All geared up: cooking healthfully is a hundred times easier if you've got the right stuff

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, March, 2004 by Devin Alexander

Healthy meals may begin with healthy ingredients, but it's what you do with those ingredients once they leave the fridge that's really the deciding factor: Prepare them in a way that lets their natural goodness come through and you'll end up with dishes fit for any nutrition-conscious eater. That's where these 9 kitchen gadgets and gear come in. Each piece of equipment can help you either cut back on fat and calories or make it easier to incorporate healthy foods into your diet. And, did you notice? They'll all look pretty cool on your kitchen counter, too. (Prices are approximate; see Buyer's Guide on page 117 for where to buy.)

there's the rub

A little garlic goes a long way toward giving food oomph--and reducing the need for more fattening flavor-enhancers like butter and oil. Pop three cloves into the SiliconeZone Garlic Peeler ($6), and the rubbery bulb rubs off the papery skin easily, without getting your hands stinky in the process.

tea time

Tea's disease-preventing properties have made it the latest nutrition star on the block. This Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker ($21) can help you get your daily dose, especially in the warmer months when iced is the tea of choice. Its best feature: brewing takes only 10 minutes.

weighing in

Plenty of recipes--and in particular, recipes for vegetable dishes--call for food as measured by weight, a problem if you didn't weigh your produce (let alone remember the number!) at the market where you bought it. Having a scale at home helps take the guesswork out of measuring, and this one, the Cuisinart Precision Electronic Scale ($70), is simple to use and easy to read.

get on the stick

Among other uses, the Braun Multiquick Professional Blender ($80) saves you the trouble (and the ouch potential) of transferring hot soups to a blender in order to puree them. You just put the stick into the pot and whirr away. The hand blender alone is a great invention, but this one is particularly nifty since it comes with two chopper bowls, a whisk and ice crusher insert.

play misty for me

Misting allows you to cover a pan lightly with oil and is a far safer method (caloriewise) than pouring. You can also use this Misto Oil Sprayer ($20) to add just a touch of oil to steamed veggies after they've already been cooked, helping to heighten their flavor.

a little cheese, please

You don't need to avoid cheese completely to stay fit; you just need to use it sparingly and grate it finely. The Zyliss Cheese Grater ($15) makes the job a snap by holding the cheese in place (and sparing your fingers from the sharp grates). Sure, you can also buy pre-grated cheese, but it'll taste fresher and yummier if you grate it yourself.

hold the tortillas

Corn tortillas are a healthy substitute for bread, but they tend to dry out quickly in the oven. The SiliconeZone Tortilla Warmer ($25) keeps them moist while you heat them up, and its bright orange Frisbee-like shape also happens to look good on the table. Use it for pancakes, too.

smooth operator

Blenders, we've come to realize, tend to have too many buttons--how different is pulverize from puree, after all? Cuisinart's SmartPower Premier Blender ($99) is refreshingly simple and does a great job of making smoothies and protein shakes.

grill in a hurry

Thanks to George Foreman for bringing the notion of indoor grilling to our attention; thanks to Hamilton Beach for perfecting the idea with the Meal Maker Express Contact Grill ($35). This speedy cooker grills just about anything in only 10 minutes and all without added fat.