Contributed by Beryl Henzy
Are you one of those people who thinks you can’t cook, you’re just not good at it or your kids complain about your cooking, so you’ve just given up? Every day parents tell me that they don’t cook because it’s just not worth it. I am sorry to hear that because cooking at home is so worth it!
Preparing meals at home is a great way to exert control over the nutritional quality of your family’s diet. Cooking whole, fresh foods in your own kitchen usually means less saturated fat and sodium, and more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. It can also be more economical to cook from scratch then to pay the Chinese restaurant, Swanson’s, or Chef Boyardee to do it.
But it can be challenging to come up with tasty, healthy, and quick meals, especially on busy weeknights. Making a meal plan for the week and shopping on the weekend are strategies that can make whipping up dinner a little easier. The point is to have everything you need to make simple, healthful dishes at your fingertips.
This post is the first in a 2-part series about stocking your kitchen with cooking essentials. Today, we discuss having the right kitchen equipment and the next post will feature a pantry list and a quick, week-night recipe.
So, let’s get your kitchen ready for cooking!
Important kitchen tools for quick and easy meals:
- Vegetable peeler: whatever type you prefer, but replace it often so it’s sharp
- Colander: plastic or stainless, big enough to drain pasta, wash veggies, rinse salad. You can use a stainless one as a vegetable steamer too.
- A good sharp knife: many choices- 6” chef’s knife, 8” chef’s knife, or a santoku- just make sure you are comfortable with it and you can keep it sharp
- Cutting boards: wood or plastic, one for meat and one for vegetables
- Pasta pot: at least 4 quarts, light enough to lift when full so you can drain it easily
- Vegetable steamer: collapsible basket that fits in a pot, or an insert for the pasta pot
- Non- stick skillet: 10” is versatile, use for sautéing chicken breast, making egg white omelettes, and heating tortillas
- Dish soap and sponge for washing down counter tops and dishes.
- Garlic press: not essential, but it makes mincing fresh garlic so much easier
- Two or three healthy food cookbooks
What
other kitchen essentials do you have in your kitchen?
Cookus Interruptus
