20 Aug Equipping your kitchen like a minimalist
August 20, 2018
Cooking delicious healthy food doesn’t require fancy kitchen equipment or a large kitchen to store it all. With a few basic multi-purpose pieces, you’ll be set!
Food Prep
The essentials are sharp knives, a cutting board, measuring cups, mixing bowls, and a sieve. Sharp knives make cutting a breeze, not to mention helping you keep a good pace chopping veggies for meal prep. To keep your knives sharp, keep a small knife sharpener around. When you need to cut meat, it’s best to have a non-wooden cutting board that is different than the one you use for fruits and veggies. To take a minimalistic approach, choose a double sided non-wooden cutting board with a distinguishing mark on one side. That way one side can be used for meat, and the other side can be used for everything else. Now, about those measuring cups. Not all measuring cups are equal. If measurements need to be exact, like with the low FODMAP diet, choose higher quality measuring cups for accuracy. As you carefully measure out ingredients, you may find it handy to have mixing bowls in two or three sizes. Mixing bowls can also double as serving bowls. Sieves in one or two sizes are also extremely handy for sifting flours, draining pasta, washing rice and lentils, or making a cup of loose leaf tea.
Stove Top
Choosing pots and pans can be tricky. There are so many shapes and sizes designed for unique purposes. To take a minimalist approach, look for multi-function pots and pans. Four items will cover the basics: a medium pot with a lid, a large pot with a lid, a medium-large sauté pan, and a griddle or skillet. Ideally, the lid from one of the pots will fit the sauté pan as well. The exact sizes or volumes of these pieces will depend on the number of people you’re regularly cooking for.
Baking
Like cookware, the selection of bakeware can be overwhelming. To cover the basics, you’ll need baking dishes, baking sheets, and a muffin pan. Having both 8×8 and 9×13 glass baking dishes will give you enough flexibility for different recipes. Baking sheets are also a must. Ones with edges are more versatile. Last but not least for bakeware, you’ll probably want a muffin pan. A cake pan is good too, but muffins allow for better portion control and make meal prep easier. The number of bakeware pieces that you’ll need depends on the number of people you’re regularly cooking for and the size of your oven.
Appliances
Keeping with minimalism in the kitchen, three multi-purpose appliances will cover your basic needs and save you time, space, and money. The first is a blender, which you can often find in combination with a food processor, which is the second appliance. Choosing a food processor with a grater attachment removes the need for a separate grater. The third appliance is an electric cooker. There are many choices on the market, so consider how you like to cook and what will best fit your needs. There are electric pressure cookers, slow cookers, and multi-cookers. One feature that will give you the most flexibility is an automatic switch to keep warm with the ability to keep food warm for an extended period of time (10+ hours).
Just like that, your kitchen is fully equipped and ready to go! Now all you need are some fresh ingredients and a recipe you’re excited to make. For ideas, check out the ETP recipes page. Happy cooking!
A minimalist’s kitchen equipment list
- Sharp knives
- Knife sharpener
- Cutting board
- Measuring cups
- Mixing bowl
- Sieve
- Spatula
- Sauté pan
- Griddle/Skillet
- Medium pot with lid
- Large pot with lid
- 8×8 Glass baking dish
- 9×13 Glass baking dish
- Muffin pan
- Baking sheet with edges
- Blender
- Food processor
- Electric cooker (pressure cooker, slow cooker, multi-cooker)