Tuesday, January 01, 2008



“There are so many appliances and equipment that I feel I should get – it’s overwhelming and expensive. What are the most important appliances of all when starting on a raw food diet?”

No appliance is worthwhile unless it is being used. So the question is, what kind of food person are you?

Do you eat simple foods like fresh fruits, vegetables and salads?
Do you plan on making a lot of gourmet recipes?

So...

If you are planning on eating fresh fruits & salads:


~Good quality knife (I love Santoku and ceramic knives)


~Bamboo cutting board - 1 extra for garlic, onions and ginger


~Salad Scissors


~Microplane or ginger grater


~Garlic press, I like Zyliss


~Magic Bullet, Tribest or other personal sized blender for dressings






If you are planning on making smoothies, soups & puddings:


~Good quality high speed blender, such as a Blend Tec or Vitamix







If you are planning to make all kind of gourmet recipes:


~ 11 or more cup food processor. High end would be a Kitchen Aid, more affordable would be a Black and Decker or Hamilton Beach


~Food dehydrator, high end and dependable would be Excalibur, also it is best for breads and no 'hole' in the middle, more affordable round with hole in the middle brands could be found at Wal-Mart, make sure there is a thermostat or it's no good.


~Veggie spiralizer for making zucchini pasta - Joyce Chen Saladacco for angel hair size noodles, Spirooli for spaghetti size noodles


~High speed blender










For Nut Milks:


~ Blender and nut bags or paint strainer bags from a home improvement store


-or-


~ A soy milk maker that has the option to make raw nut milks without heat

-or-

~ A Magic Bullet or other personal sized blender to make small amounts that don’t need to be strained using nut butter and water






For opening young coconuts:


~ Large, heavy wide butcher's type knife with a strong corner - for whacking out the shell


~strong paring knife - to help with prying off the shell


~ metal pierced or slotted serving spoon - for spooning out coconut meat


~I use a dead head mallet sometimes if the paring knife needs assistance getting through the shell






For soaking & sprouting seeds/nuts/grains:


~Large bowls or mason or quart jars


~Cloth and rubber bands or string for covering jars


~Mesh strainer




For making nut & seed yogurts and cheeses:


~cheesecloth & string for straining and hanging


~glass jars or containers




For juicing:


~Basket style juicer for most fruits and vegetables such as carrots, apples, celery citrus, etc. (firm to soft) - I have gone through quite a lot of juicers and have found Breville Juice Fountain Plus to be excellent. The lower setting is for your juicier fruits like oranges and grapes, higher setting for harder foods like apples and carrots.


~Citrus juicer – in the summer months when thin-skinned Valencia oranges are in season I use my OJ-ex juice press. All you have to do is cut oranges in half, instead of cutting the skins off when using the electric juicer.


~Twin gear juicer more specifically for greens and wheat grass. This juicer is slower and I don't have the patience, plus I throw my greens in my smoothies in the blender. Good brands are the Green Star, Green Life and Solo Star. These are excellent for making nut butters and fruit ice cream as they have a homogenizing feature.









3 comments:

Rebekah said...

Great posts! Loving it!!

Glad its not just me with the dreaded bug!! ..cant wait for it to be over!

Happy new year x

Kristen's Raw said...

Fantastic list!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Kristen's Raw

Sharon said...

Thanks! I'm glad you found that helpful - I accrued lots of equipment over the years on raw and remember "wanting it all" but not sure which I should get first. I know some who buy dehydrators and hardly end up using them so it's good to buy what you know you'll use.