(Well, this concludes my series on kitchen essentials for the healthy lifestyle!  If you’re just catching up, read about my favorite ingredients from the pantry, fridge and freezer.)

I’ve been a home cooking enthusiast for several years now, and I’ve accumulated quite a collection of tools of the trade in that time.  And while I love my pie plates and cookie cutters, I find myself reaching far more often for the tools that make it a little easier for me to prepare healthy meals for hubby and me.  Some are pricey and others are cheap, but they’ve all been invaluable to me.

Citrus Press.  This is my favorite low-budget kitchen tool.  I asked Santa for one a few Christmases ago and I’ve used it at least three times a week – and usually more – since I got it.  I have this one from Williams-Sonoma, and it’s an amazing item.  Great quality and incredibly well-made, it squeezes half a lemon, lime or orange with next to no effort on my part, is dishwasher safe, and looks as good as the day I unwrapped it.  If you only buy one non-essential kitchen gadget, make it this one!

Microplane.  I think this is the best zester on the market.  I have a couple including this rasp, which I use for grating Parmesan and citrus, as well as a citrus-specific rasp.  I don’t use it as much as the citrus press above, but I do my fair share of zesting and this baby has seen a lot of action.

Oil Mister.  I got this from Santa too, and it’s wonderful for spraying just a fine mist of olive oil.  I can sometimes have a heavy hand with oil, so this keeps me honest.

Vitamix.  Okay, this isn’t exactly a budget item, but if you have been saving your pennies for a new blender, I can’t say enough good things about my Vitamix.  Before I got it, I had a regular blender which worked okay, but the Vitamix makes all other blenders look like dinosaurs.  It whips me up a smoothie in mere moments, and there are no chunks of ice to contend with.  It also makes a perfectly velvety pureed soup.  I can’t remember how I lived without my Vita.

Measuring Cups and Spoons.  If you’re practicing portion control, then measuring cups and spoons are absolutely essential.  Before I started measuring portions, I really had no idea what an appropriate serving size looked like.  But a cup of pasta or a teaspoon of oil are no-brainers with the right measuring devices.  I love these All-Clad cups and spoons, because they look like miniature pots.  Heh, fun.

What cook’s tools do you use to support your healthy lifestyle?

(Since we’re all on the healthy eating bandwagon… for awhile, anyway… I’m doing a series on my favorite kitchen essentials for healthy cooking.  Catch up on Part I – pantry – and Part II – fridge – if you’d like to!)

The freezer is another contraption that no kitchen is complete without, and when used well it can be a fantastic arsenal for the healthy cook.  I love to stock mine with plenty of raw materials and – like with the pantry – there’s almost nothing that feels better than knowing I have a full freezer at my fingertips.  Here are my freezer essentials for healthy cooking:

Frozen Seafood.  We eat fish a couple of nights per week, because I love it, and I always have a few varieties on hand in the freezer.  I’ve usually got a big bag of shrimp (shelled, if I can get them) and a couple of bags of salmon fillets and tilapia fillets.  We buy our frozen fish from Costco, so we get them in huge quantities that last us several weeks and the quality is great too.  My favorite thing about the Costco fillets is that they are generally evenly cut and the same size, which means they all finish cooking at the same time, and there are no thin bits that are overcooked while the center remains raw (a pet peeve of mine).  I start to panic when we get low!

Frozen edamame.  With the shells, these make for a fun appetizer.  But shelled, they’re an incredibly versatile protein source!  I toss them in soups, defrost them and add them to salads, or saute them up for stir-fries and goddess bowls.  If I have a night where I don’t know what else to make, odds are I’m going to reach for edamame.

Frozen greens.  They’ve come a long way from the disgusting frozen spinach of your youth.  Whole Foods stocks frozen kale, frozen collards, and frozen green mixes and I always have a bit on hand.  My favorite is the frozen kale.  I’m always throwing it into soups and stews, or heating it up to toss with pasta and chicken or veggie sausage.  It’s great to have on hand for those days when you’re out of the fresh stuff.

