With Black Friday looming I thought this would be a good time to come up with a list items we have found invaluable in our kitchen over the five years we have been full timing. For those of us living in small spaces with limited storage space and continually moving around we have acquired things that fit this lifestyle to a “T.” Most of these items will either be lightweight or take up little space as those are the two major factors one must consider when purchasing kitchen items for RV’s. A few items on the list will simply be those that make life much easier for us in our confined spaces. So what are they?
Collapsible Kitchen Items – We have several of these Items such as a the collapsible strainer, the collapsible measuring cups and the collapsible salad spinner. These collapsible items take up so little space and are easy to clean and sanitary. The colors of the measuring cups also makes it easy to grab the one you want… well, that is after you remember which color goes with which measuring cup!
NonStick and Heat Resistant Baking Mat Set
We use this all the time when baking as it can be used in the oven, microwave, toaster oven or even freezer. This simply turns any baking sheet into a non-stick surface without having to use oil or cooking spray. It can also be used as a flexible cookie sheet. They are flexible so are easily stored anywhere!
Heat Resistant Kitchen Spatulas
We love these flexible silicone spatulas that are heat resistant so they won’t warp or melt like plastic ones do. Also since they are solid silicone they have no crevices like wooden ones for bacteria to collect and grow. We like having multiple sizes so we can get all the goodies out of any size container with one of these!
Below are some other kitchen tools that make our life easier and help keep our non-stick pots and pans protected. These are rated up to 480℉ for handling heat. Now while we don’t have this complete set we do have several of these tools and if I were starting all over this is the set I would want in our RV. Add to this a Silicone Whisk Set and the utensil list is pretty much complete.
We currently still have heavy cutting boards but I would trade them in for a set of these flexible cutting matts. By purchasing a set of these matts in assorted colors with nifty food icons means we could use separate mats for different raw foods thus avoiding any cross-contamination. Cool! I really don’t know why we don’t own these… maybe I should get us a set for Christmas!
Another item we have that we love for their durability and light weight are our Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls. They are light weight and easy to use and with the polished finish they are easy to clean as well.!
Since we are both short our must have is a Folding Step Stool. Without this much of our storage would simply be unusable. It is great for reaching the higher cabinets and cleaning those otherwise out of reach places. Sharon also loves it for resting her feet on when we are traveling since her feet don’t touch the floor when she is seated in the passenger seat.
One of the things we quite often reach for is our Hand Held Blender. While this is not the one we have this Hamilton Beach 59765 2 Speed Hand Blender is an almost exact duplicate of the one we bought five years ago. With the attachments we are able to do everything from puree sauces, chop a small amount of vegetables or nuts and even beat egg whites to a a peak. So this is also used as our mixer. We wouldn’t leave home without one…
While we don’t have one of these many of our RV friends swear they couldn’t live without an Electric Frying Pan. We simply don’t have the storage to have one of these so we list it here simply because so many others love their electric fry pans. They do make them as small as 7 inches which has tempted us but we still have never purchased one. We love our Cast Iron Skillet. Ours is a small 8” skillet but they make larger ones as well. While these break the rule of lightweight items, we really wouldn’t be happy if we didn’t at least have a small one of these to cook with. Best of all they now sell these pre-seasoned making them ready to use right away!
Another item we don’t have that a lot of RV’ers say they love is a toaster oven. Storage is the big issue here for us but for those with more storage space you may want one of these! I think if we were to have one we would probably buy this one - Hamilton Beach 31334 Easy Reach Toaster Oven. We do have a regular toaster because sometimes we crave toasted bagels! We store ours inside our oven when we travel.
A bulky item we do have but really love is our countertop double burner. The one we currently have has two burners, one at 600 watts and one at 900 watts. We love using this as it frees up counter space and also, let's be real… why pay for propane to use our gas stove when we mainly receive electricity for free. Our one complaint is that it takes a long tome to boil water on 900 watts so I would prefer more wattage. In fact when this one dies we will likely buy one of the newer induction burners. While these are pricier than the one we have the safety it offers is more than worth the additional cost. And we would get one that ranges up to at least 1800 watts as well.
Two items we don’t have but wished we did!
A couple of other small appliances that are nice to have are a compact blender and a nice coffee machine. While we have items that perform these tasks these are two items we would love to get! For RVers short on storage space it pays to find a good compact blender. Having yourself this powerful micro blender means not missing out on smoothies or your favorite frozen cocktail. The Ninja Master Prep is, we feel, the one to get for RV’ers. Not too small and not too big this blender can whip up favorite beverages in its 48-ounce pitcher. After all any bigger and you might just imbibe a bit too much!
