Food Prep - Equipment & Supplies You Might Need

Going Vegan or Vegetarian Properly Requires a lot a Prep Time: 

There - I said it...and I do mean a lot... but once you get into the swing of things it's really not that bad; and this is coming from someone who typically travels for work during the week and HATED walking into a grocery store before this lifestyle!  Now I just see it all as one big adventure, even on the road (Homewood Suites Kitchenettes are the best), and would love to hear your thoughts on this as well as on any experiences you might have in doing something similar.

• The first couple of weeks/months at this was the hardest, at least for me, as I basically had to learn how to prep food and cook from scratch all at once. What got me through it was trying to stay focused on the end result of how much healthier we would be, how much we were learning about food and the power it has on the body!

More Information: Mark and I tried doing a vegetarian diet before about thirteen years ago for three or four months. We ate a lot of the store-ready vegetarian foods, you know the ones anyone can find in the stores prepackaged....and as a result we actually gained weight!!

• The approach we used this time was more demanding; 1 lbs/.5 kg of raw vegetable per day (Think "Nutrients") and strictly limit the amount of processed food, salt and oil used when creating each meal. In other words... buy fresh produce weekly and understand exactly what is going in your food.

OK - Here is what got us started:

Good Reference Materials/ Books:  Try not to burn them, set them on fire or drown in water like I did (smile). My two favorites are 1,000 Vegan Recipes and of course my go-to handbook Eat To Live

PS - ipads/Nooks and the like are great electronic references too ...Just try not to drop a can of Tomatoes on then from the shelf above your counter (Luckily it just hit the edge - close call!)

Food Processing Equipment: I like the VitaMix ($$$), Cuisinart and Kitchen Aid Blender ($$): Hey, holidays gifts could be right around the corner!

Knives for chopping/slicing and dicing, Pots and Pans:  If you have a small kitchen like I do (4'10 by 14'), walls work great for things like this and racks will be essential for organization.

• Remember knives will have to be sharpened frequently for best results  - Please watch/tuck your fingers when chopping! In hindsight, while I still have all my fingers, I wish I could have taken a food preparation class from a Community College. Rather, due to my schedule, I just picked things up off watching the Cooking Channel via DRV/recordings. I still might try to take a class this Spring if I can fit it into my schedule??

Foodstuffs: Think about adding a drawer just for fresh veggies and be prepared to double/triple the spices you have now.

Hint- Use a brown paper bag to store/save mushrooms and try to keep fresh herbs (Dill, Parsley and Cilantro) in their own water jars in the Frig. so they last longer.