Kitchen Essentials

0 Shares

Wusthof Epicure Chef’s Knife, 8 Inch

A quality knife is worth the investment, and my #1 recommended purchase for a safe and quality kitchen/cooking experience. I have a Wusthof chef's knife that's been discontinued but this one would be my pick if I was purchasing now.

Wusthof 10” Honing Steel, Brushed Stainless

An absolute necessity for a quality knife set! The sharpening steel should be used before and/or after each use to extend the life of your knives, keeping them straight and sharp.

Acacia Extra Large Wood Cutting Board 24 x 18 Inch

Time to ditch those cheap plastic cutting boards and move on to a quality product. I personally think solid wood cutting boards are the best to properly care for your knives and keep plastic out of your food. We have two!

Cuisinart Contour Stainless 6-Quart Saucepot with Glass Cover

This 6-quart pot is a great one to get you started. Our pot this size is our workhorse in the kitchen and we use it for a majority of our meals. If you're looking for one pot to purchase rather than a set, look no further.

Cuisinart Contour Stainless 3-Quart Saucepan with Glass Cover

If your buying individual pans rather than a set, this is my second recommendation - the smaller surface area will be useful for smaller volume recipes like single-serving mashed potatoes, sauces, etc.

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless 11-Piece Cookware Set

If you haven't already, it's probably time to grow out of your mix-and-match set from college. We've owned a Cuisinart cookware set for years and this kit includes all the essentials (though you only need a couple of good items to be successful in the kitchen)

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic 10-Quart Stockpot with Glass Cover

Adding a larger stockpot to your cookware set is great for large batch recipes, soup, stews, chilis, etc. We use ours for making large batches and store it directly in the fridge.

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless 14-Inch Stir-Fry Pan with Glass Cover

True to its name, we added this pan to our cookware for stir-frys. Definitely not a kitchen essential, but a necessary addition if stir-frys are a regular dinner-menu dish in your household.

Spatula, Natural Bamboo, 13-Inch

One (or a couple) or wooden spatulas will get you a long way in the kitchen. Eco-friendly and gentle on your pans, this is a kitchen essential!

OXO Good Grips Brushed Stainless Steel Turner & Ladle

You could buy a whole set of stainless steel kitchen utensils, but there are only a couple I would recommend - a spatula/turner and ladle.

Pyrex 8-Piece Mixing Bowl Set

A great glass bowl set for preparing and storing recipes. I use these for photos and videos, as well as regularly in my kitchen for food prep.

Ceramic Mixing Serving Bowls Set, White

Ceramic mixing bowl set if you prefer ceramic over glass.

6-Piece Stainless Steel Non Slip Mixing Bowls

We primarily use our stainless steel set for our countertop compost (for veggie scraps when we're cooking recipes) and filling our Berkey, but these would also be great for prepping and storing recipes.

Pyrex Glass Food Storage Containers (18-Piece Set)

This is pretty close to the first glass storage set we purchased and it has lasted us for years and years. The variety of sizes is perfect for fitting almost any food storage need.

Pyrex 7-Cup Round Glass Food Storage (4 Pack)

I use these for food storage and for eating my meals from - I find it's easier to prep, warm up, store, reheat, etc. all my food in these rather than traditional dishware.

Pyrex 6-Cup Rectangular Glass Food Storage, 4 Pack

One more shape of glass storage in our food prep arsenal. I use these for storing kale in the freezer, bell pepper in the fridge, etc.

Anchor Hocking TrueSeal Round Glass Food Storage, Set of 3

We used these sizes so often we wanted more, but with quality lids! These are airtight and watertight so they won't leak when you pack yourself lunch. We have two sets of these.

Anchor Hocking TrueSeal Rectangle Food Storage, 11-Cup

This large size of container is perfect for bulk food storage - rice, large-batch recipes, etc. I have three!

Klean Kanteen TKWide 32oz (w/Wide Loop Cap) – Brushed Stainless

I love Klean Kanteen and finally upgraded from a beaten up, years old Klean Kanteen Classic water bottle to the TKWide line of water bottles - we have a 32oz and a 64oz and I also purchased the straw (for drinking water at home) and chug cap (for working out). Well worth the money to make sure you're drinking enough water!

