When completing my first successful Whole 30 this summer, I ended the 30 days with a list of things I wished I’d have had in the house. Luckily for this girl, Christmas came before the next Whole 30 attempt so that I could add some items to my arsenal–including things I only learned about in the new cookbooks I received as gifts.

First and foremost, I made sure that I purchased a julienne peeler. I also purchased a serrated peeler from a Pampered Chef party to try out different types of peelers in my cooking adventures.

The julienne peeler was a must add because of my love for noodles and my complete inability to not fantasize about them around Day 14 of the Whole 30. I made a tasty butternut squash lasagna from Stupid Easy Paleo last go ’round and was utterly amazed at the way the ingredients mimicked the sensation & taste of cheese being present. I’m extremely hopeful that Melissa Joulwan’s Comfort Noodles will fall into this palate-fooling category.

[Incidentally, I love all the recipes I’ve tried from Stupid Easy Paleo & she’s starting a Whole 30 in January as well. She offers a free guide for the Whole 30 via her website. Plus, Melissa Joulwan’s Comfort Noodles were included in a post showcasing her Top 15 Recipes in 2013 and she’s provided a HUGE service to the still-figuring-this-out crowd with her post discussing her view on meal plans & how to properly prepare to EAT. Her cookbooks, Well Fed & Well Fed 2, are must-have books, imho. And, if you haven’t made her mayo, well, what ARE you waiting on anyway?!]

The other thing I really needed was a set good knives. Good grief, but it’s annoying to try and prep real food with chintzy knives that can barely slice a tomato, let alone a dense squash. My mom came through with a 3-piece set of knives from J.A. Henckels. I researched it a little & made sure that the set I picked was made in Germany rather than somewhere else. I’ve lived long enough with questionable cutting equipment. Let the games begin!

Some other new things in the kitchen since summer should make things interesting: a set of cast iron cookware, a digital pressure cooker, little glass containers to hold spice mixes I’ll be making, and new ingredients like fish sauce and dried porcini mushrooms. Should be interesting!

And, because my husband gave me two awesome thermal mugs that keep hot things really hot like a thermos, but allow for drinking easily & without drips, I’m seriously reconsidering adding hot soup to my breakfast menu. If I think of soup less as soup and more like a hot smoothie [which makes sense in cold weather], I might just be able to mix up breakfast even more AND have it at my desk while I work through the morning. Thanks to the pressure cooker and the slow cooker, the soup supply may increase exponentially in the coming month.

Have you given any thought to what supplies you want to have on hand as you embark on the first week? What about food? What do you think you’d like to eat the first week?