So you've finally decided to try out the Paleo lifestyle, but you probably feel a little overwhelmed as to where to begin with this whole damn thing. Of course the best place to start is by outfitting your kitchen with the tools that will help you cook and eat healthy paleo meals. Now let's begin.
Tools of the trade
- Knives: Personally, I own a pair of Santoku knives. One 5 inch and the other 7. Both work great for chopping, cutting, slicing, and dicing. I suggest outfitting yourself with something very practical and something that feels comfortable in your hand. Also, don't spend money on a whole set of knives. You'll never touch half the stuff that's in there. Instead, buy one or two high quality knives, either a Santoku or a chef's knife will do fine for almost all of your cutting tasks. If you have a little extra money, a paring knife will do great when cutting up or peeling veggies. Along with your knives, get yourself a proper sharpener. This will ensure you keep a healthy cutting blade for the life of your knife.
- Pots & Pans: First things first, you DO NOT need non-stick pans, so get them out of your head. After a while, they scratch up and release all of that yummy black coating into your food, and when heated to high temps, they release toxic chemicals too. Not good! Instead, buy stainless steel (relatively cheap), copper (expensive), or for you guys with a little more experience, cast iron is good if seasoned well. Also, carbon steel woks are awesome to cook with, and are great for stir fry's.
- Steamer: Steamers are great if you got a little extra dough. They cook up veggies nicely, and some allow you to cook different types of meats. But if you want to keep things simple, just boil up some water in a small pot and use a cheap steam basket. They work just as good, and keep you from having to drop hard earned cash on some funky contraption. And for you spacemen, you can always nuke veggies in a microwave.
- Cutting Surface: I suggest you go out and buy a large bamboo cutting board or something comparable. The plastic versions of theses get chopped to bits every time you slice and dice and end up in your food causing havoc to your body. Keep it simple and keep it natural.
- Spoons spatulas etc..: Again go with the wooden, or bamboo versions of these. They work just as well as their plastic counterparts, they don't release toxic chemicals, and they don't jack up your pans.
- Convection Oven: These are great for paleo cooking. You can bake, broil, rotisserie, and toast (not bread) just like a regular size oven. They save space and help with utility costs. They also help prevent you from turning your house and kitchen into a volcano. Get one of these last since they tend to be a little bit pricey.
- Crock Pot: Crock pots are amazing and should win some kind of paleo award. You can set them in the morning and have great meals when you get home. They're cheap, easy to use, and last forever. Also, if you want to impress some people, look up some tasty crock pot recipes, cook 'em up, and serve them like you've been slaving over a hot stone all day. Your cooking abilities will gain 5 points just by having and using one of these babies. Go get one!
- Misc: Meat Thermometer-make sure that meat is cooked to proper temp. Food Processor-helps cut preparation time, but adds to the clean up. Plus, you don't really need it. Kitchen Shears -great addition to your tool kit. These will make easy work when cutting up meat, chicken, or just opening up tricky bacon packages. Peeler & julienne peeler - its all in the name they peel veggies, and the Julienne version can help you make veggie noodles out of zucchini. Vegetable Brush - for cleaning up store bought veggies that might be covered in pesticides. Can Opener - all that coconut milk has to get out of the can somehow. Blender - plug it in, stick in some fruit or what ever you need to pulverize, put cover on, push a button, and now you get a semi solid liquid yay! Great for shakes or soup preparations. Get one!
No comments:
Post a Comment