HEALTHY COOKING GADGETS

I love to get in the kitchen and cook. There’s nothing like a homemade meal for me. For me, it’s kind of therapeutic but I also love creating. Naturally, creating healthy food is actually fun for me. I didn’t start out as a very good cook in the kitchen though. I fumbled around for years. Healthy cooking was hard for me and my dishes never turned out like the pictures of the recipes I was trying to replicate. I didn’t have any skills which made it a tad bit difficult but what was even harder is that I didn’t have the right tools. Healthy cooking can be so much if you have the right gadgets to work with. Well, all cooking is probably a lot more fun with the right pieces of equipment. Once I broke down and bought a few solid tools, life in the kitchen got so much easier – and so much more enjoyable!

Whether you’re just starting to get into healthy cooking or you’re already cooking this way, these are my favorite healthy cooking gadgets that made a world of difference for me. There are a million small cooking appliances out there but these 5 are my core go-to’s. I hope they help you with your healthy cooking endeavors!

OUR TOP 5 NECESSITIES FOR HEALTHY COOKING

1. Good Set Of Knives – This one honestly changed my life. I can’t tell you how much everything got easier when I purchased my first set of good knives. Every single slice, every little chop, every dice was easier than I had ever imagined. I didn’t realize how much a real set of sharp knives would change the effort I had to put into preparing food. You might think this is ridiculous but I promise, it’s not. If you already have a set of good knives, you know what I’m talking about. But if you don’t have a good set of knives, do yourself a HUGE favor and get a proper set. I purchased a set of Wusthov and still have them years later.

2. Vitamix – So this one is kind of a big expense but it’s so worth it. I couldn’t leave the Vitamix out of my top 5 healthy cooking gadgets. If you don’t know what a Vitamix is, it’s a high speed blender that is seriously multifunctional. I purchased one of the top models because of it’s functionality. I can blend smoothies, nut butters and even make soup (it creates hot soup)! I’ve made pestos, marinara sauce and even almond milk in mine in addition to my daily smoothies and green drinks. When I first tried the Vitamix, I had the creamiest, most perfectly blended shake I’ve ever had. I never looked back. There are many different models of the Vitamix which also come in different price ranges so take a look and choose what fits for you but I promise you won’t be disappointed.

3. Ceramic Pan – These are hands down the easiest to cook in, easiest to clean pans I’ve ever owned. The reason I first looked into ceramic cookware was because I wanted a healthier cooking option. Some non-stick pans emit harmful chemicals into your food when cooking so I wanted a better alternative. I have had a few brands of ceramic pans and I absolutely love Cuisinart’s ceramic pan. It is PTFE/PFOA-free and petroleum-free making it much safer to cook in. The best part is that there is no fuss! The clean up is beyond easy. All you have to do is rinse and barely wipe it out and it’s perfectly clean. And yes, I’ve cooked everything in it from eggs to steak.

4. Crock Pot – It’s beyond easy to “set it and forget it” and walk back in at the end of the day to a fully cooked meal. I was never a slow cooker girl but tried a recipe for Mexican Chicken Soup that I had found and fell in love. The ease of a one pot meal coupled with the fact that you don’t have to do anything in between makes life really easy. Since, I’ve made soups, full meals and homemade bone broth. I’ll be honest, I haven’t ventured into the world of the Instant Pot so I can’t compare. I know it saves a ton of time and is even more functional than the good old fashioned crock pot so it’s on my list.

5. Silicone Bakeware – Again, I was in search of a healthy alternative to bakeware that might leach toxins into my food. My natural living quest began over 10 years ago and I’m always in search of the safest, least toxic items to incorporate into my life. In terms of silicone bakeware, I started with a set of silicone muffin tins just to try them out and really liked them. I’ve made egg muffins which work very well and a few sets of banana muffins. You can still use muffin liners to make the clean up even extra easy. That being said, silicone is easy to clean, doesn’t stick to your food, BPA free, totally non-toxic and dishwasher safe. I now have a silicone cake pan and square pan as well. So, it’s safe to say I like using this type of bakeware.

I could go on and on about different products to use and why they’re useful. I’ll save more of that for a later blogpost. These are just my top 5 healthy cooking gadgets. They’re my go to items that I use daily or weekly on a consistent basis so I thought I’d share them with you.

If you need help, tips or guidance with healthy cooking or nutrition, check out our Health and Wellness Coaching for personalized coaching.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask in the comments! Best in healthy cooking – Margot

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