Can kitchen gadgets help you to eat healthier?
Photo by Jan Sedivy on Unsplash
Diets have been around for over a hundred and fifty years, and there has been one version after another since then. Once William Banting started his low carb diet in England and it subsequently spread to the states, there has been no stopping new fad diets from appearing on a never-ending basis.
It can be difficult to change eating habits, and diets or healthy options can easily be broken or switched out for more tasty treats. To help with weight loss you need some delicious recipes to help with your willpower to reach your goals.
However, there may be some other help at hand. There are plenty of kitchen gadgets and appliances available in retailers now. Some of these are designed to help the owner with a more healthy lifestyle, others not so much.
Are these gadgets and appliances useful when making changes to a diet plan, or are they just a waste of money and space?
What areas should you look at when considering a change of diet?
The most common reasons that people alter their eating habits are to lose weight or to consume healthier options. Very often these two reasons go hand in hand.
When considering your current diet, you may want to look at the following areas:
- Protein
- Carbohydrates
- Calories
- Fats
- Carcinogens
- Processed food
- Nutrients
Not all fats are bad, and it is trans fats that you want to really be wary of. These types of fats are bad for the heart and will raise your levels of bad cholesterol. They can be found in processed foods such as frozen pizza, and fried items such as donuts and french fries.
How should you go about changing your eating habits and lifestyle?
First, you should try and make realistic goals. Don’t try to push yourself to reach unreasonable targets. This will only lead to you breaking your new regime.
Setting attainable targets means that you will get satisfaction from reaching your goals regularly. This in turn means extra confidence, bolstered willpower, and enthusiasm to continue.
You could speak to your local doctor before embarking on any changes to discuss possible health implications. A nutritionist could help with a balanced diet sheet. Your local gym will be able to put together an exercise plan to compliment your new diet.
What are the difficulties with switching to a healthier diet?
One problem with changing a diet for the better, is that it can seem like a lot of work. Convenience food is called that because that’s exactly what it is. Pre-packed, ready to cook, processed food is easy to purchase and to make. But, it isn’t good for you.
Switching to a healthy diet can lead to a couple of bumps. You will have to buy more fresh produce than usual, so a bit of planning will have to be done. No longer will your trolley be full of microwave meals and frozen pizzas, hopefully.
You will also have to prepare your ingredients, which also takes time, and then cook them. The last problem many dieters face is that they sometimes find meals bland.
This is because you have been used to high levels of fat, salt, and sugar. Now it is adjusting to your healthier diet. If you think healthy food takes a long time and is boring, then check this recipe for stuffed pepper soup that only takes 20 minutes to prepare and cook.
Can kitchen gadgets help you to make healthy food?
To make life easier, many gadgets promise to simplify your life in the kitchen. Don’t believe all of them. No one’s life was improved by purchasing a strawberry huller. Just pull the leaves off yourself.
However, there are some very good appliances and gadgets available. If you have a business, think big and use commercial restaurant equipment for efficient culinary operations that yield excellent results. Some will speed up cooking time, and others will just help you to avoid things such as fats and oils in your meals.
Keep reading to see which kitchen appliances and gadgets may help.
Smoothie makers
Blenders and smoothie makers run the fine line between being extremely useful and ending up in the back of the cupboard. They could be rather useful though if you do already enjoy smoothies, and find yourself buying them from cafes and shops. They are also an ideal way to ensure that your veggies and fruit don’t go to waste.
Air fryers
One of the new wave of multi-cookers that are filling up shop shelves and kitchen countertops. If you love fried food then this could be a fabulous way to help you improve your diet.
Not only can you enjoy the taste and texture of fried food, but you can largely do it guilt-free. This is because air fryers don’t use oil. A word of warning though. Cooking at high temperatures has been linked to the production of unhealthy acrylamide which can cause cancer.
Spiralizers
Potentially a highly useful simple gadget, or landfill. Spiralizers are inexpensive and they can make a range of vegetables look a bit like linguini. Useful for making a plate of food look more interesting perhaps.
While mentioning landfills, there is the environmental aspect to consider when buying kitchen gadgets. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that over 2 million tonnes of small appliance waste ended up in landfills in 2018. As you can see with spiralizers, not all kitchen gadgets are electronic, but many will still get thrown away.
Steamers
Bamboo steamers are inexpensive, eco-friendly, and can make steaming fish, meat, and vegetables easy. Steamed food is a good way to eat as it retains nutrients, and produces tasty, healthy food.
Instant pots
The big rival to the air fryer. The difference between them is that the Instant Pot cooks with steam at high temperatures, while the other appliance cooks by circulating hot air.
The Instant Pot could help with a healthier lifestyle by virtue of a couple of things. Firstly, it cooks under high pressure so meals are ready quickly. Secondly, all the ingredients can be thrown in and the cooker left alone. Lastly, you can get on with exercises while the cooker makes your food, so it helps make time as well as save it.
Oil sprayers
If you really can’t do without your fried egg in the morning or other fried food, then cut down the amount of oil that is used. An oil sprayer that you fill yourself, or one from the supermarket, could help reduce the number of calories and fat in your snacks.
These gadgets could help your family too
One area that can be difficult is knowing how to break children’s bad food habits. Getting them involved in the preparation and cooking process could really help in this regard.
Making healthier versions of food together, and trying different ingredients could help to make permanent changes.
Summary
There are many more gadgets on the market but these are some that you might genuinely use. The simplest options such as the steamer and an inexpensive blender could be used to make healthy meals and drinks.
The air fryer and Instant Pot are more expensive appliances and would need to be used to make their purchases worthwhile. However, they could help with the time-consuming process of cooking, and allow you to discover new recipes online.