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It's almost that time of year when I start posting about holiday cooking and maintaining healthy progress. With the shipping delays that many companies are experiencing, I decided to post my healthy holiday meal prep email a bit early....so for now it's FALL healthy cooking.
These are the tools that I use to help keep my healthy cooking front and center not only for holiday meals but also every day meals...and they're great for the environment too.
Instant Pot Duo Plus $99
This version of the electric pressure cooker has 9 functions, including sous vide, eggs, and even cakes. One counter top tool to replace a bunch of other accessories is pretty awesome. When I bought mine in 2020, I was replacing my slow cooker and as it turned out, it’s become my preferred way to cook. Anything that can take a pound of chicken from frozen to perfectly cooked and tender in less than 20 minutes deserves the counter top space. I’ve since bought the 3qt to make breakfast or sides if I’m using my bigger 6 qt pot for something else.
Instant Pot Accessories
Official Instant Pot Accessories $27
Silicone Accessories $8-$14
You are going to want some accessories for the instant pot to make your healthy food all week long. I’ve used these to make quiches, egg bites, pancakes, and oatmeal cakes….plus the egg rack makes a great elevated steam rack for steaming frozen food.
Veggie Spiralizer $15
I upgraded from two previous rather disappointing veggie spiralizers to this one because I was ordering on instacart and needed to hit a price minimum. I have yet to be disappointed. This spiralizer is amazing!
Swap out your pasta for golden beets. Trust me, not even your picky eater will notice.
Air Fryer Lid for Instant Pot $90
Why would a healthy person ever need an air fryer?? Well for starters, it’s just a convection oven. The technology is the same. Even heat, circulating around the food to ensure an even crisp and cook. When I mentioned that my instant pot has become my most used tool in the kitchen, the lid would be the second most used small appliance. Plus, finding space for a lid and not yet another appliance made a lot of sense too!
Cast Iron Pans
13” $35
8” $13
6” $14
I’ve had my three cast iron pans for about 15 years. My mom gave me a set for Christmas one year and I love them. It takes a learning curve to get good at heating them, using the right amount of oil or fat to keep food from sticking and then proper cleaning but once you nail that, they are the BEST way to cook food. I use my pans on the stove, in the oven, and on the grill and fire pit outside. And you don’t have to worry about risky non-stick chemicals that leach into food.
Cast Iron Cleaner Kit $22
Probably the most debated issue around cast iron after tomatoes in cast iron is SOAP! Because all of our modern soaps degrease and can pull off all that seasoning (aka the layers of fat cooked into the metal).
I found this soap and oil kit several years ago and it’s made the cleaning process so much easier. And a bit of chain mail to scrub the cooked on bits without scratching the surface.
Chainmail Scrubber $13
Glass Storage Containers $30
Now you’ve made amazing healthy food and need healthy food storage! I love glass containers because there isn’t the risk of the microplastics embedding into our food. Look for containers like these that are microwave safe, oven safe, and freezer. They’ll hold up the best and they’re more sustainable then plastic.
Silicone Baking Sheets $13
Speaking of sustainability, if you own a sheet pan, you probably also own foil and/or parchment paper for easy clean up, better baking, and food release. That’s not the most sustainable way to cooking, thankfully there are options with silicone baking sheets. I have quite a few sizes and use them on top of my counter tops when rolling out dough and then baking or roasting anything and everything. One less product destined for the landfill.
Check back soon for more products that I use for healthy cooking all year long as we get closer to the holidays!
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