20 Kitchen Essentials for the Chronically Ill
A Few Notes Before We Get Started
As you may have read in my post about changing your food first, if you’re struggling with a chronic illness, I think following your own version of an anti-inflammatory diet will provide the greatest impact to your wellbeing. Cooking meals at home will be essential to healing. When I was sick, I had no idea how ordering takeout as frequently as I did was impacting my health. This list is a way to get started with what I describe as “no restaurant therapy” in that post because it focuses on specific needs of the chronically ill with an eye towards simplicity and efficiency.
That’s not to say I don’t love using exactly the right tool for the job. A ground beef tool, for example, was gifted to me and though I originally thought it was completely superfluous and gimmicky, having used it for breaking up and cooking ground meat, I know it truly is best in class for the (singular) thing it promises to do. That said, because for years I lived in small NYC apartments with tiny kitchens and because I don’t like clutter and have moved four times in the last two years, I also value having just the essentials.
Lastly, a quick note: I do not have any financial relationship with the items or links I provide. I am not a part of any affiliate program that benefits from me recommending these items – I’m truly sharing just to help you get started making food at home. Now onto the list…
Appliances
- Blender
Similar to a knife, if you’re planning on using this frequently and depending on what you’re using it for, it can be a good place to drop some cash. The Vitamix is a favorite for a reason. If you’re making batch pureed soups, smoothies, nut butters and alternative milks, I highly recommend it. I bought one over a decade ago and it’s still kickin’. If you need a blender just to make pesto, salad dressing, etch something cheaper like a small Ninja will absolutely do.
- Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker)
It seems the Instant Pot is a very polarizing appliance. People either love it or hate it. They love it because it is extremely versatile and in addition to pressure cooking can replace your rice cooker and slow cooker, and can even saute and make yogurt. They also make fabulous company if living alone during a lockdown. A true friend, the Instant Pot. But there are those who scoff at the Instant Pot because “It’s not real cooking.” Personally, I’m a fan. Once I figured out the ideal times for some of the common foods I eat regularly, it made my meal prep a lot simpler. It also makes meals come together quickly, which is important if I’m hungry and doing an elimination diet where what I’m eating is narrower than usual. There are many different models with various features. If you just want to pressure cook some food, you can by all means buy the cheapest version and it won’t put you at any kind of disadvantage. Just be sure to check the features on the model you choose and compatibility with accessories, like the next item on this list.
- Air fryer
Hear me out on the air fryer because I know it might sound like a fad that’s so 2020. I lived in a tiny apartment (two in fact) in Brooklyn where the oven would not only heat the entire (tiny, remember?) space but also set off the smoke detector if set to above 350 degrees. Ah, the joy of NYC. Anyway, the air fryer was perfect for cooking small portions of things quickly without heating up my entire apartment. It also does give foods that crispy ‘fried’ effect not only without frying but without being hands-on really at all. Bonus: you can get an air fryer lid for your Instant Pot, thereby minimizing the number of appliances you have (kind of) or at least that require counter space. This is my personal setup.
Tools
- Stool/chair/slippers/arthritis gloves
Do not skip past this one. Of anything on the list, this is where I’d like you to spend the most time thinking and optimizing. If you can’t stand for at least about twenty consecutive minutes, meal prepping is going to be that much more of a hurdle. There are lots of inexpensive, foldable and adjustable-height stools online, and there is no shame in needing and using one in your kitchen to prep your meals. I think people figuring out what they need and doing it is awesome, truly just awesome. If you can stand but want to minimize fatigue or pain, you could consider what’s called an anti-fatigue standing mat for your kitchen. I threw arthritis gloves and slippers into this category in order to broaden the concept. Spend some time thinking about your body and get what makes you feel comfortable while you cook.
- Salad spinner
This may seem optional, but it’s not. I can’t believe I went as long as I did without one of these. A salad spinner isn’t just for lettuce (though it did make me way more excited about and thus inclined toward prepping and eating whole-leaf lettuce salads), it’s for all greens. It will completely remove any moisture from the greens, thus avoiding them being soggy or slimy when cooked. It makes a huge difference, folks! This is one of the few plastic kitchen items I own because the greens are in the spinner for such a short time and a glass salad spinner would be much heavier and cumbersome. I have this OXO one and love it (in fact, nothing from OXO has ever disappointed me).
