Making Kitchen Equipment Work for You

Written by Kelly Sommer, a Mayo Clinic registered dietitian

Imagine coming home from a long workday to be welcomed home to a meal that is already prepared or requires less than 30 minutes of hands-free time. Many would consider that to be a dream come true! However, very few people have the luxury of a private chef... or do we?

Many of us have inherited a well-loved slow cooker or have more recently acquired one of the newer “must have” pieces of equipment, a pressure cooker. These seem to promise the world, but can be a forgotten piece of equipment when it comes to making nutritious meals.

Slow cookers and pressure cookers can do the work for you, allowing you to “set it and forget it” or reducing the amount of time needed to prepare food. Preparing meals ahead of time can help plan healthy meals throughout the week.

Consider batch cooking: making several portions at once (consume within 3 – 5 days)

• Grains: brown rice, steal cut oatmeal
• Protein: beans, poultry, beef, fish, lentils
• Vegetables: carrots, broccoli, beets, green beans, corn, potatoes, squash
• Whole meals with multiple food groups: soups, stews

Tips & Tricks:

• For slow cookers, use a liner to make clean up a breeze
• Use the ingredients you have on hand, including frozen and canned ingredients
• Start simple with a few ingredients and work up to more recipes with more ingredients
• Preparing plain ingredients allows flavors to be unique each for each meal by adding various spices, herbs and citrus juices
• Include different food groups (grain, vegetable, protein, dairy, fruit)

Starting to use slow cookers or pressure cookers may take some adjustment but once you get into the groove, they can help support a healthy lifestyle.

How do you utilize kitchen equipment for your benefit?