“What can I say? Gadgets are my life.  My name is Stacy, and I’m a gadget-holic.”  Stacy Finz

How well equipped is your kitchen for preparing healthy food?

She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.  (Proverbs 31:15; NIV)

First of all I want to share with you what one of our readers sent to us.  Last week I wrote on the “Perils of PFOA.”   Robin Bianchi from Rochester, New York sent us this email.  “I was slow cooking spaghetti sauce one evening for about three hours in my aging electric non-stick fry pan….my parakeet died….the dangers are real!”  Thank you, Robin, for sharing that story with us. 

Last evening I walked around the kitchen looking at the various appliances, cookware, and kitchen gadgets that I use on a regular basis.  I began making a list of what I use most often.  This certainly won’t be an exhaustive list, nor will I be able to share everything I use in this posting, but it’s a start.

When asked the hypothetical question of what one thing I could not live without if stranded on a desert island, I’m quick to say, “My Cuisinart!”  I’ve used a food processor since they first came on the scene in the 1970’s.  There is no faster way to slice, chop, dice, grate or mix than by using a food processor.  They truly are a cook’s best friend.  If you don’t have one, begin saving for one or consider asking for one for an upcoming gift-giving occasion.

Probably the next most used appliance in our household is the blender.  I make smoothies at least five times a week using it.  I also use it for pureeing soups and sauces.  I also use a large kitchen mixer for the occasions of making bread, other types of dough, cheesecake batter or cookies.

To equip your kitchen in a truly healthy manner, a juicer is a must.  Fresh vegetable and fruit juices have tremendous nutrient value.

A crock pot is also a must.  I have two; a newer one that is large and oblong in shape and a very old one that still works great.   This past Sunday I slow cooked a venison roast with barbecue sauce in the newer one. I cooked some sweet potatoes in the older one at the same time.  When we came home from church, the kitchen smelled wonderful.  All I had to do was make coleslaw (using my Cuisinart) and dinner was ready!

The last appliance I’ll mention for now is the convection oven. Today’s link will tell you more about it.  I don’t have, nor do I recommend using a microwave oven.  I know that may seem extreme to many of our readers…but love me anyway!  Perhaps I’ll do a Daily Gram on the dangers of microwave cooking.  NOT a popular subject to be sure.

I’ll continue my “kitchen gadget” dialogue next week.

Prayer Power
Lord, You are so good to us and we are so thankful to You for the knowledge and wisdom You have given mankind to develop time saving kitchen equipment.

Link of the Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQyroLZJWLg

Blessings on you as you equip your kitchen in a more healthy way!