My Top 5 Kitchen Appliance Must-Haves
Thinking about giving your kitchen a makeover and getting new tools and appliances to make your healthy cooking easier?
Here is my review and tips for anyone who wants to upgrade their appliances, including my favorite ones that give you the most versatility.
Three years ago I made the commitment to fully transitioning my own kitchen to work for a healthy lifestyle. I purged our cupboards of junk foods and processed foods. I added whole foods to our pantry and fridge, including whole grains, beans and legumes, spices, superfoods, and loaded up on fruits and vegetables.
I also ended up going through all my cupboards and purging anything we didn’t need. I got rid of extra dishes, bowls, and utensils that we had doubles of or just too many for our family of three.
And as I began cooking at home more and more I noticed that there were certain small appliances I would use over and over again. These quickly became the workhorses in my kitchen and over time I realized that investing in good quality small appliances + tools would be totally worth it.
So over time, I replaced the older versions with newer, better quality small appliances that would last a lot longer. This was a really good decision for us and I’ve never regretted it.
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Now I want to share with you the top 5 things I use all the time (some multiple times a day) and what I use them for.
If you’re thinking about starting a healthier lifestyle and want to give your own kitchen a makeover then read through this list to help give you some ideas for what small appliances I highly recommend!
01. A GOOD QUALITY HIGH-SPEED BLENDER
If you’re going to invest in anything, let it be a good quality high-speed blender. There are so many things you can do with a good quality blender. Your smoothies will blend like a breeze, you can make your own oat flour, puree soups, make guacamole and even make seed butter from scratch.
I used to have a nutribullet and I’ll be honest, the difference is like night and day! I love my new blender soo much more!! It was definitely worth the investment.
I use my blender at least once or twice a day. The biggest thing I use it for is to make smoothies. This is such a great way to add more servings of fruits and vegetables to your day.
It’s the one thing that’s really worth the investment. And I recommend the Vitamix Explorian E310 because it has everything you need and also has some really great reviews. Plus it comes with a 5-year warranty which is pretty incredible. So you can splurge on it yourself, or ask someone to buy it as a gift (hello husbands!). I’m a big fan of buying from QVC because they always have such great deals, so I recommend you check it out there.
02. A CAST IRON DUTCH OVEN
A cast iron dutch oven is a beautiful pot to have in your kitchen. These will literally last you a lifetime if you take care of it. Plus you can buy them in really beautiful colors like navy, orange, red and teal.
Dutch ovens can be used on the stove like a stockpot or in the oven like a baking dish. This is what makes them so magical. They’re perfect for soups and stews, slow roasting meat and vegetables, casseroles and even baking bread.
Cast iron dutch ovens are quite heavy which is because they’re made from cast iron and then coated with enamel. This makes them better for higher temperatures than aluminum or stainless steel, and therefore better at braising and roasting meats to give them that wonderful depth of flavor. I recommend getting a 5, 6 or 7-quart dutch oven depending on your family size.
03. A SLOW COOKER
A slow cooker definitely comes in handy during the week when you have busy days. It’s the perfect tool for making an easy soup or stew. Usually, I’ll add the ingredients in the morning and set the timer. I highly recommend that you get one that has a digital timer setting like this KitchenAid 6-qt slow cooker so that you can start your recipe in the morning and it won’t overcook it during the day.
What’s the difference between a slow cooker and a dutch oven? This is a great question, and some people might be wondering why would you want both? Don’t they do the same thing? Well not quite - Slow cookers are excellent at making easy soups and stews. You can add meat to them but that meat is either ground (like ground beef or turkey) or shredded (like pulled pork). There’s nothing wrong with this - but I wouldn’t be able to eat my meat this way every single day.
With a dutch oven, you tend to get a bigger depth of flavor in your food. But it also requires a little bit more time to make. That’s why I like both - some days I’m either too busy or just too lazy to cook dinner and that’s when the slow cooker comes out. But for other days, I love love love my dutch oven.
04. A FOOD PROCESSOR
There are so many cool things a food processor can do! You can make nut butters, grind meat, dice and chop your veggies, make homemade soups, dips and dressings, healthy ice cream, and even cut the butter into flour for baking recipes.
Basically a food processor can save you loads of time by doing a lot of things you usually have to do by hand (like chop, shred, stir, etc). I highly recommend you get a full size food processor so you get all the attachments available. This will allow you to do so much more with it.
05. A SET OF GOOD QUALITY SHEET PANS
And last but not least, a set of good quality baking sheets with deep walls is essential. In the Healthy Makeover program, I talk about the importance of eating as many vegetables as you can every single day for optimal health and vitality. And one of the best ways to do that is to roast a big batch of them to use in your nourish bowls, and as a side at dinner.