THINK B.A.R.E.

Kitchen Tool Essentials for Healthy Cooking and Living

If you are anything like me, you would love a fully stocked kitchen, complete with fancy cooking tools, beautiful pots and a different knife for every food prep chore. But often having all this isn't feasible. So what are the essentials? Here are some that have helped me to prepare healthy recipes with little effort, minus the hefty price tag.

An old fashioned manual glass lemon juicer helps to easily extract juice from lemons, limes, oranges and more. No cords, no electric, no batteries required. If you opt for a newer version, many are plastic but they offer the benefit of small holes in the base, allowing the juice to pass while seeds are blocked. A great way to have fresh juice for your teas, water, to drink straight and for many other recipes!

I love using my handheld immersion blender * to create creamy, smooth soups without the use of cream. I puree beans and vegetables (such as butternut squash, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes) into healthy, luscious, velvety thick soups. An immersion blender can also be used to froth milk, make smoothies and blend soft foods.

Although a mini food processor * will not work well with large amounts or very hard ingredients, it’s a handy tool for chopping lighter items. I find it so convenient to chop onions, herbs, and garlic to create a nice mixture to add to my burgers. I’ve also used the mini food processor to chop up nuts for my vegan recipes. It will help greatly with food preparation.

One year, a friend of mind gave me a NutriBullet* for my birthday. At first, I questioned how often I would use this blender. But after realizing its benefits, I fell in love with it! I created smoothies from fruits (often with the skin and seeds) and vegetables. Smoothies are great because they offer all the fiber and all the nutrition found in the whole food form. The NutriBullet also helped me to incorporate healthy foods into my diet that I otherwise would not eat alone. The Nutribullet is a great kitchen tool for a healthy lifestyle.

Having at least one good medium size knife with a serrated edge is essential for any cook. It’s versatile and makes cutting, peeling and chopping so much easier. To all those Chefs that just rolled their eyes, I know, there are specific knives for different uses but if you can only invest in one .. my opinion is that the serrated knife is the way to go! If you would like information on which knives work the best for different cutting tasks, see http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-choose-the-right-knife-for-the-job/

* I am not a representative of any companies selling the products listed on this post. The information provided is based on personal experience with the types of products listed.

THINK B.A.R.E., LIVE B.A.R.E.