The PN Team’s Kitchen Tips And Gadgets

Dr B’s Kitchen Tips and Gadgets

Water Cooler
I drink a lot of tea during the day – usually about 4-6 cups. And ever since I picked up a water cooler that provides hot water on demand, I not only get clean, filtered water, I also save a ton of time.

No longer do I have to wait for water to boil every time I want a cup of tea. Plus, since tea steeps best at a temperature just below boiling, and my water cooler delivers hot water at a temperature just below boiling, I never scald my tea with water that’s too hot. In the end, with my water cooler, all I have to do is push a button and fill my tea press.

Tea Press
90% of the tea I drink is loose leaf. As a result, never a day goes by without me having used my tea press.

In the morning I put about 2 tbsp of loose leaf tea (sometimes just green, sometimes a combination of teas) and this loose tea lasts the entire day, sometimes two days. Each time I want a cup I simply fill the press with hot water, let the tea steep for 5-8 minutes, and then pour.

As loose leaf tea is good for multiple pots of tea, I usually get 1-2 days out of that original serving of loose tea.

Magnetized Spice Rack
Learning how to spice up my diet took me from bland bodybuilder to culinary master. Therefore I love to keep my spices organized and user-friendly.

My magnetized spice containers do just that. I have about 15 containers filled with my favorite and most often-used spices and I stick them to the side of my fridge – within arm’s reach of my stove. Spicing up my meals has never been so easy.

Magic Bullet
If you haven’t seen the infomercial for the Magic Bullet, you’re missing out. It’s a classic piece of American directing. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. However, when all that is done, you’ll want to buy the bullet. And it’ll be money well spent. Convenient to use, easy to clean, rarely a meal goes by that I don’t use my bullet. In fact, I use it so much that I’ve worn out 2 blades in 2 years.

Rubbermaid Chuggables
The Chuggables by Rubbermaid are perfect for drinks on the go – from Super Shakes to pure water. Over the years I’ve used a lot of different types of shaker bottles. And the Chuggables are the only ones that never leak, spill, or otherwise ruin a good shirt. I highly recommend getting several.

Phil Caravaggio’s Tips and Gadgets

Calphalon Frittata Pan
The Calphalon Frittata pan is actually two pans in one. Using an interlocking handle system, the two pans connect with one another, creating a fully covered two-sided pan that bakes your frittata on your stovetop (foregoing the usual baking part) and allows you to flip your omelets and frittatas easily from one pan to the other to cook them perfectly on both sides.

The pans can also be used separately as standard 10” frying pans, and they have Calphalon’s “One” nonstick coating, which I’ve found to be perhaps the only coating to truly live up to the “nonstick” claim.

Since I have an omelet or frittata almost every morning, this gets a lot of use in my kitchen. Unfortunately, since I bought mine, it’s seems like they’ve discontinued it. But I have seen them on eBay, and in my humble opinion they’re worth watching for.

The Spiralizer
The Spiralizer is a cool little tool that I learned of from one of my favorite chefs, Jennifer Italiano, who uses it to turn vegetables into Pad Thai “noodles.” Basically, it’s a little device that turns hard vegetables like zucchini, carrots, beets, squash, etc, into thin spaghetti-like strands.

Here’s a video of the Spiralizer in action:
http://www.rawgourmet.com/videos/Volume3.html

Needless to say, that’s a very useful thing for people like us trying to swap refined carbs for more vegetables in our daily diets.

You can pick one up here:
http://www.rawgourmet.com/saladacco.html

The site also has some other cool things, like a safety mandoline that allow you to thinly slice vegetables for a true vegetable lasagna. Very cool.

IKEA Knife Sharpener
So long as you use proper cutting techniques, sharper knives are both safer and more productive in the kitchen, because they require a lot less force to do the same amount of cutting, which makes slipping and other accidents less likely.

I would imagine that about 99% of the knives in people’s homes right now could use sharpening; in fact, most people buy knives and never sharpen them again. Sharpening is actually an easy process, and thanks to IKEA, quite cheap. Most high-end manual sharpeners are close to $100, while electric sharpeners can run easily run into the hundreds; IKEA’s sharpener, the ASPEKT, costs $6.99, and I couldn’t tell the difference.

Here’s how you can get one:
IKEA ASPEKT Knife Sharpener ($6.99)

Note: this sharpener will work for almost all knives, with the exception of serrated knives, which rarely need sharpening anyway, and high-end Japanese-style knives, which are only beveled on one side. But for most knives, including the cheap Santoku knife below (which, although modeled after a Japanese knife, is actually beveled on both sides like a common western knife), this sharpener is a cheap way to make inexpensive knives perform nearly as well as the expensive tools you see on the Food Network.