- Non-plastic mixing bowl
I personally strongly prefer glass. That’s just me. You don’t need a glass mixing bowl. Just know that other common materials have their limitations. Metal is more limiting because of thermal conduction and because you can’t put it in the microwave or the oven. Bamboo can go in the dishwasher, but not in the microwave or the oven. Ceramic is expensive, can be very heavy and not all of it can go in the oven/dishwasher. A tempered glass mixing bowl will allow you to mix, store and reheat food in it and won’t be reactive to hot/cold items. You can even buy one with a lid.
- Something that whisks
I didn’t say _a whisk_ here because I tend to use chopsticks. I watched a lot of Chinese and Korean food prep videos on YouTube during lockdown (I found them extremely soothing for some reason) and just kind of fell into using chopsticks to whisk everything from eggs to salad dressing. See picture below where I’m very happily doing just that. A fork will also work (kind of, depending on what you’re mixing). For heavier things like batters, a whisk is the tool for the job.
- Spatula
You only need one, but if having an assortment of colors makes you more excited about being in the kitchen, then go for it. A spatula is important especially if you’re cooking with nonstick cookware so that you don’t cause the coating on it to flake off, which can be dangerous if ingested. Here’s a best of list from Serious Eats.
- Wooden spoon
A wooden spoon will scrape sticky bits off of pans/pots/appliances when a spatula just can’t. It’s also much better for extremely high-heat cooking like stir-frying in a wok. Wooden spoon experts out there, keep me honest, but I think any wooden spoon will do so don’t be nervous to cheap out here. I prefer one with a square shape instead of round, but remember: it’s your kitchen.
- Good tongs
I use the same metal pair to flip meat as I do to toss a large salad because why make a fuss? I do recommend avoiding plastic or anything that isn’t high-heat resistant because you’ll want to be able to, say, stick them in your air fryer basket and give some chicken wings a toss midway through the air fry. I have something similar to these.
- Good knife
Completely unsurprisingly, there are a lot of strong opinions out there about what knife is best. Personally I use a Global and if I keep it sharp it can cut anything I need it to, even though it’s technically a vegetable knife (I do have a cleaver I use for butchering larger hunks of meat, but that is not necessary). Of anything on this list, this is the best item to drop some money to get something high quality, even more so than a blender because you’ll be using the knife more frequently over time. A good one will make prep go that much faster.
- Food scraper
A must-have for moving food from cutting board to cooking vessel and for cleanup. I have a metal one like this and love it.
- Oven mitt
It might be unlikely that you don’t have one of these, but since it’s necessary, I had to throw it on. Depending on the temperature and how heavy the tray/pot, a kitchen towel just won’t do. If you have arthritis in your hands, make sure that you can comfortably get it on and off and consider getting one with gripping material so you’re less prone to slips if your grip isn’t super strong. Here’s a list of the 14 best from trusted kitchen source Serious Eats.
Cookware
- Sheet pans
The people who hate on the Instant Pot also tend to throw shade at sheet pan dinners for being too easy. Personally, I love them. They allow me to prepare at least four meals worth of food in the oven all at once, with prep and cook time taking under an hour (I have recently been asking myself, “What can’t I cook in bulk the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes? What are my limits, really?” and will post recipes soon). I have two large and one small sheet pan but you can choose your own adventure.
- Wire racks for sheet pans
In my programs, I encourage whole foods over processed ones, even if they’re made with permissible ingredients for a given elimination diet. This usually means no baking except on special occasions. The goal is to teach your taste buds what real, whole food and textures are. All that is to say – wire racks are not on this list for cooling cookies, at least not on a regular basis. Think chicken wings, pork belly, even a steak – anything you want to get crispy in the oven. I use mine all the time!
- Frying pan and big(ish) pot
Ideally you’ll want something with safe materials, so search for “PFOA and PTFE free”. There is a spectacularly large range of choices here depending on your budget. All you need to get started is a frying pan large enough to make a single serving for everyone in your household (if it’s just you, that means something like 8”) and a pot large enough to heat up single servings of things and boil food (remember, you’ll be using your InstantPot for large batches of things like AIP friendly chili). Keep it simple – you can always buy more later.
- Skillet
Even though my mom cooked family dinners for us almost every night growing up, the only time I saw the skillet was when she was making my grandmother’s cornbread recipe. For this reason, I had the incorrect notion that a skillet is a limited kitchen item reserved for special occasions. Oh, how wrong I was. It is a very extensible kitchen essential and is great for making a complete meal in a single piece of cookware. They’re also very easy to clean and care for once seasoned (you’ll want to look into how to do that). The one downside of a skillet is its weight. If you have trouble bending over, lifting heavy things or have impaired grip strength, stick with something on the countertop (like the Instapot!) or recipes that don’t require putting the skillet in the oven. In general, cast iron seems to be safer than non-stick cookware, so it’s really your choice about how much to spend here. Especially when you’re starting out, I think it’s more important to get cooking consistently than it is to have the highest end pieces. You could go for this Lodge one on the lower end all the way up to Field Company and beyond. Your kitchen, you choose!
