Kitchen gadgets you couldn't do without??
 

Can anyone offer up what gadgets & do-hickies they just couldn't be without out on LAWL?? I have only one more week before my offical start date (next Monday) and want to prepare my kitchen now that I'll have it back after two years of living with my mother in-law...no wonder I fell off the wagon!!! :dizzy:

I did LAWL in 2004 and was successful at the time. If only I had kept if off - the story of my life - LOL!... The one thing I remember using a TON was the kitchen scale. If their plan is still the same, there is alot of weighing involved (particularly of meat portions). Good luck to you!

A good scale (not the POS they give you) and good kitchen shears for trimming fat from meat. i also bought an extra set of measuring cups so I always have some on hand to measure portions.
Good luck, Tues

small containers. like ziploc disposable containers. that hold a 1/2 cup or a cup. so you can preprotion things and have them in the refrig! grab and go!

I love my bullet mixer (and all the stuff mentioned above). I make smoothies with it, puree veggies to add to sauces, mix fruit with yogurt to pour over cereal, etc. Takes no room on the counter and they are really cheap now.

Good luck

I have my list of favorites.

• Magic Bullet, I use it for more than you can imagine
• Decent quality food scale, I got a $10 one at Target and it works wonders
• 32 oz reusable water bottles, 2 a day and my intake is done
• Set of measuring cups & spoons
• Containers, containers, containers, it's much eaiser to portion out ahead of time
• Egg slicer, it's great for slicing veggies too
• vegetable peeler, then again I'm a cucumber girl

speaking of a vegetable peeler.......... I used mine today on a zuccinni (SP?) and I peeled all sides down to the center seed area, til I had a pile of VERY thin Zuc peices. then I put them in a pan with a little Olive oil and garlic and then some tomatoes. and ate it like spaghetti. I saw Emeril do it the other day to replace pasta. and man it was good!!! It almost felt like real noodles. and it was all veggies!

I love that idea Lettie!

I am a HUGE fan of the magic bullet ( I have a bella cucina from Macy's-which is their brand of the bullet) I use it every single day!

I also use those microwave steamer bags (ziploc) almost everyday! So easy and they come out great!

You will need a great cooler to keep in your car so you always have OP foods on hand!

GL!

Great tips everyone!! Anyone ever get any use out of any type of all in one counter top cookers or food processors??

Great suggestion Lettie.. I just bought some zuchini yesterday, and that sounds like a great way to enjoy it..

As far as gadgets, I'm an addict. That said, I don't have a magic bullet yet.. :lol:

1. Slow cooker/crock pot meals are your friend... Invest in a good one.
2. Indoor rotisserrie - Liz got me one for Christmas (george forman brand) and we did a fantastic leg of lamb in it last week.
3. Food saver - can't get along without this.

A countertop food saver (or food "sucker" as I call it) or one of those new handheld jobs that comes with special bags (we have both now) are invaluable for when you cook meals or things ahead... They are especially handy if you go and buy some "Boar's Head" brand low sodium lunchmeats. Since they are fresh and free of most additives and preservatives, they spoil quickly. Doling them out in the food saver bags has saved me a bunch of money in the long run...

I'm with dan on this one too - my slow cooker is my best friend. I can cook without actually cooking. No mess, no hassle and then I can take the small containers and portion out the stuff and either put in the fridge or even the freezer for later. I tend to cook sometimes a bunch on the weekend and then freeze for later. Comes in handy when I get busy with work or life and need something quick but healthy to eat for supper or lunch for work.

Someone earlier mentioned a cooler. I don't have that but I have a good sized insulated lunch bag and a few ice packs if differing sizes that I can use to keep things cold while at work and that way I can have my lunch bag right with me so I can grab a snack when I need it. I can put an ice pack in at 6 am and when I get home at 5-6pm it is still cold.

My vote is for my magic bullet. I love it and I am so glad that I got one.

Lynn
LAWL franchise center
total lost 61.5 lbs.
Current weight
Original goal of 50 lbs lost – achieved
New goal to lose total of 65 lbs

I'll jump on the Magic Bullet bandwagon. I have one and make my protein drinks (slimdowns) with some frozen fruit. It takes a couple seconds and you are good to go.

