Cooking equipment advice

[Joodle]

Hello Dukanettes!

I have just completed 4 weeks of the diet and it's going great. I've been spending a lot more time in the kitchen which I enjoy, but there are certain things I know would be a lot quicker with the right kit. I seem to be spending a lot of time whisking egg whites for example!! But also chopping herbs and so on.

I told myself that if I made it to 4 weeks, I could reward myself with a gadget to help with this sort of thing and the obvious one is some kind of hand held whisk/blender. I do already have a blender and like using that for blending soups, but I know there are stick blenders out there which have whisk and chopping compartment attachments as well.

But there are also hand held blenders with beater and whisk attachments which could be handy too. Or do I just go for a food processor? I've had one in the past but found it wasn't so great with small amounts.

I don't want to spend more than about £50 max - what would your advice be? What is the one key thing you use when doing your Dukan cooking?

Thanks for your help!

Joodle

 

[CheeseGirl]

Being a kitchen gadget queen, I would recommend going for the stick blender kit - mine's got a whisk attachment and a mini-chopper attachment and I use it every day, sometimes several times. I use the blender attachment to mix soups and things like cauliflower puree, the whisk of course for egg whites and the chopper for quickly chopping onions and garlic for recipes and for mincing chicken and turkey as I can't get premade poultry mince in my area. I've also got a full size food processor/blender too but I use that much less often. I think mine's a Philips, but there are plenty out there well below £50. The only thing I might have done differently is getting one with a bigger chopper jug, mine's quite small but I've seen some that hold a litre or maybe a tad less.

 

[SuperCarly]

I couldn't live without:

Silicone spatula: Perfect for flipping dukan pancakes & eggs
Tefal griddle + frying pan: wonderfully non-stick!
Slow cooker: I find it much more tasty than in the oven, make some delicious things!

I have an electric whisk but never really needed to use it on dukan?

 

[Jojo25]

Yogurt maker !!!! Use mine at the very least twice a week

 

[CHRISR]

Yogurt maker !!!! Use mine at the very least twice a week

Agree with you Jo, its the best £19.99 Ive spent in Lakeland

 

[Joodle]

So the only thing anyone agrees on is the yoghurt maker?!

Will wait for a few more votes - never really thought of myself as a yoghurt making type!!

 

[scooter]

Electric yoghurt maker from lakeland without a doubt its brill and is saving me a fortune!

 

[sarafvrm]

Why not knit your own, Joodle?

 

[CheeseGirl]

I do believe this thread has pushed me over the edge - I have been thinking about purchasing a yoghurt maker but remained undecided until now. Just ordered one and now I can't wait to roll my own

 

[dukannotsofatty]

I have a stick blender that also has a whisk attachment/mixing tub with blades. got it as a pressie a few years ago and its a fantastic piece of equipment. Use the whisk or stick blender bit at least once a week.

I also have a silicon spatula, its great for scraping the edges of the pan/bowl/mixer and not leaving a thing behind LOL

Silicon mould cupcakes. They are great for making the muffins and then removing from case to freeze. Paper ones seem to stick to the buns All of the above i already had, but bought brand new for the diet are:

I bought a small slow cooker which I make my own yogurt with. If it costs 55p a 500ml tub in Asda. I buy a litre skim UHT for 49 from Aldi and get two tubs of yog out of it. Saves half the money. Plus can use the cooker for meats etc if i ever had the need. (I didn't see the point to a specialised yogurt maker....so far I've made it about 6 times in last two weeks)

Small glass pirex dish, ace for single portion quiches or one portion roasting. £2 in asda. was fed up of them sticking to the foil tins i use.

I also bought a garlic chopper, so I chop a few cloves at once, then freeze in a twist of cling film and just break off what I need.

Mini grater, to grate ginger.

A pack of 6 very small (45ml) silver metal dishes. Great for measuring out small amounts of yogurt or putting all spices etc in ready for meal making.

Can't think of anything else, but LOL, I do like my kitchen gadges

Hope all that helps.

