Whether you’ve recently started wanting to improve your cooking skills now that it’s a new year, or you want to commit to ordering greasy takeout less often, having the right tools in your kitchen can make healthier eating at home feel less daunting. Plus, having some handy gadgets can also inspire you to try new food and spend less time running around the kitchen. Check these out-of-the-box ideas that make creating home-cooked meals a lot easier.
The Prepdeck
If you’ve ever shuffled back and forth from your kitchen counter to your garbage to your sink a million times while balancing ingredients, this handy multi-tasker makes it easy to stay organized, clean, and less stressed prepping your meals. Winner of the 2021 Amazon Innovator of the Year Award, it includes 45+ features and tools that help you get your next meal together. There are precision tools that clip onto the containers (read: less stuff to clean up), 15 perfectly size compartments to put all your chopped ingredients, spices, and sauces, plus a cutting board that connects magnetically to the base (and it also folds up and encloses your Prepdeck for easy storage).
BlendJet Portable Blender 2
Smoothies and fresh juices are often a delicious way to pack tons of nutrients into your diet, but traditional blenders are bulky and a pain in the wash (proven by the fact that you probably already have a blender gathering dust in your basement). Enter: The Blendjet, which weighs just a little over a pound and has a 16 oz. capacity, yet magically still has enough power to crush ice, frozen fruit, and more in just 20 seconds. Since it’s USB powered, you can take it anywhere you go and lasts up to 15 uses before it needs to be recharged. Plus, when you’re done drinking directly from the jar (no extra dishes), you just add soap, water, and blend to thoroughly clean it out. As a bonus, it comes in 24 fun colors — no more boring stainless steel appliances.
Food52 Five Two Over-the-Sink Dish Drying Rack
The biggest drag about cooking at home is the clean-up. And when space is limited (we’re looking at you, 350 sq. ft. apartments), it makes it even less of an incentive to whip out the pots and pans. But this silicone drying rack makes the cleaning process less painful by simply rolling out and balancing over your sink to dry glassware, heavy cookware, dishes, and utensils alike. The rack and the caddy are both designed to promote airflow, so it’ll dry even faster than a conventional drying rack. You can even use it to drip-dry fruits and veggies instead of relying on paper towels. When you’re all done, you can easily roll it up and store it away.
Meater Plus with Bluetooth Repeater
Beef up your cooking skills (pun, intended) with the smart meat thermometer. No more guessing as to whether your proteins are at the right temperature. You insert the probe into your meat, select how you would like your meat cooked in the app, and get perfect results every time. The Original Meater has a 33 ft. range so that you can have the freedom of stepping away from your grill, oven, smoker, or rotisserie cooker. The Meater Plus has a wireless range of up to 165 ft., so you have even more flexibility.
Click and Grow The Smart Garden 9
Got a brown thumb? This indoor garden makes it easier to grow greens, herbs, and fruits with its self-watering system. All you have to do is pop in the nine of the biodegradable pods of your choice (they’re pre-filled with soil and seeds), add water to its high capacity tank, plug it in, and enjoy your fresh produce in just a few weeks with minimal effort. Choose from over 75 plant pods like basil, peppermint, rosemary, thyme, chives, mini tomatoes, strawberries, and more.
W&P Porter 8-Piece Fridge Bundle
Not only does this storage bundle keep food in your fridge organized, but you also reduce the use of plastic. Chop up veggies or store healthy leftovers so that they’re easy to grab and go for tomorrow’s lunch. The best part is everything is dishwasher friendly so you don’t spend time hand washing and scrubbing.
Cooksy
This smart device uses visual and thermal sensors to give you real-time assistance while you cook on the stovetop. It monitors your pan and food temperatures, has automatic timers so you know exactly when to move on to the next step of your recipe, and gives you step-by-step video instructions. It’ll tell you if your pan is too hot and you’re at risk of burning your food — or not hot enough so that it’s not cooking optimally. It’s basically the closest thing to having a professional chef tell you what to do in the kitchen.
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