Kitchen Staples: The Must Haves and Must Nots
Let’s talk kitchen necessities.
Or what I personally would consider some must-haves (and must-nots) in my kitchen. A lot of these items are fairly common sense for most, but I think a lot of the time the quality and potential toxicity of these things flies below our radar for the sake of price point and convenience. There’s a few materials that are used for this stuff that should be avoided at all costs.
First and foremost I swear by my cast iron skillet. Especially as a woman of menstruating age, I need to get that little boost of iron wherever I can and cooking your food in a cast iron can help supply you with that.
Get one good set of cookware (pots and pans) and avoid using rusty or burnt cookware, anything with teflon, ceramic, copper or aluminum. I recommend investing in some good quality cookware that is stainless steel or glass, even if it isn’t a large set and is just a couple of sizes of things (for solo or single people who don’t need a huge variety or have limited storage space). The rule with aluminum cookware is applicable to foil as well. People are very accustomed to throwing a layer of foil on top of their baking pans in the oven to contain heat but absorbing extra aluminum through things like this, especially when heated can be quite toxic to the body. We are already consuming it and other toxic metals frequently without even realizing (eating out, drinking from cans, water sources, etc).
Hot tip!
If I’m roasting something in the oven in a pan that doesn't have a lid, I cover the food with a layer of unbleached, compostable parchment paper (I’ve been using the brand If You Care, which you can purchase at a lot of grocery stores or online quite affordably) and then place a baking sheet over top as a makeshift lid to retain the heat!
Get some glass (pyrex) or stainless steel Tupperware containers to store your leftovers. I’ve been guilty for years of purchasing cheap, plastic containers from the grocery or dollar store in a pinch, and I still own several of them to be honest. I just try to minimize using them for any hot or wet food items. I’ll store something like frozen chocolate covered treats or chopped up dry kale in them. Glass and stainless steel don’t have the risk of leeching plastic toxins into your food. We can’t really avoid the environmental toxins we inhale and ingest outside of the house most of the time, so the least we can do is try to minimize the ones we’re ingesting in our own home. Silicon containers are apparently also considered safer to use as well!
Wooden spoons and spatulas.
I love my bamboo utensils for sautéing and flipping things on the stove. They also have a nice kitchen aesthetic, just saying. I would suggest straying away from the classic toxic, plastic dollar store spatulas and investing in something that’s stainless steel, ceramic, bamboo/wood or at the very least, silicone.
A good quality blender.
I have a biased opinion about my love for Vitamix blenders, but I know they aren’t within everyones price point. The fact that they often have good sales on older models and you can do a monthly payment plan when you purchase them definitely helps (that’s what I did with mine) and I swear by it for making dressings, sauces, smoothies and soups. However, there are plenty of cheaper and affordable options from companies like Ninja that will get the job done just fine. I’m a firm believer in a morning smoothie, especially when life gets busy and we don’t necessarily have time, or the appetite for a hearty and nourishing breakfast. Trying to blend something smoothly and quickly in a blender that sounds like a leaf blower and leaves your smoothie chunky is not motivating.
A food processor.
This is definitely not in the “necessity” category for some and I didn’t own one for most of my adult life, but now that I do, I don’t want to be without it. It’s super convenient for thicker sauces and dips (I always make simple homemade hummus because it’s quick, easy and WAY cheaper than buying a tub from the store). It’s also great for grinding up harder and dryer substances such as the cornflakes I use on my Gluten Free Cornflake Chicken recipe and the dates, nuts and cornflakes I use in my Chocolate Covered Cornflake Date Bites. I have even used it to grind up chicken breasts when I need ground meat for a dish and want higher quality chicken than I can find ground at a basic grocery store.
Travel utensils.
Obviously I value these for actual travel, but I also find these beneficial for anyone who works outside of the home and either brings a lunch or purchases lunches on the go. This is mostly just to minimize general waste products like to-go cutlery but is also great to keep in whatever staff room or even just your desk at your place of work!