 

[CaledoniaDreaming]

Definitely the silicone muffin trays, and the stick chopper sounds good although I am a dinosaur in the kitchen and never use gadgets (find chopping relaxing and the only place the kids leave me alone is if I'm at the cooker!!). I want a yoghurt maker but I have soya yoghurt and not sure if that would work - really should remember to ask on here for advice!!

 

[Joodle]

Brilliant tips everyone! I have a silicone scraper thing - so simple yet so effective. Plus it's baby pink which appears to make me happy for some reason. Have silicone muffin thingies although am still using up hundreds of the plain white ones which stick like anything. No idea why I stocked up on so many nor when - I don't think I'd ever baked a single muffin before Dukan. Oh well.

Not sure I'm enough of a yoghurt lover to invest in a yoghurt maker....yet. What sort of size are they? Must think of storage space. Plus, Sara, I'm already knitting my own tofu so don't have spare needles for the yog.

Think a stick blender/whisk/chopper is nudging into the lead. Anyone else got any ideas to add? I've loved reading your posts - feel like I'm having a wee nosey in your kitchen drawers!!

Jx

 

[dukannotsofatty]

I felt the same way about the yogurt maker, hence buying the slow cooker. You can do it with Soya yogurt, but you have to use soya milk too.....I read that on the yogurt thread. Search in recipes for it.

 

[sarafvrm]

There's a yoghurt thread...? Only on Dukan!

 

[sarafvrm]

Sorry, I'm being very flippant, aren't I?

 

[dukannotsofatty]

Oh you made me laugh, not flippant at all.....yes its in the recipe thread a couple of pages in, homemade yogurt. Loads of responses on it. LOL. As you say, only on Dukan!!!!

 

[Joodle]

Sara, I think yoghurt-based flippancy is entirely acceptable, even on Dukan. I would even go so far as to encourage it.

The crazy thing is that I didn't really like the stuff before I started this! I used to buy it thinking it was good for me then it would sit in the fridge, staring accusingly at me while I just ate the cheese. Good to be getting a bit more low fat calcium though and I'm starting to quite like the total 0% stuff. Think my attitude is going to have to change a little bit more to get to the point where I'm making my own mind you!

 

[dukannotsofatty]

I did it out of necessity, totally saves on money. Slow cooker cost me a tenner, so far I've saved £3 another two months of yogurt and it will have paid for itself, and then all good from then. Considering I'm likely to be on cruise till at least February, LOL. And with my lovely new flavourings i can have lots of nice yogurts. LOL

 

[Joodle]

So does the slow cooker sit on top of the job, or in the oven? And does the yoghurt come out thick or more liquidy? And my final question (!) what flavourings do you use? I mistakenly added almond extract to my yoghurt this.morning. expected it to be totally foul but at least from the smell if it I could pretend I was eating an almond croissant!

 

[dukannotsofatty]

I bought a 1.5ltr SC from a local store...Argos is about £15. It sits on top of the worktop (small enough to fit in a cupboard too).

You need:
1lt of skimmed UHT milk (must be UHT - i buy aldi at 49p or asda smart price at similar price)
2tbsp of Live Yogurt (to start with I bought Green Yeo Valley....now I use the yogurt I've made and take 2 tbsp as it gets near bottom of second tub)
1tbsp of Skim milk powder

Heat milk only in SC for 2 hours on high (or Low for about 3 hours)
Switch it off and unplug and leave to cool for about 1.5 hours.....test by putting finger in milk, if its too hot to leave finger in it needs longer to cool. Keep checking though.
When cool enough, add Yogurt and Milk Powder to pot and stir/mix well.
Place nice thick blanket/towel over the whole machine and leave to stand for 8 hours minimum (last one I did was 10 hours and was thicker)
When time is up decant to tubs. (I saved Cottage Cheese tall tubs to put this in)

The yogurt is similar consistencey to Asda smart price yogurt. Its not super thick but it nots too runny either. Perfect for everyday means. If it is drained it will thicken up like double cream....but I don't drain it anymore and I get two 500ml tubs out of it. Otherwise drained it only fills one tub.

Easy as that, and it means that the slow cooker is also there for making meals when i need it.

I use all flavourings, favourite at breakfast is Lemon, though this morning I had banana. I pour about half a capful into 150ml of yogurt and mix well...plus a tsp of sweetner.