Kitchen Essentials & Time-Saving Tips
Cooking is a different experience for everyone. Some like to express their love through beautiful, satisfying dishes, while others are happy there’s healthier microwave options nowadays…
Where do you fall on the spectrum?
The two things I think everyone in the kitchen appreciates is EASE and TIME. Yes, I can enjoy cooking for two hours, but I also don’t want to do that every day. With these two essential ingredients in mind for creating a pleasant cooking experience, I am creating this post to share what kitchen tips and tools I use to make meal prepping more easeful in less time!
This blog will be updated every 6 months to reflect what new tricks, tips, or amazing tools I discover while cooking basically all the food I eat (90%) at home! Currently I’m living in a small “ohana” that doesn't have a stove, oven, or microwave…might sound crazy but hotplates, an air fry oven, and pressure cooker do just fine!!
I will break down the kitchen essentials into 2 tiers.
1: MY NEEDS - multipurpose products and efficiency tips
2: I ENJOY - super helpful, but I don’t need for everyday
MY NEEDS
Pressure Cooker:
This is #1, no questions asked! When it comes to saving time, cooking for your family, meal prepping, or super-easy-leave-it-be-and-go-shower cooking this is your best friend!
I owned my pressure cooker for 2.5 years before I really started using it on and off, but in the last year I have discovered the magic that such an appliance can behold… When you look at all the buttons and have to use different cooking times for your usual things it can feel intimidating, I get it!
I suggest starting simple with grains like rice and quinoa, then moving your way up to trying a soup, and then maybe dried beans or lentils. It really depends on what you eat, but I think memorizing (through repeated times using your pressure cooker to cook THAT dish) is key to making cooking way easier and faster. At this point I have soups, curry, rice, pasta, quinoa, lentils, and sweet potatoes pretty much nailed down so I don't have to always look up a recipe or fear that dinner might be ruined. I can go for a walk to watch the sunset or prepare other aspects of the dish while it cooks itself #winning.
Honestly, I don’t think there’s one meal (vegan) I’ve made in the pressure cooker that’s taken over 35 mins - from chopping to garnishing with cilantro (granted I’ve been cooking for awhile so chopping ability / feeling confident in cooking can help).
The pressure cooker I have I think was from Bed, Bath, & Beyond, which I looked up the brand of and seems like you can’t buy them anymore lol… but you can easily find other brands in many home stores and online! This is the one I have HERE. I think InstaPot is the most well-known brand (I always reference mine as an Insta Pot even tho it’s not🤷🏼♀️)
Alright enough on that one! The rest will be quick ; )
Vegetable Peeler ft. Carrots
Vegetable peelers are useful for the obvious function of its name, but the reason I add them is due to their ability to make veggies appear more often in my food…most notably carrots.
Carrots are my favorite example because they are a pretty hardy veggie that to me I never liked until Insta Pot and Veggie Peelers entered my kitchen!! What I like to do is make strips of carrot, which can vary in size and width. They can be added into cooked dishes like stir frys and pasta, or raw like salads and sandwiches! Carrots are great to always have in your fridge because they’re versatile and can last for a few weeks in the fridge.
Below are some ideas for adding more veggies into your meals by utilizing a vegetable peeler (could also use spiralizer, but I never figured those out). Other veggies this concept can work for sweet potato, zucchini, broccoli stem, and maybe squash, eggplant, and beets.
A big key to cooking delicious veggies and carrots is sauce & seasonings! If you want more meal inspiration, my fav sauce recipes, cooking tips, and more check out my Meal Prep course HERE!
Rubber Spatula
For me I need it, but maybe it could go on tier two for others. This utensil is essential for scraping all the batter, dough, sauce, chocolate, smoothie out of your bowl, blender, or pan. It’s really easy to clean and can help keep your pans clean too!
Sharp Knife!
One good knife can change your cooking game, like turning cutting sweet potatoes and squash from a workout to a walk. A good knife is to easy prepping as a pressure cooker is to easy cooking! They both make the process easeful and fast. I only have one really good knife and that’s really all you need in tier one… you can of course buy great knife sets for all your different chopping needs, but one is good for now!
Cutting Board Pro Tip!
When I’m chopping up multiple things on my cutting board - carrots, sweet potatoes, onion, celery, and ginger - space gets squeezed! And this can make me irritable because stuff will be falling off, the scraps will mix with the clean cut veggies, and so on… One trick to keeping your cutting area clean is to have a bowl dedicated for scraps - potato skin peels, carrot ends, onion skin, etc. This has changed my cooking experience positively and I appreciate my Ayurvedic Chef friend Christa for enlightening me on it!
TIER TWO - I ENJOY
I’ll bullet these helpful products:
Rubber baking mats - non-stick baking/air frying, reusable so it reduces kitchen waste
Measuring cups - this I assume people have, but come find not everyone does. They aren’t necessary but if you are a perfectionist, rule-follower, type A person have the exact measure may make your experience more easeful and timely :)
Plenty of kitchen rags - for drying dishes (no dishwasher club over here), cleaning messes, and washing veggies - reusable too so it’s another way to cut kitchen waste
Quality pots and pans - they can be an investment, but worth it because you use them very often and for many years! I have HEXCLAD, a non-stick, durable, scratch resistant. You can bet that my college roommates were happy to use them!
2 Cutting boards - one smaller, one large, this can be nice to have option depending on what you’re cooking so you don’t have to clean the big one just chop some herbs.
Bookmark this blog so you can come back to it for cooking tips and stay up to date as I edit and add in the months to come!
If you are looking to improve your health through the meals you make, but you’re worried about how much time it will take…I got you covered! In my newest Meal Prep Work-Week Lunches mini course you can learn how to plan, cook, and organize your meals so that you can enjoy healthy satisfying meals everyday without spending hours in the kitchen!! Want more info check it out HERE!
With Excitement and Joy,
Lizzie
p.s. don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, kitchen challenges, or want to learn more about what it’s like to work 1-1 with me. I’m here to help!