With thousands of kitchen gadgets, devices, machines, and doodads, it can become overwhelming when deciding what kitchen appliances are worth it. We totally know what that can feel like, so we here at Meal Prep on Fleek are here to help you with what we have found. After testing hundreds of various products, we found time and time again these three kitchen appliances to be among the top for every meal prepper. These kitchen appliances save time and stress, while significantly enhancing your meal prepping lifestyle.
- These 3 kitchen appliances will save time and stress.
- This is for anyone that wants to meal prep.
- In this post, we’ll explain what these 3 appliances are, why they are important, explain basic use instructions, and provide 3 meal suggestions if you’re new to these appliances.
What are the 3 Best Kitchen Appliances, and Why Does it Matter?
After years of cooking, consulting with people from all walks of life from grandmothers to chefs, from working parents to holiday house parties, anyone and everyone that wants to meal prep, these three appliances repeatedly showed up in people’s top-three kitchen appliance lists. There are other fantastic kitchen tools and appliances that we also love, but these specific top three are what make meal prepping the easiest, and we know they are going to significantly help you!
First on the list: Slow cookers are a must-have, not only for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas gatherings, but also for your daily meal prepping. With a slow cooker you can put your ingredients in, leave for the day, and come back to a delightfully smelling home and several meals for the week. Not only do slow cookers help cooking in bulk, but they also enhance the flavors of many stews, chilies, soups, and roasts for a more enjoyable eating experience. Plus, there is less cleaning required with a slow cooker since it is one large bowl to be washed as opposed to two or three different pots and pans. Each of these amazing benefits of a slow cooker help save time and stress.
Pressure cookers are our second on the list. With a pressure cooker, we can cook things up to 70% faster than standard cookware. When we do not have enough time for a slow cooker, or we don’t want to leave the slow cooker on all day, a pressure cooker is the next best appliance. Chilies, beans, broths, stews, and more can be cooked in far less time with these. Even more exciting is the opportunity to use a pressure cooker for canning things in jars, which surely comes in handy for meal prepping.
Third on our list of top-three kitchen appliances is the air fryer. These are such time and money savers because they cook items relatively quickly with a fantastic desired crunch, and without use of additional oil that a deep fryer requires. Since no oil is required to air fry, it starts saving money instantly when compared to traditional methods. Air fryers can assist those that want to consume fried foods without the added calories. Of course, we have also used an air fryer to reheat leftovers, such as our favorite fried foods like fried chicken or fried potatoes.
How to Use:
Slow Cookers
For slow cookers, the instructions are easy. First, we cut up all of the meat(s) and vegetables that we would like to use. Next, we add the listed recipe ingredients into the slow cooker, put the lid on, and set the temperature and timer according to the recipe. Then, we walk away. Easy-peasy. Once it is done cooking, the large cooking bowl is easily removed for either using as food storage or to empty out and be cleaned.
Pressure Cookers
Pressure cookers are about as easy to use as slow cookers. Simply put the listed ingredients in the cooker and close the lid. Be sure to follow all precautions such as allowing the steam release to function properly. Once the pressure cooker begins whistling like a steam engine or a loud tea kettle, it is ready to be checked. How long each thing is to be cooked in a pressure cooker varies, so be sure to follow the cooking instructions as to not overcook. If you are interested in learning how to preserve your food by canning them with a pressure cooker, check out this link.
Air Fryers
Air fryers are also very user-friendly. Put the items you wish to “fry” in the air fryer, close it, select the temperature and cooking time, and begin. Once it is done frying, it will chime. We love how easy these are to use to reheat those French fries, or to get an extra crisp texture on those leftovers, within the amount of time it might take you to microwave it. Except that air fryers make things taste better than microwaves can. Meal prepping air fried vegetables or potatoes is extremely convenient with the air fryer.
3 Recipe Suggestions
If you are new to cooking with our top three kitchen appliances, here are three easy and tasty meals to try at home:
- For the slow cooker, we recommend trying our: Slow Cooker Lentil Soup
- For the pressure cooker, try our: BBQ Pulled Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes Say that three times fast! Phew...
- For the air fryer, we suggest trying our: Air Fried Baby Potatoes
Meal prepping becomes so much easier as we discover the methods and tools that help us. With these three super-easy-to-use kitchen appliances, meal prepping and cooking in general can become so much more enjoyable. Each of the listed kitchen appliances help save time and stress from being stuck at the stove or cleaning dishes. Be sure to check out more recipes for cooking with slow cookers, pressure cookers, or air fryers on MealPreponFleek.com
