You’ll Be Itchin’ to Get in Your Kitchen! Part I

Is the kitchen a “new room” for you?  Don’t know how to set it up for meal-time success?  Well fear not!  In the next two posts, we’ll simplify the kitchen, and turn it into a place where fun and happy memories can be made.  Today we will go over what types of appliances and tools are necessary to stock your kitchen with for success.

Basic Cookware:

• Pots and sauté pans:  Have a few different sized pots and sauté pans so you can experiment with different prep methods.  Sauté pans are great for a healthy stir-fry, but have a small and large one so you can cook for either many, or just one or two.
• Roasting pans: Not every day is Thanksgiving so while you want a pan large enough for the holiday turkey, make sure you have smaller ones for less extravagant meals and sides like roast chicken or baked peppers stuffed with quinoa.
• Knife:  If there is one kitchen tool you want to invest in, it is a good knife.  While it is of course important to be safe with sharp knives, using blunt ones actually puts you at a higher risk for kitchen related injuries.  A sharp knife cuts easily without having to use force to get it through that stubborn squash or tough turkey.

Kitchen Appliances:

• Food processors: These are nice because you can make healthy foods like hummus, pesto or even your own whole wheat breadcrumbs in just one appliance.
• Immersion blenders: This tool looks like a big electric turkey baster.  It is perfect for blenderizing soups.  After the soup is cooked, place the immersion blender right into the pot and turn it on.  In no time, your soup has a smoother consistency with all ingredients blended together.
• Crock pots: A great appliance for people who are short on time!  Put the ingredients for your dinner in the crock pot in the morning, turn it on, and when you come home from work, you will have a delicious, hot meal waiting for you.  Crock pots are great because they stretch smaller amounts of meat by infusing it with tons of flavor and allowing for generous portions of vegetables.
• Cutting Boards: It is a very good idea to have colored cutting boards that are specific to what you are working with (one for meats-raw and cooked, one for fish, one for veggies).  Having these prevents cross contamination.  There are many fun colors and shapes available which are great for enticing kids to get involved.

Cookbook:

• Following a recipe is usually easier than starting from scratch (for the beginner).  The better you get at following a recipe, the more you will be able to use your own creativity and have fun with cooking.  Purchasing a cookbook is a great way to get started in the kitchen.
• Set aside some time to browse in the cookbook section of a book store.
• Pick out a cookbook that has a lot of recipes that look doable, and seem as enjoyable to cook as they will be to eat.  You might find you prefer simplicity over complicated, or maybe you want a vegetarian cookbook over one that has more meat dishes.  Whatever your preference, make sure you are excited to cook what’s in the book.  Involve your kids and make theme nights that involve replicating your favorite dish that you eat at a restaurant.

Congratulations!  Your kitchen now has the tools that will help you succeed.  Next time it is on to the refrigerator and the things you should stock in your cabinets to ensure healthy cooking success!

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