Instant Pot

There is no easier way to quickly make a meal!

You can easily make pulses and whole grains with an Instant Pot. We demonstrate this throughout our "How to Eat Cheap and Healthy" course. If you have two (one for pulse, one for starch), you can put together a variety of wholesome meals within 30 minutes, breakfast in about 5 minutes. If money is tight, check your local Facebook Marketplace to find a used Instant Pot at a good price.
Purchase on Amazon

A Good Knife

Having a good knife is essential to learning how to prepare cheap and healthy meals. The good news is that preparing building-block foods (plants) is generally much easier than cutting through flesh and bones. With one good knife you can do most everything you need to do.

Knife-Related Recommendations

Basic Knife

For a great all-around knife, we would recommend the Rada French Chef Knife. Here are some reasons for this recommendation:

  • It is a very good value for the quality (about $30 on Amazon), earning an "Amazon's Choice" designation.
  • It is light enough for those with smaller hands yet big enough to handle heavier tasks. 
  • It is 100% American made.
  • It comes with a lifetime guarantee.
     

You can learn more about this knife and purchase it directly from Rada by clicking here. You can also purchase it directly on Amazon by clicking here. 

Sharpener

Don't forget a sharpener! To keep your knife performing well (a dull knife is an unsafe knife), we recommend you purchase the sharpener that is specifically designed for Rada knives, the Rada Cutlery Quick Edge Knife Sharpener. You can find it on the Rada website or on Amazon by clicking here.

Don't Forget Knife Skills!

Working with a knife can be intimidating, however, with some instruction and practice, you can be slicing and dicing like a pro. Click here to watch an excellent 6-minute video on basic knife skills.  

Cutting Board, Peeler, Grater, Chopper

Look at the beautiful prep work you can do with a cutting board, peeler, grater, and knife!

While we don't have really strong recommendations for these items, we would recommend you find a large cutting board. Here are some items we found on Amazon:

  • Large Non-Slip Cutting Board, 12x18 and designated as an "Amazon's Choice." 
  • OXO Good Grips Swivel Peeler, rated #1 on Amazon. We purchased several of these for us in our face-to-face hands-on cooking classes.
  • Kitchen Grater designated as an Amazon "Overall Pick."
  • Vegetable Chopper. If your chopping or dicing lots of vegetables (into 1/4" or 1/2" sizes), then a vegetable chopper can save you lots of time (compared to dicing with a knife). Plus, children like using it! There are countless options on Amazon. Click here for an example.