My favorite kitchen gadgets

Eating healthy can be hard sometimes. But, like anything, if you have the right tools, it makes it that much easier.  I don't have a huge kitchen (or a million dollars), so I can't buy everything in Sur La Table like I want to, but I have gotten myself some great little gadgets that make eating healthier a bit easier for me on a day-to-day basis. 

Here are my favorites:

Salad spinner: I eat a (almost) salad every day for lunch, and I usually make it the night before.  It used to be a pain in the ass to wash the lettuce and then dry it well enough so that it didn't get all weird sitting in the fridge overnight.  So, I asked Santa for a salad spinner for Christmas this year. I got a one-serving, cheapo brand, but hey, it does the trick.  It's kind of amazing how much water comes off of one little bowl of lettuce.  Plus, it gets my lettuce super clean, and I don't have to waste paper towels (and time) trying to dry it off manually.  And my salad is still nice a crispy the next day.

Rubbermaid LunchBlox Salad Kit: Step number 2 for making my lunch each day.  This thing is great - I put the lettuce and cut up veggies in the main container, and then use the toppings tray for a hard boiled egg, croutons or crispy onions, and my salad dressing.  Then, I just combine everything at lunchtime and eat it right out of the container.  I don't use the ice pack, because I take it from my fridge and then put it in the fridge at work, but it's a great thing to have if you don't have access to a fridge. 

Avo saver: The last step in my lunch each day, this is something that came in my stocking this past Christmas.  It's totally not a necessity, but it's really great to have. I add half an avocado to my salad everyday, and used to just store the other half in a plastic baggy in the fridge over night.  But, it would oxidize a lot on the top, and that kind of weirds me out, so I'd have to slice off the top, brown layer the next day, and that kind of seemed like a waste.  The Avo Saver stops a lot of oxidation and makes sure my avocado is nice and green the next day.

Immersion blender: I remember first seeing these things back in the day when Emeril was hot.  He would call it a boat motor, and use it for all sorts recipes.  That was years ago, and then I kind of forgot about it, until I was shopping for Christmas presents a few years ago and decided to buy my sister one.  She loved it so much, that I started to use it when I was over to make gazpacho, dressings, and soups. And milkshakes.  So I finally gave in and bought one for myself - they're not really expensive at all, don't take up a lot of space, and they're really versatile.  I use mine when I'm making soups that I want to blend to make creamy (like this one).  I make my own salad dressings.  I make marinades for meat and poultry.  I also use it to make milkshakes.  So yum. 

Crock pot: I've sung my praises for my crock pot before. I love the thing.  Period. (But I don't use it nearly enough.)

Misto: Yet another Christmas present, the Misto lets you turn any old olive oil (or, I guess, really any oil) into a spray.  So you can use it to coat on veggies that you're grilling, dress a salad without going overboard on the oil, or prepare a pan that you're cooking in.  This thing is a little annoying to use - you have to pump it a few times to get it to spray - but it's really a nifty tool. 

Food processor: I don't use this as often as I should.  I don't have enough cabinet or counter space to have it in my kitchen, so it's down in my storage unit, and I occasionally fetch it out when I need it.  It's great when you want to make dips or hummus.  It's also great for chopping things - like if a recipe called for chopped canned artichokes. Those are really annoying to chop by hand.  Or if you're making graham cracker crust, or need to get breadcrumbs really fine.  Just give them a few whirls in the food processor, and you're good to go. 

So there you have it.  I'm always on the lookout for new tools, so let me know what your favorites are.