You all know I’m about making things simple and stress free. So today I want to share with you my 6 favorite kitchen tools that I personally could not live without. Balanced meals are so much easier with these!
- This Kitchenaid 5 Speed Blender. I think it’s the most basic of the basics but it gets the job done. Mine is going on 3 years strong with over 1 million smoothies made! Of course this is an exaggerated number, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I was close. This blender is also amazing for blended soups in the winter, making baby food if you’ve got little ones around, or making delicious sauces. I’ve used my blender for all of these!
- Any crock pot. They can be pretty affordable, and I think are worth the money. Start simple if you’re just not quite sure it’s for you. I can’t wait to share crock pot recipes with you all! You can make an entire balanced meal in just a few steps.
- This Hamilton Beach food processor. If I’m being honest, I just started busting this out a few months ago, and GAME CHANGER. You can shred up cabbage, carrots, really any vegetable in a matter of SECONDS. I’m going to use all caps a lot in this post. You can make salsas, you can chop up vegetables for coleslaw, you can shred up zucchini for muffins, you can mince garlic, you can cut up vegetables real small for soups or to add to marinara sauces. Opportunities are ENDLESS. AND if you buy the attachments you can do so much more.
- Some really sharp knives. This should really be higher on the list, but seriously: invest in some really good, sharp knives, and a knife sharpener. This will change your culinary life. I don’t have any specific recommendations for knives, but I use this Priority Chef knife sharpener and it works like a charm.
- This rice cooker with a steam basket. I probably use this thing more than any of the other items mentioned here combined. We do a lot of rice dishes at our house and this will cook up rice with little to no monitoring needed. I also enjoy cooked vegetables more than I do raw, and steaming vegetables with this is so dang easy. It’s not the best method if you are cooking for a ton of people, but if you’re cooking for 1-3 people it’s perfect.
- This salad spinner because it keeps my child occupied while I cook. And if I ever decide to wash some lettuce it will be good for that too.
I have not boarded the instapot train, someone convince me. I bet they are absolutely amazing like everyone says, but I get by with what I have! Drop a comment below with your favorite (or most used) kitchen tool!