Appliances

The Air Fryer has changed my life. It is essentially a small appliance convection oven that crisps food with air. I use it multiple times a week to make crispy tofu, potatoes and broccoli/cauliflower with very little oil. I have owned several and the current Breville one is my favorite because you can spread out your items on the mesh tray and it is multi use, including for making toast.

The Norwalk 280 is the Bentley of juicers and the one that is recommended by the Gerson Institute. This juicer is great because it doesn’t heat up the fruits and vegetables like some centrifugal juicers. Heat causes a loss of nutrients. It is a two step process to grind the produce and then use the hydraulic press to squeeze out all of the liquid. In addition to making juice, you can make your own flour and nut butter. I think Norwalk went out of business and this is a comparable juicer.

When my mom bought me a Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender, my life totally changed—it is one of the smartest inventions. When you are making a blended soup, instead of having to transfer the soup to a blender in small batches (and risk getting burned), now you can simply blend it right in the pot. The part that is immersed pops off and you can put it in the dishwasher. This is a must have for every kitchen.

If you are serious about cooking, you need a Blendtec High Speed Blender. It is a little less expensive than Vitamix and to be honest, I like the look a little better. This blender will stand the test of time—I have never had a problem with mine and it is at least 7 years old. You can make smoothies, sauces, blended soups, ice cream and many other things!

Oh Instant Pot, oh Instant Pot, your quick cooking times delight us. This is an electric pressure cooker that makes baked potatoes in 10 minutes and steel cut oats in 3 minutes. It also quickly cooks beans and rice along with a whole bunch of other things. If you struggle with making healthy meals because you lack time, this is the appliance for you. It takes up a lot of room so we recently switched to the smaller version (3 quart) and it suits our needs.

I purchased the Presto Pure Soy Milk maker because I go through an awful lot of soy milk. This machine is incredibly simple--you soak the beans overnight, then drain, add the beans to the machine with water, press a button and in thirty minutes "Presto", you have soy milk. You can pour the milk through a nut milk bag to remove some of the fiber for super smooth milk. You can make other types of plant milk as well as blended soups with this too.

If you take tea very seriously and brew a variety of loose teas, the Breville Tea Maker is for you. You can brew tea at the appropriate temperature and the pot keeps your brewed tea warm for an hour after brewing. I love that the kettle is glass, which makes it safe and easy to clean.

I knew that Laurence and I were meant to be when I went to his house for the first time and he had the exact coffee maker that I owned by Gaggia. We are serious coffee lovers! Gaggia has great products but we recently switched to a Breville machine. You can easily make a latte (soy, of course) with the steam wand. You may get sticker shock when looking at these, but when you calculate the cost of purchasing a coffee at a retailer and how much you spend on these drinks a year, you will realize that you will save a ton of money in the long run.

I have gotten into baking quite a bit over the last few years and treated myself to a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. There are different sizes/types and the thing to know about this gadget is that it will last your lifetime. It is totally worth it. If you like to make bread, you can let the mixer do all of the kneading for you. Many types of attachments are availalbe to make things such as ice cream, pasta, and shredded or sheets of vegetables.

I recently had to purchase a new coffee/spice grinder after the old one bit the dust. This is another appliance where there have been vast improvements. I bought the KitchenAid brand that has three separate stainless steel bowls that you can remove from the appliance and wash in the dishwasher. Score! I never felt that I could get the grinder clean when I couldn’t remove the bowl—and that problem is now solved.

Believe it or not, I didn’t own a food processor until I was in my 40s and I don’t know how I got by without it. I use mine at least weekly and own a Cuisinart. Why? Because that is what my mom used. I have both a 7 and 14 cup version.

Pots & Pans

A large sauté pan is needed in every kitchen. It has sloped sides so that you can flip the items that you are cooking. I use a heavy bottomed stainless pan by All Clad. I avoid cooking in anything non-stick because it is toxic--fumes are released when these pots and pans reach high heat. I learned how to properly heat a pan when I studied at Rouxbe. When heated properly, the food won’t stick. Cast iron is another good option and when seasoned is naturally non-stick. You get the added benefit of some iron being absorbed into your food. I have fallen in love with Lodge cast iron pans. Not only are they economical, but they are also non-stick free of chemicals that can get into your food. Using cast iron is the fool-proof way to cook tofu and pretty much everything else.

Stock pots come in many sizes and a 12 quart size is large enough to accommodate even large batches of soup. For this, I stick with stainless All Clad. I prefer one with a glass lid so that I can see what is happening inside and a heavy bottom because they ensure even heat distribution. These can also be used with an induction cooktop.

You can use an enameled Dutch oven to cook soup as well as bake bread. It is a heavy pot, often made of cast iron, that can be used both on the stove top and in the oven. Stick with 8 quart or larger. Cast iron retains heat and is easy to clean. Lodge carries a very reasonably priced option for this and the quality can’t be beat. Le Creuset also has beautiful Dutch ovens—they are quite an investment but one that is good for your health as other non-stick pans can leach chemicals into your food.

The Whirley Pop is an amazing pot used just for popcorn. You use just a small amount of oil and corn kernels and get freshly popped popcorn without the chemicals that are included in microwave popcorn. I make popcorn almost daily—it is so healthy and full of fiber!

Handheld Tools

A knife is the most important tool that you need in the kitchen. If you want to splurge on only one thing, splurge on a 6-8 inch chef knife. Spend some time at Sur le Table or Williams Sonoma and try a bunch of knives out. It should fit your hand, have a good quality handle. This is the tool that you will use the most and so you must buy one that is comfortable for you. Two great brands are Shun and Wusthof.

I didn’t purchase my first bench scraper until I was 47 years old! This is a handy tool that allows you to easily pick up chopped ingredients from the cutting board. 

You probably have a few vegetable peelers in your utensil drawer. They come in Y-shape and straight swivel versions. I prefer the straight versions because they have the handy potato eye removers on the end. It should have a comfortable handle and a well angled blade. I have owned an OXO Good Grip’s peeler for over 10 years and it still works as well as it did when it was new.

Graters come in a few different types—the box grater or hand-held. Some come with a receptacle at the bottom to collect what you have grated and there are abundant options for size of the grate. There are microplane graters that are perfect for lemon zest.