Frozen berries.  Another Costco purchase, I have a gigantic bag of these in my freezer and it has seen me through many a breakfast smoothie.  I love to make my smoothies without ice, using just frozen berries – they cool the smoothie down without watering it down like ice cubes do.  And they’re a fun dessert too, just slightly defrosted in a bowl with a drizzle of milk.

Parmesan cheese rinds.  Whenever I finish a wedge of Parm, I stick the rind in a plastic baggie that I keep in the freezer for use later.  I make a big pot of vegetable soup many weeks, just to get rid of any aging vegetables from my crisper, and the Parmesan rind takes it from hum-drum to hum-dinger!  (Sorry.)  Just remember to fish it out before you eat…

Orange and Lemon Peels.  This is my favorite tip.  Whenever I’m using a lemon or orange for a dish or a snack, but not zesting it, I take a minute to peel the zest off in big strips, using a vegetable peeler (and carefully avoiding the bitter pith).  Since I use a lemon or orange almost every day, but don’t always zest it for a recipe, I’ve amassed a huge collection of strips of zest in baggies in my freezer.  They’re on hand for whenever I want to chop them up for adding to a side or dessert and they make me feel so gourmet.  I love looking at my little baggies of zest, ready and waiting for anytime I want to fancy up a recipe!

What ingredients do you keep in your freezer for healthy cooking?  Spill!  (Your secrets, that is, not the ingredients themselves please.)

(Psst – missed Part I, where I talked about my favorite healthy pantry ingredients?  Check it out here.)

Ahhhh, the fridge.  Command Central for healthy eating.  Home to fresh ingredients – produce, dairy, the works.  No kitchen is complete without one, and I like to strategically stock mine with the raw materials for all kinds of healthy meals.

Veggies.  This one’s a given, right?  I keep most veggies in my fridge.  (Winter squash and potatoes go in the pantry, but everything else is fridge-bound.)  I’ve always, always, got salad greens, carrots, onions, cucumbers and broccoli on hand – those are the most basic of basics in my casa.  Other frequent visitors include kale, baby spinach, brussels sprouts, cabbage, red and green bell peppers.  When I’m feeling particularly fancy, I’ll also pick up some fresh mint or cilantro, my two favorite fresh herbs.

Fruits.  Another given.  I am a huge fan of fruit – it’s my favorite food group – and I always need at least a little bit in the fridge.  I try to eat in season, both because that’s when produce has the most nutrients and it’s the cheapest.  So I favor apples and Asian pears in the fall, citrus in the winter, stone fruits and berries in the spring and summer.  At the moment my fruit drawer is stocked with avocados (I always have those on hand for salads, Mexican food night, sandwiches, smoothies and snacks), oranges (I’m trying to eat lots of cold-preventing foods), lemons (another fridge constant) and a few apples (Honeycrisp are my favorites).

Eggs.  They’re a quick, easy protein – I whip up scrambles for “brinner” (breakfast for dinner) many nights when I just can’t face anything more complicated.  If I have any eggs left from a carton after a week in the fridge (I usually do), I hard-boil them and eat them for snacks or lunch.  I know eggs get a bad rap sometimes, but I think they’re great.  I buy Omega-3 fortified eggs and we eat them in moderation for a kick of protein that feels more indulgent than it really is.

Yogurt and Skim Milk.  These were two of my biggest cravings during pregnancy.  In fact, one of the first hints I had that something was “different” with me was when hubby and I were grocery shopping and I suddenly felt a massive urge to drink skim milk, which I rarely bought before getting pregnant.  And my Greek yogurt “like” turned to full-on “love” when Peanut took up residence.  Even now that she’s out of the oven, I’m still enjoying skim milk, although not in the quanties I did while pregs.  (I pounded that first half-gallon in one day.)  And I love Greek yogurt for being a low-cal, fat-free source of protein and calcium.

