My top 3 kitchen appliances for healthy cooking
While an oven, stove, and microwave would do just fine when it comes to preparing my food, I would be lost without my air fryer, rice cooker and crockpot when it comes to quick, nutritious cooking. I’ve been using each of these appliances for 2+ years so they’ve held up so far and have been well worth the price based on the number of times I use each of these per week. If you’re looking for some meal prep shortcuts or appliances to help make cooking easier, here are my top three:
Rice cooker: I’ve had the Instant Pot Zest 8 Cup Rice Cooker for at least 4 years, but bought my first one at least a decade ago when I realized I cannot cook rice. I can cook many things, but rice would always end up burnt. I figured a rice cooker would help me with rice, but it has helped cook so much more! At least once a week we’re cooking either rice, quinoa, or hard boiled eggs in the rice cooker (it comes with a steam basket!). Sometimes it’s basic rice, sometimes I’m mixing in other ingredients, like coconut milk, lime juice, and salt for a coconut rice my kids love. Oftentimes I’ll cook rice while simultaneously steaming a veggie like broccoli or carrots, and then two out of three components of the meal are cooked without any hands-on cooking!
Air fryer: (I don’t have this model, but one like it): I truly tried to resist the air fryer craze. Isn’t it just a small oven? I already have a large oven! But after borrowing a friend’s air fryer for a few recipes, I was hooked. I made “fried” chicken, perfectly crunchy brussels sprouts, roasted chickpeas and more and it couldn’t have been simpler. I was sold when I made roasted potato wedges that came out perfectly crispy and would have taken three times as long to get that crisp in the oven. My air fryer has settings for potatoes, fish, chicken, etc. so often a weeknight dinner will be a salmon filet placed in the air fryer, I press the “fish” image, and it comes out perfectly every time. My 10 year old cannot get enough of cubed tofu in the air fryer, and although its another large appliance that barely fits in my pantry, I’m glad it found a home here. I recently discovered silicone inserts you can put in your air fryer on Amazon and that has been the biggest game changer. No longer hard to clean when fried bits stick to the tray of the air fryer. Everything can go in the silicone insert, which can easily be rinsed and washed in the dishwasher.
Ninja Crockpot: I received this Ninja crockpot as part of a blog event well over a decade ago, and have probably used it (no exaggeration) 500 times. This one in particular has a “stovetop setting” so all of those crockpot recipes that require you to saute onions in the pan first, or brown the meat in a pan before adding to your crockpot? I can do it all in the crockpot, no need for extra dishes or mess. I use this appliance all winter long making soups and stews. At least once a month we make a family favorite cashew chicken or shrimp right in the crockpot. And a jar of salsa plus some chicken breasts in the crockpot for salsa shredded chicken is THE easiest thing you could ever make that results in the most flavorful shredded chicken you can put on tacos, salads, burritos, rice, etc. It’s a big boy that we have to keep in a large closet in our office, but it’s worth it. This crockpot has been making meals easier since about 2010 for me.
Honorable mention goes to the Vitamix blender. Another workhorse we’ve had in our family for well over 15 years and it’s held up (except the actual canister that cracked and we had to replace, but 10 years was a good run). It’s pricey, but it’s already paid for itself with the number of smoothies, sauces and blender muffins we’ve made with it.
While these appliances have a high price tag, all of them have virtually paid for themselves with the number of times we’ve used them over the years. Looking for a lower-cost alternative? Join online yard sale and marketplace groups - I’m always seeing people looking to get rid of theirs. Or check out places like Savers for a second hand option.
