These are my top 5 kitchen gadgets that I wouldn't be without.
I love kitchen gadgets and I often get sucked into buying them. To be honest, I've had many over the years. Regrettably, some have only been fads which I've only used once or twice before they get shoved to the back of my kitchen cupboard and forgotten about until I decide to organise the cupboards, resulting in them being donated to charity. It's such a waste of money and I've tried to be a little more conscious of the things I'm buying. Before making any purchase I will always ask myself two things; "Is this necessary?" and "Will I be using this in a years time?". If the answer either of these questions is "No" then I won't make the purchase. This technique has helped so much over the past few years as I'm trying to live with as little junk and clutter as possible - but I think this is a whole other blog post in general!However, there are some kitchen gadgets which I feel are a really good investment & are an essential to any kitchen. Having good kitchen gadgets makes a lot of difference when you're preparing meals. They make your life easier for preparing quick and easy meals. Plus, I find it encourages me to make healthier meals from scratch.
No. 1
A NUTRiBULLET
The first gadget on my list is a NutriBullet. I bought mine earlier this year and have found it so simple to make delicious juices and smoothies as well as protein shakes. I particularly use mine to make smoothies, you can check out my detoxing green smoothie recipe linked here. A good benefit of using a NutriBullet is that the cup turns into a drinking cup leaving minimal clean up. Plus, it's super quick and easy to clean so this is a double bonus. It's also very compact, so unlike a blender that's very bulky, the NutriBullet is easy to store and doesn't take up much room whether it's in your kitchen cupboards or on your kitchen worktops; which is where I like to keep mine because I use mine pretty much every day.
They start off at around £39.99 which may seem a little bit expensive but you really do get your money's worth from them. I use mine every day! There are also accessory kits you can buy too. They're available to buy in a lot of places but you can check them out here on Amazon as they stock a wide variety of models along with the accessory kits.
A SPIRALIZER
These gadgets are great for spiralizing all kinds of fruit and veggies. In particular, I love using it to make courgetti which is a good alternative to having pasta spaghetti if you want to avoid carbs or you can't eat products containing gluten. I often now have bolognese with courgetti as it's a good healthy swap that I've made in my diet. A couple of other dishes I like to use it in are when I'm making salads and Pad Thai Noodles. It's quick and doesn't take any longer to do than it would to chop the veggies. What I like about the spiralizer is that it spiralizes the veggies thinly so that the dish doesn't look heavy on your plate.
The one I have comes with three different blades but you can also get ones that come with more. Another advantage is that it make cooking in the kitchen really fun. This may sound like a silly, unimportant reason but things that make cooking fun are always a plus.
Here are some of of my favourite spiralizers on the market at the moment:
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| From left to right: KitchenCraft Spiralizer, £7.99, Amazon | VeggieBullet Electric Spiralizer, Shredder & Slicer, £129.99, John Lewis | Morphy Richards Spiralizer, £19.99, John Lewis | Kilner Glass Spiralizer Jar Set, £11.44, Amazon | OXO Good Grips Hand Held Spiralizer, £12, Amazon |
No. 3
A RICE COOKER
For years I cooked rice the normal way by boiling it on the stove but I find that it always gets very sticky in the pan and is never exactly how I want it. I'd always wondered if rice cookers were any good and decided to invest one and I'm so glad I did now. It's so simple to prepare, in my rice cooker you just add a cup of water to every cup of rice and switch the cooker on. It knows exactly how long to cook the rice, which is usually between 15-20 minutes. After it's cooked you then stir it with a rice spoon and leave it to steam for 5-10 minutes before serving - it just couldn't be simpler. I find it makes it so much easier to focus on preparing the actual meal I'm making and I don't have to worry about the rice.
The added bonus of rice cookers is that they often non-stick which makes for easy clean up and some often function as a steamer as well which means less storage space as you don't have to store as many gadgets in your cupboards. I wish I had of invested in a rice cooker sooner because it makes cooking in the kitchen so much easier.
Here are some of my favourite rice cookers available:
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| From left to right: VonShef Rice Cooker, £24.99, Amazon | Russell Hobbs 19750 Rice Cooker, £24.99, John Lewis | Crock-Pot 2.2L Saute Rice Cooker, £39.99, Argos | TEFAL CoolTouch Rice Cooker, £28.99, Currys |
No. 4
A HAND BLENDER
I find this gadget is so helpful. I often make homemade soups and this come in handy and is so much easier than using a blender as I can make the soup and blend it up while it's still in the pan, rather than having to transfer it into the pan. Similar to the NutriBullet, cleaning it is much easier than a blender. They often tend to come with different attachments too so they double up as other appliances which really helps to condense the space
Here are some of my favourite hand blenders available:
From left to right: Andrew James 3 in 1 Hand Blender, £29.99, Amazon | Braun Multiquick Hand Blender, £69.99, John Lewis | KitchenAid Classic 5 Speed Hand Blender, £99.99, Argos | Breville Hand Blender, £22.99, Argos | SWAN Retro Hand Blender, £ 29.99, Currys
GOOD TOOLS
My last gadget is having the right kitchen tools for you. By this, I mean having the right ones for the types of food you make on a regular basis. It's worth investing in decent tools for your kitchen and ones that you are going to find most useful. For me, that is having a good quality garlic crusher and hand juice. In the meals I make I'm often using a lot of garlic and having a garlic crusher makes the task easier when adding it to the other ingredients. Something else I add to my food is lime and lemon juice so I find it really useful to have a juicer on hand.
Of course, it depends on what types of food you prepare so you should buy the tools that are suitable for you. Over time I've discover the tools that are useful for me by taking the time to think about what meals I make and what kitchen tools make it easier to prepare those meals. From there I've discovered the best tools for me that make cooking the kitchen easier for me.
What are your favourite kitchen gadgets? What ones could you not live without? I'd love to know what you do to unwind, let me know in the comments below.
xoxo
Please note all thoughts and opinions are my own. I only blog about brands, products and service that I would genuinely use and highly recommend to others. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any organisation, company, or individual.
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