Whether your aim is to get healthy by ditching the processed meals in favour of home cooked goodness. Or you simply want to get more adventurous in the kitchen. The best place to start is with the right essential kitchen utensils.

It has been said that ‘a poor workman blames his tools’. So the easiest way to ensure your cooking process is as a stress-free and fast as possible is to ensure you are armed with the correct utensils. Here, we share our essential kitchen utensils that Gillian Killiner has personally used for several years and can promise will help ensure your cooking experience is a breeze. The aim to help get you healthier in the process!

Measure it out

Most recipes will include measurements for ingredients either in grams and ounces or millilitres and pints, not to mention tablespoons, teaspoon and dessertspoons, So a good place to start is with all the right measuring tools. I find the following set mega helpful with measuring oils, coffee, stock powder.

Owning a set of weighing scales is a great start but for easy reading and accurate reading of wet and dry ingredients. Our favourite choice would be hassle-free electronic scales. You can add ingredients to the bowl, zero the scale and add again – super handy. You’ll also need a measuring jug or jugs.

Choose with both the metric and imperial markings. measuring spoons are highly practical especially when using recipes from around the world.

Essential kitchen utensils to chop

With fresh cooking comes prep. This involves chopping so you’ll need good surfaces to chop food on, while keeping your kitchen surfaces scratch free.

Chopping boards are necessary for this. Ideally, you should have separate boards to avoid cross-contamination between raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs. Thankfully, chopping boards range in price many are relatively cheap but if you invest in a good set they will last years.

Graters & drainers

A cheese grater isn’t just for grating cheese! It comes in so handy in the kitchen and can be used for grating things like garlic, ginger, fruit, vegetables, cheeses and even chocolate!

You’ll also need a really good, sturdy colander, which can be used for draining foods such as wholemeal rice and pasta. as well as rinsing vegetables.

The essential kitchen utensils -smaller tools

It can be rather daunting when starting off as cooking requires many skills such as chopping, slicing, stirring, whisking and peeling.

While none of these are difficult to do, having the correct tools like sharp knives are essential for speed and achieving the end result you desire.

Again, each of these are readily available in the shops or online. They range from low cost to very expensive. Start off with a few and build your collection as your experience grows. This furi knife block was a personal purchase which I have been using for the past few years. They really do assist in all preping tasks.

If you want to go BIG with an essential kitchen utensil!

Not everyone likes being in the kitchen for hours. Time saving gadgets are a great way to cut down some of the work.

I absolutely love my magimix and it was a personal purchase for me after many years of really, really wanting one. I have had it now for 10 years and it works like a dream when making soups, sauces, cakes etc.

Storage saviours

Finally you’ll need somewhere to store all your home cooked goods. This will keep them fresh as long as possible. Alternatively freeze so you can enjoy your hard work again at speed. Healthy eating requires a little planning so these boxes are a great way of storing any ingredients you’ve prepared in advance.

Storage boxes are available in a range of sizes and styles so again, start with a few and add to your collection if you need to, a handy option is to clean out tubs that you buy food in and use these again – no cost and very effective.

I do again have a set of storage containers and personally bought many years ago after I realised the risks of plastics, especially when heated or storing fats. They have been used over and over each day by all my family and far more durable than I imagined they would be.

Definitely a little investment and making time to cook is the cornerstone to healthy eating. As experts in Diet and Nutrition for decades we know that pouring your money into quick fixes are not the answer – you need enjoyable nutrient rich meals and snacks lifelong. Our nutritional programmes are designed to help you.

On-the-go

While it isn’t an essential kitchen utensil, this is definitely one thing we’d recommend… A glass drinking bottle. These are great for helping you drink more water on-the-go. They are also useful for things like shakes, smoothies and even tea. We’d be lost without ours!

The reason for using glass?

Glass eliminates the leaching of chemicals you get from plastic bottles. Thus reducing health concerns and also ensures the water tastes great. Reusable glass bottles assists the environment and saves you a ton of money too.

We would love to hear your top utensil choices and why. Visit our facebook page to share your thoughts and ideas.

If you need help with putting together healthy ingredients then why not book an appointment here today.

Need a recipe to get started? Check out our naughty but nice for special occasions, gluten free dairy free chocolate cake recipe here.

If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits. Or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small.

In the meantime do please check out more health and well-being choices specially selected for you on our 121Dietitian Shop

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How can a Dietitian help

• Book a consultation via our Online Portal
• About Gillian Killiner 
• Check out our tailored dietary programmes

Gillian x

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Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018, updated 1st January 2023.