My Kitchen ESSENTIALS
Things that save my TIME!
If you don't have a super large kitchen and like to keep everything clean and simple here are my kitchen essentials that I came up with for myself, after we switched to a Healthy toxin-free lifestyle.
The right kitchen tools will save you a ton of time and effort!!
I don’t have as many tools as I used to before we started our healthy diet and lifestyle journey! We used to bake a lot and I baked sourdough bread, which I really miss, especially the smell of fresh baked bread all over the house… They say that “The Smell Of Fresh Baked Bread Makes Us Kinder To Strangers” Its a shame that the mass production of food destroyed something so ancient and good as bread! Just a side note…
My kitchen is not huge, but it’s just the right size for us and I love everything about it! Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to do with a bigger one! But it also doesn’t have much extra storage, so I only keep what I use daily or pretty often. The rest are stored in the basement (and are not included in this post).
Tools that are used less than once a year usually have to find another home. We donate it or give to someone who needs it.
After all, some of the items from the list below I got the same way – from a thrift shop, yard sale or it was gifted by someone.
Check out my article “Why I like Thrift Shopping”
I know, I say that a lot… but I am* a very lazy person! Probably the laziest one you will ever meet! So, I like to do things the easy way. Anything that saves time and… I just prefer to wash less dishes whenever possible!
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Large Kitchen tools
Besides the large appliances like fridge, stove, dishwasher and freezer we have a much smaller variety of kitchen tools that save an enormous amount of time that you can use elsewhere and help us to live a very comfortable life!
NutriBullet 12-Piece High-Speed Blender
I have a special attachment to this one, because We started our Health journey with it! I got him 3 years ago in 2015 so that I can make nut milks for my kids when we removed diary. It was the first and the hardest step. It seemed Impossible! This little guy we use daily, sometimes many times a day for different tasks (blend, grind, mix…) It comes with attachment for grinding hard seeds and herbs and different sizes cups with lids for easy store. It is a breeze to wash it too!
Blendtec Blender
Cuisinart DFP-14BCNY 14-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless Steel
very powerful and very quiet! I was surprised how quiet it is after using a Black & Decker one, OMG it was so loud!
This is my new toy! was hunting for a fully stainless steel distiller for a very long time, for most of them have the copper coil inside and I didnt want that. I am processing my fresh herbs in it into Essential oils and Hydrosols.
STX International 10 Tray Dehydrator with 40 Hour Timer, Stainless Steel
SO in LOVE with this one! It is SO helpful to have it to make low temperature veggie and fruit chips, dry herbs and berries! It’s been working non-stop two summers already and in a great condition!
KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer 5-Quart
Love it! A must have in any kitchen! We make meringues, angel food cakes, and lemon curd.. I use my Grinder attachment to grind meat and veggies!
KitchenAid Food Grinder Attachment
This one I use pretty often, especially in the fall when I can my garden veggie dips. Also to grind meat of course, rarely now, because we do not eat a lot of meat.
Omega Slow Juicer
Love it! pulp comes out dry and it juices even herbs like mint and comfrey!
Egg Cooker
We are not egg free, we have our own chickens. this gizmo saves me time, so much easier too, than the old fashion way! And they come out perfectly hard-boiled every time!
Oster Hand Mixer w/Retractable Cord
Compact. Cheap. And I like the retractable cord! Easy to store.
OXA Smart Powerful 4-in-1 Immersion Hand Blender Set
This one is the one I use for food. Its priceless to make salad dressings, Mayo, soup puree, fast toast spreads…that sort of things. I have to have a separate one for soap making.
Cuisinart Stainless Steel Toaster
Not very often, but our home made bread is so much tastier when toasted!
Professional Electric Knife Sharpener
Everyone says you have to have a good and expensive set on knifes! I totally disagree! you have to have a good knife sharpener! I have a very old and cheap set of knives that I keep in a great shape with this sharpener!
Very good to have for emergencies and I used it to make maple syrup outside. Because you cannot do it inside – your whole kitchen will be one sticky mess after evaporation of so much maple juice.
Cookware
After I got rid of all the non-stick junk, I had to learn how to cook all over. It wasn’t easy at first, I just wanted to go to a store and buy one non-stick pan!!, but now I don’t even remember what my issue was with stainless steel and cast iron.
Emeril Lagasse Stainless Steel Saucepan 3-Quart
This is my favorite pot from the set below pot that I make my Herbal Teas/Decoctions in. Its been used religiously! Its glass lid got this integrated pour spouts, it makes very easy to strain herbs or pasta. Perfect size too.
Emeril Lagasse 12 Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set
we got this set back in 2010, and it still looks very good! I burned the largest pot a couple of times, but it cleans up nicely and is as good as new! perfect size pots and pans for a family of five!
You need a huge pot no matter what. Its handy. I Make large batches of “Cold Summer Soup from Russia“, Bortsh (beet soup), I mix my ferments in it before i stuff it in a jar, I can in it too.
Instant Pot 8Qt 7-in-1 Pressure Cooker
This guy was my last Black Friday deal. At first it was a bit intimidating and I thought I made a mistake getting the 8 qt instead of 6 qt, but it came in REALLY handy when I was making my maple syrup last month! And it’s handy in summer time, when it’s hot and you don’t want to turn the stove on. Or when you have a company, the stove top and the oven somehow never enough!
Cuisinart Chef's Classic Enameled Cast Iron 7-Quart Pot
Not too expensive and useful when you need to make a one pot meal that can go in the oven and be stored in the fridge.
