The Kitchen Gadgets We Use for Healthy (Easy) Cooking

I am a lazy cook/baker. (See: The Lazy Guide to Sourdough.) But I also am cheap, meaning I don’t like to do a lot of takeout (and our healthy takeout options here aren’t amazing). So, I cook. But I do it in the laziest way possible, which means I love a good kitchen gadget. However, we also are limited on space in our kitchen, and storing gadgets isn’t easy. That means while we use them, we’re highly selective. Here’s a few that we’ve had for a while, that have stood the test of time/made a difference to our lives… and one that hasn’t.

The Instant Pot

The Instant Pot was the first gadget that I got that I truly fell in love with. I recall Peter being SO annoyed that I brought it home 8 or so years ago, because at the time, it was a big spend (they were almost $200 then!) and it took up a lot of space. But the first time I dumped a whole chicken in with a bit of water and it came out freaking perfect, he was a convert. The amount of veggies and lean protein I’ve eaten because the Instant Pot makes soups and stews ridiculously easy… I can’t say enough. And eight years later, the thing still works perfectly. Get it here

LifeStraw Glass Water Filter

We had a Brita pitcher that finally bit the dust, the plastic was so old. I find that plastic water filters get dingy looking quickly, with their scrapes and scratches and I don’t love plastic, but obviously, filtered water is a plus. So, I was looking for a glass option. I stumbled on the Life Straw glass pitcher, which actually looks like a nice glass pitcher that just happens to have a filter. It was a bit pricier than a cheap plastic one—though still only $40—but the filters are about the same price, and the aesthetic is just so much better. Get it here

Ninja Electric Grill

The latest addition to our kitchen, I mentioned this electric grill last week when I was talking about my grilled sourdough pizza. I can’t stop raving about this damn thing, it grilled flawlessly. And I suck at grilling. Suddenly, I’m making perfect steaks, chicken, fish, veggies… you name it, this thing grills it to perfection. Even freezer burned old steaks we’d had for far too long turned out delicious. We had an old propane grill that did OK, but this thing is easier to use, easier to clean, and next level in terms of performance. Plus, you never run out of propane! Cannot recommend enough.  (And great for people who can’t have propane or charcoal grills on their apartment balconies.) Get it here

Dutch Oven

After three years of using an old cast iron skillet to make my sourdough, I finally caved and bought a deeper Dutch Oven. The result is a much higher rise on my sourdough, which has been fantastic. I also realized that serving a stew or something like a Beef Bourguignonne in the pot on the table (with a trivet, of course) is a great way to serve a family-style meal. (And it’s good for reheating stews that I made with the Instant Pot.) We actually just jettisoned an old big metal pot that I really only ever used to heat water for kombucha because now I can use this, so it was a one-to-one trade, space-wise. Get it here

The one mistake… Our Vitamix

Before you come at me, the Vitamix is amazing. It works great. But… I don’t really do smoothies, so when Peter makes one, he uses the old single-serve $15 one that I got at Walmart maybe 20 years ago. And it does the job. The Vitamix (which was a wedding present) is so powerful that it can make hot soup, but I just don’t find myself using it with any real frequency. We haven’t gotten rid of it though, because it is great quality and when we do need it (ahem, summertime margaritas), it’s useful. And maybe I will change my tune at some point, but right now, it’s the least-used appliance we have.