Once you’ve got them sharp, keep them that way by buying and learning to use a Honing Steel, and by storing your knives properly in a Knife Block that lays them horizontally on their sides rather than on their cutting edges, which will dull them faster (alternatively, you can store them upside down in a vertical knife block).

Kitchen-Aid Knives
These knives are cheap and well balanced, and in my opinion, better than some knives ten times the price. Certainly better value, especially if you keep them sharp. While most knife sets come with a block and anywhere from 6 to 20 knives, the vast majority of people cooking Gourmet Nutrition style can get away with just two:

A 7-inch Santoku knife for all-around use ($19.95)

A small paring knife for fruits and vegetables ($12.95)

Tomato Machine
No good Italian kitchen is complete without a Tomato Grinder, used to turn fresh tomatoes into sauce. Especially useful in the fall when you can pick up bushels of fresh tomatoes from farmer’s markets, grind them, and preserve them with some fresh basil and parsley in Mason jars for years, using them as needed — an Italian tradition.

Tomato Machine (Various Price Points)
[Granted, you can do more or less the same thing with a food processor. Just not as fun.]

Amanda Graydon’s Kitchen Tips and Gadgets

MAC Kitchen Knife
I can eat soooo many veggies now!!! It makes a world of difference. My fave so far is the SK65 – Santoku 6 1/2″ Japanese all purpose:

I just ordered 2 more…the competition is on. I can’t be the only chopper in the house!

Cast Iron Cookware
This stuff really does make a difference if you’re trying to make an authentic skillet dinner. I definitely loving having this in the kitchen for my veggies. I chop them really small and sautée them quickly in these pans.

EatSmart Food Scale
EatSmart has created the Cadillac of food scales. This thing is digital, analyzes the nutritional content of food by portion size for both labeled and unlabeled food, and looks awesome on your counter top.

So, whether you’d use a food scale for following recipes, for dialing in a pre-contest diet, or for learning about the calorie and macronutrient value of new foods, this is definitely the best scale on the market.

Magic Bullet
Here’s another nod for the Bullet. I wouldn’t make a shake without it! I travel with it, I use it for shakes, I use it for condiments and my favorite pesto recipe (from the new Gourmet Nutrition) wouldn’t be the same without it.

When I meet people who are serious about making a healthy nutritional change I urge them to make this purchase. It saves time, hassle, cleaning and is relatively inexpensive. Get rid of the “not so useful” appliances in the kitchen and make room for the BULLET!

Veggie Chopper
Typical chopped veggies can be visually dull and if you ever thought of creating veggie designs, you’d be spending a lot of time in the kitchen. With the veggie chopper you can make the designs, liven up your veggie creations, save on time and not worry about the clean up.

Ryan Andrews’ Kitchen Tips and Gadgets

The Ryan Salad Spinner Special

Pre-washed, pre-bagged lettuce & greens work in a pinch, but that stuff wilts and discolors in mere hours. Try this instead when you get a head of lettuce or a bunch of greens:

1) Rinse and wash the head of lettuce in cold water

2) Tear apart the leaves

3) Put the leaves in the salad spinner

4) Spin and pour out the dirty water

5) Spin again and discard the water one more time

6) You can store the washed lettuce/greens in the salad spinner for up to 7 days in your fridge. They will stay fresh, crisp and green.

Seriously. You can thank me later.

Vidalia Chop Wizard

Getting veggies ready for a stir-fry or pizza just got a heck of a lot easier. The Vidalia Chop Wizard helps to cut nearly all vegetables and fruits. A high quantity can be chopped at one time. And your friends will ask about your “chef like” accuracy. If your friends talk like that.

Frozen Bananas

A super shake is good. A super shake with ½ of a frozen banana is one of the best things ever. And not just in the world of nutrition shakes.

Keep some chunks of banana in your freezer (in a bag or storage container). Adding them to a super shake will completely transform the flavor and consistency. Once you go frozen, you’ll never go….uh, unfrozen?

Save a Limb, Use The Ryan Squash Prep Method

I don’t know about you, but when I try to slice an acorn or butternut squash before I bake it, I nearly lose a limb. Raw squash are kind of like a bad first date – stiff, rigid and awkward. The best way to avoid the emergency room is to cook your squash whole before trying to cut it.

Just rinse the squash and scrub it with a veggie brush, pierce several times, set it on a baking sheet and bake for the allotted time. When it’s done, let it cool, cut it in half, scoop out seeds (roast them if you like), and get your squash on.

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The Counter Spice Rack

I forget about spices when they’re pushed toward the back of my cupboards. I prefer to leave them visible on the counter, stacked on a simple spice rack. That way I can easily add cinnamon to a whole grain cereal, curry to lentils, cumin to hummus and attitude to my swagger. Wait a minute – I don’t think the spice rack will help with the last one.

