6 kitchen gadgets and tools that will totally hack your meal prep – National

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We've all heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you fail.” Well, even when you think you're doing your best to prepare meals, life often gets in the way. Spending five hours every Sunday roasting a chicken, soaking beans, and boiling a week's worth of eggs is unrealistic. Add in cooking, family obligations, and the desire to do a little self-care on Sundays, and that doesn't always happen.

That's why when I'm meal prepping for the busy week ahead, I want it to be quick and easy, with minimal utensils and guesswork. Enter honest reviews of these kitchen gadgets designed to hack your Sunday meal prep.

I've always used a rice cooker, so when I heard about this new gadget from KitchenAid, I couldn't wait to try it out. The perfect rice (jasmine, wild, brown, sushi!) is cooked and the best quinoa ever made in my kitchen.

Strong Points: I love that this cooker has a soak feature and can be set to pre-clean between meals. The built-in scale eliminates the need to check grain to water ratios and can also be set to slow cooking. I've used it for quick meal prep while leaving the stovetop free for other things, but it's also handy for whipping up fresh rice or grains during the week with minimal cleaning.

The “warm” feature kept food warm without burning the bottom of the ceramic pot, which was a huge advantage. The touchscreen is also intuitive and easy to use, and I didn't have to flip through the pages of the instructions before I started cooking.

Cons: The included steamer could be bigger, but you can quickly steam vegetables for kids or dumplings for adults while the rice is cooking. On the other hand, the preset programs do not include all the grains that I wanted to cook (buckwheat was an adventure). There is a custom function that can be used in such cases, but it is still being experimented with.

Conclusion: This is my new favorite kitchen tool and will be used for years to come.

Prepdeck was first popularized on Shark Tank and has since become TikTokers' go-to viral gadget. I like the idea of ​​having stations to speed up prep time, but I don't like the hefty price tag. So when I found this camo for half the price on Amazon, I decided to give it a try.

Strong Points: It's great to have one place to cut all your vegetables for stir-fries, salads, and school lunches. I loved sliding the cut produce into the top hole and into the bottom container. This deck was also perfect for family taco night because you could quickly assemble everything and throw the containers on the table for self-service.

Cons: Unfortunately, the manufacturer did not measure correctly and the grater was too large for the opening. I was able to slice cucumbers and grate cheese even if I put it in from an angle, but it was a little scary. The lid wouldn't close properly either, so if I left it in the fridge, the food would go stale within a day.

Conclusion: Other reviewers raved about this product and said the pieces fit perfectly, so maybe I was a failure. On the other hand, this board includes fewer pieces and features than the Prepdeck, but it's still a cheaper alternative if you want something with a little more functionality.

Veggie chopper with mandoline slicer, cheese grater, veggie spiralizer and french fry dicer? Sign up. I'm a sucker for multipurpose kitchen gadgets that help me organize clutter, but this also includes safety gloves and containers for freshly prepared food.

Strong Points: I love that this is an all-in-one gadget that allows you to prepare multiple containers of vegetables at once. Sometimes I have to change the way I prepare something to feed the kids. Being able to whip out the “cucumber snake” with a spiralizer or carrot chips was awesome. I also liked that it was easy to change out the different blades and that it had gloves to keep my hands safe. This one gets bonus points for cutting a whole cucumber into perfect slices in about 10 seconds.

Cons: If you want to cut hard vegetables like sweet potatoes or beets, this gadget is not strong enough. Mainly suitable for soft vegetables and cheese, or medium-strength produce such as potatoes and cabbage. This gizmo has many parts, so there are even more parts to store and clean. That said, once you've used this tool, you'll use it for a variety of things, including dicing shallots for homemade dressings, prepping a week's worth of vegetables, and tucking hard-boiled eggs into your lunches. Did. The chopper also comes with a cleaning brush that can get into every nook and cranny and make cleaning easier.

Conclusion: This is not something you want to make for a quick midweek dinner (I like to use a knife and cutting board to quickly cut things). But when it comes to meal prep, it saves me time overall and allows me to use more creative ingredients to feed him throughout the week.

I've tried all kinds of food storage containers over the years, but no matter how many times I cast Marie Kondo on my cupboard, I still need help finding lids that fit. Or, the lid may break and crack, rendering the glass container unusable. However, this set only includes two sizes of lids and containers with airtight locks, so I wanted to give it a try.

Strong Points: I love that you can put the base in the dishwasher or microwave, which cuts down on cleanup time. I also liked that everything was neatly stacked so I didn't have to hunt around in drawers looking for lids.

Cons: Unfortunately, the lid can't be put in the dishwasher, so I had to hand wash it. He also didn't like that the set of 10 containers was expensive compared to other containers on the market.

Conclusion: I think I'll invest in another set because I liked how these stacked up well and had a lot of food in them. It's great to be able to see food in the fridge without opening the container, and the lid has held up well without cracking after multiple uses.

My toxic trait is buying too much produce at the grocery store and not eating it throughout the week. Meal planning and prepping definitely helps, but sometimes you have leftover fruits and vegetables that you want to freeze for soups or smoothies later. What appealed to me about these storage bags was that they could be thrown in the freezer or dishwasher.

Strong Points: It's perfect for packing in kids' lunch boxes, and I love that it comes in a variety of sizes. It's also leak-proof, so it was comfortable to carry around with liquid in it. It was helpful when preparing meals and setting aside items that I didn't want in the glass (for the kids). It was also perfect for when you want to quickly transfer leftovers to the freezer at the end of the week.

Cons: The bag did get a little dirty after repeated use, but it wasn't a big deal considering the tomato sauce and turmeric stained everything. An even bigger problem is that while these bags are dishwasher safe, they don't have a heat dry function. Therefore, even when cleaning in the dishwasher, you need to take into account the air drying time.

Conclusion: These were a solid BPA-free alternative to regular plastic bags that need to be thrown away after one use.

Roasting vegetables and meat for the long week ahead is an important part of Sunday meal prep. However, if you're doing a sheet pan and don't want the items to touch or the flavors to mix, you'll need to split multiple sheets at a time. Or you can invest in these silicone baking sheet dividers instead.

Strong Points: I'm already a fan of silicone baking sheet inserts and muffin tin liners, so I knew these dividers would be a hit. It reduces waste, is super easy to clean, and is dishwasher safe. I also really liked that it has a heat-resistant handle so you can easily move food in and out of the oven at various stages without losing too much heat. Additionally, since silicone is inherently non-stick, we were able to reduce the amount of oil used.

Cons: The narrow dividers make it difficult to spread food in one layer during cooking, eliminating some of the crunchiness you get during regular baking. It's also fairly small and shallow (it holds a cup or two), so you can't stir food or batch-cook it.

Conclusion: These liners are great for meal prep, but they're also a great tool to use throughout the week when you want to whip up a quick dinner in the oven or when you're dealing with multiple side dishes or picky eaters.

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