26 Oct 5 Essential Kitchen Utensils
5 Essential Kitchen Utensils…
Meal prep requires effort and a dedication to yourself in wanting to achieve what you’ve set out to achieve. There are definitely ways to make life easier in the kitchen… Here are 5 of my favourite and absolutely essential kitchen items that make meal prep in bulk much faster and easier!
- Slow cooker/crockpot
This is an absolute must! If you don’t have one yet, get one! You can buy them from pretty much anywhere – supermarkets (Coles, Woolies, Aldi), department stores, online – for as little as $40 for an ok one. Obviously the more you spend, the better the quality but the cheap ones still do the trick. They just might not last as long.
We use ours every weekend. Once we have bought all our fruit and veg from the local veggie shop and our meat/fish from the butcher or supermarket, the meat/fish goes straight in the slow cooker with water and whatever herbs and spices we’re complementing the chosen protein with for that week. We buy a big hunk of meat or fish so that the batch lasts a week of lunches for two people 🙂
So easy, chuck it in, switch it on and leave it overnight.
- Massively wide and deep baking tray/dish
We use this twice a week for our roasted veggies with cinnamon, salt, pepper and olive/coconut oil. We line it with baking paper for ease of washing up after, chop up a heap of veggies into bite sized pieces (eggplant, carrot, zucchini, capsicum, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, baby corn, tomatoes, yellow squash – whatever colours and flavours you can get your hands on!) and fill the dish with layers of veggies, oil, herbs and spices – roast for 30-40 minutes on a moderately high temperature (180-220 degrees Celsius) and you have lunch and dinner veggies that can be eaten cold or re-heated in the microwave by two people for 3-4 days! Cinnamon is definitely the secret ingredient but Paprika can also work really well.
- Food scales
If you want to make sure you’re eating the correct portion sizes, it is best you use a proper measurement device. Eye balling can work ok but if you’re looking to really dial it in and make sure you’re not over eating, buy some kitchen scales to use so you can just take a few seconds to weigh your food onto your plate when you serve it up (or into a Tupperware if you’re taking your meal to work/on the go). I find I do it out of habit now, even though I could probably guess 90g… It only takes a moment to measure it accurately and stops me over doing the protein!
- A good sharp knife
This is the best way to make chopping your meat and veggies faster… If you have a blunt or below par knife, it makes like much harder when it comes to meal prep. Definitely worth investing in a good set of sharp knives 🙂 and re-sharpening them regularly to stop you getting annoyed at meal prep times. I love my Victorinox knife ???? chopping takes half the time!
- Hand blender or Nutri-bullet
For smoothies/breakfast shakes or mashed veggies to complement your meals, this is an absolute gem in the kitchen. For a quick and easy breakfast that you can throw together first thing in the morning or even prepare the night before so it’s ready to grab as you leave for the gym/work in the morning – just make sure you balance your macros: serve of a clean protein powder (Naked Co, Vivo Active or NuZest are our faves), coconut water and banana or berries for the carbs and a spoonful of nut or cacao coconut butter for the fats.
By balancing the ingredients you will stay satisfied for longer and have energy to keep you fuelled until your next meal or snack!
To order your very own personalised meal plan or to get your hands on an updated one, head to our shop here and start feeling energised today!!!
