Tools I have that I love (that I get that most people don't have, but find useful)
-A working but basic dehydrator
Recent uses: Dehydrate sauteed mushrooms, tomato, ginger slices, and anything else that always seems to either go bad, or that I run out of, that's a pain in the a$$ to always have on hand.
Also: dried red pepper is friggen amazing! It's keto version of licorice you never knew you loved! Dry in julienned strips. you won't regret it.
- a second hand Omega single masticating juicer - I love this thing
Recent uses: Grinding above mentioned dried mushrooms, tomatoes, ect, so that I have ready to use mushroom powder, tomato powder ect on hand, when my fridge is shamefully lacking. Also great for grinding your own nuts and seeds to make your own flours and seed crackers. Or, for making "ice cream" out of frozen raspberries, ices chips, mint leaves and whatever else your heart desires. If you're off keto, try a mix of frozen banana, berries, and shaved chocolate. you might hate me from hereon in.
-A soda stream for making my own carbonated water.
-A dutch oven bought during a black Friday/boxing week sale from Canadian tire, on steep discount. It's sunshine yellow. I love it. Note on dutch ovens: review recommended getting one with "dimples" in the lid for good circulation of moisture. Double check to make sure the dimples are well coated with lacquer before lugging it home, especially if you take a bus, otherwise you'll ended up like me and cursing Murphy, and having to trudge out again in -20 weather to return a 10 lb dish because your pot will more likely fail and rust in the next few years due to the shoddy lacquer jobs. grumble grumble. Get one with lid-dimples. Otherwise moisture just drips down the inside, and doesn't work as hard at keeping your food succulent.
Things I try to have prepped to make food making quick:
-frozen homemade chicken stock
-dehydrated and pulverized via omega juicer lots of things (mushroom, tomato, in chuncks and pulverized)
- Pre-chopped frozen union chunks, "fresh" and sauteed
-pre cooked, or at least pre-prepped frozen meat, often in fast-cook "crumbled" form, aka crumbled ground beef, turkey, cut up cooked sausage ect. I try to freeze "loose" food on a baking tray first, and then transfer to a freezer baggie or two. I try at much as possible to make sure the food in bags does not clump to reduce sticking together, I try to lie bags flat and seperate food bits, to make it easier to use just what I want at a later time.
IE Breakfast:
The night before I put into a small glass mason jar:
-2 cracked eggs
-salt/pepper/garlic powder, or other spices/green onion as desired
- a bit of water
In the morning I plop a pat of butter in my frying pan, grab some pre-cooked meat-crumble from the freezer, take egg-mix jar from the fridge, give it a good shake, and throw everything into the pan on low-medium heat. I got to other am prep things, go back to the stove to give it a stir, go to other prep things, return, turn off heat, stire, and before I walk out the door , put the egg/sausage into a mason jar, and eat once at work. Quick breakfast!
