Essential Kitchen Utensils for Healthy Eating

Previously I've talked about how to eat healthy for life. The lesson there was, learn how to cook if you don't know how. But some things you may not learn about cooking right away.

I've compiled these things together to hopefully expand your kitchen utensil knowledge and get you ready to prepare your meals with ease. Here we go!

Knives!
Check out this video from Food Network, but don’t pay attention to what she says about the honing steel. Those usually do NOT sharpen knives, they just straighten out the blade.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/knife-basics/65741.html
So to recap what she said, you need three sharp knives. A utility knife, like a santoku, a small paring knife, and a serrated knife. Just a hint, you cannot sharpen a serrated knife with traditional methods, you must take it to a place that sharpens knives.
Here are mine:

Serrated, santoku, santoku, paring knife 

Closeup of serrated. DO NOT SHARPEN AT HOME!

This is how I store mine

Also, do NOT think you have to buy a $300 knife. There are perfectly good, respectable brands sold at TJMaxx, Marshalls, Ross, etc. Just search for ones that fit you and what you need. They range from $4 to $12 there and honestly, thats where I get most of my knives. You may also consider purchasing a sharpener at one of these locations as well.  Just make sure it’s not made out of steel. You need something like a stone material to actually sharpen a knife. There should be two sections: a coarse side and a fine side.

Cutting Boards!
These are a must have. You will need at least two cutting boards, one specifically for meats (non-wooden), and a wooden one. If you like the plastic ones, go ahead and buy two. I just recommend wooden because I like the weight (it doesn’t move around when I chop) and it sounds cool. If you use a wooden cutting board for meat, you can easily promote the growth of harmful bacteria, yuck! If you chose a light-weight cutting board, be sure to grab some of that non-slip drawer liner stuff. This will prevent you from sliding around with sharp knives and it will save your fingers. 
Here are mine:

And no, we do not actually use the specific ones for specific things. Just keep raw meats on plastic.

Pots and Pans!
Most single people can survive with 3-4 pots and pans. If you love to cook, you’ll probably expand your collection every year or so. Again, no worries on buying expensive stuff, HomeGoods, TJMaxx, and Marshalls work great. Just be sure to pick the best quality one you can find. 
I recommend a medium pot, a small, nonstick skillet, and a large skillet. You may find that you need a large soup pot as well.
Here are mine:

Medium saucepan

Large skillet

Small (dirty) nonstick for eggs!

Mixing Bowls! 
Found at Wal-mart. Here are mine:

Two sizes come in handy often

Used for salads, meatballs, etc.

Spatulas and More!
You will probably need 1 pair of tongs, stainless steel, one rubber scraping spatula, and a very flat spatula. I’ll show you a pic:

Rubber spatula, tongs, flat metal (could be heat-resistant plastic) spatula

I also cannot live without my microplane!

That’s basically it! You can pretty much cook anything with these utensils and you don’t have to break the bank doing so.