Having the right kitchen tools means you have many more options for creating a whole variety of raw food recipes at home. It also cuts down prep time too.
If you’re curious about all things raw and keen to upgrade your diet without having to cook, here’s my list of top raw food kitchen tools.
Image by Olga Peshkova on Unsplash
One of the things I love about this raw food lifestyle is the simplicity of it all. Chopping, grating, spiralizing, blending, and the rest becomes fun really quickly when you have the right tools in front of you. It makes preparing food so easy, you can start enjoying all the goodness that comes from eating like this straight away.
If you’re looking to find out more about raw foods the following articles may also be of interest to you.
- Raw Food Diet - what do you eat?
- 10 Ways to get started with raw food
- Ultimate plant based food swaps
Creating a few raw meals each week is an inspiring, delicious way to get in your 5 (or 10) a day.
You certainly don't need to become 100% raw vegan to enjoy raw foods.
I actually find that most of my food prep is done with a wooden chopping board and a good knife. That's all you really need to begin with for your raw vegan kitchen.
The tools listed below are not all essential, by the way. So you don't need to rush out and buy them all. When I started, I bought the smaller tools first then gradually added kitchen appliances to create my raw food kitchen bit by bit.
Chopping boards.
Wooden cutting boards will help to keep surfaces clean and tidy.
Sharp knives.
Good quality knives are indispensable and will last you years. I have three:
- A chef’s knife for chopping and slicing larger vegetables.
- A small paring knife for more intricate tasks like peeling, paring and slicing more delicate items like tomatoes. I like to have a serrated one plus a regular one. Serrated knives are great for cutting citrus fruits.
- A utility knife that’s somewhere in between for things like finely slicing and chopping herbs, shallots, avocados. A utility knife is longer than a paring knife and thinner than a chef’s knife.
Utensils.
- Measuring cups/scales plus measuring spoons.
- Spatulas and wooden spoons.
- Handheld citrus juicer and zester.
- Garlic press.
- Grater: for your salads, rolls ups and coleslaws.
- Julienne peeler and a vegetable peeler.
Salad Spinner.
I use one of these all the time. They’re not just good for spinning salad greens. I also use one without the spinning lid for rinsing and draining my fruits and vegetables. And for washing my sprouts and microgreens thoroughly. They’re especially helpful too then you want to hull big batches of sprouts and just generally for helping to get all those leafy greens in that are essential to a raw food diet.
Salad bowl.
The large kind. If there’s one thing raw vegans know it’s how to prepare an amazing salad and you won’t fit a good one on a standard sized plate. One of the things I love about eating raw is that you can really sit down and enjoy an abundance of whole food goodness.
Blender.
I use both an immersion blender and a high-speed blender. They're brilliant for breaking foods down into a smooth consistency, necessary for making sauces, ice cream, dips and soups, smoothies and general food prep using frozen fruits, nuts and seeds.
image by Deva Williamson on Unsplash
Food Processor.
Essential for all kinds of chopping and slicing, mixing and grating. Food processors with their various attachments make it really easy to mix, puree, slice, dice, grate and shred.
They're indispensable for making wholesome, healthy meals and snacks with consistency. This is my most used kitchen tool after my blender. You can buy a good food processor in most stores and online, and it needn't be expensive.
Mandoline.
A fantastic tool for slicing fruits and vegetables really thin, especially root vegetables like parsnips, carrots and beetroot.
Do be careful when using one as they are incredibly sharp! I recommend looking for one with a handheld finger guard.
I use one with an adjustable thickness setting so that I can produce foods in different sizes. They're perfect for making big batches of sauerkraut and coleslaws. You can also make noodles with one and slice fresh ginger super thin.
Spiralizer.
A spiralizer will help you to make raw pasta dishes and noodles. With them, you can create noodles and ribbons out of so many vegetables like courgette, pumpkin, squash and beetroot, for example. Pair them with salads, sauces and dressings, and you can create gorgeous raw recipes quickly and easily.
Glass Jars & containers.
Lidded jars are essential for keeping your homemade dressings, sauces, nuts/seeds, dairy-free milk, dried fruits, legumes, date paste, jams etc. They're also useful for keeping chopped vegetables like carrot, celery or herbs fresh in water.
Mason jars are fab for storing homemade pickles and fermented foods.
You can buy sprouting jars online and in some high street health stores.
You can also just buy sprouting lids if you already have wide-mouthed jars at home. Glass bowls and other containers are perfect for storing anything from salads, leftovers, lunches and for soaking. You’re basically gonna need lots of jars.
Nut milk bags.
Or simple cheesecloth for making raw dairy-free milks and vegan cheese with nuts and seeds.
Bamboo rolling mat.
For when you want to make raw vegan sushi.
Spice grinder.
For grinding up small seeds and various spices such as flax seeds, chia seeds, vanilla pods, cumin seeds and much more. If your blender is powerful enough, of course, you can use this also.
Dehydrator.
Optional, and some ovens allow you to cook on low heat or use the defrost setting. Some ovens even have a dehydrator setting.
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I’m off for some tea.
Love raw food.
XOXO
Juliette
mum, dog owner, raw food enthusiast
