5 Kitchen Tools I Didn’t Know I Needed Until I Had Them

I do okay in the kitchen. I can make simple recipes really well and have tried my hand at some more difficult things, but mostly I’m about making cooking as easy as possible. I’m hungry when I get home. I typically don’t want to do wait too long, do too many dishes or not be full at the end of the meal.

Through my past year as a college grad making more dinners on my own, I’ve learned there are a few kitchen essentials that I didn’t previously have in my kitchen, that now I could not live without.

1- A Magic Bullet

This thing is seriously all it’s cracked up to be. My roommate does fitness competitions so makes protein shakes on the daily and invested in one of these and man I’m happy she did. Smoothies are simple, you can make pesto or peanut butter in it, and frozen drinks for one are a breeze! The best part? Just stick the little cups in the dishwasher on the top rack.

2- A lemon/ lime juicer thing

It’s that funny looking thing that I can never actually figure out which way the lime is supposed to go, but it freshly juices both lemons and limes with ease. Not a super hindrance, but why struggle when one tool can do it all, easier and better than you can? Now that recipe that calls for four lemons juiced will have four lemons actually juiced versus you just getting lazy on the last one.

3- An avocado masher

Just got this one this weekend from my stepmom! For the amount of guac I enjoy in the summer, this thing is going to get a LOT of use. You can cut the avo open, scoop it out AND smash the insides all with one magical tool. No need trying to figure out if you can do it with a wooden spoon, spatula or muddler better- because you actually have an avocado smasher that works better than any combination of the other three.

4- A crock pot

We all know how I feel about my crock pot. There are endless amounts of delicious recipes you can make WHILE YOU’RE AT WORK! You come home to homemade meal smells wafting through the apartment and leftovers for DAYS (even for a girl who eats as much as I do). Seriously, invest.

5- Good Knives

While not very fun to purchase, good knives will be the saving grace of your kitchen. Once you switch to good knives, you will marvel at how much time you save trying to cut whatever needs to be cutting. I got a nice set as a Christmas present one year and have never looked back.

What tools do you use in your kitchen?