Natural Kitchen Essentials

19 Aug

Building a Natural Kitchen
Having a minimal kitchen setup is not only good for our mindset but also the environment. At Natural Spoonfuls we focus on natural eating so it’s very important to have a deeper look at the tools we are using to prepare food, and this too can have an impact on health. We want to make sure what are purchasing is good quality and will actually last!

My kitchen is not super minimalistic, but I do always come back to how natural a product is and am I being a conscious consumer.

What is a Conscious Consumer?
I am so passionate about this concept, not only is it fantastic for our pockets but also the health of the world. There seems to be gadgets for everything these days, any trip to any store and you will be bombarded with unnecessary items. There’s a reason why marketing budgets are so significant! We are strategically made to repeatedly believe we need something. Marketers truly are amazing at their jobs.

Conscious consumerism is about buying sustainably with ethical intentions. I like to focus on natural resources that promote longevity for our health and the environment.

Being a conscious consumer means being very deliberate and thoughtful with all your purchases. Taking a moment to think “is this something I really need/want or love and what are the effects of buying this?”.
This approach focuses on not chucking out what you already have, but simply replacing when necessary. I always reiterate we want to focus on quality not quantity. Buy nice or buy twice! Of course, this isn’t applicable to every purchase, but you’d be surprised at how many it actually is! I’m not saying you can’t indulge from time to time, I’m simply saying be very conscious of all your purchases. By making do, holding out or saving up for a purchases, this produces a feeling of delayed gratification. This is much more enjoyable and gratifying as opposed to instant gratification which just isn’t as special and difficult to be truly grateful for. So, let’s be conscious consumers!

What are your Kitchen Essentials?
With all this in mind this is how I approached setting up my kitchen! Fortunately, when I moved out I was given a bunch of utensils and kitchen items that I will continue to use until it is absolutely necessary to replace them #thanksmum

But what do I recommend for must have items?

-Wooden Chopping Board & Utensils
A good quality chopping board is essential. Opt for wood as opposed to plastic which can become chipped and end up in food. Wood is an amazing anti-bacterial surface. Care for it well and it will last you a very very long time!
I would recommend having two chopping boards, at the moment I have one and am waiting to see the right one at a market to buy. This will just make food prep much simpler. Again, think about you and your needs.

I recommend buying wood made from cypress, maple, walnut, beech or teak to prevent your knives going blunt quickly.

And of course, wooden utensils like a handy wooden spoon is always necessary, they don’t heat up whilst cooking which is always nice.

-Good Quality Cookware
Pans
I recently finally replaced all my Teflon coated pans (thank god they are toxic and terrible for our health) with some amazing cookware from solideteknics. I have stainless steel (nickel free) and some of their wrought iron pans, which are naturally seasoned to be non-stick! They are also rivetless and one piece which means you can take it straight from the stove top and pop them into the oven! The way they are engineered also means they will last forever; they actually have a multi century warranty! Have you ever heard of that!? Also, they are made in Australia. Save to say I am very happy with the investment.
Dutch Oven
This is something I am yet to invest in but is up there on my wish list! A Dutch oven is a pot to last a lifetime, it’s something I imagine passing down to my future children. They are made from cast iron, often with an enamel coating. They are super versatile (stovetop and oven compatible), are non-stick, light in colour (easy to see browning) and holds in the heat. At the moment I am eyeing off Le Creuset and Staub.I was given a mini Le Creuset at a nutrition event and it is just the cutest!

-Good Quality Knives
There are some cheap shitty knives out there. Kitchen stores often sell blocks with knife sets which seems appealing but are you actually going to use all those knives? For the same price we invested in a few good quality knives each with a purpose. We went with Japanese knives (we fell in love with the crafting of knives whilst visiting in Japan), the brand name is Shun. German knives are also durable and good quality.
Also invest in a great knife sharpener, we have a whetstone 1000/6000 grit. Make sure you knives are always sharp there’s nothing more dangerous than a blunt knife!

-High Speed Blender
These are honestly the best! From smoothies, to chopping produce or even pureeing sauces, I probably use mine every single day. I have a Ninja which has multiple fittings which are super handy. One day I would love to invest in a Magimix food processer for some extra power but it’s not necessary right now.

I also have a stick blender which came with an electric whisk so handy for quickly scrambling eggs.

-Glass Jars & Containers
I recommend reusing jars to store leftovers and food in general! Coffee, jam and peanut butter jars to be my go to’s. I also invested in a set of good quality glass containers that are Pyrex. We want to avoid plastic as much as possible for our health and for the environment! I also love glass containers because you can cook them in the oven too. Hello easy leftovers!

-Kettle
I have a temperature control kettle you may think this is overkill! But hear me out, tea is super important to me! I have multiple cups of herbal tea, and these are best brewed in different temperatures. For example, my morning green tea is at 80 degrees, so the leaves do not burn! Princess much? Seriously though I love my kettle. Make sure you ditch the plastic and go for stainless steel or glass.

-Multi Cooker
I decided to go with a multicooker and have one appliance that does everything! #qualitityoverquanitiy I mostly use mine to cook rice and as a slow cooker. There’s nothing like that feeling of preparing dinner of a morning and giving a gift to your future self! Anyone agree? I decided to go with Instant Pot due to them having a stainless steel bowl, so many are made with Teflon these day *rolls eyes*. Other options are thermomix and magimix (which can be food processors and multi cookers in one – but have the price tag for it!)

-Soda Stream
My boyf loooves what we call “spicy water”, and I too like to enjoy soda water mostly on a weekend to mix it up! Although this seems silly to be buying a product to replace water, it’s actually been a great investment for us. I love the fact that we aren’t buying heaps of plastic soda water bottles, nor having to carry them around at the shops and unload them, which was always such a pain! And we never run out! Okay occasionally the canister has unexpectedly run out but that’s what a backup is for. I decided to go with the brand Aarke because they are super pretty and also is completely mechanical. This means that it doesn’t need to be plugged into electricity, yay for your power bill and yay for being able to place it on the kitchen bench wherever you please!

More items I love:
As a recipe developer and food photographer there’s a couple of extra’s I use A LOT and if you’re into cooking you’ll probably value having.
-Mixing Bowls (I have two big bowls this is all I need)
-Measuring Spoons & Cups (choose stainless steel and make sure the measurements are engraved so they never rub off!)
-Scales (always handy)
-Spatula (although the jury is still unsure on the effects of silicone, there’s nothing handier than a silicone spatula)
-Silicone Pouches (super handy for storing leftovers, like half an avocado in the fridge. Or packing food on the go. I don’t recommend cooking with silicone, but freezing is fine)
-Beeswax Wraps (super handy to cover food, say goodbye to cling wrap!)
-Peeler (I don’t peel many veggies because I want the extra fibre from the skin, but a peeler is amazing for spiralising veg, try this Broccoli Pesto with Spiralised Carrot).
-Microplane (mostly use this to grate garlic or zesting citrus)
-Lemon Squeezer (I love citrus okay! I actually use this a lot, particularly with limes with I have in soda water regularly).
-Reusable Straws (ditch plastic and get some stainless steel straws)
-Scissors (keeping a pair in the kitchen is SO handy!)