Big Berkey Gravity-Fed Water Filter

After purchasing a Berkey Water Filter, I can finally say that it's not just hype (you can legitimately taste the difference in Berkey water). Arguably the best water filter on the market, it's a simple stainless steel system that not only looks beautiful on your counter but keeps plastic out of the filtering process. I purchased the Big Berkey, but would recommend the next size up for two people if you drink a lot of water! I also purchased a stainless steel spigot and swapped out the plastic one.

Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System

A high-powered blender is essential for getting smooth and creamy smoothies and sauces or fine-ground oat flour. My Blender System has three personal cups, a blender and a food processor with a dough blade, and I added a kit with a feed chute lid and multiple slicing/shredding discs. Go big if you want to, but this one will meet your everyday needs.

Cuisinart 4-Slice Metal Classic Toaster

There's probably a better toaster out there on the market now, but we've had this toaster forever and it hasn't failed us yet! While not a necessity (you can use the broiler in your oven/range), we make toast often enough that we wanted a countertop option.

OXO Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener

We love this can opener. It's lasted us for years and opens cans from the side of the lid rather than the top for safety from nasty can cuts!

OXO Good Grips Swivel Peeler

We actually try not to use a vegetable peeler very often, as vegetable skins can have a ton of great nutrition in them; so, while not a kitchen essential, we do use it every so often.

Stainless Steel Potato Masher

My favorite style of masher and I don't just use this for potatoes. A great tool for mashing bananas (for banana bread), garbanzo beans (for 'tuna' fish salad), and so much more!

Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons, Set of 18

Absolutely necessary if you want to bake! I go for stainless steel instead of plastic because they put up with more wear and tear and last a lifetime!

Metallic Non-Stick 1-Pound Loaf Pan

Anchor Hocking Tote Bakeware Set

Non-Stick 8-Inch Square Cake Pans, Set of 2

9 Inch Springform Non-Stick Cake Pan

Non-Stick Bakeware Muffin and Cupcake Pan, 12-Cup

Non-Stick Bakeware Cookie Baking Sheets Set, 2-Piece

Mega Metal Cooling Rack

OXO Steel Salad Spinner

We don't actually own this salad spinner, but I used to have an Oxo brand and will replace our cheap plastic one with this when it breaks.

Stainless Steel Colander, Set of 3

I tend to just use the pot lid to strain things, but a colander can make your life a bit easier if you want to spend the money. I suggest on that has little feet rather than the circular base - I find it easier to clean.

Fine Mesh Stainless Steel Strainers, Set of 3

I use these for sifting flour, squeezing lemons, etc. Not essential, but definitely helpful to own at times.

Large Hinged Glass Jars (67oz) for Bulk Food Storage

We have a TON of these and store bulk rice, nutritional yeast, etc.

Medium Hinged Glass Jars (32oz) for Bulk Food Storage

We use these for storing dry beans and bulk spices.

Medium Hinged Glass Jars (25oz) for Bulk Food Storage

We have so many glass jars it's a little daunting. We have a variety of shapes and sizes so we can easily pick the size we need for whatever we're storing.

2 Pack Bamboo Tampico & Union Dish Scrub Brushes

I gave up dish-washing sponges long before going zero waste and instead used a plastic palm brush. Swapping to this eco-friendly alternative made of bamboo and tampico and union bristles (plant fibers) was an obvious next step.

Beechwood & Tampico Bottle Brush

This natural beechwood and tampico bristle (plant fiber) bottle brush supplements the natural palm brush for bottles, glasses, or awkward-shaped dishes.

Kitchen Dish Towels, 100% Natural Cotton

Multi-Purpose Cleaning Towels, 100% White Cotton

Classic Kitchen Towels, 15-Pack, 100% Natural Cotton

Kitchen Towels, 100% Ring Spun Cotton

Dr. Bronner’s Castile Bar Soap – Citrus

I use Dr. Bronner's bar soap instead of liquid dish soap, rubbing my dish brush along the top to get enough soap for each hand-washed dish. One bar lasts us, two people who cook constantly, about 4 months. Be sure to buy a soap dish or soap saver to extend the life of each bar!

Stasher 100% Silicone Reusable Food Bag

These food-grade silicone bags are an easy replacement in the kitchen for single-use ziploc bags! We actually only have a few that we use for our emergency preparedness kit, but they're versatile and a great addition for anyone looking for an easy, eco-friendly replacement for the plastic alternative.

0 Shares