Cricket is very time consuming, so who has time to be the next Jamie Oliver?

I know I don't, but I also want to be able to eat in a healthy way while getting in and out of the kitchen as fast as possible. That's why I place high importance on having the right tools at hand to help me out.

Here is what I consider essential.

1. Knives

A really good knife is a joy to use and makes chopping anything easy. This saves time and frustration. Yo do have to pay a bit more for the chef style knives with the curve in them, but once you have one or two you will wonder what you did without them (even if you have no pretentions as a chef).

2. Spoons

The multipurpose sets of spoons you can buy from any hardware or kitchenware shop are so ubiquitous they are often overlooked. If you do any cooking at all (and if you are eating healthy you should be) then having large spoons for stirring, a ladle for soup and a spatula for flipping are critical to efficiency.

3. Pans

Stainless steel pans are an essential and usually cheap to buy. If you have the budget to go up market then high quality pans heat food more quickly and stick less, saving you time.

4. Blender

Blenders are great for making shakes and smoothies. If you do it right you are looking at at fast and healthy snack or even meal replacement.

There are loads of blenders out there but for sheer reliability, versatility and power the Magic Bullet beats everything hands down in its price range. You can go up scale and buy an industrial strength blender instead but you are talking hundreds.

5. Food processor

You could chop your own vegetables and get pretty fast at it. Even the best can't beat the speed of a food processor. You can chop all your veggies, bag them up and put them in the fridge so you can save time cooking in the week.

6. George Foreman Grill

If you need something cooking fast, the George Foreman is indispensable. I use mine so much I wore the first one out in about 6 months. You can grill loads of food in 10-15 minutes. Perfect if you are in a rush on weekday mornings. I honestly don't know what I did without it.

7. Measuring spoons and scale

Healthy eating does require you to measure out how much you eat somewhat. Nobody wants to be counting every last calorie but it's easy to over or under eat if you estimate. Using measuring spoons and a scale makes sure you are not sneaking in calories if you are watching your weight (or not getting enough if you are trying to add some lean muscle).

8. Steamer

Steaming keeps more of the nutrients in fresh vegetables that using the microwave or boiling. Plus the taste is better in my book. Steaming is one area I take a little longer on when cooking, purely for the extra nutrients I know it gives me.

9. Wok

Woks are not just for Chinese food. They are larger than pans so you can cook bigger batches and store for later. I cook chilli in mine and have been known to make big omelettes if I'm feeling particularly hungry.

All that may seem a lot for someone not 'into' cooking. But for me the pleasure is not the cooking itself, it's the knowledge I'm eating healthy without spending half my life in the kitchen. That's worth the outlay.

What's in your cricket kitchen?

Photo credit: deadlydesigns.com