Lazy Girl Hacks: 8 Time-Saving Kitchen Tools You Need
We all know that cooking at home helps us eat more nutritious and lower calorie foods, however it can be difficult to find the time. We have put together a list of kitchen equipment that help you save time while making delicious meals.
This terrific little tool allows you to easily remove the skin from fruits and vegetables without cutting off large chunks- or your fingers. It can also be used to shave cheese, chocolate, and butter.
If you find it tedious to chop, dice, and mice your vegetables, you may benefit from a vegetable chopper. These can cut down on your prep time and make onion chopping a little more pleasant. Just make sure your model doesn't require too much cleaning time.
This little item gets a lot of use in my kitchen. It removes the guesswork when cooking meat and helps prevent you from under and over cooking it. Undercooked meat can make you and your family sick while overcooked meat may be tough and rubbery. All you need is a simple instant read digital thermometer, but you may prefer something a bit more advanced. There are versions that you can leave in the meat throughout the cooking process and some that connect to your smartphone.
This product is helpful for properly measuring ingredient serving sizes to meet dietary goals. I also find it helpful with meal planning, to make sure I start with enough for each person. If you like to buy in bulk, this is great for measuring and dividing things like ground beef before freezing. Food scales are also good for recipe consistency, especially when baking.
These come in handy pretty much any time you throw something in the oven. From cookies to cauliflower, these eliminate the need to spray the pan and prevent food from sticking (cutting down your cleaning time). Additionally, they are much more environmentally friendly than alternatives like parchment paper.
This product is very helpful in the kitchen. It can save time by using it to chop ice, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. It also will puree, which is perfect for smoothies, homemade sauces and dressings. Don’t forget about the delicious hummus or pesto you can make too!
Essentially, this is an electric pressure cooker. It traps steam to cook foods at a higher temperature than boiling water. It’s great for hands-off cooking and faster cooking. You can sautee right in the pot or use it to make rice. Another huge benefit is that you can throw in frozen meat, which means no more dinner substitutions because you forgot to defrost the entree. There are also a tremendous number of instapot specific recipes online. Though this machine has a lot going for it, there are several things to consider before you buy one. While quite versatile, they do tend to be bulky. Ask yourself if you have the counter space to dedicate to this item. If not, make sure you will actually take this out of storage when you need it. Another factor is cleanup. You may find it a little difficult to clean all the cracks and crevices, however the inner pot is usually dishwasher safe.
This device can be a great addition to any kitchen. Despite the name, it doesn’t actually fry your food. Instead, it uses convection heat to brown and crisp your foods on the outside while leaving the inside moist and tender. This makes less of a mess and takes less time than deep frying or regular oven roasting. Additionally, an air fryer uses very little oil. Before purchasing, consider how many people you need to cook for and if you want a side-by-side cooking option. It’s also important to remember that while a healthier alternative to deep frying, consuming a lot of french fries and mozzarella sticks still won’t be best for your waistline. However, you can air fry your vegetables and use it to dehydrate fruits. If your kitchen is getting too cluttered, you can also consider combination products. For example, some Instant Pot models have an air fryer function.
