Meal preparation is one of the best ways to build healthy eating habits, even in the face of stress. As you go through the process of choosing, chopping, portioning, and cooking each ingredient, you develop a better appreciation for food.
However, there may come a point when preparing your healthy meals gets tedious. In fact, last year, a survey conducted among 2,000 Americans found that 55% of them experience cooking fatigue. Cooking healthy meals for yourself or your family can be extremely tiring after all. Fortunately, some tools can make the meal prep process easier so you can spend more time enjoying your food rather than sweating it out in the kitchen! Here are some kitchen tech tools that can help you prepare healthy meals.
1. Food Processor
Chopping and slicing your ingredients can be tedious and time-consuming. While there are certain cuts that can only be achieved with a knife, chopping, dicing, and mincing ingredients are tasks that can be done with a food processor and it can do the job in seconds. Food processors come in full, compact, or mini sizes, all of which have the same basic components: a motor, a bowl with a lid and feed, and attachments. Full-sized processors have powerful 550-watt motors and can weigh up to 20 pounds, which provide stability. Smaller models have less powerful motors to compensate for the lighter weight and compact shape.
Try the Breville Sous Chef BFP800XL if you want to invest in a full-sized model that can make the smoothest purée. For a smaller variant that’s perfect for chopping garlic, onions, and others, take a look at the Philips Kitchen Multichopper.
2. Smart Air-Fryer
Air-fryers have grown in popularity over the past couple of years since they fry food without oil and come with the benefits of a convection oven. The result is fewer added calories to your food, especially when compared to deep frying. Air-fryers can cook food through convection, which moves heat using a liquid or gaseous medium. Heat is then transferred downwards and distributed by a fan for evenly cooked food.
Convection cookers can reduce cooking time by 25% compared to traditional ovens, making them ideal for meal preparation. More models of this kitchen tool are getting smart upgrades to control them using your smartphone or home assistant. This way, you can monitor your fryer’s functions, schedule start, monitor cooking status, and control other features while multitasking to save time and energy. Try the Philips Digital AirFryer With Rapid Air Technology for an all-around fryer or the Ninja Air Fryer for a more versatile cooker.
3. Smart Scale
For those who are counting calories to lose weight, the smart scale is a valuable kitchen tech tool to have! While calorie counting apps provide you with good estimates, there’s still some level of inaccuracy that can derail your overall calorie intake.
These smart scales are created with a rigid-flex PCB — a type of circuit board known for its small form factor and feature-filled components. They are commonly created with woven fiberglass, one of the most low-cost materials on the market. As such, most of the smart scales are pretty affordable, such as the Smart Diet Scale. It comes with a feature that allows the scale to weigh an entire meal divided into four components and calculate the calories of each item based on the food type and weight.
4. Instant Pot
Instant Pots are excellent investments for those who don’t have much time to cook but want to start healthier eating habits. These gadgets are essentially pressure cookers that create heat under a tight seal so that steam can’t escape. The result is a much faster cook time and more tender food.
For a beginner-friendly option, consider the Instant Pot Duo Nova. You can also opt for multifunction instant pots, such as the Instant Pot Duo Crisp, which is an instant pot and air-fryer all in one!
Preparing healthy food doesn’t have to be a tedious chore, and with the right tools, you can have delicious meals with less prep time. When considering an appliance, be sure to check kitchen product reviews to make the most informed decision possible. This way, you’ll be cooking up healthy meals using your trusty tool in a snap!