Kitchen Equipment Essentials

I’ve recently been diving into some pretty interesting cookbooks, which has made it more apparent than ever that kitchen equipment essentials help you break away from the same old meals day after day. My newest cookbook, Fresh – The Ultimate Live Food Cookbook teaches one how to go completely raw and it turns out that raw food is totally delicious… if you have the right equipment, that is.

The truth is that buying all of this equipment is a major investment. I certainly didn’t buy everything at once. Some of the items have been gifts (there’s an idea for you! Start asking for kitchen equipment for holidays… it totally works!) After a few years of asking, saving and accumulating, I now I have a pretty nice selection of kitchen gadgets that make cooking much easier and certainly more enjoyable. So here are the items that I use (in order of frequency) that I think are worth your investment:

Blendtec Blender – Anyone who knows me has heard me rave, rave, rave about this incredible hunk of power. I use my blender multiple times each day for making all of my own flours, sauces, salad dressings, soups, and of course, LOTS of green smoothies. I have found my blender to be key in our gluten-free diet. You can buy a variety of gluten-free flours, but none are as good as homemade buckwheat flour. Store bought buckwheat flour is slightly darker due to the fact that the hulls have not been completely removed or in the case of the nearly black Bob’s Red Mill flour, the hulls haven’t been removed at all. Making your own buckwheat flour will make a tremendous difference in your gluten-free baking/cooking.

There are other brands of blenders that market themselves as comparable to the Blendte, but it’s just not true. If you throw a block of wood into this thing, you could have wood soup (or flour, whatever your preference). I’ve done smoothie demos on some of the “comparable” brands and the consistency isn’t nearly as smooth as when using a Blendtec. If you’re ready to make the plunge and buy one of these beasts, use the link to the right to receive free shipping.

Electric Pressure Cooker – As someone who spent most of their life being quasi-vegetarian, cooking meat hasn’t come easy or naturally. My pressure cooker takes away the guess work and makes it so much easier and quicker. I can also cook meats in bulk meaning I can throw half of it in the freezer for a later date. 

Beans, beans, they’re good for your heart… Not to mention, they’re packed full of protein, healthy carbs, iron and a whole slew of vitamins and minerals. Dried beans are significantly cheaper than canned, but who wants to cook beans for hours at a time? I certainly don’t, which is exactly why I use my pressure cooker to prepare large batches of dried beans. 

Food Processor – A GOOD food processor is key for any home cook. I’ve found myself making all sorts of interesting creations, but more importantly, it’s made my life a 1000x’s easier when I have big loads of chopping/shredding to do. I make my own raw energy bars, hummus, almond butter, and homemade veggie burgers. These creations are a breeze with a heavy duty chopping and pureeing machine around.

Vegetable Spiralizer – This is one of my newer purchases, but it’s the absolute coolest little gadget and it didn’t cost very much in comparison to the other items listed here. I’ve been interested in the idea of preparing more raw meals and the spiralizer is great for making pasta out of zucchini or cucumbers (eaten raw, of course). In combination with the Blendtec, I’m a raw-food-making machine these days! And raw food is so incredibly tasty! Besides, it’s nice to break away from your usual culinary creations and try something totally new and different. You can also use the spiralizer for baked curly fries and other kid-friendly creations.