Raw Food Gadgets and Tools

If you want to prepare raw recipes, the right tools can make the whole adventure a lot easier and more fun!

Cutting Boards
I've been using 3 small cutting boards with one dedicated to onions and garlic. But Jennifer Cornbleet recommended getting one large cutting board and dedicating the side with the grooves around the edges to fruit (to catch the juices) and using the other side for all sorts of veggies, including garlic and onion. I found one at Wal-Mart yesterday and I can't believe how much easier it was to prepare dinner last night!

Just a note on cutting boards. I go with wood! A study reported in the UC Berkeley Wellness letter addressed the plastic versus wood cutting board debate. Both types were used to cut meat on and then washed with hot soapy water and left to dry overnight. In the morning, the plastic one still had bacteria from the meat, but the wood one did not. They hypothesized that maybe the cellulose in the wood had antibacterial properties. Besides, don't plastic surfaces dull knives a lot faster?

Knives/Peeler
After you get a nice large cutting board, the next most important tool is a set of really good knives. I have several Wusthof brand knives--a chef's knife, a small serrated knife, and a paring knife. I also own a Chinese cleaver which comes in handy with winter squashes. HI YAH CHOP!

A good vegetable peeler also comes in handy. I recommend the OXO brand.

Food Processor
One of the main appliances you'll use is a food processor. I am currently using an old Cuisinart that I picked up at a garage sale for $5.00. I will probably upgrade sometime, but for now it works. I priced a few at Wal-Mart yesterday and you can get these for between $35 to $50. I use mine for grinding nuts, making marinara sauce, guacamole, cole slaw and a lot more! If you don't own one, this would be the first appliance I would buy.

Blender
A blender would come second. I happen to have a Vita-Mix, which is expensive, but does a wonderful job. I use mine at least daily for smoothies. However, any blender that is fairly powerful will do the trick.

Spiralizer
Another gadget I'd get is a spiralizer for making "pasta" from vegetables. We had zucchini pasta again last night and again I was surprised at how much I liked it! The thought of zucchini pasta is such a strange concept that I still haven't gotten my mind around it! :-) You can get one that comes with it's own container--this link has a good photo, although I've never ordered from them-- http://www.rawgourmet.com/saladacco.html . Or you can buy the Japanese garnishing gadget --the Benriner Cook Help--like I did (it's green--a photo of it is in my Feb. 6, 2008 post). The chefs that I've watched on DVD's use the first one and seem to get good results, although when I went searching I saw some poor reviews. Still, I have a friend who has one and doesn't have any complaints.

When you consider the health benefits of incorporating more living foods into your diet and the amount of time you spend preparing it, using the right tools can help make the job a lot easier.