If you love to cook, then you know the excitement of receiving a new kitchen tool or gadget!  Or even better…the joy of giving someone a great gift for the kitchen that will help them enjoy home-cooked meals throughout the year!

At Eat REAL America, we obviously cook all the time and have lots of great tools and utensils…but are big believers in practical!  We can’t have random useless gadgets just taking up space — we don’t have room for that!  Since Christmas is coming, we wanted to share some gift ideas, unlike the leg lamp, that YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE…(just in case others are asking for gift ideas or you are still looking for a great gift for a friend or family member)!   We hope these ideas might help!

Of course, we consider great must-have kitchen staples to include a Chef’s knife, cast iron skillet, ceramic Dutch Oven, food processor like the Ninja, wooden spoons, flexible cutting boards, etc., but the following are some other super-useful tools!

 

 

Salad Spinner – incredibly easy way to rinse those fresh greens and gets them drier than the traditional “rinse and towel dry” method.

Pineapple Corer – once you use this amazing tool, you will never want to cut pineapple any other way!  Let’s you core it, peel it and cube it — all with one awesome tool!

Spiralizer – The ideal way to turn vegetables into ribbons or pasta!  We provided some tips and info on different versions of the spiralizer…you can check out our coaching tip.

Fine Mesh Colander – Not only will this work for everything you need to drain, but it is perfect for rinsing quinoa before cooking (rinsing the quinoa helps remove any bitter taste).

Citrus Juicer – We try to use fresh fruit for juices in our meals whenever possible…and this gadget works so much better than trying to squeeze juice by hand!

Elevate Spoon Spatula — no more residue from your spoon or spatula on the counter!

Mini Ninja – After receiving this as a gift a year ago, we fell in love with this mini food processor and have used it countless times this year!  It is our “go-to” when making dressings, pesto or even just chopping nuts — plus, super easy to clean!

Mason Jars – Inexpensive and available in different sizes, mason jars have all kinds of uses.  Our favorite is using them to make and store homemade dressings – no whisking required…just shake!  Plus, they work great when you want to make homemade pickles or sauces, overnight oatmeal, on-the-go salads, or simply use them to store food!  Add a little creativity to give them as a gift — put homemade granola in them, and then the mason jar can serve as the gift that keeps on giving!

Bodum Bistro Knife Block – Kick the traditional knife block to the curb!  This version provides much more flexibility and will impress your guests – super cool!

Immersion Blender – We are convinced there is no better way to blend soups or sauces.  With an immersion blender, they never have to leave the pot (no more transferring hot soup to the blender in batches)!  You can also use the immersion blender to make smoothies and other great meals — see our coaching tip for more ideas!

 

 

Recyclable Wine Toppers – simple but perfect to preserve your wine!  We know, you may be thinking…leftover wine?  What?!

These wine toppers would be an excellent stocking stuffer!

 

 

 

 

We hope these ideas help bring joy to you or someone else on your Christmas list — Happy Holidays!