Glass Ceramic Cookware
I absolutely adore these baking sets, I have quite a few of them different sizes. Love the glass tops and How incredibly easy they are to wash!
Small Kitchen tools
To make herbal teas/decoctions and infusions at home I use the above Emeril’s pot but when we travel, this percolator is truly a life saver!
OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner, Large
in winter when we eat a ton of romaine, this salad spinner is absolutely needed. I have a small and a very large one. Both being used almost daily for when we have store bought salad greens. I wash the greens and store right in my fridge.
Lettuce Knife
wonderful tool, although it is plastic, but it helps the lettuce not to brown, so you can pre-wash, pre-cut and store in fridge in large amounts!
Digital Laser Infrared Thermometer
super useful when you don’t want to have contact with the stuff you need to take temp measurements!
Lemon and Lime Juicer
When you need to squeeze one or two lemons – this is so perfect. Easy to rinse, dry, store.
Lemon Juicer 12-Ounce
this one is to squeeze more lemons. Buy when they are cheap, squeeze, freeze, save.
Eco Friendly Reusable Food Wraps 3 pack. Plastic Free.
A great alternative to the yucky plastic wrap and it feels super amazing to the touch!
Cuisinart Stainless Steel Strainers. Set of 3
Can’t live without these! so many tasks for them. They are very well made. seems like they are going to last my lifetime! 🙂
Over The Sink Stainless Steel Oval Colander with Fine Mesh
Love this! it even fits in my dehydrator!
Fermenting jars
Jars for fermenting veggies. this kind I prefer because the jars are clear and the airlock option.
3 Piece Funnel Set - Stainless Steel
Not plastic! the largest one of the set is pretty big – will be handy when canning, wine making and herbal preparations! Dishwasher safe of course. 🙂
this one is cute and I use it often to zest citrus and grind frozen turmeric and ginger.
WOODEN GRATER FOR KOREAN CARROT Russian Ukrainian
This grater can’t be substituted with anything else. in order to make that Korean carrot salad taste exactly how you want it!
OXO Good Grips Box Grater
for small shredding jobs, like making fast soups or shred a carrot into a salad. No mess. very important! Who likes the cleaning, right?
Marble Mortar and Pestle
this ins’t used often, but when I need it – I’m glad I have it! I have another one of these, a tiny baby one.
Titan Peeler & Slicer
I have this peeler for over 9 years now, and I will never need another one! Its the best!
Mountain Woods Cutting Board with Juice Groove
love these cutting boards! beautiful and green.
Kids stuff:
Instead of the super pricey Planetbox, I decided to get many small, different sizes stainless steel containers, because I can mix and match them and stack them the way I want depending on the foods I pack for them. It’s always different – hot, cold, liquid, dry, or a combination.
Two Section 18/10 Stainless Steel kids Lunch Box & Food Container
for school lunches and road trips.
for school lunches and road trips. Easy for the kids to open. they don’t leak. compact. easy to wash. Love and use them all the time.
ECOlunchbox Three-in-One Stainless Steel Food Container Set
for school lunches and road trips.
for school lunches and road trips. Easy for the kids to open. they don’t leak. compact. easy to wash. Love and use them all the time.
We have a few of these, different colors. It keeps the food warm or cold all day if you need it. Sometimes they don’t finish their hot lunch and it is still hot after they come from school.
Thermos Funtainer 12 Ounce Bottle
love these. Perfect size for my 7 and 5 yo. I put them apart every 3-4 days to clean and dry, so the mold wouldn’t grow.
These are 100% leak proof! pretty easy to wash – i rinse them and dry often. Dishwasher safe. Best ones I’ve found!
great to make loose leaf herbal cold infusions or infuse water with fruit, berries, cucumbers, mint…
Pineapple Tinted Glass Mason Jar Sipper
A smoothie taste all the better in these jars! 🙂 I have the green ones and my kids love them!
Zoku Classic Pop Molds
freeze your extra smoothies in these or make fruit/herb Popsicles for hot summer days!
I used this to syringe smoothies for a while until my kids could willingly drink on their own.
Cleaning
Gleen Cleaning Cloth - non-toxic cleaning!
This is SERIOUSLY the BEST invention of the century!
No need for expensive sprays, harsh chemicals or paper towels.
Just dampen GLEEN with water, wring it out and experience easy cleaning, every time!
The patented fiber technology leaves behind absolutely no streaky residue or scratches.
The GLEEN Cloth will clean the following materials: glass, stainless steel, granite and much more.
I clean EVERYTHING with it! I used to HATE washing windows! Just hated it! now I do not, because its just so easy! wet and wipe, that’s it!
They may be pricey initially, but they last forever and worth every penny!
Random things we can't live without:
I own a few silverware items that I collected over the years. I just really love silver and although it’s not easy to polish it (some get tarnished within a week, some I have to clean every few months, but this is totally worth it for me. I guess everyone has to pick and choose their sacrifices 🙂
This truly is the best! I’ve tried several and my Mother-in-Law tried them all I think, because she has been feeding humming birds religiously for decades! she owns a few of these feeders and some of them are over 16yo! they don’t leak, they are the perfect size and they are easy to wash. Most importantly only the humming birds can feed from it. somehow this feeder does not attract any wasps, ants etc.
I made these myself, and I will make more of them! may be I’ll make them as gifts for friends and family! If you can’t make that you can buy it. they look super fancy and GREEN! well, they ARE green! 😉
He who buys what he does not need, steals from himself.
