Raw Chef Kristen Suzanne shares 3 more great tips for having a well-planned raw food kitchen. Check out the first 3 tips and more photos of Kristen’s very own raw kitchen in the first post here.
Getting your raw food kitchen groove on will really enhance this lifestyle and make it extra easy! Today, I’m sharing with you some tips about labeling, storage, and how to utilize your refrigerator and freezer for raw food success.
1) Glass mason jars keep it fresh and healthy!
My storage tool of choice is a glass mason jar. It’s perfect for smoothies, raw soups, raw pate, desserts (mousse, cookies, etc), salad dressings, and more. Using glass is the way to go if you want the healthiest option for both your family and our earth. And, they’re pretty cheap, too!
Want to kick it up a notch in freshness?
Pro-tip: Get a FoodSaver (one of my secret weapons in my raw food kitchen for adding longevity to my fresh foods!), and buy the glass mason jar attachment so you can suck out the oxidizing air from your stored food.
2) Labels are saviors
Sharpie pens works like a charm! How many times have you made a raw nut milk or raw hummus, and even though you “think” you’ll remember the date you made it, after a few days you find yourself scratching your head and wondering… “When did I make this?” I use to do that all the time (and likely ended up throwing out more food because I wasn’t sure about its freshness) but not anymore. Sharpie pen to the rescue! I mentioned in tip number one that my preference of storage container is a glass mason jar for most things. Did you know that you can easily label those by using a Sharpie marker? It washes right off with a sponge and soapy water.
3) Refrigerator and freezer keeping raw goodies fresh!
It’s probably obvious that my refrigerator and freezer are where you’ll find lots of my raw foods. My refrigerator houses all of my fresh produce and greens. Did I say refrigerator? I meant refrigerators! The same goes for freezer. I have the two freezers that are a part of my refrigerator units plus a big stand alone freezer. Seem like overkill? Not for our family! I have my refrigerators loaded to the max with all of my dried fruits, fresh produce, and tons of raw sauerkraut! My freezers are used to store some of my raw concoctions that are freezer- friendly, some protein powders, super foods like green powders, frozen raw organic coconut water, frozen fruit, and all of my nuts and seeds.
Pro-tip: Buying these organic items in bulk saves tons of money, but you need somewhere to store the goods. My extra freezer and refrigerator might have cost some money up front, but I’ve saved loads on buying in bulk in the long run.
So there you go! Three more great tips for planning your raw food kitchen (see part one of this post here).
Tell us which one of these photos of Kristen’s kitchen in the last two posts has inspired you the most! Let us know in the comments below.