Mise en place

You might hear or see the term “mise en place” (“mi za plas”) and wonder what that means. It’s a french term used by chefs to mean “Everything in its place.” Basically this just means everything should be prepped and ready to go before you start cooking anything.

You will want to measure, chop, slice, wash, rinse, etc. any ingredient and put it in a vessel that is easy to grab. You don’t want to be trying to measure and math things out when you’re in the middle of a recipe that you’re already multi-tasking in. Doing so can lead to flustered states of mind and cause you to miss steps or burn your food.

Since on a ketogenic diet you will be cooking a lot of food from scratch, you should learn the habit of setting up a mise en place.

The following items are essential for this:

• 1 ounce mini ramekins
• 2 ounce glass bowls (these are also great for poaching eggs)
• 6 ounce custard cups
• A good knife set within your price range
• A cutting block set
• Measuring cup and spoon set

For more kitchen essentials, check out my essential kitchen post here.