Nuts.  I keep nuts in the fridge since they go rancid too quickly in the pantry.  They’re high-cal, high-fat nuggets, so I practice careful portion control, but they make for a wonderful hit of protein and healthy fats.  My favorites are pecans and almonds, so I always have at least one or the other kicking around my fridge.  I use them for snacks occasionally, but more often for sprinkling over salads or my morning yogurt or oatmeal.

Hummus.  This one is for hubby, since he can’t get enough of the stuff (although I like it too).  Hummus makes a wonderful sandwich spread instead of mayo, but hubby especially likes it for dipping pretzels or veggie crudites.  I love to put it out when we want a snack – it’s far better than a high-fat dip (although it does have some fat from the olive oil and tahini, so mind yourself).  I will occasionally make my own hummus or bean spreads, but I don’t always have time, so many weeks we buy a tub of our favorite grocery store brand and that stands in for us until I have a few minutes to whip up a homemade batch.

Dates.  They’re nature’s candy!  I love to grab a date or two for a sweet treat at the end of a meal (unless I’m having a square of dark chocolate) or for fuel before long runs when I’m training for a race.  I buy a big tub from Costco, and it lasts me forever.

What do you keep in your healthy fridge?

As we all continue trying to live our best, healthiest lives in January (before February arrives and everyone falls off the wagon at the first sight of Valentine’s chocolates), I thought I’d do a mini-series of posts talking about the ingredients I’ve found to be key in my healthy kitchen.  Now, I’m not claiming to be any kind of an expert here.  But I try to put healthy meals on the table for my family every night most weeks (although I’ve succumbed to takeout a bit more than usual with an infant in the house) and over my years of cooking I’ve developed some preferences.  So I’m going to share my favorites over a series of four posts.  Part I will focus on my pantry essentials, in Part II we’ll talk fridge, Part III will be devoted to the freezer, and in Part IV I’ll share some of my favorite kitchen tools for healthy eating.

I think the pantry might be the most important part of my kitchen.  I love the feeling of well-being that comes with a full (and organized!) pantry.  I love knowing that I have everything I need at my fingertips, whether I’m pulling together an entire dinner from pantry ingredients because I’m due for a trip to the grocery store, or whether I’m just flavoring up something fresh from the fridge.  And there are a few pantry ingredients I can’t live without.

Herbs de Provence, Thyme and Oregano.  Dried herbs are one of the best ways to bring flavor to a dish without blowing your calorie budget, but they can be tricky.  I’m not a fan of most dried herbs – I think fresh is usually best.  Mint, for instance, is an herb that I’ve bought dried in the past and you know what it tastes like?  Nothing.  At least, nothing like fresh mint.  I love fresh mint so much that I’ll always, always spring for the real thing.  But there are a few herbs that I must have dried in my kitchen – namely thyme, which I like both fresh and dried, oregano, which really benefits from being dried (fresh is way too strong), and Herbs de Provence, my favorite blend.  I sprinkle them over pasta dishes, in egg scrambles, soups, stews and anything else I can think of.

Spices.  Here’s one area where I’ll probably never pare down.  I love spices, and they’re another great way to add flavor without fat or calories.  I buy plenty of spices, but my favorites are cinnamon, curry powder, ancho chili powder, and Northwoods seasoning mix (a Penzey’s blend).  Although I use plenty of different spices, those are my top must-haves for flavoring foods.

Fancy Salts.  Sure, excess sodium is pretty bad for you.  I try to avoid processed foods because of the sodium, but there is definitely a place for salt in a healthy pantry.  As with things like chocolate, I firmly believe that buying the good stuff means you can use less to better effect.  I always have Maldon sea salt on hand for finishing dishes, and I usually have a couple of other salts as well.  Right now I’m working my way through a little pot of French Grey sea salt that I acquired from R, and I also have a jar of lavender salt for when I’m feeling particularly fancy.  The better the flavor, the further you can go on just a little pinch.

