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Kitchen Stuff We Like
If you're fighting the battle of the bulge, or simply looking to stay on track with your New Year's Resolutions, you need to get at least a little familiar with the kitchen.
Let's face it — you can't be permanently successful if you're relying on fast food, bringing in take out, or going out to eat regularly.
And while you can surely cook with the bare minimum, we'll admit it, we like "stuff" – useful kitchen "stuff."
Here are some basic kitchen gadgets we love and use regularly.
5 of our favorite kitchen tools. We surely could expand on this list, but we’ll start small.
- A great knife. You really can’t cook if you don’t have a decent set of knives
… you don’t have to splurge on one of those $2000 sets that are sold at Williams Sonoma, but a basic Chef’s knife is a good start. Here’s the Shun Chef's Knife we have and love. - Garlic press. Garlic is one of those 13 foods you should eat regularly that we talked about yesterday… and while you can chop it, slice it, or mince it, a lot of times we prefer to use a garlic press. Here’s a hint: you don’t have to peel the garlic before using it. Put it in the press, with the “skin” and just press – voila, no mess, and fresh garlic.
- Microplane. This is great for grating cheese, zesting fruit rinds, or even
shredding whole nutmeg, coconut, or garlic. Let's face it — fresh tastes better, so grating foods gives meals a bigger "yum" factor. Very handy, useful tool – particularly for getting fresh cheese, like Parmesan cheese, on your dishes to boost flavor without adding tons of calories. 
Magic Bullet. OK, so you surely don’t NEED one of these, but they are handy. Yup, it’s an infomercial product – but one that works really well. It’s convenient for making smoothies, guacamole, or any other blended item — particularly because the container has a screw on lid you can then store in the fridge. And now Kara makes Ella’s food in there too – steam fresh veggies, blend in the Magic Bullet, fresh food for Ella.- Food scale. This is great for simply weighing and measuring portions –
make sure you’re on track with your portions. We use it often to “readjust” our eyes, as it seems that portions easily grow every couple weeks as you let down your guard.
Again, there are definitely more we could add …
What do you love that you can't live without in your kitchen?
January 20th, 2010 at 7:01 am
I received a great Shun knife for Christmas and love it! And they can be purchased at Bed Bath & Beyond with those 20% off coupons!
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Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Great tip, Terri — Shun Knives aren’t cheap. But in my opinion are worth every penny!
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January 20th, 2010 at 7:01 am
I received a great Shun knife for Christmas and love it! And they can be purchased at Bed Bath & Beyond with those 20% off coupons!
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January 20th, 2010 at 7:30 am
We just bought a Green Pan skillet from Target. It's been great as we've not needed to add any additional non-stick spray or butter before our omelets and other egg dishes! The non-stick is that great and it's "green"….
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Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Now that’s an easy way to cut down on fat and calories.
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January 20th, 2010 at 7:31 am
<p>We just bought a Green Pan skillet from Target. It's been great as we've not needed to add any additional non-stick spray or butter before our omelets and other egg dishes! The non-stick is that great and it's "green"….</p>
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January 20th, 2010 at 7:42 am
I agree with all your choices! I'd also like to add that a large saute pan with a lid is an absolute must. Go for stainless steel, as the non-stick versions can be unhealthy. I have a 12" Kitchen-Aid I bought from Target that is my very favorite to cook in.
As someone who loves to cook, my best advice to the kitchen novice is to experiment with spices. Try dill weed, tumeric, lemon, basil, rosemary, etc. in place of salt and black pepper. The secret to creating a tasty, healthy meal is to layer the flavors and try different combinations until you find the flavors that really appeal to your senses. Skip chicken broth in favor of homemade veggie broth or white wine.
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Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Great tips, Julie! You mentioned experimenting with spices — stay tuned for a feature article on the health benefits of some key spices coming soon. Incredible — some spices have more antioxidants than fruits and vegetables!
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January 20th, 2010 at 11:27 am
Since I still am perfecting my culinary skills, I appreciate you sharing these with us! I have an apple slicer/corer that I use almost every day to cut up apples for my girls and for me, and I also use a mini food processor (about $30 at Target) for quick chopping and dicing. My husband asked for a cast iron skillet for Christmas (my parents gave him one), and he swears by it. Asking for cookware as a gift is not in my future:)
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January 22nd, 2010 at 6:52 am
I've been lusting after one of those Magic Bullets for several months now, so maybe I'll ask for one for my birthday in March.
I'm not crazy about a garlic press because they are so difficult to keep clean. I'd rather buy minced garlic in a jar (not the best option, but good in a pinch) or just use my handy dandy "good knife" to mince it myself.
I would definitely add at least two really good saute pans to the list (something like Calaphon is worth the extra $$ and if you watch you can usually get them on sale at Bed, Bath and Beyond). The other item I would add is a hand blender — great for making your own baby food (I swear it's easy) or pureeing soups, etc. Much easier to clean than a food processor. Also, a good Kitchen Aid mixer is a must.
And I should know — I think I have every possible Pampered Chef gadget in my kitchen drawer!
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