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You know those “can’t-live-without” tools and tips that make life in the kitchen actually easier? Our Food People, Parent Picks interviews are filled with real-life recs from chefs, dietitians, and cookbook authors who also happen to be parents. Now that summer is in full swing, we’re rounding up some of the most-mentioned favorites, from kitchen gear to family cooking tips—plus a few standout skills that show up again and again. Think of this as your summer reset: a reminder that home cooking doesn’t have to be perfect to be joyful.
🔪 Favorite Kitchen Tools (That Our Food People Actually Use)
A Good Chef’s Knife
Almost everyone swears by this. Faster prep, safer cutting, and way more fun to use.
A Cast Iron Pan
From paella to pancakes to last night’s leftovers, a well-seasoned cast iron is the workhorse of busy kitchens. Cathy, Chef Cassandra, and a few other food parents all swear by it—and ours pretty much lives on the stovetop too.
A Rice Cooker
Perfect for quinoa, oatmeal, or rice that doesn’t burn while you’re cleaning crayon off the walls. Loren keeps one going in her kitchen, and Chef Taffy dreams about the day she finally has space for hers.
A Mandoline Slicer
Chef Tatiana brought this up and we’ve heard it more than once. If chopping vegetables is your least favorite task (or your kid insists everything be paper thin), this tool is a total game changer. Just use the hand guard. Please.
A Powerful Blender or Vitamix
Smoothies, sauces, sneaky vegetable soups—this one gets a lot of love from parents, including from Sabrina who makes everything from nut butters to ice cream in hers. Katina and Loren also gave their Vitamix blenders shout-outs.
A Microplane Zester
Adds flavor with lemon zest, garlic, or even chocolate. Easy to clean, even easier to use. On the list from Cassandra, Sabrina, and Loren as a gadget that makes life so much easier for busy parents.
Opinel Kids Knife Kit
We first learned about this awesome kids knife kit in The Birthday Knife, but Chef Tatiana is an enthusiastic fan, too. It includes a peeler, a kid-safe knife, and a little finger guard to teach safe cutting. Ideal for getting little hands involved without losing your mind (or a fingertip).
🍽️ Shortcuts, Snacks & Small Wins We’re Copying Immediately
Boxed Curry Roux (and other store-bought helpers)
Sako swears by boxed Japanese curry roux—and honestly, it makes total sense. The goal isn’t to be fancy. The goal is dinner on the table. We also loved Cathy’s salmon-muffin freezer snacks and Amanda’s trail mix pouches stashed in her purse, car, and every drawer in her house.
Pre-washed berries for the win
Amanda always rinses and dries her fruit as soon as it hits the fridge, so her kids can grab it without asking for help—or creating a raspberry crime scene. A little prep = a lot less “mooooom!”
A good olive oil and flaky salt
Excellent advice from Loren, Ted, and Katina: sometimes dinner just needs a drizzle and a sprinkle to feel (and taste) a little more special.
Keep go-to meals simple and repeatable
Tortellini, veggie stir-fry, slow-cooker meat sauce—nearly everyone we talked to has a few meals on repeat. Find yours. Stick with it. Call it a ritual instead of a rut.
🍳 Kitchen Skills That Actually Make Life Easier
Control the heat (and your stress)
Chef Nelson said it best: “Don’t cook on super high heat—it takes control away from you.” Preheat your pan, stick with medium-high, and cook with confidence. It really does make a difference.
Use your spices!
From homemade sofrito (we hear you, Chef Nelson!) to Diaspora Co. blends (thank you, Sana!) to that trusty jar of Vegeta (thank you, Chef Taffy!), a good spice stash helps you level up a basic meal fast. No extra chopping required.
🧒 Skills Worth Sharing
Cooking isn’t just about the food—our Food People know it’s about confidence, culture, and connection. We love sharing time in the kitchen with our kids.
Let your kids help—and embrace the mess
Tatiana, Cathy, and Amanda all reminded us: the mess is worth it. Cooking together teaches life skills, even if flour ends up on the dog. You’re not failing—you’re parenting.
Teach kids to cook early
Nearly every parent-chef we spoke to encourages getting kids in the kitchen. They’re not too young to stir, taste, or chop with supervision. You can always learn more about teaching your kids to cook from our friend Katie Kimball and her Kids Cook Real Food online courses.
Focus on one new skill at a time
Whether it’s how to make rice, flip a pancake, or wash greens properly, giving kids a single skill to master builds confidence—and gives them real responsibility.
Let kids pick what’s for dinner, a side dish, or topping
Makes them more likely to try new foods and reduces mealtime battles (Sana, Ted, and Kate all talked with us about how they use this trick!) Kate even talked about handing her daughters a cookbook and asking them to pick the recipe she’d cook for dinner that night.
No one we interviewed said their kitchen was spotless. Or that their kids always eat what they make. What they did say? That joy matters. That shortcuts are sacred. That the mess is temporary but the memories stick.
So here’s to you, to your new mandoline slicer, to the snack bin that saves your afternoon—and to whatever dinner looks like tonight.
🔗 Dive back into the full Food People, Parent Picks archive right here.
