Kitchen Tools for Making Healthier Meals

Healthy cooking requires the right tools. Does your kitchen include the tools you need to make healthful foods?

Citrus zester

Adding lemon, lime, or orange zest is an excellent way to add flavor to many dishes—from meat and poultry to steamed vegetables and low-fat desserts, such as angel food cake.

Wok

A stir-fry is one of the fastest, healthiest dishes to create, and a wok makes it even easier and tastier. Choose your favorite vegetables and a source of protein, use low-sodium soy sauce, make some rice, and relax—dinner is done!

 

Oil mister

Pour your favorite oil into the canister. Spritz your food to add a touch of flavor without all of the added calories and fat that you would get from adding oil by another method.

Crock-Pot^®

A Crock-Pot provides an excellent way to prepare your own soups and stews, and to cook lean meat so it is tender and juicy. It also is good for making low-fat puddings, and casseroles. Many Crock-Pot cookbooks are available. A quick browse on the Internet will yield dozens of recipes as well. 

 

Immersion blender

Getting out the traditional blender, assembling it, and then taking it apart and cleaning it can seem like too much work for making a simple smoothie or a chilled soup. You will save time and space by using an immersion blender for these small jobs.

Garlic press

Full of antioxidants and flavor, garlic is excellent when added to poultry, sauces, soups, and vegetables, such as spinach or tomatoes. 

Salad spinner

A salad spinner makes cleaning your lettuce a snap, which makes eating a salad seem like a much more appealing idea.

 

Food processor

A good food processor makes almost every meal easier to prepare. It chops vegetables and fruits, shreds cheese, and mixes ingredients. You will find many uses for this tool.

 

Food scale and measuring cups/spoons

Learning to recognize appropriate portion sizes is one of the most important steps to eating a healthful, well-balanced, diet. 

 

Thermometer

You can not tell by looking at a food whether it is cooked well enough. Some dishes look underdone when they are actually done, and others appear cooked through when they are really not. The only way to know for sure is to use a reliable thermometer. 

Grill basket

A grill basket is useful for making grilled vegetables or even fruit, especially if you are tired of watching your meal literally fall through the cracks. This device will hold all of your food together, so that none is lost during the grilling process.

Kitchen scissors

Many herbs contain as many or more antioxidants than fresh produce. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to easily snip fresh herbs into your dish. These scissors are useful for many kitchen chores besides chopping herbs. Just make sure you sterilize this tool after every use to avoid cross-contamination.