The Kitchen Prep Tools a Registered Dietician Swears By

Murnane particularly loves the Ello Duraglass Containers because they can be used for every part of the ingredient prepping process. 

“You can put it in the fridge, you can put it in an oven, you can put it into the freezer, and they're perfectly fine,” she says. “You can just literally put whatever you want to cook into it, cook it in the oven, take it out, make sure it's chilled out a little bit, pop the lid on it and then put it in the freezer. So it's literally one dish that you don't have to wash multiple times.”

The containers can be used in the oven up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the company’s website, though you must remove the lid first; the website also says to remove the lid before putting the container in the microwave. 

The Ello Duraglass containers come in various shapes and sizes, allowing you to use them for large or small ingredients. They offer a mixed meal prep bundle, or you can mix and match different sizes based on your needs.

“It's so convenient too that you're able to have multiples, like multiple different size options versus just having one size option,” Murnane says. “Sometimes you need different sizes for things.”

The Ello containers are mostly glass but do include some silicone that serve as protective sleeves and bases. This adds an extra layer of durability that can come in handy in the kitchen or if you bring the containers to work or on a trip. 

“If you do drop them, they don't break, which is also really nice,” Murnane says. “So that is something that like people who are really busy, if you're going to like work or something and you're taking your containers with you, having that feature can be super nice.”

Although they’re a little pricier than just reusing old takeout containers, the Ello glass containers will likely last much longer and, because they’re made of glass, won’t hold any odd odors or flavors. 

“I've had mine for years,” Murnane says. “So they last a very long time, which is one thing that I always look into with products is making sure that if I'm buying something that's a little bit more expensive, I want to make sure it's gonna last me a long time.”

Most of us know the pain of having to wait for an entire pound of meat to defrost while watching the clock, wondering if you’re going to get dinner ready on time. With Souper Cubes, you can split your meat or other ingredients into smaller portions that can defrost quicker, helping you get dinner on the table faster. 

It could also help reduce food waste. 

“Lots of times when you're defrosting things, you have to make sure that what you're defrosting, you're actually utilizing,” Murnane says. “If you defrost an entire thing [of meat], you have to really use that. You really shouldn't be defrosting, reheating, and then freezing again. So that is one really convenient part of it.”

The different shapes and sizes of Souper Cubes make it easy for athletes or anyone else trying to meet specific nutrition and macronutrient goals to know exactly how much food they’re eating at a given time. 

“It's perfectly portioned out for you,” Murnane says. “So having something that you can know what size it is and not have to necessarily think too hard is great. You might have to measure things out the first time to know how much it actually fits into the containers…but at least then you'll know that if it fits in this container in the Souper Cube, then you know what the portion size is. So that's a huge time saver for a lot of people.”

Like many of the other items Murnane recommended, Souper Cubes can be used to freeze and warm up different ingredients, and can easily be cleaned in the dishwasher.  

“You can put things in the oven in it, you can put things in the freezer in it,” she says. Souper Cube’s website says the trays are oven-safe up to 415 degrees Fahrenheit, though you must first remove the plastic lids. 

The Souper Cubes, however, are not microwave-safe as they contain a steel rim for structural support. That said, you can easily pop your food out of the cube into a microwave-safe dish for quick defrosting. 

As someone who works in recipe development, Murnane tries to make sure she’s not mixing any mismatched flavors in her mixing bowls. The Yeti Stainless Steel Bowls are one way to ensure she doesn’t engage in the wrong kind of fusion cooking.

“You don't want that onion soup that you made to be sticking into your, I don't know, your chickpea brownies,” she says. “Like you don't want that combination in there. So finding things that are stainless steel, like the Yeti products, that can be really just a better option.”

Plastic containers could also cost you in the long run because they’re more likely to break than stainless steel bowls. 

“They're not very durable,” Murnane says of plastic cookware. “They don't last a very long time.”

The Yeti bowls come with lids to protect the contents and can be easily stashed in the fridge. 

“If I am doing some type of meal prepping and maybe I'm not able to finish because I have to run to the grocery store to get something else or I'm hanging out with my son, like it's easy for me to pop the lid on them, put it in the fridge or even in the freezer because again, they're freezer safe as well,” she says. 

Yeti is primarily a camping brand, and while you don’t need to be in the great outdoors to use these bowls, Murnane and her husband, a professional chef, have put them to the test at several campsites. 

“It's really nice to have something like the Yeti products that are super durable,” she says. “Like you can't necessarily have glass out when you're outdoors, right? So the stainless steel aspect is super nice.”

Stasher Bags are a reusable version of zip-close bags, but that doesn’t mean you need to stop buying the latter altogether. 

“I definitely still have plastic bags because sometimes they're just convenient to have the plastic bags,” Murnane says, “but it is nice to have something that is reusable so that you don't always have to have the plastic bags.”

The main benefit of the Stasher Bags is they can go places that traditional plastic bags can’t. 

“You can put it in the oven, put it in the freezer,” Murnane says. “They’re also dishwasher safe…so it's again that same versatility of having one container and not having to have multiples.”

Stasher Bags can be used in the oven up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and are microwave-safe, the company’s website says, though they recommend leaving the bag open slightly when warming up food for venting purposes. 

The bags’ uniform sizing can be beneficial for people who are trying to make easily replicable meals without too much guesswork. 

“I know that this is three ounces, I know that this is five ounces, whatever it might be,” Murnane says. 

They can also be used to easily transport snacks, a key part of Murnane’s nutrition philosophy. 

“Having snacks on hand is something that I recommend to lots of clients,” she says. “Snacks are actually really beneficial, but being intentional about your snacks is the thing that gets most people. Like a snack is not just a bag of chips.

“A snack should be, maybe some tortilla chips and cheese, or maybe a protein shake and an apple,” she continues. “Like those are things that you could easily package into your little Stasher Bag, put it in the fridge, and then grab it and be intentional with that snack versus just grabbing the bag of chips.”

They also don’t have to just be used for food.

“You can use them for dog treats or you can have like your kids' different toys in them to keep them clean,” Murnane says. “So they have more versatility than just using them for food products.”