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This is my Splurge Worthy Christmas List!
At what age did you first begin asking for kitchen gadgets for Christmas? It feels like when these things start showing up on your wish list, that is when you have truly arrived at adulthood. But who could blame you? Not only do these things make our lives easier in the kitchen, they also make it WAY MORE FUN! And that’s what we’re all about… making cooking fun for everybody.
SOOOO check out which items topped my list, and then let me know which ones you’ll be adding to your list and what we missed on our list!
Vitamix Blender
Starting with my Vitamix Blender – this has been used in my kitchen for almost 7 years now.
My now 7 year old was an extremely picky eater. She refused to eat vegetables, any protein outside of peanut butter (does that even count as protein?), and she preferred to feed most of her food to our dog. Jason had been out of town for a few days and me being a desperate mom decided to take my kids to Costco to find free samples to kill time till bedtime. As we were walking through Costco, we came across a demo booth where they were demo-ing none other than a VITAMIX blender. The man demo-ing threw in a handful of kale, a whole banana, a lemon, a handful of strawberries, half an avocado, and some greek yogurt. Once he blended everything up, he poured the green smoothie into small sample cups, and my 1.5 year old (remember pickiest eater EVER) drank the entire cup and begged for more smoothie. My mind was blown and I bought a Vitamix on the spot. For months we drank smoothies every day as my way of sneaking veggies and protein into my children’s diet.
Honestly, I’d be lying if I told you we don’t STILL use the vitamix for this exact same reason. HA!
Vertuo Next Nespresso Machine
If there was a kitchen gadget that I absolutely COULD NOT live without… this would be it. I’m one of those “Don’t talk to me till I have my coffee” kind of people. A few years back I bought my first Nespresso machine and I’ve used it every day ever since. The one that comes with the frother is a sweet deal because just the frother on its own is almost $100. This Nespresso machine and the frother is the best $172 you will spend. Even better, ask for it for Christmas! Every morning I wake up, pop a pod in, froth my oat milk, and prepare to take on the world, er Mom-ing and running a gym.
Kitchenaid Mixer
A few years back I purchased my first Kitchenaid mixer and it’s still going strong! I found mine on Facebook marketplace, but this beauty is on my Christmas list. Use it to mix up a batch of cookies, bread dough, or even whisk egg whites for a merengue. I love that it is heavy duty enough to mix doughs but also works great for everything else. Bonus, it’s a really pretty mixer and not an eye sore on your counter.
Instapot Pressure Cooker
If you have spent any time looking at our recipes, you know that this instapot is a Kitchen Staple! What’s so incredible about it is that it’s an all-in-one kind of pot. You can use it to saute, then add your broth and slow cook, OR if you’re in a time crunch, you can pressure cook anything in minutes. I love to use mine for slow cooking soups or roasts all day, or quickly pressure cooking bbq chicken for weeknight dinners.
I’ll be the first to admit I was really intimidated by the whole pressure cooking thing. I have this strong memory of my mom warning me when I was a kid about opening the pressure cooker lid too early and the refried beans blowing up all over the kitchen and myself (it never happened because I was too scared to even go near the pressure cooker). The image of this happening scared me for a LONG time, until I had 3 little kids at home and NEEDED something that I could throw frozen chicken breasts into and produce a delicious and healthy meal in less than 30 minutes – enter the INSTAPOT. Once I got mine and learned how to use it, I cleared out my rice cooker and slow cooker and now this is all I use! Also, it makes the most perfect fool-proof Hard Boiled Eggs.
Dutch Oven
I use my dutch oven almost every single week, especially in the winter. This is my favorite way to slow cook foods or soups. It’s a large heavy duty pot that spreads the heat throughout so well. You can cook on the stove or even start your food on the stove and then place the whole dutch oven into the oven to continue cooking for a few hours.
olive oil bottle
This requires little description. I love my olive oil bottle. It sits by my stove and I use it multiple times a day. It is pretty and convenient! You can also get two and use one for olive oil and one for vinegar.
flexible cutting boards
Flexible cutting boards are another great stocking stuffer for the cook in your life. I was initially introduced to these cutting boards by my Mom who got some for Alissa and I from Ikea. Let me just say, these ones are much better quality and equally priced. These boards are fantastic for helping a new cook keep their food separate. You’ll notice there is a little picture in the corner to show you which board to cut red meat on, veggies, fruit, fish, and even chicken! Cross contamination is a hard NO in my kitchen, not only for food safety but also to preserve the integrity of the ingredients! Last thing you want is apples tasting like onions because you cut an apple up on the veggie board. Save yourself the hassle of wondering which board you cut what on and grab a set of these!
emersion blender
I just bought my first Emersion Blender about 2 months ago and I honestly don’t know how I lasted so long without it! I’ve loved using this for blending soups, salad dressings, whisking whipped cream for my coffee and chopping nuts and cranberries. This tool really does help with so many things and it’s great to not have to pour soup into my blender to blend it up. Grab yourself one and thank me later!
That’s a wrap on my kitchen must haves that you should add to your Christmas list! Each of these items makes working it my kitchen a little more fun and easier. I’ve found there are 2 reasons people don’t “like” to cook. One being that they were never taught to love the art of cooking and two being that they don’t have the right tools which can make a huge difference. Tell me what I missed on my list? OR go check out Alissa’s list and then let us know.
