As the Christmas Holiday nears and the New Year approaches, we are excited to be sharing our Holiday Gift Guide, full of ideas for your friends, family, and you. If you are ready to kick off the New Year with healthy dinners, then this gift guide is for you. This is a compiliation of some of the products that helped our family over the years to transition to healthier meals.
While some may say that gadgets are unnecessary in the kitchen, we believe differently. As a busy parent, a meat thermometer to take the guesswork out of how to cook that perfect steak is incredibly helpful, and builds our confidence in the kitchen.
So without further ado, here are some of our favorite kitchen gadgets broken down into 3 categories: For You. For Your Kids. For Your Family & Friends.
Gifft Ideas For You:
Garlic Rocker ($10-$15). After using a traditional garlic press for many years, I was recently introduced to the garlic rocker last year. This has quickly become one of our favorite kitchen gadgets. We use fresh garlic for a number of recipes including salads, vegetables, dressings, and meats. This garlic rocker is easy to use and makes the perfect minced garlic. Garlic is incredibly healthy and great for boosting the immune system. Because of its many health benefits, we find this little gadget well worth buying.
Meat Thermometer ($10-$100). From the novice chef to the total pro in the kitchen, a meat thermometer is great for busy families. And finding a thermometer with the meat cooking guide on the gauge is another added bonus. You will no longer need to wonder what the perfect temperature is for meat or chicken or fish. It's on the device. We believe any meat thermometer will do so stick within your budget on this one.
Immersion Blender ($35-$100+). After spending more than a year with a Professional Chef creating and filming recipes for Healthy Kids Inc., we can tell you with certainty that the immersion blender is one of his favorite gadgets in the kitchen. It's easy to work with and perfect for making soups and sauces.
Vitamix or Blentec ($300-$600). Our family made the "investment" in a Vitamix a few years ago and have never looked back. We were able to find a payment plan on QVC that made the investment a little more reasonable. We use the Vitamix daily to make bulletproof coffee with butter, smoothies, blend soups, make banana ice cream, and so much more.
Cast Iron Skillet ($20-$75). There are many schools of thought on cast iron. Cast Iron takes more TLC to care for, but it’s a much healthier option as non-stick Teflon coated pans can leach chemicals out into foods. Cast Iron skillets are great for searing steaks as the pan can be heated on the stove top and then transferred to the oven to continue baking.
Seed Sprouting Jar ($6-$10)- We are big fans of sprouting seeds and beans. It’s so easy to do and the end product is so healthy for our bodies. Many will sprout broccoli seeds, alfalfa, garbanzo beans, lentils, and even grains. Check out this video to see just how easy it is.
Small Food Processor ($30-$100). There are times when a small food processor is better to use than the Vitamix. This gadget is relatively inexpensive and priced around $30. We often use the small food processor to make homemade pestos, chop nuts, make oat flour from rolled oats, and other smaller quantity mixtures.
Food Prep Container ($10-$15). At Healthy Kids Inc. we stand firmly behind the value in food prep each week. In fact, we will often go as far as put everything needed for an entire recipe inside of a container to quickly pull out and start cooking. You can check it out here. We love these containers because of how organized it makes your refrigerator. We have tested so many containers over the years and find Sistema to be our brand of choice. Our favorite sizes are the 7-liter and 5-liter containers.
Veggie Prep Container ($7-$10). Some weeks the full dinner prep isn’t possible to pull off, but at minimum some chopping of veggies will ensure the family has fresh vegetables to eat raw or use as a dinner side dish. This Sistema split container is our go-to solution and used weekly.
Baking Rack ($10-$15). Yes, we love our bacon and nothing beats baking your bacon. We find these oven-safe cooking racks the perfect option to make amazing bacon and other meats.
Gift Ideas For Kids:
Knife Set with finger blade ($50-$60 for the set). Getting kids involved in the kitchen is so important and finding the right knife set is crucial. If the knife is plastic and bulky then it could do more harm than good. We also like knife sets with a finger guard for kids.
Baking Kit from Curious Chef ($10-$25). The baking sets from Curious Chef are perfect for little ones. While we are not huge fans of their kids knife (for the same reason as mentioned above), kids love having their own utensils to join along in the kitchen. These utensils are durable and perfect for little hands.
Indoor Garden Unit ($60). Getting kids involved in growing their own food is so much fun. This Back to the Roots Water Garden is a great way to get kids involved in aquaponics.
To Go Containers for healthier snacks and lunches ($7-$10). Yes, we do love Sistema. We have been using their products for years and they have withstood the test of time. This to-go container is amazing for yogurt on the go.
Fruit Infused Water Bottles ($6-$20). Nothing makes drinking water cool for kids like a fruit infused water bottle. So many bottle options exist for kids. Once you find your container, here's one of our YouTube video's on how to flavor your water.
Gift Ideas for family/friends:
One of the best ways to give your family and friends a healthy eating jumpstart is to give them a "getting started" basked. Here are a few gift basket ideas that have been well received over the years:
1. Cooking Essentials- The quickest change a family can make is to swap for healthier cooking oils. This basket could contain: Extra Virgin Olive Oil (unrefined, organic), Himalayan Pink Salt, Coconut Oil (expeller pressed, unrefined), Avocado Oil, Garlic Press/Rocker, and/or a Meat Thermometer
2. Breakfast Basket- Break away from unhealthy pancake mixes and syrups full of high fructose corn syrup. Instead, give your family Buckwheat Pancake Mix, Grade A or B Maple Syrup, Muffin Mix, and Coconut Oil (expeller pressed, unrefined) so that they can create their own healthier breakfast.
3. Snack Basket- Annie's Crackers, Raw nuts, Cascadian Bars, and Popcorn kernels all make the perfect snack for your friends or family.
4. Coffee Basket- Nothing beats a good cup of coffee in the morning. Let your family start their day with Bulletproof coffee, MCT Oil, Kerrygold butter, all blended with some cacao powder to make a hot chocolate/coffee combination. Top your basket off with some green tea for an afternoon treat.
5. HKI Membership- Gift your family and friends a meal plan subscription to Healthy Kids Inc, where we will guide them through their healthy meals for the week. Finally, you can take a break from trying to get your friends and family on board with healthy eating. We'll happily do that for you! Oh and all of these healthy swaps are broken down in detail for new HKI subscribers as a part of our Fail Proof Webinar Series that they will receive for free. Get them started here.
Here's to a healthy and happy Holiday season and the start to an amazing 2016 year ahead. Merry Christmas!