Jen's Favorite Kitchen Tools
If you have been to my kitchen, or I have been to yours (either in person or through video!) then you know that my top kitchen tools are the ones I use daily, travel with, and could never do without. When you have quality tools on hand to do a job, the work is ALWAYS easier. Creating a healthy kitchen requires creating a space that is conducive to simple and fun prep-work. While I love many of the gadgets I have found over the years, these three top the list very time:
1. My Vitamix
I have used this amazing high-speed blender just about every single day since the day it came into my kitchen. At first, it was exclusively my smoothie-maker, creating the creamiest morning smoothies I could imagine. Very soon, though, I began to tap into the many uses of the Vitamix, preparing restaurant-quality soups, endless pesto and tapenade concoctions, nut butters, bread crumbs, and of course, all of my son's baby food. I have recommended it to more people than I remember and I seriously do not know what I would do without it.
A friend introduced me to this forever-sharp ceramic knife, and I have used nothing else since (except to smash garlic or pry open a squash, that is). It literally never gets dull, and glides through veggies like a charm. With tools like this in the kitchen, chopping is no chore - it's actually kind of fun...
3. My citrus squeezer
It seems like I am forever squeezing lemons: in my morning drink, my water bottle, my Pellegrino, salads and dressings, grain recipes, and the list goes on. When you see how much juice comes from this squeezer, you will be sure you could never squeeze a lemon so tightly with just your hand. Bonus: it catches the seeds before they hit your salad!