Good news! You do not need all the most state-of-the art, expensive gadgets in your kitchen in order to food prep and make delicious, healthy meals! You can use a few basic kitchen tools and get everything done for a week’s worth of meals in just a few hours.
I do weekly meal prep for my household of 6, and I turn to the same 5 basic tools to get the whole job done every weekend. Here is all you need!
A good knife
You want a decent-quality, sharp Santoku knife or chef’s knife to do most of the chopping, slicing and dicing. Dull knives make the work so much harder, and are actually more dangerous! Also you don’t want to be using the wrong type of knife. My husband is forever trying to dice onions with a steak knife, and it drives me crazy! Steak knives cut on a bias (an angle instead of a straight cut) so getting a uniform dice is impossible, and it takes him 5 times longer to cut an onion. Get yourself a good all-purpose knife and keep it sharp!
A baking sheet (or several)
A lot of foods that I prep go into the oven. Baking sheets are perfect for everything from chicken breast to roasted veggies to cookies. They are vital for my weekly meal prep.
A food processor
You can make quick work of slicing and shredding with a food processor. But it’s also great for making things like banana “ice cream” and date paste (I like to use whole foods to sweeten my recipes). You can even use it to blend ingredients for baked items like my vegan zucchini bread.
A good set of pots & pans
During food prep, I will use a soup pot, a sauté pan and a non-stick skillet every time. If you’re going to invest a good amount into anything in your kitchen, it should be your pots & pans. I personally like All-Clad and Scanpan, but do your own research to find what fits best into your budget.
A cutting board
You may want to use separate cutting boards for meat & veggies, so maybe get 2. Get one that is large enough to cut big things like a whole cabbage or butternut squash, but one that still fits into the dishwasher for easy clean-up.
With just these 5 tools, you can prep any food item and be ready to make delicious meals for your family all week long.
Need help learning WHAT to prep and how to turn it into a meal?
Join my 5 day Ready, Set, Meal Prep! Class on February 22, 2021!
For more info, head to the event page here!