Storage
- Glass jars
Please note I did not say mason jars! If you want to buy mason jars in every size (and color), you can. However, chances are you don’t need to buy these! You can reuse salsa, pickle, olive jars, etc. You get it. These come in handy for things like storing homemade salad dressing, cut veggies in water so they don’t get soggy, chia pudding if you’re seed-tolerant, and anything else you can dream of going in a glass jar. I dream of many such things.
- Non-plastic storage containers
It’s important that these not be plastic, especially if you’re heating food in them in microwave. Tempered glass is great because then you can put it in the oven, but there are other options like metal tiffins which are nice if you don’t need to use the container to heat food. If going the glass route, search for “tempered glass containers with lids”. The snap lid styles are my favorite because they last longer than the ‘snug fit’ type. Silicon is also your friend if you’re freezing. I am in love with Souper Cubes because they’re perfect for cooking in batch and freezing individual portions.
- Salt…constainer
I don’t know – a dish? A bowl? It’s really dealer’s choice here. I was gifted the beautiful bowl/spoon combo below and don’t know what to call it or where it’s from, but isn’t she just perfect? Regardless of what you choose, I find that having ground salt (and pepper, if you’re tolerant) at the ready will just make everything easier. I always leave mine out. You can opt for a mill if you like, but remember the extra strain it will have on your hands to grind.
And there you have it!
I can’t believe this is true, and if you had asked me several years ago I would have been thrilled but dismayed to hear it: I have lived in my current home for 11 months and have not ordered delivery a single time. Sure I’ve been out to meals at restaurants, but only on special occasions. I do get the rare iced latte or gluten-free baked good at a cafe, but mostly I stick to homemade food. I feel better than I ever have (even when I was a teenager) and I don’t miss takeout. In fact, dining out has become a somewhat disappointing experience because given what I now know about nutrition and how I’m impacted by inflammatory foods, my bar for ‘worth it’ has been raised. It’s also remarkable how my taste buds have changed and I’ve come to find certain things I once loved unpalatable.
If you are intimidated by cooking in general, remember: you’re not doing this to impress anyone, even yourself. If you want, you can reframe it as preparing food instead of ‘cooking’ if you don’t think of yourself as ‘a cook’. The majority of the meals I make at home can be made exclusively with the items on this list. Honestly, only about half of these items are in use daily. I hope it helps the idea of prepping meals at home for your health less daunting.
Lastly, I want to address the social/emotional aspect of this list of kitchen essentials (who knew there’d be one, right?) If you’re worried about having “unconventional” items in your kitchen, please don’t. It’s your kitchen and you’re making food to promote your wellness. Don’t put pressure on yourself or internalize pressure from others (implicit or explicit) who think that certain food preparations “aren’t real cooking”. Haters gonna hate. The purpose of this list is not to prepare one for culinary school or be able to host 7 course dinner parties; it’s to enable the chronically ill person to make food at home that will promote their vitality.
Putting It All Into Action
Having a chronic illness can be overwhelming and exhausting, and I completely understand if you’re reading this and thinking you can’t take on yet another thing when you can barely get through the day. I really do.
Start small, and break it down into steps. Read through this list again and jot down the things you don’t have. Then set aside 30 minutes to research the things that seem like they might require it, like some of the bigger-ticket appliances. Then set aside another 10 minutes to make a final decision on them. Then block out time to go buy them or purchase them online. I know this may sound like overthinking to some, but for those with chronic illness, going from reading a blog post to eating exclusively home-cooked meals is unrealistic.
Then, make a plan. Add a homemade salad – it can be from bagged, pre-cut greens with a store-bought dressing with healthy oil like Primal Kitchen – to your takeout meal. Pressure cook a sweet potato and have it with your can of soup. Better yet, pressure cook several so you have some for later in the week. Do you see where I’m going with this? No takeout therapy is effective, and I do recommend going at it full-steam when you’re well enough to, but it doesn’t have to happen all at once.
I truly hope this list has helped. I will keep modifying it over time as I learn more. If you’re reading this and someone you love has a chronic illness, please share if you think it will help.
What are your kitchen essentials? I’d love to hear from you!