on your raising agent – baking soda. It may have gone off.

Want to take your Italian dishes from 'okay' to 'buonissimo'? Of course you do! It can be hard to get meatballs, polpette and gnocchi to stick together.

If it's meatballs on the menu, put your fingers to work – massaging the mix to stick ingredients together, then rolling between your palms to form balls. To cook evenly, toss regularly in the frypan, or if baking, turn the tray halfway through cooking.

If it's gnocchi or polpette you're knocking up, try these steps to nail our Ricotta & Zucchini Polpette.

Step 1: Use fresh, firm ricotta from the deli, not a pre-packaged tub. Fresh ricotta has less liquid and more structure, so will hold things together.
Step 2: Just like patties and hash browns, when you're making polpette or gnocchi containing vegetables, you'll need to squeeze moisture out of the veg before combining ingredients, and give them some time to firm up in the fridge before cooking.
Step 3: Once your polpette hit the sauce, stirring will only break them apart. Just let that saucy heat firm up and cook them through.

How does your fave brunch cafe get poached eggs so perfect when yours always seem to come apart in the water? Don't let our Corn & Jalapeño Fritters with Poached Eggs suffer the same fate!

Step 1: Fresh eggs are the key to poaching perfection. (Less chance of the white 'wispies' that come apart in the water!)
Step 2: Pour the egg into a fine mesh sieve and allow it to sit for a few minutes to get rid of looser egg white, then tip into a mug or small bowl.
Step 3: Add a teaspoon of vinegar to your boiling pot, then swirl the water to create a vortex and tip your egg into the water from as close to the surface as possible.

And for the perfect fritters beneath your eggs, follow the pancake principles above.

There's no better way to fuel up for a workout – but protein and granola bars aren't so inspiring when they're more like a crumble in a resealable bag. Let's show you how to smash (not crush!) our Granola Breakfast Bar.

Step 1: Not all protein powders are created equal. A powder with a thickener is perfect for making the topping on these bars, but might turn your smoothie into a hardie. So you may need to experiment with brands and the amount of water mixed in to get the right consistency.
Step 2: Make sure your tin is the size the recipe calls for – even an inch bigger can mean flatter bars that are more likely to fall apart. Mixture made, press it firmly into the tin using the back of a spoon or a small jar as a roller.
Step 3: Refrigerate the whole tin overnight before cutting. When it's time to divide and conquer, use a large cook's knife or serrated knife, starting with a light sawing motion to get through the top layers, before cutting through in one swift chop. Remember, the less you handle your bars, the less they'll crumble.
Step 4: Store the bars in a container in the fridge to retain moisture.