Microwave Vegetable Steamer. For me this is indispensible. We buy a lot of frozen vegetables because way up here they are either not available or after being on a truck for a week and a half to get here they just aren’t really all that fresh anyway. I put the frozen veggies in and about 4 minutes later they are piping hot, and not dried out at all. They are crisp and the flavor is still good. The best part?….its really hard to burn things in the micro!
A Truly Sharp Bread Knife. I know a lot of you out there are saying “BREAD?” and avoid breads and simple carbs like the plague,…and so do I. But we recently bought a new bread knife and it’s magic. When I do want a piece of bread I am able to cut a slice of our favorite sourdough soooo thin that you can almost see through it. Two of those, some spicy mustard, lettuce, tomato, low-fat cheese, and sliced ham make a great quick lunch on the road, and I have cut the carbs literally in half by making my slices so thin.
An Egg Timer. I have a super cool egg timer that you put in the water with the eggs. When I hear Roberta Flack’s best known tune “Killing Me Softly” I know they are soft boiled, something called “I Wish I Was a Hen” for medium, and Orff’s “Oh Fortuna” from Carmina Burana when they are hard boiled. The selection of tunes alone was enough to make me buy the thing, someone had a sense of humor. Having a whole bunch of perfectly hard boiled eggs around makes for a nice quick breakfast or snack. I usually don’t eat the yolks which is where the entire bulk of an egg’s fat resides, gulping down the yolks which are pure protein, and rack up a mighty 16 calories each.
A Good Non-Stick Frying Pan. Cast Iron pans are for cooks; Calphalon and Teflon pans are for dieters. You can use much less oil when cooking by using a good non-stick pan, and at 120 calories a tablespoon adding unnecessary oil is a good thing to avoid. If yours is on the older side consider buying a new one, even a cheap one, you will find that you can cut your added oil in half and clean up will be easier again.
A Kitchen Scale Duh. Ok this one is a no brainer, and even if you live in the US and have all of your dietary labeling listed in pounds and ounces I still recommend getting one that will give you the option of weighing grams. Why? Because you can easily find the nutritional information in grams on the net when the labeling is not available and it’s so much easier to calculate in grams. When you have the time, weigh your food. Get to know how many calories are in the things that you eat all the time. Most of us eat the same thing for breakfast every day. Take the time to weigh it and calculate it out. You might get surprised to find that your serving of granola is actually two servings. Oops!
If you have an appliance or a kitchen tool that you use that you think helps you squeeze a few extra calories out of your diet please post it below where is says “Leave a Reply”.
Posted by Kim Maxwell
I am so glad that I came to this web site. Interesting article. That’s a good info. Thanks a ton for sharing your knowledge! I have checked over a few of your other articles and found some great information too. Cynthia
It might be good for people that are looking for substitutes to cut calories and also don’t have the time or inclination to cook a regular meal because everyone is different in reacting with each kind of situation.
the best kitchen tool is the food processor
you can cut down on your preparation time
AND my most favorite is the DISHWASHER
my favorite kitchen tools are the food processor which cuts down on prep time
and of course the DISHWASHER