On a regular basis, I am asked for kitchen gadget recommendations. I totally get why, too! Those suckers are expensive, take up room in your kitchen, and you have high expectations that the products you buy will help you to prepare meals for your family (and make your life easier). So, when deciding what to spend your hard earned money on, you want to make sure you are forking over your dollars for something worthwhile and that will preform as expected.
So, this is what I did, guys. I took a morning (a Sunday morning when I couldn’t sleep in, to be exact) and put together a list of allllll my favorite kitchen gadgets and doodads that I use on a daily or semi-daily basis. I’m not a lady who is rolling in money, so what you find on this list is all kitchen items I feel are quality, but that also fit a budget. Buy one item or buy them all, but these are the kitchen gadgets that are kicking around The Natural Nurturer Kitchen.
I can almost read your mind. This is in no way a sponsored post. None of these companies paid me or even asked me to tell you guys I love their products. I’m just giving you guys my honest review of stuff that I buy, use, and adore.
1. Hamilton Beach 33969 Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker, 6-Quart. I love this slow cooker for soooooo many reasons. First, you truly can “set ‘n forget” about the recipes you prepare in this bad boy, and isn’t that kind of the glory of a slow cooker anyway?. This slow cooker has a digital settings, so you can set your food to cook for however long you need it to cook on either high or low. Once its done cooking, it switches the temperature to warm, so your food doesn’t over cook but is still hot and ready to be enjoyed when you roll in from work or whatever adventure has kept you occupied all day. I also love that it has a simple warm setting, which is perfect for keeping food warm for a gathering where people are serving themselves buffet style. With this slow cooker being 6-quarts, its large enough to cook big batches of soup or stock in, as well as cook entire chickens! It definitely is a space hog in the kitchen closet, but its worth the rearranging to have in my life.
2. KitchenAid 5-Speed Blender with 56-Ounce BPA-Free Pitcher. I am probably one of the few food bloggers out there who has yet to own a Vitamix (some day). In the meantime, this blender has been my loyal morning smoothie maker for several years now. I work it hard and it always rises to the challenge. It’s easy enough to use that my 4 year old has mastered it and we all know that I love finding ways to include children in the kitchen. It not only blends my smoothies (and whatever else I throw in it) to perfection, but it also washes up easily, which is another bonus since I can’t say blenders are my favorite thing to wash!
3. KitchenAid 2-speed Hand Blender. Okay, so this isn’t the EXACT immersion blender that I own, but the reason for that is because I received mine as a wedding gift many moons ago and they have since upgraded their design! So, this is the new and improved big sister of my own personal immersion blender. If you don’t own an immersion blender, I highly recommend you buy one! They are great for pureeing soups right in the pots and making a quick smoothie on the go! My mother brought her’s across the country recently so that she could still make smoothies in her hotel room while on vacation! It is also super easy to clean and takes up no more space then a few mixing spoons.
4. KitchenAid Stand-Mixer. This doodad was another wedding gift that has really stood the test of time and is totally worth the investment! I’ve had mine for almost 10 years now and it has never broken down on me. It mixes and whips whatever I throw at it! I also love that you can buy different attachments to make this mixer into something so much more than something that mixes stuff! There is a pasta maker attachment, a meat grinder attachment, and (my personal next buy) an ice cream maker attachment. So, when you buy this mixer, you are also opening up the door to NOT needing to buy other appliances in the future. I won’t lie, its a bit heavy and clunky, but it totally earns its real estate on your kitchen counter.
5. Hamilton Beach Food Processor. My husband jokes that I can’t make a meal without using my food processor. Which is kind of correct…since I’m pretty lazy and this appliance does all the annoying chopping for me! I can grate potatoes for hash browns with it or cheese for a quiche and then flip the blade and slice carrots into to perfect little coins to be sauteed! The S-blade is excellent for whipping, chopping, or mixing. Sometimes, I make a recipe entirely in the food processor just to cut down on the amount of dishes!
6. Paderno World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer. This bad boy has been my gift to soooo many people in my life that I’ve lost count (spoiler alert if you have a Christmas gift from me hanging out under your tree!). It’s one of those things people are not sure they are actually going to use enough to justify buying. I get that. I mean, how many zoodles(translation: “noodles” made from zucchini) can one really eat? However, if you can get past the idea that a spiral vegetable slicer is just for zoodling (totally a word), than you will think of so many ways to use this. Use it to make your own curly fries (hmmm…that’s a good idea for dinner tonight), switch the blade and slice apples for pie, or cucumbers for a salad. This kitchen gadget just makes eating healthy more fun!
7. Chemex 8-Cup Coffee Classic Series Glass Coffeemaker. My husband and I are kind of coffee snobs. We love a really good cup of coffee almost as much as we love our daughter (kidding). Giving up coffee is not something I plan on doing any time soon (we all have to have our vices to keep life interesting), but I loathed the idea of my coffee being brewed in a coffee maker that was mostly plastic. So, we got to researching and found Chemex. I love it’s simple glass design and that there isn’t a speck of plastic on it. Plus, it’s so pretty to look at, I sometimes want to steal it for a flower vase! It also brews a mean cup of coffee in a way my husband and I hadn’t expected! We were amazed how much better our coffee tasted, though that might also be psychological. It’s a simple, back-to-the-basics coffee pot that I’m totally in love with. It does take a bit of time to make the coffee, since you can’t set it and walk away. However, I totally think the extra time is worth it for a good cup of coffee in the morning.
There you have it, my friends. The items I use day in and day out to make the meals and dishes you see on The Natural Nurturer. Nothing terribly fancy or wild, because that’s not how I roll. Real food cooking doesn’t have to require tons of fancy expensive contraptions that preform one function each, just a handful of really good ones that you know how to get the most mileage out of.
This post contains Amazon affiliate links, though all opinions are my own. When you purchase anything using my links, it costs you absolutely nothing extra, but it does kicks The Natural Nurturer a little financial love to keep doing what we do. Thank you for your continued support, both with your dollars and your interest
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