Handy kitchen tools for creating amazing plant-based, whole food recipes! See some of my favorite recipes here.
Food Rinse
It’s important to clean all fresh produce before eating or cooking it. This is true whether the products are organic or not. Organic foods won’t have the wax or pesticide residue non-organic foods have, but may have dirt, bugs, bacteria, and handling residue instead. Rinsing with water alone doesn’t do a very good job. A lot of things you don’t want to eat can be left behind – yuck!
I’ve tried different produce cleaners, primarily sprays, and my favorite is Eat Cleaner. I like it because it is made with all-natural, plant derived ingredients, has been rigorously tested by third party labs and is available as a spray, a powder and individual wipes. I love the powder (mix with cold water in a giant bowl) because I can soak clean A LOT of produce at once. Then I rinse and store in reusable produce bags, ready to eat!
Get more info on Eat Cleaner here.
Traditional Blenders
Ninja Bullet
I have model MB1001. It works great for single smoothies and small blends of homemade hummus or cashew sour cream. My 14 year old makes milkshakes. I haven’t tried it myself yet but it should also work well for small batches of homemade peanut butter/almond butter.
My Ninja is an old model. Here are a couple new model choices:
Magic Bullet MBR-1701 17-Piece Express Mixing Set
Magic Bullet Blender, Small, Silver, 11 Piece Set
I also have a Vitamix blender and an Oster Versa blender that I use for bigger jobs (my giant ‘go to’ smoothie which is about 32-38 oz.). Both can make smoothies, soups, dips/spreads but the Oster is easier on the budget!
Vitamix
Vitamix has changed the shape of their ‘wet’ container, making it shorter and wider than the original. Although the new style may fit better on the kitchen counter under upper cupboards, the old style works better for smoothie mixing. The classic tall, skinny container seems to create a better, more powerful, vortex. This link is for the classic style.
Vitamix Professional Series 500 Blender, Black
Oster
As mentioned above, the Oster Versa is a great blender for a more accessible price. It has a shorter, wider container just like the newer Vitamix style so I find myself using the included tamper to push stubborn foods down to the blades if things aren’t moving. Also, the machine sound is a bit harsher than the Vitamix (both are loud). But at less than half the price…
Immersion Blender
I’ve found an immersion blender a great help on recipes and soups that call for you to batch blend them in a traditional blender. It avoids the step(s) of transferring hot food from pan to blender and back again which, for me, risks a serious burn or sloppy mess! From experience, make sure to keep the immersion blender pointed down when using it or you risk the same thing. I added the immersion blender to my kitchen over a year ago. Never regretted it, but it’s funny because I didn’t know I wanted one until I got it. Great for cauliflower mashed potatoes in addition to the recipes here. Lots of choices on immersion blenders. This one was spendy but I chose it for ease of cleaning and WOW is it easy to clean:
All-Clad Stainless Immersion Blender
Juicer
I’ve started juicing in the last year and found I really like it. It takes more time – preparation and juicing – than a making a smoothie (just toss your ingredients in the blender and push start!) but is a less filling way to drink a boatload of nutrients. Plus, I use different recipes for my juices than my smoothies which adds to the variety. There are two primary types of juicers, centrifugal and masticating. Centrifugal are faster, louder and make a great juice. Masticating are slower, quieter and get more nutrients out of your produce than centrifugal. After researching juicers, I decided to go with a popular masticating juicer (over 3000 positive reviews on Amazon).
Omega J8006HDS Nutrition Center Masticating Juicer
I haven’t regretted my decision on the juicer, however, I do wish the process was faster. I juice 1-2 times a week and create enough juice in one session for 3+ 16 oz. drinks. Batches are a great way to do things because then I have food/drink readily available when I’m on the run (or starving). I prefer playing over cooking! I’ve read you get the most nutrients out of drinking your fresh juice within 20 minutes of juicing but that some juice can be stored up to 3 days. I go with the 3 day rule.
Mason Jar Glasses
I found these babies at Target and went back for more! They work perfectly for drinking/storing my smoothies and juices. Just make sure to get a skinny straw brush for cleaning!
Ball 4ct 16oz Drinking Glass Mason Jars
Ball 8ct Mason Jar Plastic Storage Lids – Regular Mouth
Ball Regular Mouth Mason Jar Sip & Straw Lids – 4 Pieces
(these sip & straw lids were at my local Target store but I couldn’t find them on the Target website)