Amazon
There are few things as delicious as Olive Garden breadsticks, Ben & Jerry’s Americone Dream, and a Sicilian slice from L&B Spumoni Gardens.
But as someone who’s about to walk down the aisle in less than two months, I’ve been eating my weight in vegetables and lean protein rather than carbs and sugar.
Most of my meal prepping on weekends has my fiancé and I slicing and dicing $200 worth of vegetables — and let me tell you — it gets old fast. So to make us feel less like line cooks in a restaurant and more just like normal people trying to eat healthier, we’ve been using different kitchen gadgets and seasonings.
Here are 6 things that help make prepping vegetables feel less like a chore:
A sheet pan for roasting
Amazon
USA Pan Bakeware Half Sheet Pan, available at Amazon, $19.99
Roasting veggies in a sheet pan is as easy as it gets. Just slice everything, toss with oil and seasoning, dump them on a tray like this, and fire your oven up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Just make sure not to overcrowd them on the tray, otherwise they’ll just soften up instead of crisping.
A concentrated vegetable essence for umami
Amazon
Yondu Vegetable Essence, available at Amazon, $8.99
Seasoning with salt and pepper is fine for a week or so, but after a while, everything just tastes bland, no matter how much you trick yourself into thinking you’re Salt Bae.
This is a concentrated soybean base with onion, white radish, leek, cabbage, carrot, shiitake mushroom, ginger, and garlic extracts for layers of flavors that I wouldn’t get from basic seasoning. It also gives off a slightly umami flavor because of the mushroom, which definitely makes eating vegetables much more enjoyable.
It’s organic, vegan, and gluten free — none of which I practice for health reasons, but just generally makes me feel better about what I put into my body.
The essence is a high in sodium, but I do use it sparingly (a splash or two at a time), so I don’t find it overly salty or feel bloated after incorporating it into my dishes.
A mandolin slicer for easy uniform cuts
Amazon
Kyocera Ceramic Adjustable Mandolin Vegetable Slicer, available at Amazon, $18.69
For quick and uniform cuts, there’s really nothing better than a mandolin slicer. You can easily slice zucchini, onions, carrots, cucumbers, and more with a few passes. I find that using a mandolin slicer also helps veggies cook faster and more evenly than if I had cut them with a knife.
This one from Kyocera is nice because it has a slim profile that you can place over a bowl or counter, and a guard for your hands so you don’t slice yourself. The adjustable dial increases or decreases the thickness of the slices without you needing to switch out blades to accommodate different vegetables, which I find immensely helpful during prep.
Word to the wise though — I’ve nicked my fingers and knuckles, so definitely go slow, do not try to force the vegetable over the blade, and do not try to get down to the itty-bitty nub before changing the vegetable. You’re much better off chopping the nub with a good ol’ knife.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The 10 best books of 2019 so far, according to Amazon
- The best planners you can buy for students and professionals
- This $10 natural deodorant doesn’t look like deodorant at all, and it’s more effective than other traditional formulas I’ve tried
Source: Business Insider – jwong@businessinsider.com (Jada Wong)