Cool Stuff -- Everyday Kitchen

What are your favorite kitchen gadgets? I love to cook and want to make things both healthy and tasty, so most of the time that means cooking from scratch.  My love of cooking comes from my mom and my brothers are both great cooks.

Today I'm sharing three of my favorite smaller kitchen gadgets that I've found recently and use every day, multiple times. Cool stuff I don't know how I ever did without!

First, and maybe not technically a gadget, is cotton and tulle scrubbies. I've been using them on dishes for years now, but it wasn't until the last year or so that I found out how good they are for scrubbing veggies too. I use them on potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots mostly. Since they are machine washable they are better than sponges and I've found they last a long time.

cotton & tulle scrubbies by CityGirlCreations98

The rolling garlic chopper is truly a gadget and fun to use. I hesitated in buying one at first because it seemed the garlic press and a paring knife did the job just fine. Then one day the store had a great sale on gadgets and I broke down. Turns out, I love it, it's fun to use and my daughter bought herself one after using mine, before I could put one in her stocking for Christmas. By the way, we use a lot of garlic in our house. No vampires hanging around here! Garlic is, among other things, a natural antibiotic. This now has a home on the dish drainer.

Rolling Garlic Chopper

The third kitchen gadget I use daily is this cool citrus juicer. We started drinking a cup of warm water with fresh lemon juice first thing every morning when we radially changed our diet in 2012 and this works great. We were doing a reboot and this is one the habits that has stuck as it is clear it makes us feel better. This also has a permanent home on the dish drainer.

Citrus Juicer

Do you like to cook? Do you have anything you use every day in the kitchen?

Have a great week and happy cooking!

Linda <><

The Day I Stopped Drinking Brown and Started Drinking Green and Red

It was his health I was concerned about. Forcing healthy food and exercise on my husband didn’t work. Neither did nagging. I prayed. He came home from work on a Thursday afternoon last August excited about a documentary his radio station mentioned. We watched it that night and radically changed our diet the next day. Thus began last summer’s second life altering experience.

We watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and immediately Jim was ready to try it. Reboot With Joe  was free and provided all the material we needed to get started. First, we did a five day reboot, then a ten. I began grudgingly, but as the pounds fell off and I truly felt better I got on board. We both began transforming from the sloths who had a love affair with the couch to active adults, ready to run, hike, bike and kayak, all the things we used to love, but were making more and more excuses to avoid. 

People find different ways back to health. This worked for us. We aren't vegan though we've gotten a lot pickier about the meat we eat. I really like Dr. Joel Fuhrman and his ‘nutritarian’ diet. Simply put it is getting the most nutrition out of the calories we take in. Here are our biggest changes: no more soft drinks, very limited processed foods, loads of fruits and veggies, and only good quality meats and seafood. Smoothies, fresh made juices, salads, soups and roasted meals comprise most of our intake. By making these changes, I feel like doing more, I ache less and I even gave up all caffeine, unless you count the caffeine in chocolate. Because, trust me, I will never give up chocolate! I've found ample healthy chocolate recipes to satisfy me, like Cocoa Oat Truffles.

So this, last summer’s second happening, has made a most visible transformation in my life. Besides looking better after dropping 25+ pounds, I feel healthier, more energetic, even my hair and skin are thanking me! I think this quote says it all, Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels!