6 Kitchen Appliances to Streamline your Meal Preparation

Cooking, baking and meal prep in general are often considered a time-consuming and relentlessly exhausting process.

You have to prep and chop up all your ingredients, then you have to actually cook them and compose your dishes, and after all of that, there is the washing up to do.

In order to save yourself some effort, electricity and above all, nerves, here are 6 kitchen appliances that will streamline your meal prep, whether you do it a couple of times a week, or every single day.

A Chopper

One of the most time-consuming meal prep tasks is certainly chopping all of your ingredients up. This can be sped up by the use of a clever chopper.

There are those that you operate by hand, or those that are powered by electricity – both options work well, it all depends on how much energy and effort you want to invest in chopping.

Bear in mind that you won’t get neat and immaculate pieces, but when it comes to speedy meal prep, you shouldn’t expect perfection in the first place.

A Blender

If you also want a kitchen gadget that will blend as well as chop, you can treat yourself to a multi-use blender.

The downside of these appliances is that they can take up a lot of space, which is not ideal in a smaller kitchen, but if you find you require a lot of chopping, mixing and blending, one can definitely come in handy.

Consider your specific needs before you purchase one, as you don’t want to splurge on something that has a lot of features you will never end up using.

A Mini Oven

Mini ovens are the ideal solution for small kitchens – they take up much less space than traditional ovens, yet they can do pretty much everything their larger cousins can, at a fraction of the energy expenditure too.

Their downside is of course their size, so if you are looking to make larger dishes or feed a lot of people with a single meal, a mini oven might not work for you.

On the other hand, if it’s just you, or if you are cooking for two, a mini oven can save you space and time (as it heats up quicker than a regular oven).

If you want to give mini ovens a try, check out this list from The Confused Nester, reviewing different options.

An Air Fryer

If you want to cook a lot of veggies, or if you are looking for a healthier alternative to frying, you can consider investing in an air fryer.

It cooks your dishes with the use of hot air, so you don’t have to add too much oil, and you can prep meats, veggies, and most popularly, potatoes using it.

If you don’t have space for an entire oven or stove, this can be a nice alternative. You might need some time to get used to it, but after a couple of uses it will become second nature.

A Grill or Pan

If you prepare a lot of meats on the grill, investing in an electric one that you can use all year round can cut down on your prep time as well.

You can go for a simple grill pan, but you can also get one of those electric ones that have both a ribbed and a flat surface, meaning you can do both your meat and your veggies, as well as toast bread, do eggs, even make pancakes.

Another great choice if you live in a smaller home, or if you want to be able to take your appliance with you when heading out into the great outdoors.

A Set of Scales

Depending on the kinds of meals you prefer to make, a set of kitchen scales can also come in extremely handy.

They can help you get all of your measurements right, which can be of super importance if you are on a restricted diet, or are tracking your macros for whatever reason.

Make sure to buy ones that do both solid and liquid measurement (which will save you the time to do it yourself), and ideally ones that can do both metric and imperial units, so you can rely on both European and American recipes that way.

To Sum It All Up

Meal prep does not have to be all that difficult if you arm yourself with the right tools.

Start by considering the kinds of dishes you usually make, and which recipes you prepare most often. Once you identify the shortcuts that are available to you, invest in the kitchen appliances and gadgets that can save you time and effort, and notice how much more enjoyable your meal prep becomes.