5 Kitchen Gadgets And Appliances That Help Me Eat Healthy Every Day

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As I approach my thirties, I've realized how important it is to eat healthy and exercise to stay fit. While the latter is pretty much straightforward — I've hired a trainer at the local gym — the former is where I faced most issues. Eating healthy means cooking all your meals at home, using high-calorie ingredients in limited quantities, and making sure all important macros are a part of every meal. While it sounds easy on paper, it's anything but. Moreover, eating out isn't an option, since most restaurants use high amounts of oil, butter, and other such ingredients to add flavor to the food, which means you won't be able to stick to your calorie intake goal. Of course, salads are an option, but I despise raw food and would rather have something cooked.

This is when I made the firm decision to cook all three meals by myself at home. While I had a fair bit of experience in cooking, I was looking for ways to make the process simpler and quicker, especially since I work for eight hours a day and also have other chores to attend to. Thankfully, I found a bunch of gadgets and appliances that made the process a lot easier and more enjoyable. From oven substitutes that let me cook my favorite protein without a drop of oil to smart scales that allow me to measure macros and store them for future reference, here are some kitchen essentials I use to help me eat healthy every single day.

Right from day one of my fitness journey, I found that an air fryer was my most cherished companion. I love my protein grilled or crispy, and that generally means roasting or frying it in a pan. This generally requires adding oil or butter if you don't want the food to stick to the pan. With an air fryer, all you have to do is throw whatever you want into the basket, add some seasoning, set the timer, and you're good to go. I love my food crunchy, and that's exactly how the Ninja Cripsi delivers it to me every single time. Notably, this is one of the few air fryers with a glass container. This was extremely important for me, since I am slightly paranoid about non-stick materials like PTFE used in pretty much every air fryer out there.

While glass gives me that peace of mind, the slight compromise is that food takes slightly longer to get crispy compared to a traditional air fryer. However, that is a trade-off I'm willing to make, especially since the Crispi excels at everything else. Having an air fryer also means you can bake some guilt-free stuff right at home in a few minutes. I made myself flourless brownies, sugar-free dark chocolate cookies, and whatnot. I also used it to make a pizza using a gluten-free crust, and it turned out excellent. You get two sizes of bowls, which is ideal when you're cooking for multiple people. Ninja also provides lids for the containers, making it easy to store your food. The Ninja Crispi is a big part of my diet regimen and is an easy recommendation for anyone in the market for an air fryer.

I'm often on the lookout for gadgets that can save me time, and the FoodSaver vacuum sealer machine is certainly right up there in that regard. Over time, I realized that cooking three meals every single day is taxing, especially on days when I have a lot of time-sensitive work. That's when I considered meal prep — a process where you cook food in larger batches and store it for future use. However, the storage technique matters the most here, since you want the food to remain fresh over time. So, I decided to cook a large batch over the weekend and store it in vacuum-sealed bags. After considering multiple options, I picked up the FoodSaver FM2100 vacuum sealer machine.

All you have to do is add the cooked food to the provided bag and run it through the machine, which creates a vacuum inside it. As per the brand, this helps retain the freshness of the food for up to three years. While I couldn't test out that claim, I grilled a slab of tofu with some vegetables that I sealed in the bag. I then put the bag in the freezer for two weeks. Before consumption, I got the bag out, thawed the food for a short while, and threw it in the Ninja Crispi to heat it up. Surprisingly, it didn't taste any different from the way it did two weeks ago. If you want to prepare meals beforehand for the rest of your week during a busy schedule, the FoodSaver vacuum sealer is a must-have.

I mentioned earlier that I prefer my food cooked instead of raw, so it would come as a surprise that I'm recommending a salad mixer. However, an electric one like the Mizsfx automatic fruit and vegetable salad mixer can be an effective gadget that performs several functions. For instance, you can use it to wash and clean vegetables and fruits that you can use for other dishes, not just salads. Since this is an automatic washer, all you have to do is add your fruits or vegetables and hit a single button. There are two layers inside that allow you to rinse and spin the contents in water. The gadget uses 12 brush arrays to clean the fruits and vegetables effectively, leaving you with produce that's fit to consume.

Not only does this save time, but it also reduces the effort required to manually wash and clean vegetables before cooking them. If you want to make a salad, the same bowl functions as a mixer, since you can simply add all the contents along with seasonings and dressings and give it a nice mix. I often use this basket to make myself a fruit salad when I'm craving snacks but don't want to have something calorie-intensive. I also like the fact that there are multiple speed options that can be useful when washing or mixing delicate items like leaves.

Smart kitchen scales are abundant. You'll find them in pretty much every household, and they're available at extremely affordable price points. A generic scale can be beneficial for portion control, as you can not only measure the quantity of ingredients you're adding but also the quantity of food you're consuming. However, the Renpho smart kitchen scale takes it up a notch by introducing the ability to log your food intake along with other macros, such as protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and so on. This not only gives you a more comprehensive overview of what you ate but also lets you log your weekly food intake directly on the scale. The way it works is that as soon as you place a certain portion of food on the scale, the built-in TFT display automatically shows the calories, fat, protein, and carbs. Once you log an item via the scale, it automatically syncs to your phone via a companion app.

You can save up to 100 food presets via the app, which is helpful if you consume the same type of food repeatedly. Let's say you consume 100 grams of guacamole every Saturday for breakfast. You can set a preset for guac so that every time you measure a certain quantity, the scale will give you the exact macros. Getting a clear picture of what I'm eating and how much I'm eating has given me better control over my consumption. Every time I saw a dish with high calories, I would automatically reduce the quantity and add something on the side with more fiber. It's one of the best kitchen gadgets for under $50 if you're on a weight-loss journey.

During the first few days of my diet plan, I tried making all my meals without a single drop of oil. After all, the air fryer was churning out great results without any oil applied to the food. Well, it didn't take me long to realize that it was an unsustainable approach, especially since several items that were cooked outside the air fryer were turning out to be rather dry. So, I decided to get myself the Onous electric oil sprayer. The idea behind this gadget is that it helps you use oil in controlled quantities, since manually adding a few drops may not always give you a precise idea of the quantity. Another perk of a gadget like this is that you always get even coverage when spraying oil on your food. This way, everything gets cooked evenly.

While you can get a manual oil sprayer as well for the same purpose, the biggest advantage of an electric one is that every time you press the button, the same amount of oil is dispensed. Moreover, the Onous electric sprayer also works with other liquids, such as soy sauce and wine. I used mine to spray vinaigrette over my salad, and it worked perfectly well. You can also use it for barbecuing or air frying meat.