Tag: microplane grater

Rachel’s Healthy Holiday Gift Guide Part 2: Kitchen Gifts Under $20!

Bill and I finished up most of our Christmas shopping this weekend, which was a big relief! We have a few more things to do, including sending out our Christmas cards, but the end is in sight.

In case you missed my post a couple of weeks ago, I shared my budget-friendly favorites and seasonal splurges, which you could add to your wish list this year…or get for a friend or family members who likes to cook and spend time in the kitchen.

Kitchen gadgets make great gifts for any foodies in your family, but if you are looking for something a little larger, a BBQ smoker can make an excellent present. Not sure where to start looking? Check out some of these gear reviews over on gearsurfer.com to make your search a little easier.

Today’s post is about some smaller gifts, many of which could make great stocking stuffers. Check out the info below about some of my favorite kitchen gifts!

stocking stuffers

I wrote a post earlier this year about my favorite kitchen tools, and a few reappear on today’s post. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of those blog posts for the complete list.

OXO Ice Cream/Muffin Scooper. So, we don’t just use this to scoop homemade ice cream. It’s also a GREAT way to ensure that you measure out evenly sized muffins or cupcakes.

Citrus Squeezer. I love lemons. They fight inflammation, detoxify or “clean out” the body, are anti-aging, anti-bacterial, and help fight infections and disease. For all of those reasons (and because they taste great!), we juice a lot of lemons throughout the week. This lemon squeezer makes it easier. I got this stainless steel one for my dad, and it’s even better than the one I have, but I recommend either one!

Stainless Steel Garlic Crusher. This is something everyone should have in their kitchen and is one of my favorite gadgets. Why? Well, it makes mincing garlic fun and simple AND it’s stainless steel. Just rub your fingers on the ends after you’re done mincing to get rid of the garlic smell! Trust me, it works 🙂

Switch It Spatula. So, this is one of my *new* favorites! One of the annoying things about the Vitamix is that the jar is REALLY tall, making it almost impossible to fit a normal sized spatula in it to reach the stuff at the bottom. This is important, especially when we’re making raw caramel apple dip or queso dip and don’t want to waste a bit of the deliciousness! The Switch It spatula is long enough to reach the bottom and also is super handy when you’re trying to get the remnants of almond butter or tahini out of a jar.

Avocado Cuber. Whenever I bring this to a cooking demo or workshop, people are always fascinated by it! You can easily score an avocado with a knife and then scoop or pop out the cubes, but this kitchen toy makes it more fun. My hubby got it for me as a stocking stuffer a few years ago, and I love it! Williams-Sonoma sells it.

Mason Jars. Over the past 4 months, as we’ve gotten rid of the plastic containers in our house to support our health, we’ve switched to mason jars. #1 – They’re cheaper than plastic containers; #2 – You can freeze stuff in them and still get them open (not something I could easily do with plastic lids); #3 – They rinse out much more easily than plastic and won’t stain. We have a variety of sizes. We bought some at Target, others at Michaels with a coupon, and larger ones at Home Goods.

Microplane Zester/Grater. We use this tool to grate ginger and turmeric root and to zest lemons, limes and oranges. We are thinking about getting these gloves because if you’re not careful with this thing you can definitely nick yourself!

Cookie Dough Baller. Whenever I make cookies or brownie bites, this little gadget ensures that I’ll have even sizes. It’s fun and simple to use.

What are your favorite healthy cooking gadgets and stocking stuffer ideas? Feel free to share below!

5 MORE Must-Have Kitchen Gadgets Under $20!

Having the right tools in the kitchen helps to make food prep and cooking more efficient, easier, and fun!

If you missed my first post about 5 must-have kitchen gadgets – like the AvoSaver, garlic rocker, and an awesome dicing knife – click here to check it out!

Today, I’m sharing 5 MORE of our favorite kitchen gadgets (under $20!). We use these at least weekly, if not daily!

Here is a more extensive list of the best kitchen gadgets with some gadgets which cost over $20, but I thought I would do a smaller list for some of the cheaper items. So, with no further ado, here it is!

Fine mesh strainer, peeler trio set, stainless steel cup, onion saver, and microplane grater

Fine mesh strainer, peeler trio set, stainless steel cup, onion saver, and microplane grater

  1. Microplane Zester/Grater – We use this tool to grate ginger and turmeric root and to zest lemons, limes and oranges. We are thinking about getting these gloves because if you’re not careful with this thing you can definitely cut yourself.
  2. Swissmar Swiss Trio Peeler Set – There are few things more frustrating in the kitchen than a really dull vegetable peeler. Since we eat a lot of vegetables, we peel a lot of vegetables, so we use these peelers on a daily basis. I use it to peel the hunk of ginger root that I put in my smoothies in the morning. We also use these gadgets to peel butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and eggplant.
  3. Stainless Steel Blender Cup – Bill and I make smoothies for breakfast most mornings, and sometimes we make a pretty hearty serving that doesn’t fit into a regular cup. Like most people, we like our smoothie to stay chilled. We looked online for one of those cups that restaurants give you when you get a milkshake and they make too much, and we found this one! We use it every day, and it does a great job keeping our smoothies nice and cold.
  4. Onion Saver – We eat lots of onions. Onions are one of the healthiest foods you can eat and are anti-cancer powerhouses. We dice them up in just about every stir fry, soup and saute we make, and we LOVE chopping them in big chunks and roasting them by themselves or with other veggies. They are SO good! Sometimes we don’t use the whole onion at one time, so we store the leftovers in this little onion house.
  5. OXO Good Grips Fine Mesh Strainer – The main reason we use this strainer is to rinse quinoa. We eat a decent amount of quinoa in the Druckenmiller household, and this fine mesh strainer is great because none of those pesky little quinoa seeds can fit through the holes, so you can rinse your quinoa worry-free! Check out this post about how to make quinoa and this one for my absolute favorite quinoa recipes!

We have an Amazon Prime membership, so we get free two-day shipping on just about everything we order from Amazon and just pay an annual fee of $79. We ordered a cast iron skillet on Amazon once, and those things are super heavy…but we didn’t have to pay any shipping! We love being able to price shop, and the 2-day shipping is awesome for everything from gadgets to cookbooks to dishwasher detergent packs.

A big thank you to my friend Jessica for introducing me to it two years ago! She used it as a way to get the least expensive diapers for her son, but we use it for everything from superfoods and kitchen gadgets to Christmas gifts and cookbooks!

Kitchen gadgets can be an affordable way to make your life that little bit easier. However, if you’ve got some extra money to spend, then why not consider upgrading your kitchen using an automation system like Creston? You can control everything form your television screen to the lighting, entirely remotely and at the touch of a button. A friend of mine has recommended this great crestron system in london if you’re tempted to learn more about turning your property into a smart home.

Do you have any favorite kitchen gadgets you can’t live without? Feel free to share them in the comments below!

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