Beans (canned and dried).  I love making heirloom dried beans from scratch, and I keep several bags in my pantry for long winter days when I don’t have anywhere to be and I can devote plenty of time to soaking and cooking beans.  (There’s not much active labor involved, but you do need to be around to babysit once they go on the stove.)   But for quick weeknight meals, I keep plenty of canned beans around.  Hubby loves chickpeas, while I favor cannelini beans or black beans – so we keep copious amounts of all three handy.  They’re great for soups, stews and chilis, salads, goddess bowls, Mexican food night – you name it.  (Just remember, if you buy canned, look for a brand that doesn’t use BPA in the can linings – yech – and rinse the beans well before adding them to your dish!)  On those nights when I’ve gone awhile since making a grocery run and I’m scrounging dinner from the pantry, beans are almost always involved.

Quinoa.  I’ve already told you that quinoa is one of my favorite healthy swaps.  I’ll use it in place of rice in almost every dish (except for risotto or rice pudding), because it’s healthier and quicker than most rices.  I keep other whole grains on hand too – I do have rice, for when I’ve got lots of time on my hands, and I always stock barley, millet, rolled oats, and often a grain mix.  But when I want a grain to go with dinner (well, it’s really a seed, but who’s counting?) I almost always reach for quinoa.

Olive oil.  While I don’t follow any particular diet or eating plan, my eating style tends to be similar to the “Mediterranean Diet” and that means I eat my share of olive oil.  I have several different extra-virgin olive oils (and other oils, too, but olive is my favorite).  They are great for adding flavor and healthy fats to dishes.  (They are still oils, though, so don’t go crazy.)  I always have the following: a less expensive, generic EVOO to use for cooking; a nice EVOO for finishing or drizzling over salads (I love Olave brand); and at least one infused oil (I keep white truffle-infused oil on hand because I love it, even though hubby’s not a huge fan, and I often have a basil-infused oil from Olave kicking around the pantry too; right now I’m also loving the blood orange-infused oil from Olio Tasting Room).  And for very special treats, I have a little bottle of EVOO that my parents picked up in Tuscany.

Dark Chocolate.  Sometimes I want a little something sweet to finish off a meal, and a square of dark chocolate is just the ticket.  Just a wee nibble is enough, since it’s a strong flavor, and you’ll feel as though you had a special treat without breaking the calorie bank.  I keep bars on hand and break off a square or two a few times each week – not too often, but enough so that I don’t feel deprived (because feeling deprived is NOT healthy).  My favorite bars are Chocolove – almonds and sea salt in dark chocolate, or candied ginger in dark chocolate.  Again, a little goes a long way!

Tea.  I saved the best for last!  Plenty of research shows that drinking tea is all kinds of healthy.  Black tea packs potent antioxidants.  Green tea helps with weight loss, and brings antioxidants of its own.  And there’s an herbal for whatever ails you.  Plus, if you don’t pour sugar or honey in, tea is calorie-free!  (I rarely sweeten my tea, since I like to taste the tea itself.  I’ll do a bit of milk and sugar in an English afternoon tea, once in a blue moon, but the vast majority of the cups I brew are unsweetened.)  I always have black tea on hand, and lots of it in many different flavors, because it’s my favorite.  I keep a bit of green tea knocking about the pantry too, and a tin of coconut oolong from the Spice and Tea Exchange in Alexandria, which I love.  For herbals I favor chamomile (especially Celestial Seasonings honey vanilla or Traditional Medicinals chamomile with lavender), but I always have Celestial Seasonings “Mint Magic” around because it was my favorite tea as a child.  I go through several cups each day, so my healthy pantry would be woefully incomplete without a wide selection.

What’s in your healthy pantry?  What good-for-you ingredients can’t you live without?