I like to get the most value I can from my money and my time—especially when it comes to spending money on kitchen gadgets and time on meal prep. Nobody wants to spend money on something that promises to make life easier and you more efficient, only to discover it doesn’t work.

I am definitely a gadget person…I have a kitchen full to prove it! Some are well worth the money spent, but are more specialized and not really what I’d consider a necessity. Others get used so often that I don’t know what I’d do without them! For anyone who is busy and has other things to tackle while living a healthy lifestyle, I’m sure that you’ll find these just as valuable!

Crock-pot: This is likely something you already have, but just don’t make enough use of. Really… you can make almost anything in a crock pot: soups, roasts, overnight oats, full meals, even breads and desserts! For all kinds of inspiration, check out my Crockpot board on Pinterest here.

Spirilizer: I have the Paderno World Cuisine and I love it. I found it so useful that I got one for all my family members for Christmas 2 years ago! There are several companies that now make vertical versions, and I can also see how one like this version by Mueller with a built-in container would make spirilizing even easier and less messy! Warning: Do not get a handheld spirilizer–they really aren’t worth using, but do make it easy to slice a finger!

You can spirilize so many fruits and veggies into noodles, but it also slices and ribbons too. Check out how much this gadget does here.

I also created a Pinterest board for more inspiration on what to spirilize here.

Ninja: There are several models of this unit, depending on what you’d use it for. Regardless of which you get, they all are like a blender, but have more features than just blending and process better than a standard blender would. I’ve heard excellent things about both the Vitamix and the Bledtec, but I’ve yet to be able to bring myself to spend what they cost. Until I do, the Ninja has done very well for similar functions. I use mine most often for smoothies/shakes and mixing batters for baking. You can make smoothies, chop nuts (or make nut butter), mix batter, puree fruits and veggies, and some models even have dough attachments. For the price, the quality is excellent. They last a long time—even through uses that resulted in the deaths of several blenders. Oops.

For ways the Ninja can be used and recipe ideas, go here.

| Kaci

Reader Questions:
What kitchen gadget do you use most often?
Is there one you couldn’t go a week without?

Today’s post was a bit of ToL with Amanda!