3 ‘Must Have’ Kitchen Tools

Author: Lindsay Atkinson

‘Tis the season for ‘Spring Cleaning’! It’s often our kitchens that can use the most help in the cleaning department. I don’t know about you, but our Toronto home has a tiny kitchen. We don’t have room or storage for multiple kitchen appliances so I’ve had to figure out which ones I really need to perform our regular cooking tasks.

Here are the 3 kitchen tools that I think are most important:
1. Hand Blender: This tool has ramped up my veggie in-take by at least 1-2 extra servings a day. It makes homemade soups so easy to concoct. Just cook your veggies in broth until they’re soft, then use the hand blender to mince them up to your desired consistency and
voila, you have a smooth, delicious homemade soup. And that’s only the hand blender piece. The chopping container attachment minces
veggies so small, you can’t even taste them! With this contraption, you’ll be adding more vegetables and healthy nuts to your stir-fry, salad,
pasta and rice dishes. Checkout my Facebook page for a few recipe ideas.
2. Powerful blender: My clients know I love my Vitamix (it’s been called the Rolls Royce of blenders). It cuts through frozen veggies and fruits in no time, making your shake a very smooth consistency. I also use my Vitamix like a food processor – add oats, lentils, black beans, cooked veggies, lime juice and some spices into the blender to create a terrific bean patty mixture with a creamy, smooth consistency. A bonus feature of the Vitamix that I truthfully don’t use much, is that it can make hot soups. I use this powerful tool a few times a week. With its significant capabilities, comes a hefty price tag of $400 – $600. You don’t have to spend this much, there are other alternatives out there – like the Ninga. Figure out what your needs are, and purchase what works for you.
3. Good knives: These are needed to speed up the preparation process and to help you avoid injury (I’ve been known to have visited the hospital a few times due to cutting my hand on a dull knife).
The classic chef’s knife is the most important knife you can own, as it’s the ‘go-to’ knife for 90% of cutting requirements. It’ll be the thing you use to chop your veggies, fruits and proteins so do your reach here and don’t skimp on this knife; I like the Henckels brand (aka the knives with the little dancing men).

Good luck with the spring cleaning this year. Please click here and let me know if you were able to get rid of any of your kitchen clutter due to any of my tips above.