Coffee drinkers typically find space for their favorite coffee maker. We are still using our old trusty Cuisinart while many others make space for their Kuerigs or Expresso coffee machines. We figured we would use the Cuisinart until it died. So what would we like to have to replace it? We would love to have a the Aerobie AeroPress Coffee Maker. This compact coffee maker uses an air pressure brewing process to make 1 to 4 cups of American or espresso style coffee. Boy, as coffee lovers, we would love to have one of these!
While this is not a comprehensive list we thought this would be a good time to share per the request of some of our readers a list of some of our favorite items and a few items we would love to have as well… Hey, fellow RVers, chime in with what items you have in your kitchen that you simply can’t live without?
We have a lot of these items (in duplicate because of the bungalow) but I couldn't survive without my slow cooker. It takes up room but so worth it for us.
ReplyDeleteWow not sure how I could have left out our slow cooker... We certainly have to have one of these!
DeleteSo many things you can buy out there. The collapsible salad spinner and bowls we have and a cast iron frying pan, small step stool. No electric fry pans, toaster ovens for us, The built in coffee maker we have also a coffee perk for when we are dry camping (which is often). And of course our small Weber Q 1000 BBQ would not be without.Stainless steel bowls very handy as well.
ReplyDeleteThink you have most items covered pretty well.
Great information. We have many of the items you reference as well. We frequently use our crockpot (make something in the morning, pack a lunch for a day hiking, etc., and come home to a meal that is already prepared). I also have a spice rack (that I pack up when we travel). We got tired of looking for spices in the cabinet when we were cooking. Very convenient.
ReplyDeleteAlso, couldn't live without our Brita pitcher (I purchased a small one when we started full-time RVing). And because I am a tea drinker (used to have a Keurig), I now just use an electric kettle to boil water for my tea. We also use it and a small teapot to make ice tea. John is a Southern boy that loves his sweet tea!
ReplyDeleteMy first NEED is my small one-cup Keurig. Use it every day. Also I have a toaster oven that I use often for toasting and heating/cooking in the oven. And my Magic Bullet for smoothies, etc. Those three are on my kitchen counter all the time. I use a Brita pitcher, too, for all my drinking water. I love my RV kitchen! It's as well equipped as my home kitchen was. :)
ReplyDeleteFoldtuk is an amazing site that very few RVers know about. I first saw it mentioned in the Motorhome magazine. It is collapsible cookware that can take heat to 500 degrees. You can freeze in it, then put it in the oven. I bought two different size casserole dishes before we even went fulltime. I use them all the time and love that they store so easily. Maybe add this site in your next post!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foldtuk.com/
Now those are super cool... now they are on my xmas wish list....
DeleteMost of those items are not only of value to your kitchen but very colorful!
ReplyDeleteWow, we really must be minimalists...we don't own any of that stuff in our motorhome!
ReplyDeletewww.travelwithkevinandruth.com
wow you have to be kidding... you don't have any of these items?
DeleteIf you wish to save a little more weight, instead of cast iron, find carbon steel (also known as black steel) fry pans. I just purchased one from LODGE. Fabulous piece, made in the USA.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip, I certainly will read about them and check them out...
DeleteI wouldn't be able to live without the Keurig for good coffee, the slow cooker for roasts and many other food items or the Ninja for great fruit smoothies. The majority of items you mentioned we have on board. Some we use regularly and others not so much. Well, we don't have an electric stove top but don't have room for more.
ReplyDeleteSince we are not out there in the full time world yet, these tips are great to hear. We will definitely take our Keurig for coffee and tea, love that flexibility to have a quick cup when the mood strikes. A small crock pot and rice cooker as well are on my list and maybe a toaster oven since we will only have a convection, microwave unit. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSome great ideas for those with limited kitchen storage. We're fortunate to have lots of kitchen storage and counter top space...with Dave's love of cooking we carry quite the arsenal of cooking items. Our rig came with a gas stove which Dave still prefers and this winter propane is free for us as workampers.
ReplyDeleteWe have many of the same items. One item that we love not mentioned here is the Fasta Pasta maker. No more boiling water and steaming up the Coach. Cooks pasta perfectly in just 10 min. In the microwave. So easy. No need for a large pot any longer.
ReplyDeleteWe use many of the same products. One product we use not mentioned is the Fasta Pasta cooker. No longer have a need for a large Pasta pot. Cooks Pasta in just 10 min in the microwave. Comes out perfect every time. No more steam in the Coach from boiling water. Great time saver and space saver. I got mine on Amazon.
ReplyDelete