1-2 high quality butcher or cutting knives and 1 good bread knife.
I generally only use one larger knife at home for all of my chopping needs. The brand is Mac and compared to most professional grade knives it’s very affordable. I’ve had mine for about 6 or 7 years now and I love it! Here’s a link to one that’s on sale.
https://www.macknife.com/collections/sale-items/products/chef-series-7-1-4-utility-knife
Making sure to sharpen your knives or have them professionally sharpened periodically is pretty important as well, as I’m sure we’ve all been told that a dull knife can actually be more dangerous than a sharp one. Learning proper cutting techniques for chopping with a sharp knife is also key to avoid any accidents. I made the mistake of buying a bread knife from Amazon in a rush and looking to save some money. It could barely cut through a fresh loaf of bread. Lesson learned; these items may seem like a splurge to get quality, but I consider them an investment especially when they often last up to a decade.
High quality water purifier.
This is an item that not every person can afford, which I can relate to personally. However, with more and more studies and research coming out about the quality (or lack-there-of) of our water sources these days, it’s something that’s likely worth saving up for and investing in. Water and hydration is one of the most important aspects of our lives, literally something we can’t live without, so worrying about the quality of what we’re consuming should be a top priority. I continually read more and more information about toxic heavy metals and micro plastics getting into our water supply and think that this is one of the big-ticket items that we should all be doing our research on. If you shop around properly and look at reviews for different systems you can likely find a payment plan or a decent sale for this!
A good colander or mesh sieve.
Few things frustrate me more than a colander with straining holes big enough that my noodles fall through. I threw my cheap plastic one to the curb and purchased a stainless steal one with relatively small holes. It works great for rinsing produce and straining things. I have also been loving having a mesh sieve as when I’m making things like Tzatziki sauce with grated cucumber, I’m one of those people who will rarely if not never invest in a bag of cheese cloth for such things. It’s reusable and a lot simpler to grate into a sieve and strain the liquid out that way.
Large, nice quality cutting board.
I have two mid-large sized wooden cutting boards at home that have been safely treated with food-grade mineral oil to keep them safe from bacteria. They are durable and also pleasing on the eyes for more of that kitchen aesthetic. However, I prefer to use a different material cutting board when it comes to cutting up raw meat, to ensure no seeping of bacteria into the wood.
Other smaller items
that I really value having in the kitchen include: a whisk, a ladle for soups and sauces, a quality cheese grater/zester, a vegetable peeler, glass measuring cup, measuring spoons, meat thermometer, tongs, can opener.
I don’t condone the use or consumption of plastics, but I will say that if I ever purchase bread, english muffins, vegetables, etc that come in a plastic bag, I save the bags in my pantry to reuse them for veggies and to carry my smoothies in my backpack without risking spillage from the jar I keep them in. I try to minimize my use of things like this but I’m only human like everyone else. As long as we’re doing our best to avoid and either repurpose or recycle these items when we do have them I think we’re on the right track.
The main things I would recommend trying to avoid entirely would be:
aluminum foil and cookware, teflon, copper, plastic utensils, cutlery, Tupperware containers and unfortunately….tap water.
The last thing that I will mention here, which I was hesitant to jump on the bandwagon for, is an air fryer. This is more of a luxury item that I wouldn’t expect everyone to own unless they have the space for it, but I genuinely have loved it for saving cooking time, as well as cooking crispy items without the use of bad seed oils, making them healthier and eliminating the greasiness. This is what I use to cook items like cornflake chicken and I don’t even use a drop of oil! There are lots of affordable and good quality ones you can purchase that come in various sizes. Again, this isn’t a necessity, but if you’re someone who is trying to change your health and diet and you have a love of fried takeout and junk food, this is something that would be a great transitional piece for you to make healthified versions of those things you love.
That’s all for today folks. But feel free to set up a consultation with me via the request form or send me a message through the contact page if you would like to delve a little deeper into safety recommendations and/or products and appliances for your home!