The Foodsaver is also great for those items that spoil quickly, but also if you by from the warehouse type clubs (costco, BJs, Sam's, etc). We buy our meat that way, then portion it out and vacumn seal it.

I also have the drinking measuring type cups from Tupperware. I put my smoothies in it when I am on my way out the door. That and a straw and I am good to go. Alot of people use them for doing things like salad dressing.

Ziploc also makes "Snack" size bags. These are great for portioning out my fruit, like blueberries, blackberries, and grapes. I get them from the warehouse club bring them home clean them and bag them. That way I just have to grab a bag and I don't over eat.

Good luck!

Counter top grill. I cook lean meat portion it out with steamed veggies and a starch for my weeks lunches. There is always something in the fridge to eat so everyone is happy. Right size containers is important.

Zip lock baggies, plastic containers, 32 oz water bottles, electric scale (bought at Wal Mart), measuring cups & spoons!

I just started so I'm measuring my stuff out, weighing it and then recording what it weighs. In the future, I'll be using the scale only to portion my food. Really cuts down on the dirty dishes.

Good luck!

Jill

Alannah or Dan - Where can I get some good slow cooker recipes? I would love to use mine more but most of the things I always cooked in them would not be on plan:)

i have a steamer that i love, or those pampered chef microwave steamer containers are good too, an electric scale, measuring cups, a good water bottle and i put a dry erase marker board on my fridge to write down lists and i also use it to keep track of my monthly exercising goals.

Katy - I guess I just try and modify different recipes. I use the internet a lot. tasteof home.com has tons of recipes and they have recipes on there from their sister magazine light and tasty so some of them are already reduced. I also go to kraft canada to check out recipes etc. I just play with ingredients and throw things together. It usually turns out pretty good. I stay away from anything "cream" type based that would have used soups etc as their base and stick more to broth type basics and load on the spices. Even the people at work who have tried some of my concoctions liked them so I can't be doing all that bad. I also use my slow cooker to make turkey chili in and homemade soups.

Kitchen scale, measuring cups, measuring spoons and ... egg-slicer thingy. I make egg salad often (as I am vegetarian) and it's a very helpful tool. I slice an egg and then I rotate it 90 degrees within the slicer, and slice again. It makes my eggs ... julienne! I slice 3 eggs like that, then I add 1 Tb light mayo, 1 ts of horseradish, and voila!, it is soo good! :D

1-1/2 P
1 Fat

That about sums it up.. Just google "slow cooker recipies"... A lot of them can be "exchanged" for plan friendly meals.. Just remember to stay away from a lot of sodium.. We mostly use our for roasts.. Just dump a thawed roast in with a cup of water and plenty of herbs and carrots... put it on low and viola! It's done when you get home.

Dan- I call our food saver a food sucker too. Now I kind of just say that because everybody always corrects me. We wore our first one out sucking up all that deer and elk meat, so we are on our second one. I couldn't live without it now.

I also use my George Foreman grill every week. I get the frozen bags of BS chicken breasts and cook up a whole bag at one time then put it in the fridge for quick meals. Cleaning it is a breeze while it's still hot. My outdoor gas grill gets an awful lot of use too. It's just outside the patio door on the deck off the kitchen. Chicken, veggies, grilled fruits, roasted peppers. Gosh, I am getting hungry thinking about all that yummy food.

Pretty much everything everybody else said. Crockpot, tons and tons of plastic containers, boxes of baggies, about 5 sets of measuring cups, good digital food scale, egg slicer, salad shooter.

I haven't gotten a magic bullet yet, but I look everytime I see one. Might have to be a mini goal reward in my future.

Lettie- I also saw on a show where you do the same thing with sweet potatoes and put them on a pan with olive oil and bake them up like chips. It's yummy.

Ok.. Stupid question so I don't screw this up.. What did you do when you got to the seeded centers? Did you cook those up too? Also, did you discard the outside, or did you cook up the skin too? (That sounds gross, sorry)

post deleted due to stupidity...

Ok, I forgot about my new microwave egg cookers that I got at Wally World. I read about them on a weight loss site.

They are made by Nordic Ware, the Brand is Mainstays and the boxes are blue and white and they are about $5-$7 each.

I bought the 3 varieties. The egg cooker for hard boiled eggs. Holds up to 4 eggs and in 10 minutes you have beautiful eggs. I use it for my egg salad sandwiches. Takes the guess work out of how long the eggs have been boiling.
Then there is the egg poacher and it holds up to 2 eggs.
Lastly, the egg omelet maker and holds 2 to 4 eggs.

