Healthy Kitchen Gadgets, 3 Part Video Series – Part 3: Kitchen Gadgets (You Didn’t Know You Needed) For Healthy Cooking

We’ve come to the last installment of our “Healthy Kitchen Gadget” series (you can see video one here and video two here), and we’re finishing strong with some last tips that you didn’t even know you’d need! We hope you’ve learned that being in the kitchen can be fun with the right tools, and your cooking can be much healthier with proper planning.

1. Small spatula with flexible tip (usually silicone or rubber): for getting all the yummy bits out of blender, food processor, mason jar, last peanut butter out of peanut butter jar.

2. Pot scraper (nylon): useful step in prepping to clean your pot or wok, especially if you cook with little oil and are at higher risk of burning your food. If you’ve ever done any sautéing, you’ve probably been responsible for burning at least some morsels of food to an unfortunate crisp… but at least with a pot scraper your clean-up duty will be that much easier (though the food mourning will likely be just as difficult, especially if you’re pro-sustainability and against food waste, as you’re reading this magazine). Before throwing the pot into the dishwasher or into the sink to soak, scrape up the burned materials with the useful scraper, and lessen the burden of your sponge! Besides, sponges will hold on to the food particles and can become ecosystems for harboring bacteria, so the less you have to use the sponge, the better, in our book.

3. Citrus reamer: for efficiently squeezing every last bit of juice out of citrus fruit (oranges, lemons, limes).

4. Tea infuser: to infuse loose herbs and teas with your just-boiled water from the kettle (don’t forget to compost the tea leaves after!).

   1. Tea “clothespin” infuser or tea ball: put herbs inside and place into cup of just-boiled water.

   2. French press: much like making coffee, this can double as a tea brewer for easy built-in filtering.

   3. Mesh cup strainer or small strainer with handle: to place into cup, put herbs inside, and pour hot water over the herbs and leave for 5-10 minutes to infuse.

   4. Porcelain or cast-iron teapot: has the strainer embedded, or use an additional mesh one, to strain out the loose herbs after infusing in the pot.

5. Scrunchie: to tie long hair back and make sure the food you cook is hair-free!

Bonus: Other things that we didn’t mention in the videos that may be useful in the healthy kitchen:

• Kettle: to quickly boil water for your tea, coffee, and soup stock. We like the ones that are made fully of glass or stainless steel, without plastic, such as:

  • Ascot Electric Kettle

  • Bonjour Copper Bottom Tea Kettle

• Scissors: handy when either opening packages or snipping garnishes such as scallions into dishes

• Slotted spoon: for taking “scum” off meat/bone broths, or picking up food that has been boiled without scooping the water along (ex: dumplings, beans/chickpeas, etc.)

• Vegetable peeler: to quickly and efficiently remove thin strips of vegetable or fruit peels. Trust us, it’s almost effortless compared to using knives! And while peels contain healthy fiber for your bowels, we recommend peeling non-organic produce (or even better, buying organic). Also useful for babies and elderly, and making smoothies.

  • Choose quality stainless steel ones rather than ceramic or other material

• Pressure cooker or slow cooker: lock in the most nutrients in your food by cooking at lower heat for longer or at higher pressure. These are great for cooking grains, legumes, stews and broths/soups.

Bio for Marina and Nataliya

Marina Buksov (a.k.a. Dr. Marina Book at RawFork.com), is a registered Doctor of Pharmacy, Health Coach/Nutritionist, Clinical Herbalist, and lifelong learner of the Healing Arts. Marina uses her multidisciplinary background to educate and consult patients about the least invasive and most natural methods for healing the spirit-body-mind. When she is not studying, Marina likes to dance, paint, and tinker with various concoctions (tea blends, meals, DIY projects).

www.RawFork.com
IG: @rawfork
FB: www.facebook.com/rawfork
Podcast: Rawfork
Youtube: Rawfork LLC

Nataliya Ostrovskaya is a tutor of many disciplines, from high school English and Math, to Test Prep, to Accent Coaching for adults. She has followed a Whole Food, Plant-Based Diet for six years — including a brief stint producing her healthy Date Me! truffles and snack bars. Nataliya loves sharing tips and hacks for how to incorporate healthier eating habits and a healthier overall lifestyle for the busy, everyday person.

www.nataliyatutors.com
IG: @healthywithnataliya
YouTube: Healthy with Nataliya
Nataliya Tutors

Marina and Nataliya’s paths crossed at an adult gymnastics class in Brooklyn. Given that neither of them goes down conventional paths, they vibed immediately. Nataliya invited Marina over for a pot of lentil soup one evening after class, and the rest is history.

Originally published in Jejune Magazine.

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