Raw Food Appliances For A Raw Food Newbie

A fully functioning raw food kitchen can be filled with all kinds of fun tools, appliances and gadgets. But, what do I recommend for a newbie? There are a couple of definite must haves. The list is longer once you get your groove on with your raw lifestyle, but these are a couple of items that I think every newbie should have.

1) A Great Knife!
The thing you'll do the most in your raw food kitchen is chopping, dicing, and mincing... more than anything else. Even if you're going to use your blender, you're usually still chopping something before you put it into your blender. So! Get a great knife! Here is my favorite: MAC Knife. I've had it for years and I love it. It's light in my hand so I can chop for hours and my wrist and hand don't get tired. A great, quality knife makes chopping fun! Seriously... FUN! Although, I think some people think I should reevaluate my idea of fun - haha.

2) A High Powered Blender!
I'll start by saying that I cannot imagine my foodie life without one of these bad boys! It's true that you can make smoothies easily with a normal blender. But. If you want extra powerful smoothies (the high powered blender can bust through cell walls and pulverize seeds to release more nutrition) as well as the ability to make other great foods like raw ice cream, raw cheesecake, raw soup, raw juice (Yes, juice! By using a nutmilk bag to strain your blended mixture, you can have fresh juice), raw mousse, raw pesto, raw slaw, and so much more... then treat your health to a high powered blender. Obviously, if you don't have a high powered blender, you can still successfully make some raw foods. It's just easier, more fun, and usually healthier with a high powered blender. Here are the two brands that I have:
Blendtec
Vita-Mix

For my reviews on the two brands of blenders I have (Blendtec and Vita-Mix), read my blog post here. (Note: Since my baby Kamea came into our lives, I have been using my Vita-Mix more because it's quieter.)

Like I wrote earlier, there are a bunch of other tools and appliances that I recommend in the long run, but to get you started... those are the two best items (a quality knife and high powered blender). Other things for down the road... food processor, spiralizer or turning slicer, juicer, dehydrator, fruit scoopers, water filter, mandoline, ceramic knives, fermenting crock pot, etc. Links to these great products (and more!) available in my Kristen's Raw store.