Lynn
LAWL franchise center
total lost 62.5 lbs.
Original goal of 50 lbs lost – achieved
New goal to lose total of 65 lbs

I use my slow cooker a lot lately. It's great to make a big roast on Sunday, and then save the leftovers for sandwich meat during the week. No preservatives..homemade and yummy. I get recipes from allrecipes.com (just search 'slow cooker' on their site) and just modify them or weed out the ones that are not going to work with the plan.

Dan -- I do the zucchini thing too, and I just discard the seedy middle part and use all the rest, including the skin. Another great substitute for pasta is spaghetti squash...just a little icbinb, half-salt and pepper maybe garlic...or add a little salsa etc...

Thanks Angie.. I was planning on making your recipe tonight and didn't want to end up screwing it up...

I saw a show just the other day where they also used the thin zucchini slices to replace the noodles in lasagna.

Well, I did the thin zucchini slices for dinner and they were a HUGE hit... They were a perfect match for the italian braised chicken I made... I may never eat them a different way!

WOW< GREAT thread! I have seen this for a while now and haven't read it! AM SO glad I did!

I am excited about the egg cooker things!

Lynn-I will be buying the egg cookers next time I'm at Walmart!! I could really use those. What are they made of?

It does not say what they are made of. The product is called Platinum Bakeware. It looks like white plastic to me. I have a link to the NordicWare site so you can see them. It says the egg boiler (#8) is $10.50; the other two items are $3.50 each according to the site. The ones I have are #2 and #12

http://www.nordicware.com/search/do/...ction=products

Lynn
LAWL franchise center
total lost 62.5 lbs.
Original goal of 50 lbs lost – achieved
New goal to lose total of 65 lbs

Thanks Lynn. We have #2 already! I use it all the time. DBF had it before I moved in, so I never knew where he got it. It works great! So easy to clean. Thanks for the great info! I can't wait to get the other ones.

Thanks Lynn for this...I cannot hard boil an egg to save my life...well I can hard boil them, but they sure don't come apart nicely. I will be on the lookout for these. :carrot:

My George Foreman. I have used it every night since the weather got cold. I still grill outside but not when it sub zero here or blizzard conditions.

Wow, I think this is an expensive thread to read... I need all kinds of stuff now.. an egg cooker, a magic bullet...

I am on my second george forman grill. I got a bigger one for Christmas. It is really convenient to put in a several pieces at once and have the leftovers.

I do use the "set it and forget it" grill... I can't remember the name besides that. You can steam veggies on the top while your meat is cooking. They have a basket so you can grill all kinds of things. Salmon is really good cooked this way.

I seem to go through crock pot phases. I haven't had one for awhile. Maybe since I got the cat who gets into everything and I fear I would come home to a crock pot on the floor. I contemplated just putting it on the floor, but then who knows what the dog might do? He is old, but cooking meat might just be enough to get him to do things.

I can't seem to get my chicken right on a george forman grill. I even got the one that you can control the temp. Also need a good spice or marinade. I tried poultry seasoning and I don't like it.

Any suggestions on using the george foreman grill?

oh and does anybody use those green bags for veggies and fruits. Just wondering if they work. (currently watching a commercial and just thought I'd ask)

Now I'm so ready to go and buy the egg cooker. Might make it easier than constantly buying the pre-cooked pre-shelled eggs at Trader Joe's.

As for the odd not really gadget I can't live without, tupperwear whistle straws. There's just something about a giant straw sticking up in a water bottle that just makes drinking the water so much more fun.

Ok.. so not really a kitchen "gadget", but I bit the bullet and signed up for some Gevalia Coffee today... I got an ad in the mail that said I'd get a free coffee maker, stainless steel travel mug and a thermos pitcher if I signed up for their coffee.. We're coffee fiends at the office, so I figure instead of buying coffee when it's my turn, I could just bring the Gevalia stuff.. The price was fairly decent as well...

I haven't told Liz yet.. :lol:

The straws are a great idea. I remember reading that if you drink from a straw, you tend to drink more that just from the lip of the glass. If you have trouble getting all your water in, you might find it helpful to try a straw.