The 7 Star Utensils Of Healthy Cooking

We increasingly opt for a healthy diet, but we continue to cook it many times with utensils that are not healthy.

Any kitchen is made up of saucepans of different sizes and a frying pan. That along with knives, kitchen scissors, cutting board, strainer and ladles would be the bare minimum today. With options suitable for frying, baking and boiling, the standard methods in the kitchen.

What utensils do you need to cook healthy?

If we want to move towards a healthier kitchen, we must also have the necessary devices to spiral, laminate, steam, blanch, ferment, marinate, liquefy, cold pressure squeeze, whisk, dehydrate, grind, germinate …

1. Conventional blenders

Also called centrifugation, they have a blade that separates the pulp and the liquid from the vegetables and fruits and achieves a fine juice that is easy to drink.

Depending on the power and price of the appliance, better results are obtained, although these blenders are less recommended for blending green or sprout leaves than cold pressure extractors.

2. Cold pressure extractors

They have a press, which implies more nutrients in the juice (neither heating nor oxidation by the blades), greater conservation, greater quantity of extracted juice and drier pulp.

They are best suited for green vegetables like spinach. The price is higher and they are more difficult to find in the market.

3. Mixers

The classic “minipimer” arm, with different power and features, or glass, with a wide variety of prices.

The leaders are the high-power mixers, the favorites of experts like Victoria Boutenko, because their blades break the cellulose of the green leaves and allow a better assimilation of its properties.

With them we can also make gazpachos, cold soups, patés and nut creams, legume or cereal flours, ice cream and semi-raw recipes.

They should not be confused with heated kitchen robots, such as Thermomix, which reach temperatures of up to 130 ˚C in the latest models, and more versatile, since they allow kneading, cooking with blade movement and steaming.

4. Dehydrators

Dehydration is another form of healthy cooking because temperatures up to 42-45 ˚C maintain enzymes and nutrients.

To extract water from food with mild heat and without altering its properties, we can use the sun or electrical devices, which are faster, more efficient and with a large capacity, depending on the dehydrator trays.

Crackers, Essene breads, fruit, vegetable chips, petals, aromatic herbs, mushrooms … These are foods that we can dehydrate to preserve them longer or taste differently.

5. Steamers

According to our preferences, there are glass, bamboo, silicone or steel baskets, which fit into a pot where the water boils.

There are also electric steam appliances with BPA-free plastic and steam ovens.

6. Slow casseroles

For traditional stews, in addition to cookware and pots, there is an electric version with so-called slow cooker s (slow casseroles), which cook the recipe at a low temperature (less than 100ºC) and for long periods of time.

7. Pressure cooker

Saves time, but its 140 ˚C destroys most vitamins and minerals.

It is recommended with hard legumes such as chickpeas or beans, and macrobiotic cereal creams that seek to soften the cereal to the maximum.

The secrets of a healthy and natural diet

We must not forget that healthy cooking is based on foods that are as natural as possible and on taking advantage of their nutrients with the right utensils.

The holy trinity of healthy eating is made up of foods, cooking methods and kitchen materials. And we will not only take into account our well-being, but also the most benign options for the planet.

Foods subjected to heat undergo modifications in their taste, color, aroma and nutrients. For this reason, the maximum concentration of phytochemicals, enzymes and vital energy is found in raw or sprouted foods, and later in steaming and low temperature cooking.

In living food we highlight salads, with their wide repertoire, which includes vegetable spaghetti, grated and laminated vegetables in different ways, green carpaccios, macerated, gazpachos and cold soups, juices, smoothies and shakes or smoothies, sprouted in the air (such as alfalfa) or ground (such as wheatgrass) and, of course, fresh fruit for bites.

In these preparations we find the greatest novelties in the kitchen: pencil sharpener for vegetables; spiralizers, which turn zucchini, pumpkin or carrot into thin and elongated spaghetti-like strips; mandolins and multipurpose mincers with accessories that laminate or cut into cubes and even diamonds; and varied options to eat fresh vegetables as if they were a first or second course.

Green juices and smoothies have revalued chlorophyll and modernized the blender industry for its benefits: the similar molecular structure of chlorophyll to blood hemoglobin, which increases oxygenation; the anti-inflammatory and purifying capacity, and the richness in antioxidants and omega-3s.

Chlorophyll is found in green leafy vegetables and aromatics, such as spinach, chard, kale, dark lettuce, parsley, basil, carrot and beet leaves (those that we used to discard), arugula …

Blender, extractor or mixer?

Evolution has been radical in less than a decade. The very latest models of high-power blenders, in addition to the futuristic look, blend and preserve the inner liquid under vacuum.

Blending and whipping are different actions, but both are healthy and compatible. Depending on the textures we prefer, the device we have at home or our budget, we will choose one or the other.

If we want to prepare vegetable “milks”, we have to differentiate between dried fruit drinks, such as almonds or hazelnuts, and cereal or legume grain drinks, such as rice, oatmeal or soy.

The former do not need heat, and can also be made with juice extractors or blenders (with a cheesecloth or bag), or with exclusive plant-based milk devices such as Chufamix.

For the second case, there are vegetable beverage appliances that cook rice or soybeans, grind it and strain it.

Steaming and slow cooking

The next healthy method of cooking is steaming, because hardly any nutrients are lost and it is fat-free; foods retain their color, flavor, texture and aromas.

When preparing traditional stews, they do not exceed 100 ˚C. They are another option to practice healthy cooking in the form of vegetable creams, cereals, legumes or stews. For this you can use the typical cookware, pots or the most modern electric slow cooker .