My Favorite Kitchen Items
Hey SIS!
I see you: Cooking up a storm, meal preppin’ to the max. We’re a whole month into this new year and you’re really getting the hang of it by now! You’ve probably caught on that not only does meal prepping make healthy eating easier, it just makes EATING easier. I just love batch cooking once and keeping prep minimal otherwise.
This week I’m sharing some of my favorite things that make meal prepping even easier with my favorite kitchen gadgets guide. Scroll down to get your file delivered to your email instantly. But first, a few of my favorites.
I’m from the Midwest so I forget that not everyone has a slower cooker! It takes a top spot in my guide. There’s no better way to prep family meals ahead of time or to cook a big batch of soup. It’s great for cooking whole ingredients instead of using canned (but, like, canned is totally ok!) like beans and whole grains.
A new kid on the scene is an Instant Pot. If you haven’t heard of these yet, allow me to tell you these are NOT scary. It is its own separate appliance with lots of safety features, so don’t let Grandma intimidate you with her story of an exploding pressure cooker. NOT THE SAME.
An Instant Pot cooks slow cooker stuff FAST. And it has the added function of being able to saute. For example, you could brown ground turkey, add all the soup ingredients, switch to the soup function, and have soup in a half hour. Seriously. With a flavor like it’s been cooked all day!
There’s so much more to an Instant Pot that it deserves its own recipe collection post. (Adding that to my to-do list!)
My kitchen gadget guide has links to all my kitchen basics: Stockpots, measuring cups, etc, only such pretty versions. It also has links to some offbeat items you might not have considered. Like:
Souper cubes. You can take that big batch of soup you made, freeze it in two-cup portions, and pop those bricks into freezer bags. They keep your freezer so neat!
Smoothie pouches. These are like Capri Suns for adults! Or kids, honestly. It is so simple to make a whole blender full of smoothies and freeze the portions for each morning. Much better than getting the blender out every morning.
Portion scoops, aka ice cream scoops. You probably have at least one of these, but did you know they come in all sorts of standard sizes? This will take you back to your school cafeteria, but remember how mashed potatoes would be a perfect half-circle serving? Portion scoops!
I was careful to call this a favorites list instead of a must-have list, but sometimes you don’t even know what you don’t know, you know?