Top 10 Tools & Gadgets in the Krock’s Kitchen

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MEET THE KROCKS: We are a married couple who started on a life-changing whole food, plant-based weight loss journey in June 2018. To date, we have lost over 250 pounds combined and we aren’t done yet! Read Our Story

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We have always had a lot of kitchen “stuff.” Between small appliances, gadgets and random tools, we have collected a lot in our 7+ years of marriage. Since we are following a whole food, plant-based diet, we cook pretty much every single meal we eat. As a result, we have finally started using a lot more of the gadgets that we have collected over the years! But which tools and gadgets do we actually use the most? In the video above, we count down our Top 10 list. Check it out and let us know what your favorites are!

We purchased all of these products with our own money (or received them as gifts from family & friends). We are providing our honest opinions and reviews of the products. If you see something you like, we have provided links to purchase. We do get a small portion of any purchases made through the links on our website, at no additional cost to you. All of the proceeds will go towards creating more content for our readers and viewers to enjoy! And a few dollars will be set aside for Peef’s wardrobe.

#10: Tiny Whisk

We have had this tiny whisk for as long as I can remember. I think it actually came as part of a gift set I got years ago. I thought it was cute since it is just the right size for Peef, but it has proven to be extremely useful! We use this to mix our own spice blends and sauces. It comes in very handy when trying to combine a small amount of stuff!

I don’t have a link to the exact one we have, but it measures about 6 inches. I included a link below to one I found on Amazon, but you can probably find this cheaper in a store.

Click here to view “Kuhn Rikon 6-Inch Balloon Wire Whisk” on Amazon

#9: Apple Corer & Slicer

I like my apples cold and sliced! I’ve had a permanent retainer attached to my bottom front teeth for the past 20 years or so. I avoid biting directly into apples because I am afraid the retainer will come loose! This handy slicer/corer makes it super easy to cut your apple into nice even slices. I even bring this with me on trips and use it in hotels. Even my mom (who is a minimalist and does not like to keep a ton of kitchen gadgets) told me recently that she bought one of these after seeing mine in action!

Click here to view “OXO Good Grips Apple Slicer, Corer & Divider” on Amazon

#8: Can Opener

Everyone needs a good can opener. Ours broke a few months ago and I was surprised at how many choices there were when trying to find a new one! The one we landed on is the OXO opener pictured above and linked below. I was hesitant to include the link because this can opener has been a PAIN since we got it. I almost returned it, but I think I have FINALLY figured out how to make it work properly. When it works, it is a great product!

If you are in the market for a new can opener, do yourself a favor and check out Freakin’ Reviews on YouTube. James White does the most in-depth product reviews I have ever seen. He has a video comparing seven different can openers. It is literally 18 minutes of can openers, which is not something I ever thought I’d be watching, but just trust me and watch it!

SPOILER ALERT: The can opener he chose as #1 is the KitchenAid one linked below! If ours breaks again, that is the one I’ll be ordering!

Click here to view “OXO Good Grips Locking Can Opener” on Amazon

Click here to view “KitchenAid Can Opener” on Amazon

#7: Mandoline Slicer

DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU WON’T WEAR THE CUT RESISTANT GLOVES AND USE THE FOOD HOLDER WHEN POSSIBLE! Seriously… these things have been known to cut people’s fingers off! We had heard so many stories about it that I refused to get one for years. Brian has always wanted one, so I finally let him get it this past Christmas, but only after he PROMISED to always wear the gloves.

That being said, it is a very handy tool to have, especially for slicing veggies. You can see it in action in our salad prep video, as we use it to julienne our zucchini every week! Apparently Brian actually cut part of his finger off with this, even with the gloves on (I found this out during the video 😂). So be CAREFUL and use at your own risk!

Click here to view “Adjustable Mandoline Slicer” on Amazon

#6: Silicone Baking Mat

When you are trying to cook without oil, it can be difficult to prevent everything from sticking! For baking, you can simple line your tray with these silicone baking mats and just like magic… nothing will stick! We use these for pretty much everything we put into the oven. It is basically like a reusable parchment paper. They can be a bit tricky to clean, but generally you can just soak them in soapy water and wipe clean.

