Are your cupboards choc full of kitchen gadgets you never use? Clients in clinic often ask what they really need to make healthy eating simple, so here are my favourite must-have kitchen gadgets that you’ll actually use! Just in time to ask Santa …
NutriBullet There are loads of these high speed blenders now that whizz up a great smoothie (fab if you want to up your fruit and veg intake). These blenders can also help with other jobs – in my house it’s also used every day for making healthy banana pancake mix in literally seconds.
I LOVE: NutriBullet (https://amzn.to/2XBCvAP), is still my favourite. You’ll want to make sure that (regardless of what you choose) you pick one with a 600+Watt motor to ensure that nuts and seeds are efficiently blended. This one is also very easy to use and to keep clean.
Spiralizer Helps you easily cut the starchy carb content of your meals by making courgetti (courgette spaghetti) and boodles (butternut squash noodles) effortless. If you are new to these foods all the supermarkets make them now – but if they are for you spiralizers aren’t expensive so they are definitely worth the investment. For me, one of the best bits about a spiralizer is that the kids love to use it - so as an added bonus I get a bit of help in the kitchen. I LOVE: Sprializer 5-blade Slicer (https://amzn.to/2OjjG2e) great value and has 5 blades so it can turn its hand to pretty much any cutting task - and at the time of writing this one is also on offer and is great value at £17.95.
Slow Cooker
Slow cooks meats, makes one pot wonders, curries and winter-warming stews. It makes meals quick, easy and healthy. Find a few winning and this really has to be one of the best ways to cook – plus there is nothing better to coming home to the wonderful cooking smells after a day out.
I LOVE: Lakeland Digital Family Sized Slow Cooker 6.5L with 24 Hour Delay Timer. (https://amzn.to/37rjAgB), is great value, but what is really good about this model is that the inner pot comes out so you can sear the meat in to start you off, then pop into the slow cooker to do the rest. The cooking pot is also dishwasher safe.
Stick Blender Makes light work of chopping, pureeing, blitzing and whisking. These usually come with a range of versatile accessories, like mini chopping bowls and whisks. Just the job for blending soup or chopping up nuts. I LOVE: Dualit 700W Hand Blender in Polished Chrome (https://amzn.to/35mVr8X), has everything you’ll ever need and more, including the wand itself, a whisk plus TWO chopper bowls – one of them has a feed tube so you can add ingredients as you go, just like a food processor. It’s not the cheapest on the market, but it is pretty special (and why have a cheapie model on your wish list!)
Sprouter Sprouts are the real stars of the vegetable world. Sprouted beans and seeds contain many more nutrients and enzymes than non-sprouted varieties. The vitamin content of some seeds, grains, beans or nuts increases by up to 20 times the original value within only a few days of sprouting!
I LOVE: Biosnacky Germinator Seed Jar (https://amzn.to/347EAGZ), which is a good introductory product
Coffee Grinder There are many health benefits to drinking coffee but that’s not the only reason to get yourself a coffee grinder – it’s perfect for grinding seeds and spices for sprinkling on salads, porridge, soups, yoghurt, and so on. I LOVE: Sonifer’s Electric Coffee Grinder (https://amzn.to/2rajRUD), a good value electrical grinder that will whizz up your nuts, seeds and spices in a flash plus it’s easy to clean.
Yoghurt Maker Making your own yoghurt is a great way to get more gut friendly bacteria into your life without the additives and preservatives of shop-bought stuff. I love creating my favourite flavours using seasonal berries. It’s great for those who are dairy-free as you can experiment with different milks. I LOVE: Lakeland Yoghurt Maker (https://amzn.to/2OtguQw), which makes up to 7 individual pots of healthy homemade yoghurt in just 8 hours.
Microplane
My microplane zester is very busy. It makes short work of zesting citrus fruits without the risk of scraping your knuckles! Its also useful for grating hard cheese (especially good for Italian restaurant style parmesan), chocolate, cinnamon, onion, garlic, and ginger
I LOVE: Microplanes classic Zester (https://amzn.to/2KJOC9H) it does what it says and is super easy to use and clean.
Instant pot Pressure Cooker
The Instant Pot Duo is a 7-in-1 multifunctional power cooker--it’s an automatic pressure cooker that can cook at High and Low pressure, you can sauté directly in the cooking pot, it’s a slow cooker (3 heat settings), it’s a rice cooker, it’s a pressure and non-pressure steamer and it's a porridge maker and food warmer.
I LOVE: Instant Pot Duo V2 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker (https://amzn.to/35msFFC) Whilst I’m fairly new to the technology it has to be said its really versatile and gets fantastic flavoured food that tastes like. Its been slow cooking for hours onto the table in less than an hour.
Ikea Cheese Grater
I’ve hand one of these for literally years. Its stood the test of time with multiple uses per week. Its’ simply the most useful cheese grater ever and my kitchen wishlist would be incomplete without it. Its easy to use, the container collects the cheese which you can then take to the table – and if you grate too much you can pop the lid back on at put it in the fridge. Perfect!
I LOVE: Ikea Chosgit (https://amzn.to/35s0PaP) I think Ive said it all - definitely cheap enough to be a socking filler!.
Santa list sorted! 9 kitchen gadgets that will make your healthy eating a little easier - Enjoy!