Tea & Oat Time Saver

If multi-tasking ranks up there with winning the lottery and farmers market specials (as it does for me) then you’ll love this tip.
When you boil water in your tea kettle for tea, simply use the same boiling water on your oats. All you have to do is pour a small amount of boiling water on the dry oats in a bowl. They will soak it up and be ready to eat.  In your face, Captain Crunch.

Carter Schoffer’s Kitchen Tips and Gadgets

I suppose I’m a bit of a contradiction.

Although I’m drawn to stainless steel cooking implements like an ill-fated moth is to a flame, I don’t generally employ the use of special culinary contrivances. In fact, if imprudently purchased or acquired via the injudicious generosity of others, these gadgets invariably end up collecting dust.

Are they without benefit or use? Likely not. I think rather, their wasting away in my cupboards is a direct consequence of my ever-consuming quarrel with the duties of cleaning.

Is it just me or are these cooking contraptions invariably only ephemeral time savers? Sure on the front end you gain an extra 30 seconds but these little buggers are always back-loaded with sinister obligations. Fingers sliced and minutes – that seem like hours – wasted cleaning out nooks and crannies lest a crumbling of organic matter sit and rot amidst the dust. But I suppose it’s all worth it if you’re a fan of fancy cucumber spirals or you bear that most unfortunate combination of impatience without foresight.

I digress. Getting back on track, I suggest to you – the PN community – that your requisite cooking equipment start and potentially end with a BBQ, a fridge and a fully stocked spice rack. Sure dishes and cutlery provide front-end convenience but why not go paleo? After all, we spent millions of years developing hands and incisors; why not put them to full use.

Oh, and those non-aerosol misters are pretty cool too.

Kris Aiken’s Kitchen Tips and Gadgets

Lock and Lock Tupperware
It’s really nice to be able to put something in a Tupperware container and have no worries about whether or not it will leak. This stuff makes that a reality.

Magic Bullet
JB said it above, the Bullet is the bomb! Shake preparation and clean up have never been so easy. The flat blade is great for grinding up nut meal as well.

Pampered Chef Stone Casserole Dish
I am big fan of the Gourmet Nutrition casserole recipes. And for some reason they taste even better cooked in stone.

Ziploc Bags

Be prepared for the unexpected. I like to cook up my lean ground beef and chicken breast in advance weigh it out and freeze it in individual serving sized Ziploc bags. That way I can reheat them quickly in the microwave and add some spices and vegetables.

Erin Weiss-Trainor’s Kitchen Tips and Gadgets

Compost Bucket
I keep a reusable, recyclable bin under my sink to store all my vegetable and fruit trimmings, eggshells, coffee grinds, teabags, and other compostable products. The container has a lid and carbon filter to keep everything under wraps, and is easy enough to get out to the composter when it’s full.

Generally our family can fill one up quite quickly but when the weather isn’t agreeable or it’s taking a little longer to fill, we simply keep it in the freezer until it’s ready to empty. Between the compost and recycling, my family of five has reduced our garbage to one kitchen bag per week.

Indoor Grill
This appliance is a real time saver in our house. It only takes 5 minutes to heat up and with the grill closed; the food gets cooked from the top and bottom, cutting cooking time in half! It easily fits 4-6 portions of meat or fish, is super easy to clean, and has a tray that collects all the fat that runs off the food being cooked.

Hand/Immersion Blender
This is one that is always either: a) being used; b) dirty in the sink; or c) clean in the sink. I use it so often it rarely finds its way back to a cupboard or drawer! This is a great tool for mixing up shakes, soups, sauces – really, anything that needs a good blend. Its small size makes it portable and convenient to use – there is no need to transfer ingredients to a big blender as you can simply bring the blender to your food. It’s also very easy to clean (no small parts to dismantle…) and doesn’t take up much space in your kitchen.

Vegetable Storage/Server
I got this one on the $1.00 rack a few years back (thus, no photo) and have gotten so much use out of it I would’ve paid $50! This handy tray comes with a lid and has separate compartments to conveniently keep a variety of prepared fresh vegetables and fruits ready-to-eat.

At home, I will put it out with meals and snacks so that everyone can choose the vegetable they want to eat, and when we are travelling or visiting, I fill it up so that we will always have healthy “go-to” food options.

And here’s a tip…
Organize for Accessibility
In our busy family, someone is always looking for something to eat, and keeping healthy foods visible and accessible has been the key to ensuring balanced nutrition.

In order to encourage our kids to be independent and empower them to make the best food choices, only the healthiest foods are within their reach. Treats and less healthy foods are kept out of sight. This helps to keep those foods out of mind and reduces the desire to grab a less nutritious snack.