I included links below for both the official “Silpat” version we have, as well as the Amazon Basics version, which has great reviews and is probably the exact same thing for way less! They do come in a variety of sizes, so be sure to measure your baking trays and buy silcone mats that will fit what you have.

Click here to view “AmazonBasics Silicone Baking Mat” on Amazon

Click here to view “Silpat Non-Stick Silicone Jelly Roll Pan Baking Mat” on Amazon

#5: Kitchen Scale

I could not live without my kitchen scale! I actually use it every single day to measure out our dog’s food. Yes, I am that obsessive about my dogs getting the exact same amount of food at each meal 🙃.

In the kitchen, I use this to weigh out ingredients that are hard to measure (like tahini or nut butters). It is also a great way to measure out exact portions of things like nuts and seeds, since we try to limit those to 1 oz or so per day. The scale is way more accurate than any other measuring convention.

We have had the same scale for 5+ years and it is still working great. It has a “tare” function so you can put your bowl or measuring cup on top of the scale and “zero” it out before weighing your ingredients.

Click here to view “OXO 1157100 Digital Food Scale” on Amazon

#4: Spatulas

I grew up in a house where we did not have a lot of kitchen gadgets and tools. As I said before, my mom has very minimalist tendencies. She doesn’t like having a ton of different gadgets. Obviously I turned out just the opposite 😃. Anyway, we never had spatulas like this and when I finally got some, I was amazed! They are so useful!

Brian likes the giant one (first link below) for mixing up our double batches of “Weird Green Soup” and chili. It is really helpful when using a giant stock pot to cook in. I like the smaller 8 inch version for stirring tahini or nut butters and getting the last bit out of jars or cans. I recommend keeping a variety of sizes on hand!

When we got our Vitamix, we purchased their “under blade scraper” and it is awesome! It is specifically designed to work with a Vitamix and get more out of your blender cup, leaving less waste behind. I definitely recommend that to anyone who has a Vitamix!

Click here to view “GIR: Get It Right 16 Inch Spatula” on Amazon

Click here to view “GIR: Get It Right 8 Inch Spatula” on Amazon

Click here to view “Vitamix Under Blade Scraper” on Amazon

#3: Fine Mesh Strainer Set

We love this set of three stainless steel fine mesh strainers! We use the largest one the most. It is the perfect size to strain and rinse a can of beans. The smallest one can be used for loose leaf tea. They are dishwasher safe, which is always a plus in my book!

Click here to view “Ipow Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainer Set” on Amazon

#2: Vegetable Chopper

We bought this at Aldi a few years back. Ours has two “dicing plates” – one for small and one for large. I found a similar one on Amazon and linked to that below, but there are a ton of options, so look around and read reviews before choosing yours!

Check out our salad prep video to see this in action. We use it every week to uniformly dice our bell peppers, onions and more. It is a super quick and convenient way to dice veggies! This saves us so much time on salad prep days, plus it makes everything way more uniform than I could with a knife.

The blades are sharp – so be careful and borrow those cut resistant gloves from the mandoline 😀!

Click here to view “Freshware KT-405 4-in-1 Onion Chopper, Vegetable Slicer” on Amazon

#1: Salad Chopper & Bowl Set

Since we eat a giant salad almost every single night, it will come as no surprise that this is our top pick! When we first switched to a whole food, plant-based diet, we were watching a ton of YouTube videos to learn all about it. We came across The Watering Mouth, and in one of her videos about her favorite weight loss salad, she used this salad chopper and bowl! I went on Amazon and ordered it right away.

You do need a bit of muscle to chop your lettuce with this, but luckily Brian does it most of the time. Basically you just throw your lettuce in and chop! Once again, you can watch our salad prep video to see this one in action. The bowl it comes with is really nice and sturdy as well.

Click here to view “OXO Good Grips Salad Chopper and Bowl” on Amazon

So there you have it! These are the Top 10 Kitchen Tools & Gadgets we have in our kitchen. Let us know in the comments section below what YOUR favorites are!

P.S. ALWAYS WEAR THE GLOVES!!! 😀