Less & More: The WFH Mom Edit

Dan and I haven’t always cooked at home or even eaten very well, health-wise. When we first started dating, we ate a LOT of Portillo’s (IYKYK), White Castle and Taco Bell. The first meal Dan ever made for me was chicken on his Foreman Grill that was beyond overcooked. But little by little over the years, we’ve both worked up to a slightly higher level of culinary skill. We rarely eat out anymore (though we do order pizza on occasion…), and we’ve been building up an arsenal of healthy cooking supplies in our kitchen since our wedding registry days (yes, we still have quite a few items that have lasted us the last 16 years that we still use today!). Since I just shared some of our spring dinner ideas, I figured I’d share a few of our favorite tools that help make ’em happen!

1. A Cast Iron Pan

This might be a no-brainer, but in our kitchen, this pan is a total workhorse. We use it for everything from morning eggs and bacon to sauteing a bit of kale for lunch to ground beef or chicken for dinner. We’ve taken it camping and cooked with it over the fire and stuck it in the oven to bake a skillet cookie. It’s versatile, tough and not that difficult to clean. Ours is from Emeril Lagasse, but I don’t think those even exist any more. I’ve heard good things about Lodge (how is this pan only $35!?) and Viking, but haven’t tested for myself. If you get one, don’t forget one of these chainmail scrubbers to clean it – it’s a lifesaver! BUY ON AMAZON

2. A Cast Iron Dutch Oven

Continuing on with heavy metals, we use our Cast Iron Dutch Oven a LOT. For starters, I bake our whole wheat sourdough in it at least once a week. Outside of that, we use it for soup and chili all fall/winter long. Since we don’t have a crock pot, we regularly stick things in there on low heat (stove or oven) like pork shoulder, collard greens, pot roast and corned beef. Ours was a wedding gift and it’s a Martha Stewart brand, but after 16 years of use, we MIGHT be due for a new one. Lodge looks like a solid choice, though I would love to see what all the fuss is about with a Le Creuset! BUY ON AMAZON

3. Food Scale

The best use I have for a food scale is mixing up my whole wheat sourdough. Don’t know what I’d do without this little guy in that process, but I also frequently use it to double check portions of things when I’m not sure. It’s great to have on hand, and not very expensive. This one from Amazon is perfect. I personally don’t find that you need one that syncs with your phone or has a ton of bells and whistles. Just a simple basic! BUY ON AMAZON

4. Good Storage

Having a good assortment of glass storage containers is a huge must in our house. My kids take them for lunches and we stash all those valuable leftovers in them so we don’t have to cook EVERY night. We have several sets of these round containers, but we also invested in this assortment for the aforementioned lunch box use case. They are the perfect size – my kids’ lunch boxes can fit 2-3 if need be! BUY ON AMAZON

5. A Giant Sheet Pan

We hardly ever even put our giant pan away. My number one use case? Making healthy nachos to eat for dinner (see below). We use it almost nightly to roast vegetables, hold massive sheet pan meals (chicken + potatoes + asparagus? Yum.) or … less healthfully? Bake cookies. This one has amazing capacity and isn’t as difficult to clean as you might think. BUY ON AMAZON

6. Giant Ice Molds

Weird, right? But! These are perfect for storing the bone broth we make in the freezer. Just make a huge batch of bone broth, pour into the mold, freeze, dump into Gallon Ziploc bags and voila! All set. Then, the next time you make brown rice or beans, just throw the big ole block of broth in the pot instead of water! BUY ON AMAZON

7. Overnight Oats Jars

Overnight oats are an all time favorite breakfast in our house, especially during busy seasons (ahem, swim team!) when we go to bed a little later, need to sleep in and have the fastest breakfast on the go. Layer in healthy oats, fruits, yogurt, seeds, nuts, etc.! These are also a great size for lunch boxes, so I like to buy the bigger containers of non-flavored yogurt and my kiddos can add fruit and granola to bring for lunch. BUY ON AMAZON

8. A hefty blender

We have had our Blendtec Blender for almost 20 years now and it is still going strong. The price tag is a little staggering upfront, but she holds up over time. The kids each make a smoothie at least once a day (especially over summer break), but you can also make soup, gravy, dressings and about 15 other things with this powerhouse. Highly recommend. BUY ON AMAZON

9. Instant Pot

We got one of these little guys back when they were trending (2017!?) and we still use it about once a day. The most common use in our house is to quickly/easily cook dried beans, but we also use it for hard boiled eggs, collard greens, brown rice, pressure cooking roasts and bone broth! BUY ON AMAZON

10. A mini food processor

This little guy is my absolute favorite. Getting out the BIG food processor always feels like such an event, but this little dude joins us routinely. You can mince onions, make a salad dressing or even just churn up some cottage cheese with peanut butter with some maple syrup for a healthy, higher protein dessert option. It’s easy to clean, weighs nothing and has lasted us over a decade of VERY frequent use. BUY ON AMAZON

Here are a few things on MY healthy cooking wishlist:

1. This Veggie Chopper: I mean, yes, we DO do it by hand, and that’s fine too, but wouldn’t it be nice to speed it up sometimes on those busier evenings?!
2. This Bread Maker: For moving beyond my weekly (or now sometimes twice weekly) sourdough habit.
3. A Ninja Creami: Have you seen the crazy delicious healthy recipes people post online?
4. A Fancy Bread Box: For all the hard work from my sourdough (and the above bread maker, duh!).
5. This Instant Pot Magic Milk Frother: Making coffee at home is cheaper and healthier. This little doo dad makes it a lot more fun, IMO.

So, tell me. Now that I’ve shared mine…what are YOUR favorite tools in the kitchen? What am I missing out on that I need to add to my “to buy” list? Have you tried any of the items on my wishlist and have a recommendation?