Meal Prep Made Easy and the 6 Tools You Need to Get There!

Being equipped with the right kitchen tools can make following a keto-lifestyle much easier. Whether you’re making a full week of lunches or just prepping your favorite ingredients to use later, you’ll save time and energy if you have a kitchen stocked with the proper gadgets. When it comes to meal prep, you’ll want tools that help you get all your chopping done more quickly, but also items that help you store the food you want to keep for later.

Thankfully, you don’t need to invest in any fancy or expensive machinery — there are plenty of affordable but efficient kitchen items that can make cooking feel like a breeze. Here are six tools you need to make meal prep easy:

1. Good Knives & a Cutting Board

To begin, you’ll want a solid set of knives and a sturdy cutting board to make chopping and dicing feel like a breeze. Having sharp knives will help you maintain control when you chop and will also help you save time. Choose a cutting board that’s stable and won’t slide, and consider getting separate ones for produce and meats to avoid cross contamination.  

2. Food Chopper

If you’re someone who hates the prep work involved in chopping, get yourself a gadget that does the dirty work for you. A hand powered-chopper can save you time and frustration, and you can use it to chop anything from large pieces of fruit and vegetables to boneless meats, herbs, and nuts. Chop your food ahead of time, store it, and get back to doing the activities you enjoy.

3. Multi-Cooker

Multi-cookers have been all the rage recently, and for good reason. No matter what type of meal prepper you are, a multi-cooker can come in handy. If you like to prepare food in the morning so it’s ready when you come home from work, you can use the slow cooker function. If you’re more of a last-minute person, you can use the pressure cooker and whip up a spontaneous dish for the week in less than an hour. Multi-cookers are also great for making large batches of foods such as hard boiled eggs or even preparing a whole “roasted” chicken.

4. Immersion Blender

Going keto means you might have to make some of your own condiments or sauces, and having a blender can make this type of prep easier. Rather than investing in a pricey high-speed blender, which also takes time to clean, you can use a handheld immersion blender. You can use this type of blender to make anything from pestos to whipped cream to hearty soups. The best part? You save dishes by directly blending your foods in the container in which they are being prepared.

5. Food Scale

Part of going keto involves paying attention to your macros. Rather than eyeballing your ingredients, you can use a food scale to accurately measure the weight of food which helps you be more precise when preparing your meals and controlling portion sizes.

6. Glass Containers

Once you’ve prepped, you’ll want to have a proper way to store and preserve your food. Get yourself a set of glass containers in various sizes so you can portion out your food or keep individual ingredients separate. When your fridge is organized, meal prep is easier, and having glass containers makes for easy reheating as well as cleaning.

Meal prepping is a great way stay on track when doing the keto diet! These handy kitchen essentials will help make it easier and less stressful in the long run.

Carina Wolff

Carina Wolff is a health and wellness writer and food blogger based out of Los Angeles. She graduated from New York University with a degree in journalism and psychology. She writes for a number of websites, including Bustle, FabFitFun, Reader's Digest, and more. She also runs a healthy food blog called Kale Me Maybe, where she develops clean-eating recipes.